Days 4 and 5 - The Magic Lemonade Diet

This isn't getting any easier. :-) I had dream last night that I was eating, and I woke up feeling guilty!! Today (Day 5) has been the hardest for both of us, but we're plugging through! I'm excited when I think about the fact that we are halfway done.


A few more answers to your questions:

1. How much of the weight loss is water weight?

Honestly, I don't know. My best "guesstimate" is that at least half of what I've lost so far is probably water weight. And, that's what I'm expecting to "pop" back on once we reintroduce food to our diet next Wednesday.

2. How often do you have to pee?

A lot. Frequently. Thank goodness I have two other teachers in my room - my children would never get anything done.

3. When you can eat food again, what will your diet be like?

You are supposed to reintroduce food slowly to your body. On the first day, we can have orange juice for breakfast and lunch. I'll probably bring a little of my magic lemonade and water to keep me "full." For dinner that night, you're supposed to make homemade veggie soup. So, if anyone has any good recipes, I'm all ears. For the next few days, you add in more fruits and veggies - keeping it as "raw" as possible. You add in lean protiens and whole grains slowly, and in moderation.

4. What is this teaching you?

That I am much stronger than I thought. :-) That I can live without a lot of the foods I thought were "essential" to my well-being: cookies, crackers, chips, diet soda, WINE, etc. Even on Weight Watchers, I found a way to work those things in to my diet. I'll still indulge on special occasions, but I know now I can eat so much healthier than before.

Thanks for checking in on us! Let me know if you have any good veggie soup recommendations!!


PS -

I do not smell like death. Neither does Bryan.

And, I would make a very good pirate! I have newly acquired survival skills!

:-)

Day 3 - The Enlightening One Shares Her Enlightenments

Well, the author wasn't lying when he said Day 3 would be the hardest. I. am. hungry. I am actually craving specific foods - mainly cheese. Actually, I would eat anything you put in front of me right now - even the cafeteria corn dogs they served today at lunch!!

But I can do this!!

I wanted to answer a few more of the questions that you guys have asked...

1. What is the reason for the 32 ounces of salt water?

While it is absolutely - without a doubt- the hardest thing I have to do every day, it is essential to the cleanse process. It, um, makes things "move." Quickly. Like, within 30 minutes of drinking it. What a way to wake up, huh?

2. How much weight have you lost so far?

As of this afternoon, I've lost 7 pounds. That's a lot in 3 days. Bryan has lost around 8. Stupid boys, it comes off of them so much faster! It's also been really hard to do!! Keep in mind that wasn't the only reason Bryan and I elected to do this, but it's certainly been a benefit. 

3. Why this cleanse? Why ten days?

I'm actually not sure about the ten day time period, other than to say that the author recommends it. He says that doing it for a shorter period of time doesn't allow the body to rid itself of all the toxins that have built of over time. He actually recommends going for longer - up to 40 days!! (That, I can't imagine. I just couldn't do it.)

We actually tried a different cleanse that we found at GNC over the summer, but we had disappointing results. 

I'll look at my book and search the message boards tonight again to see if I can find some more concrete answers about the ten-day period. 

Keep checking in with us! :-) 

Day 2 - The Cleanse

Well, this isn't easy - but it's doable.

I still say the hardest part is drinking 32 ounces of salt water every morning. Bryan would probably agree. It's just gross.

Alot of people have asked how hungry I am. On a scale of 1 to 10, I'm probably at a 4. If I drink some "lemonade" or water, I'm okay for an hour or so. I drink alot of lemonade and water. I can have up to 12 glasses of the lemonade every day, and as much water as I want. So far, I've only made six glasses each day. The ingredients are expensive!! I don't want to use them all up!

The worst part of my day yesterday was coming home to an empty house. Bryan worked a little late, and so I got home first. Empty house + hunger = a major opportunity to cheat. But, I didn't!! I put on Dr. Phil and made myself comfy on the couch. It was really hard to ignore the Teddy Grahams and sandwich fixins' calling to me from the pantry, but I did it.

I found myself looking forward to the tea last night. I think because it was hot, it made me feel more full. I woke up a couple of times feeling hungry, but all I had to to was think about the salt water flush that I would be drinking in a few hours, and it put me right out of my misery. :-)

Thanks for your emails and comments. They are encouraging - even if you all do think we're crazy!

Cleansing, Cleansing 1-2-3

Lord, what have I gotten myself into?

Bryan and I made a decision this weekend that I am seriously starting to re-think. We are trying the "Master Cleanse Diet" for the next ten days. We bought the book a couple of months ago and I've been debating on whether or not to actually try it. We went to Harry's last night and spent about $75 on the ingredients --- now we have to do it!

Why???

Bryan and I want it to "jump start" our wedding weight-loss. I've been using Weight Watchers (and will continue to do so after the cleanse). We're hopeful this will also serve as a way to get the junk food out of our diet. The program claims it will help your body start to crave fruits and veggies instead of pizza and chicken wings. :-)

What is it?

The ingredients

It's a "lemonade" concoction of fresh squeezed lemon juice, organic maple syrup, cayenne pepper and flouride-free water. At night we drink a cup of Smooth Move senna tea and in the morning a disgusting salt-water flush. After this morning's gag fest with the salt water, I'm not quite sure how I'll get it down tomorrow. You're supposed to drink at least 6 8-oz. glasses of the lemonade during the day, and all the water you want.



I thought it would be a good idea to chronicle the 10-day (yes, 10 days of this!!) cleanse on the blog. If nothing else, I can look back and see just how crazy I was!





How is it going?


So, five hours into Day One I'm really doing okay. I'm a little hungry but if I drink some lemonade or water, that usually does the trick after about ten minutes. I'm really glad Bryan is doing this with me. I don't think I could stand the thought of smelling dinner cooking or watching someone else eat after consuming nothing but lemonade all day.



The lemonade itself isn't bad at all. It's actually pretty good! I think I put a little too much cayenne in mine. When I make another batch, I'll definitely put less in. The "heat" in the back of my throat is a little nuts. If I wasn't at work, I'd be in trouble. For me boredom = eating.

I'll keep you guys posted. Feel free to leave notes of sympathy, or tell us how crazy we are! :-)

From the mouths of babes....

Every Friday, my kiddos write their "Weekly Goals." It's something I use to communicate with parents, and a chance for the kids to reflect on their week. Each kid writes two "glows" and two "grows" to wrap up their week, and I make comments on the side.

Yesterday I couldn't help myself. What started out as a giggle snowballed. I guffawed. I became that kid who laughs at words like "fart" and "butt." As I was going through my stack of Weekly Goals, I came across this gem:

"I will make an A on my testes."

Wouldn't you?

I am so STINKIN' excited!

Valentine's Day stinks when you're single.

Since Nat has recently joined the "singles" category, I invited her to spend the weekend with me! (She's available, people!) There is all sorts of fun stuff going on this weekend - 7Sharp9 plays at Hemingway's, Roper's Birthday at Midtown Bowl, and (finally) dress shopping!!

I know we will take a million pictures. I hope Jennie and Chris will be able to come down and spend some time with us. I hope Friday gets here soon!

There will be lots of sister time this weekend!

A Good Belly Laugh

I needed to laugh so badly yesterday. It wasn't a terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad day - just a frustrating day. I came home in a funk, went to the gym in a funk, and drove back home in a funk. Yuck.

I logged onto Facebook, and came across a video posted by my (almost!) sister-in-law, Leigh. It was the best six minutes of my day. Thanks, Leigh!!



If you can watch this without laughing, there might be something wrong with you. :-)