Master Cleanse Day 3

Today went really well, and I felt better today than I did yesterday. Yesterday evening I was a little on the grumpy side. = ) It seemed like my mental clarity was greatly improved today. I didn't feel as tired or have that I'm living in a fog feeling that I've had lately. I do think I've been hungrier today. Probably because my digestive system is truly empty and everything just runs right through. So I've drunk about twice as much lemon juice than I have been.

I have also started experiencing some detox symptoms, which I was told to expect between days 3 and 7. Well, it's day 3 and I'm feeling it! lol! I've had a touch of nausea this evening. Nothing major, just every now and then I feel a little twinge of yuckiness. I've also had some joint achiness. Again, nothing major, but I have noticed that my lower back feels achy when I bend over.

I made bread for the boys today and oh....my.....GOODNESS! did the house smell wonderful! I have noticed that I'm beginning to appreciate food for other reasons besides flavor. My sense of smell seems to be greater and I'm paying more attention to the texture and color of food. I think that's a good thing. Hopefully, once I'm finished with the cleanse and begin eating again, I won't just scarf food down without paying attention to what I'm eating. I've heard other people say that once they begin to eat again, they notice so many different layers of flavor in the foods than they did before and take time to really enjoy what they're eating. That's definitely a good thing.

Update on Noah: He's done much better today. Only had one dose of Motrin this morning when he got up and he was fine all day. He ate better and played better. I put him to bed about 9 and he woke up an hour later crying so I gave him more medicine, a cup of milk, and a scoop of ice cream. There's another example of how I'm noticing different things about food - I stir his ice cream a little bit before giving it to him so it's softer in his month, and I can't help but notice the beautiful smooth texture of it. = ) Looks like a Wendy's frosty! Maybe I'm just becoming obsessed? lol! I also noticed that as I fixed the boys peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on our homemade whole wheat oatmeal bread, I was content just to smell the yumminess and had no desire to eat it. Yay! That's encouraging.

This past weekend I attended New Director's Academy at the Pampered Chef home office in Chicago. The first day of training I wore a pair of capris that were size 8 and they were a bit snug in the waist. Yesterday, I wore a pair of dress pants that were a size 6 and they were quite comfortable. So....whoopee for me!! I've not worn a 6 since I was first married 6 1/2 years ago! I'm excited to see how the rest of this cleanse goes!

Master Cleanse Day 2

Today has gone fairly well! I have craved food today. I've not been hungry but my brain is still telling me to chew on something. = ) I fixed fried skillet potatoes for the boys and they SMELLED....SO....GOOD! Jeremy had to go to the garden, (he's doing this with me, started today) and I told him how nice it must be to leave the house while I'm cooking! That way he doesn't have to smell it and fix their plates, and want to eat the piece of golden brown, crispy, greasy potato that fell off Noah's plate!! ARGHH!!!

It's been a horrible day in some ways because both of my boys have hand, foot, and mouth disease. Isaac is okay but Noah is difficult to comfort, especially when he's not feeling well. He comes over and wants me to pick him up, but once I have him, he's still crying and fights to get back down. <sigh> And we had the worst! ever! doctor's appointment with him. He was walking over to get measured and tripped over the scale, and hit his head on the corner of a cabinet. So he pretty much was mad the rest of the visit. He cried at everything and didn't want anyone to touch him. So one of the nurses brought him a popsicle, and he had half of it then proceeded to drop it into the trash can. I, of course, wouldn't let him dig it back out to eat, so that provoked a screaming and crying fit. The nurse brought in another one, but no, he didn't want that one. He wanted the one in the trashcan.

The boys are already bathed and had their dinner and it's only 6:10 pm so I'm hoping to get them in bed very soon and I'm hoping we actually get to sleep tonight......but I'm not holding my breath.

Master Cleanse Day 1

So today I began the Master Cleanse. It's been alright. Not been hungry but everytime I go through the kitchen, my brain says, "Oh! You've not eaten anything today! Maybe you should grab a banana or a bite out of the kids' plates that they didn't finish." My brain is confused. Haha! But so far the belly is doing fine.


Here's the why, and what of the Cleanse:




WHY
I was looking up information on colon cleanses and detox systems online when I came across the Master Cleanse. It was something I could do myself, was inexpensive and has been around for many years with thousands upon thousands having success with it. This may be TMI, but I have been constipated since the day I was born, literally. At the worst, I had once monthly movements. Yea, not good. It's not that bad now, but I was starting to get desperate and that's why I was looking up the info to begin with. I discovered an added bonus, however while reading testimonials and watching youtube vlogs: People lose weight on this thing! Woo-hoo! I can handle that. lol! We actually started a 100 days of real food pledge a few weeks ago, and I really like the idea of detoxing and purging all the nasty stuff we've been eating in the past as we're still in the beginning stages of our pledge. So my goals are cleansing, detoxing and weight loss.
WHAT
The Master Cleanse is a detox/fast diet. I drink an herbal senna tea in the morning and evening and eat nothing! Crazy, I know. The main part of the detox is the lemon juice I mix up. It's fresh lemon juice, maple syrup (to keep up my caloric intake) and cayenne pepper. That's it. It's really yummy! I'm a big fan of spicy foods, so I made my lemon juice a little on the hot side. Actually, a lot on the hot side. It tastes like a fiery lemonade. Love it! We use organic maple syrup grade b, and it has a lot of vitamins and minerals in it so with that plus the calories, my body is still getting what it needs just in liquid form. 




The Cleanse recommends a minimum of 10 days and max of 45. My goal is to take it 10 days at a time. After the first 10 days if I feel like I'm done, I'll be done. If I feel like I need to keep up the detox, I'll keep going. 


Our chiropractor said that I'd be surprised how even if I didn't start this as a spiritual fast, it will become spiritual. I believe God made our bodies to connect better with the spirit when fasting. Think about it - God asked the Jews to fast on a regular basis so it would be good for us to do now as well! So, I am committing to spend a good portion of time in quiet time and studying during this fast. I'm focusing on praying for our church. I sense discouragement and hopelessness creeping in to our tiny congregation. I particularly want to petition the Lord for spiritual growth within the hearts of every member and a renewed passion for the Great Commission. Part of praying for my church is praying for my husband. So I'm going to also focus on lifting Jeremy up. That God would protect is heart from discouragement and compromise. 


So that's it! I'll try to update every couple of days so you can help me track my success. Oh, my weight....hmmmm.....actually don't have a scale right now but if it's the same it's been for months....I'm probably about 150 lbs. Hopefully that will go down. We'd love to have another baby and it's hard for us with my PCOS. BUT my PCOS symptoms get a ton better as I lose weight so here's to happy baby thoughts. Lol!