DAY SIXTEEN - JUNE 18TH
After having blogged about this topic for a few days, I went to hang out with my friends for a reunion of sorts. One of these friends, who also had blogged for a short while (and hopefully is returning to the blogging world soon), told me that she was proud of me and felt this was a brave decision for me to make, considering how personal of a subject this was. While I appreciated her praise, it did not occur to me that this was very personal. Granted, I'm admitting that I'm not terribly comfortable with my weight and I'm making drastic changes to fix this. But I am not talking about intimate emotional and mental details of how this REALLY affects me. You get to read about how hard it is to drink the Death Drink and wanting to eat and whatever, but there is a lot that comes with decision and some back story that I decided to avoid (because THAT would be personal, and I would be writing way more than I already do). On the other hand, while I do consider myself a private person, there are parts of me that I would like to vocalize for a larger audience so that perhaps they can learn or understand things that others will not admit. So in genuinely had not occurred to me that blogging about my experiences with this diet was personal until my friend had made this statement.
Now it's personal.
I woke up for work this morning and after five to ten minutes, I was crushed. I did what I had been doing every day for past five days or so and got on the scale to see what kind of effect the weekend had on me. 182 pounds...
182 pounds.
182.
How could this happen? Yesterday I was 177. I'll admit that maybe it was teetering over to 178, but either way, it was a gigantic increase and disappointment. Five pounds in 24 hours? How? How could this happen? I know that, from reading the last few posts, people can list: "Lasagna, Pound Cake, Ice Cream, Five Red Velvet Pancakes, Chicken Parmesan Hero, Arizona Iced Tea, and Beer. What did you expect?" I expected that these things wouldn't make me gain eight to nine pounds in three days!
I felt like a cheater. I cheated every person who I told about my 12-pound weight lost in ten days. To every person who read my blog, to the people I work with, to my family and friends, to everyone. All this work and it culminates in a total loss of four pounds. Lost thirteen, gained nine back. I got to see what I could be and then lost so much of it to the point where I felt like I was back at square one. It was a cruel game of Flowers for Algernon with weight instead of IQ. And, of course, I haven't lied about anything that has happened. Everything that I've stated on here, to the best of my knowledge, is completely true. I feel like I've cheated everyone, but I've never lied.
In discovering my weight gain, I quietly ate my Fruit Salad, a bit too tired to fully absorb what just happened but upset enough to not speak. When my mom asked me my weight, I told her and continued to stay quite. She tried to make me feel better, saying that there was not way I could possibly gain five pounds in one day and that the scale must be wrong. But I had used that scale every single day in the past five or six days and roughly every other day since this diet started. There was no way that the scale could be right for the first fifteen days and then magically be working incorrectly for today. There was no spin or explanation to make this work in my favor. I had gained almost all of the weight back.
I went to work today with a shirt that I had worn during my diet and now it felt a bit too tight. I had checked the mirror a few times within the day and it looked like I had gained my weight back. I could FEEL that it was back. And my heart even seemed to feel the pressure at times. I'm sure my heart probably went through a bit of an ordeal, having to go from consuming a drink for over ten days to all that food; losing and gaining all that weight back. I screwed this up and I screwed up my body. I might not have bragged excessively about my weight loss to others, but I felt like I lied to everyone, even though these people could see the changes on me. I am a phony.
So what happened, exactly? Yeah, I ate a lot, but I've eaten this amount before in a three-day period without such a drastic weight change. Yes, this might've occurred considering the circumstances, but then how exactly is this possible? Well, a lot of the initial weight lost was water weight, fine. But the rest? The real question is: If I was able to gain all this weight back in a matter of three days, how good was this diet? But it's NOT a diet, it's a cleanse. If I came off the cleanse at a time where there weren't two big events in three days, this would not have happened. Not to say that this is anyone's fault but mine, but I just did not see such a dramatic change taking place.
So what do I do now? What I do is work my ass off. I think that I can sit around, be lazy, only consume one thing, blog and tell people about it, and decide that I "worked hard" for this? People seem to be skeptical that I was able to do this, but honestly, anyone with a bit of consistency in their schedules could do this. I decided that I would go home and get on the bike and just ride it all away. I'll pedal 3,500 calories everyday for the next five days and see what happens. Anything to undo what I just did to myself. In the past month I was able to go two consecutive days on my bike for two-and-a-half hours each session. So, if I have to do three, three-and-a-half hours on the bike, I'll do it. I was able to just sit around and be lazy because I didn't have the energy. I certainly have the time to lose the weight, and lose it permanently.
Aside from just feeling angry, and eventually quite sad about it, what didn't help was that I had two people asking me about how the diet was going. And these people had every right to ask. I make a blog, I send the link to people, I post it on my Facebook, etc. But I can't admit to people, especially to my supervisor who watched me do this and try to deal with work everyday despite its effects, that I lost about 12 pounds and then gained two-thirds of it back. Obviously, she may read this and understand, but then she'll realize why I tried to talk as little about it as possible.
I got home and napped for about six hours (probably a combination of not having enough sleep from the night before and being overwhelmed with my failure) before waking up and trying to decide when I would get on the bike and what I would have to do to fix it. I eventually checked my stats from previous bike sessions and realized that the most I had burned in my excessively long bike outings was around 1,700-1,800 calories in 150 minutes. So, unless I was planning on doing five-hour biking sessions for five days straight, I don't think I would be able to get rid of a pound a day. However, I did read recently that, even with minimum activity, a male of my age and size burns at least 2,300 to 2,400 calories a day. So how do I combat this and get my body back?
Breakfast shall be a bowl of fruit salad every morning. (I friend who is way more health-conscious than I am informed me that it is probably healthier to have the cup of Arizona Green Tea with the bowl of Raisin Nut Bran cereal in 2% Milk, but I'm going to give this a shot and see where this goes. I've done the aforementioned plan before and it didn't work to my advantage as much as I'd hoped.) Lunch, if I choose to have it, will be either Orange Juice or some sort of fruit juice. Dinner will be vegetables - most likely salad - with meat. And this portion of meat will be half of what I used to have. And then I will get on the bike and pedal everything away. This way, I will still get in my fruit (breakfast, lunch), my vegetables (dinner), and meat (dinner) without eating excessively. I don't need the starches or the grains. And I will also have to drink a bunch of water.
So was my diet a waste of time? While its effects were a bit deceptive, this was not a waste of my time. First off, I got to see what I could be and how I could look and feel. Never having felt that way in the past five years, getting to experience that and then losing it shortly after is a BIG motivator. I also know that I can survive on very little, so there's no need to eat as much as I used to. Not only is eating in excess unnecessary and obviously adds weight, but it also can make you tired and prevent you from engaging in other activities that could help to lose the weight. This comes from trying to tone my intake back tonight, eating a bit more than I thought would be detrimental, and having to postpone my bike-riding session an hour or so later. With the Death Drink, I went to work, came home, drove long distances, visited friends, went to the beach, played sports, stayed up long days, and functioned like a mostly normal person. I also was able to deal with the good smelling foods and watching other people eat while I was not able to. I think that these experiences were crucial in showing me what I can and cannot handle and what I am capable of doing to drop this weight in a way that is permanent.
I managed to get on the bike tonight for over an hour-and-a-half and knock off 1,200 calories. In doing some math, this means that I was able to burn 2,300 calories from just being an active human, plus 1,200 calories from the bike, adding up to 3,500 calories burned. One must subtract the foods I had today (Fruit Salad, Orange Juice, Salad with Thousand Island Dressing, two Hot Dogs with Cheese and four pieces of Chicken with Barbecue Sauce and Cheese.) before coming to a total, falling short of losing a full pound, but I am getting smarter with my eating and decision-making skills now. I know that, if I redid today's meals, I would've had just one Hot Dog and two pieces of Chicken. I didn't capitalize on push-ups or sit-ups because last time I tried to go crazy and do 50 push-ups after having not done them in awhile, I failed to stretch properly beforehand and, after doing this for two days straight, could not use my arms without them hurting for about a week. After the cleanse/diet and jumping back into working out so drastically, I figured it would be smart to just stick with the bike, something I knew I could go into with no problem.
Needless to say, I will now have a bit of reporting to do to see if I can catch up. The goal is to see if I can drop five pounds by the weekend. If I watch my foods, get on the bike everyday for at least as long as I did today, then I should be able to take it all off. And while I should've been capable of doing this for as long as I've been home, it seems more possible for me to get this done now than ever. Despite how heart-breaking this was for me, I will not let this ten-to-thirteen day cleanse be in vain. I WILL get back on the horse - a different horse - and push on until I'm at the weight I want to be.
And, for the record, I got on the scale after having done the bike and found myself weighing in at 179 pounds. While on the diet, I had noticed that one night I was 180 pounds and the next morning I was 175 pounds. I don't expect that I will wake up and be 174, but I know that there is a possibility I can weigh even less tomorrow morning.
Today was a big hiccup, if you can even call it that, in my goal for weight loss. But now it will drive me to lose what I need to. The right way.
STATS:
Weight: 179
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
This Crazy Cleanse Diet - Day Fifteen
DAY FIFTEEN - JUNE 17TH
Well kiddies, today is Father's Day. While some of you may express caution, today my brother and myself took my father out to breakfast at the notorious IHOP. I had weighed myself today and clocked in at around 177. While I recognized the increase in weight, I sort of looked at this as just being a brief break before going into exercise mode starting tomorrow.
At IHOP, while I expected I would get the Stuffed French Toast, I instead fell in love with the new Red Velvet Cupcakes. WHAT! Hell yes! See, I sort of have a history with Red Velvet food items. I cannot remember when/where, but at one point I enjoyed something that was in Red Velvet form (probably cake) immensely. Red is one of my favorite colors (and flavors), so this seemed quite fitting. After this discovery, I decided to have a red velvet cake for my birthday. After ordering it and picking it up a few days later on my birthday, my family and I together ate this red velvet cake. Now, before this, none of my family members had experienced red velvet the way I had, or even at all. I may have been hyping up this new delicious commodity before we started eating the dessert. After a few minutes, I think I was the first to admit that the cake was, well, cake flavored. What could I say? It tasted like cake. It didn't seem to have any flavor. After I admitted this, my parents and brother sort of admitted the same thing. We finished this cake and couldn't even really enjoy it for what it SHOULD have been. Since then, I have felt like I was crazy for talking up this red velvet craze that apparently had no flavor to it. There was even another event quite some time after this that I found a red velvet cupcake at 7-11, bought it, brought it home, and tried to let my mom have some. Again, no flavor. The only time I really found it to have flavor was in a Ben and Jerry's ice cream, but I wasn't about to prove my sanity by buying a container of this stuff. I even went as far as to look up what this flavor tasted like and how it was made. Apparently it's a spin-off of chocolate?
So here we are, in IHOP, with the new Red Velvet Pancakes staring me in the face. No question this is what I would be getting. In the picture, it showed just two pancakes and came with a possible side order of a mixture of eggs, hash browns, bacon, and/or sausage. Trying to enjoy myself at IHOP (no one goes there to eat healthy!), and not being a huge fan of their eggs, I decided to just get the pancakes with a side of bacon. When the waitress would return, the stack was actually five pancakes and featured cream cheese topping. Five strips of bacon. This is also including the flavors of syrup that were on the side. (BRING BACK BOYSENBERRY!) However, I still was mindful of my new healthier lifestyle... so I got a water.
After this glorious meal, we got home, went to church, came back home, and had dinner a few hours later, which was the leftover lasagna from Friday night. I had Arizona Iced Tea once again, deciding that this drink would not follow me into the following week. After this, we enjoyed the left over Ice Cream, Pound Cake, Cool HwHip (Family Guy reference, not a typo), and Strawberries. The night was topped off with Orange Strawberry Banana Juice with Vodka.
While this was a bit of a splurge, having two big events within a three-day period, I will be finding a good workout so that I get in better shape and knock my weight back down. I've decided to use my stationary bike, push-ups, and sit-ups for the coming week, and then start the P90X the following week. Since this whole experiment seems to be just about finished, aside from a few highlights and whatnot, I think this topic has run its course. There seems to be little left to write about at this point, aside from what I've eaten and subtle ways that this has affected me. All of the things I've eaten this weekend made me feel like this was what normal was, but I know that I cannot continue eating this way. It was a bonus. My taste buds have even gotten over the "new" food. So, I think I'm done with this. Thanks for reading about this crazy fifteen day quest of mine.
STATS:
Weight: 177
Well kiddies, today is Father's Day. While some of you may express caution, today my brother and myself took my father out to breakfast at the notorious IHOP. I had weighed myself today and clocked in at around 177. While I recognized the increase in weight, I sort of looked at this as just being a brief break before going into exercise mode starting tomorrow.
At IHOP, while I expected I would get the Stuffed French Toast, I instead fell in love with the new Red Velvet Cupcakes. WHAT! Hell yes! See, I sort of have a history with Red Velvet food items. I cannot remember when/where, but at one point I enjoyed something that was in Red Velvet form (probably cake) immensely. Red is one of my favorite colors (and flavors), so this seemed quite fitting. After this discovery, I decided to have a red velvet cake for my birthday. After ordering it and picking it up a few days later on my birthday, my family and I together ate this red velvet cake. Now, before this, none of my family members had experienced red velvet the way I had, or even at all. I may have been hyping up this new delicious commodity before we started eating the dessert. After a few minutes, I think I was the first to admit that the cake was, well, cake flavored. What could I say? It tasted like cake. It didn't seem to have any flavor. After I admitted this, my parents and brother sort of admitted the same thing. We finished this cake and couldn't even really enjoy it for what it SHOULD have been. Since then, I have felt like I was crazy for talking up this red velvet craze that apparently had no flavor to it. There was even another event quite some time after this that I found a red velvet cupcake at 7-11, bought it, brought it home, and tried to let my mom have some. Again, no flavor. The only time I really found it to have flavor was in a Ben and Jerry's ice cream, but I wasn't about to prove my sanity by buying a container of this stuff. I even went as far as to look up what this flavor tasted like and how it was made. Apparently it's a spin-off of chocolate?
So here we are, in IHOP, with the new Red Velvet Pancakes staring me in the face. No question this is what I would be getting. In the picture, it showed just two pancakes and came with a possible side order of a mixture of eggs, hash browns, bacon, and/or sausage. Trying to enjoy myself at IHOP (no one goes there to eat healthy!), and not being a huge fan of their eggs, I decided to just get the pancakes with a side of bacon. When the waitress would return, the stack was actually five pancakes and featured cream cheese topping. Five strips of bacon. This is also including the flavors of syrup that were on the side. (BRING BACK BOYSENBERRY!) However, I still was mindful of my new healthier lifestyle... so I got a water.
After this glorious meal, we got home, went to church, came back home, and had dinner a few hours later, which was the leftover lasagna from Friday night. I had Arizona Iced Tea once again, deciding that this drink would not follow me into the following week. After this, we enjoyed the left over Ice Cream, Pound Cake, Cool HwHip (Family Guy reference, not a typo), and Strawberries. The night was topped off with Orange Strawberry Banana Juice with Vodka.
While this was a bit of a splurge, having two big events within a three-day period, I will be finding a good workout so that I get in better shape and knock my weight back down. I've decided to use my stationary bike, push-ups, and sit-ups for the coming week, and then start the P90X the following week. Since this whole experiment seems to be just about finished, aside from a few highlights and whatnot, I think this topic has run its course. There seems to be little left to write about at this point, aside from what I've eaten and subtle ways that this has affected me. All of the things I've eaten this weekend made me feel like this was what normal was, but I know that I cannot continue eating this way. It was a bonus. My taste buds have even gotten over the "new" food. So, I think I'm done with this. Thanks for reading about this crazy fifteen day quest of mine.
STATS:
Weight: 177
Monday, June 18, 2012
This Crazy Cleanse Diet - Day Fourteen
DAY FOURTEEN - JULY 16TH
My writing on this topic is starting to deteriorate. Now that the experiment discussed is over, there seems to be less to write about. Any attempt to draw anything out seems to be an effort on my part and an insult on your intelligence. I was excited and had a list of things to write about on any given day, whether it was about Day Two or Day Nine. Now this seems like a chore, so this topic will most likely come to an end shortly. I'll give you some highlights and then be on my way.
Worked my eight-hour shift today. I believe the scale said I was 176 today. Not too enthusiastic about this, but I understand the effects of coming off the diet. I am also confident that I can bring it back down once I get into the next step of this process: working out.
Came home. Wanted to go to Subway but ended up passing out before getting a chance and waking up to someone in my family picking up Chicken Parmesan Heroes (awesome!). I also had this with some delicious Arizona Iced Tea (a personal favorite), which I guess was me splurging as I'm used to avoiding it for the healthier Arizona Green Tea. I think I'm going to consider this weekend my food vacation and try to go for a healthier lifestyle once next week kicks in.
A few hours after, I was able to start up the fire pit in the backyard and kick back with my brother and father with a few beers. I might've had four, maybe FIVE beers! "You mean with your immediate family? WHAT a PARTY ANIMAL!" I know, RIGHT? My mother was nice enough to bring out two Whole Wheat English Muffins with Melted American Cheese for each of us, I guess acting as something to absorb the alcohol and a healthier late-night snack. All things considered, after my diet and weight drop, I was surprised that my tolerance was as good as it was. I figured that it would be one of the first things to go.
No other interesting notes here. I think the next post will be the last concerning the diet with the exception of a couple of updates here and there. I do plan to continue blogging, it will just be on other topics. I will give more on that next time. Thanks for reading as much as you have.
NOTES:
Weight: 176
Desired Food Items: ...food might not be such a big deal anymore.
My writing on this topic is starting to deteriorate. Now that the experiment discussed is over, there seems to be less to write about. Any attempt to draw anything out seems to be an effort on my part and an insult on your intelligence. I was excited and had a list of things to write about on any given day, whether it was about Day Two or Day Nine. Now this seems like a chore, so this topic will most likely come to an end shortly. I'll give you some highlights and then be on my way.
Worked my eight-hour shift today. I believe the scale said I was 176 today. Not too enthusiastic about this, but I understand the effects of coming off the diet. I am also confident that I can bring it back down once I get into the next step of this process: working out.
Came home. Wanted to go to Subway but ended up passing out before getting a chance and waking up to someone in my family picking up Chicken Parmesan Heroes (awesome!). I also had this with some delicious Arizona Iced Tea (a personal favorite), which I guess was me splurging as I'm used to avoiding it for the healthier Arizona Green Tea. I think I'm going to consider this weekend my food vacation and try to go for a healthier lifestyle once next week kicks in.
A few hours after, I was able to start up the fire pit in the backyard and kick back with my brother and father with a few beers. I might've had four, maybe FIVE beers! "You mean with your immediate family? WHAT a PARTY ANIMAL!" I know, RIGHT? My mother was nice enough to bring out two Whole Wheat English Muffins with Melted American Cheese for each of us, I guess acting as something to absorb the alcohol and a healthier late-night snack. All things considered, after my diet and weight drop, I was surprised that my tolerance was as good as it was. I figured that it would be one of the first things to go.
No other interesting notes here. I think the next post will be the last concerning the diet with the exception of a couple of updates here and there. I do plan to continue blogging, it will just be on other topics. I will give more on that next time. Thanks for reading as much as you have.
NOTES:
Weight: 176
Desired Food Items: ...food might not be such a big deal anymore.
This Crazy Cleanse Diet - Day Thirteen
DAY THIRTEEN - JUNE 15TH
Went on the scale. It said I was 174. Cool.
Had a few extra things that I'm not used to. Toast with butter. Pasta. Lasagna (probably shouldn't have had the meat that was in it, but it was only a small amount, so whatevs). Green Tea. Later, for dessert, I had pound cake with Vanilla and Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream, Whipped Cream, and Strawberries. I also had a half glass of Frangelico (Hazelnut flavored Liquor).
Green Tea was the most interesting. Apparently I can pick up more flavors and sensations with drinks or liquids than solid food. My dad and I have been drinking Arizona Green Tea for years and I said that I could taste more of it now than I ever could before. My dad, questioning which flavors were the strongest, asked, "Is it the Ginseng or the Honey?" And I said, "It's lemon and lime."
I will start thinking about what workouts I should do and I will start doing them on Monday.
STATS:
Weight: 174.
NOTE: I originally wrote the post as you see above (with the exceptions of a few edits) as a shorthand to remind myself what to talk about. Now that it's a few days later, I realize that elaborating upon it will just be dragging out a subject that isn't worth dragging out to begin with. No point it adding filler to it. I'm getting to the point where my eating habits are almost back to their normal state, so where's the excitement in that? If I'm tired of writing about it, then you're probably tired of reading about it.
Went on the scale. It said I was 174. Cool.
Had a few extra things that I'm not used to. Toast with butter. Pasta. Lasagna (probably shouldn't have had the meat that was in it, but it was only a small amount, so whatevs). Green Tea. Later, for dessert, I had pound cake with Vanilla and Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream, Whipped Cream, and Strawberries. I also had a half glass of Frangelico (Hazelnut flavored Liquor).
Green Tea was the most interesting. Apparently I can pick up more flavors and sensations with drinks or liquids than solid food. My dad and I have been drinking Arizona Green Tea for years and I said that I could taste more of it now than I ever could before. My dad, questioning which flavors were the strongest, asked, "Is it the Ginseng or the Honey?" And I said, "It's lemon and lime."
I will start thinking about what workouts I should do and I will start doing them on Monday.
STATS:
Weight: 174.
NOTE: I originally wrote the post as you see above (with the exceptions of a few edits) as a shorthand to remind myself what to talk about. Now that it's a few days later, I realize that elaborating upon it will just be dragging out a subject that isn't worth dragging out to begin with. No point it adding filler to it. I'm getting to the point where my eating habits are almost back to their normal state, so where's the excitement in that? If I'm tired of writing about it, then you're probably tired of reading about it.
Friday, June 15, 2012
This Crazy Cleanse Diet - Day Twelve
DAY TWELVE - JUNE 14TH
Started today off with getting on the scale. Despite my transfer from the Death Drink, I did not gain in weight. In fact, the scale was teetering between 174 and 173. Got to have a nice drink of Strawberry Banana Orange Juice for breakfast before leaving for work with a lunch that actually consisted of food. Finally!
I'm not sure if it was because of the weight loss, the switch to foods that are not deplorable, or a combination, but I was definitely in a better mood today, despite having to spend most of my time as a cashier. To clarify this, at my wholesale club job, my main position is that of a clerk in the back of the store away from customers, but I will occasionally get scheduled as a cashier or even called up to help as one when I'm scheduled to be a clerk if there are too many customers and not enough help. So, since I got moved up to this over position, I average 4-5 days a week working and might average one day a week as a cashier. While I was initially being trained for this position, I had stopped working as a cashier for so long that I went back and forgot certain key terms, even though I had been getting steady work in that position for a good two and a half months.
Today was somewhat noteworthy since it is the first time in awhile that I did not feel some sort of woozy or dizzy feeling. Whether I was drinking a lot, wasn't active, or had a day off and did nothing, I usually had a moment at least once a day where I felt a bit lightheaded. This, however, did not happen today. I also am pretty sure that my allergies have NOT played a part in any of this process. I was pretty sure that this was the case when I first started posting, but there most be something in the combination of the Death Drink (maybe the pure maple syrup) that must have caused me to feel like I was too congested.
The other big deal for today was that - for the first time since June 2nd (with the exception of the Italian ice) - I actually ATE SOMETHING TODAY! Lunch was GLORIOUS with a beautiful can of Campbell's Tomato Soup with four angelic and very pale Saltine Crackers, succulent Cucumber Slices and another helping of fruit-filled Orange Strawberry Banana (dragonfruit, passionfruit, acai, berrylicious, etc.) Juice! I later would realize my error that I wasn't supposed to have grains until the following day, but it's only four crackers. No biggie!
Came home. Surfed along the craziness of the interwebz, napped, and got up for a delicious dinner. It was pretty much exactly the same (it's only four more crackers, no biggie!) except for the fact that those succulent Cucumber Slices were tossed around in a zesty Italian Vinaigrette! When I was reading the initial eating details for the diet and how to properly ease back into regular food, I read that Day Twelve allowed us to have fruits, vegetables, and vegetable juice. However, I am not a fan of V8 vegetable juice. The only way I could see myself having one is by pouring it into a bowl, heating it up, and turning it into tomato soup. (I apologize if I made this joke in one of the earlier posts. I don't feel like backtracking to see if I made the same joke twice.) Well, because of this, I realized that i could actually have tomato soup on this day since it was mostly just vegetables and little else (aside from, of course, all of the dangerous and deadly preservatives and additives). So I was actually very much tasting tomato soup today, even though I had not had it more than five to ten times in my life.
I'm already tired of it.
Despite the suggestion to have more vegetables and fruits that were available in my refrigerator and freezer (NOT respectively. Unrespectfully? Disrespectfully?), I declined as both my lunch and dinner were very filling. I could've even survived without having the cucumbers, even though they were the best part of the meal. Also, while I do think that my taste buds will get used to all the flavors soon, my sense of taste is indeed temporarily heightened and enjoying all of the new meals. That is, until it gets overwhelmed within the next week or two. Tomorrow I will be having toast, pasta, and even a hint of lasagna ...and dessert. GASP! Pound cake, vanilla ice cream, strawberries, and whipped cream. Not too bad of a dessert for a birthday celebration, I don't think. And I'm still playing by the rules here. I am allowed to have grains starting Day Thirteen. Pound cake would be considered grains. Strawberries are fruit. Vanilla ice cream is ... and the whipped cream is, uh...
STATS:
Weight: 174 (Will inevitably change to 210 by June 17th.)
Heavenly Drinks (OJ): 7 (Last posting)
Death Drinks: 42 (Last posting)
Water Glasses: 25 (Last posting)
Foods I'm looking forward to: Chicken BLT, Chicken Parmesan Hero, Toasted Bagel with Butter, Toasted Muffin (Blueberry or Corn) with Butter, Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies, Cherry Berry Chiller and McDouble (McDonald's) and perhaps Burger King Chicken Nuggets (or was that just a craving?).
Started today off with getting on the scale. Despite my transfer from the Death Drink, I did not gain in weight. In fact, the scale was teetering between 174 and 173. Got to have a nice drink of Strawberry Banana Orange Juice for breakfast before leaving for work with a lunch that actually consisted of food. Finally!
I'm not sure if it was because of the weight loss, the switch to foods that are not deplorable, or a combination, but I was definitely in a better mood today, despite having to spend most of my time as a cashier. To clarify this, at my wholesale club job, my main position is that of a clerk in the back of the store away from customers, but I will occasionally get scheduled as a cashier or even called up to help as one when I'm scheduled to be a clerk if there are too many customers and not enough help. So, since I got moved up to this over position, I average 4-5 days a week working and might average one day a week as a cashier. While I was initially being trained for this position, I had stopped working as a cashier for so long that I went back and forgot certain key terms, even though I had been getting steady work in that position for a good two and a half months.
Today was somewhat noteworthy since it is the first time in awhile that I did not feel some sort of woozy or dizzy feeling. Whether I was drinking a lot, wasn't active, or had a day off and did nothing, I usually had a moment at least once a day where I felt a bit lightheaded. This, however, did not happen today. I also am pretty sure that my allergies have NOT played a part in any of this process. I was pretty sure that this was the case when I first started posting, but there most be something in the combination of the Death Drink (maybe the pure maple syrup) that must have caused me to feel like I was too congested.
The other big deal for today was that - for the first time since June 2nd (with the exception of the Italian ice) - I actually ATE SOMETHING TODAY! Lunch was GLORIOUS with a beautiful can of Campbell's Tomato Soup with four angelic and very pale Saltine Crackers, succulent Cucumber Slices and another helping of fruit-filled Orange Strawberry Banana (dragonfruit, passionfruit, acai, berrylicious, etc.) Juice! I later would realize my error that I wasn't supposed to have grains until the following day, but it's only four crackers. No biggie!
Came home. Surfed along the craziness of the interwebz, napped, and got up for a delicious dinner. It was pretty much exactly the same (it's only four more crackers, no biggie!) except for the fact that those succulent Cucumber Slices were tossed around in a zesty Italian Vinaigrette! When I was reading the initial eating details for the diet and how to properly ease back into regular food, I read that Day Twelve allowed us to have fruits, vegetables, and vegetable juice. However, I am not a fan of V8 vegetable juice. The only way I could see myself having one is by pouring it into a bowl, heating it up, and turning it into tomato soup. (I apologize if I made this joke in one of the earlier posts. I don't feel like backtracking to see if I made the same joke twice.) Well, because of this, I realized that i could actually have tomato soup on this day since it was mostly just vegetables and little else (aside from, of course, all of the dangerous and deadly preservatives and additives). So I was actually very much tasting tomato soup today, even though I had not had it more than five to ten times in my life.
I'm already tired of it.
Despite the suggestion to have more vegetables and fruits that were available in my refrigerator and freezer (NOT respectively. Unrespectfully? Disrespectfully?), I declined as both my lunch and dinner were very filling. I could've even survived without having the cucumbers, even though they were the best part of the meal. Also, while I do think that my taste buds will get used to all the flavors soon, my sense of taste is indeed temporarily heightened and enjoying all of the new meals. That is, until it gets overwhelmed within the next week or two. Tomorrow I will be having toast, pasta, and even a hint of lasagna ...and dessert. GASP! Pound cake, vanilla ice cream, strawberries, and whipped cream. Not too bad of a dessert for a birthday celebration, I don't think. And I'm still playing by the rules here. I am allowed to have grains starting Day Thirteen. Pound cake would be considered grains. Strawberries are fruit. Vanilla ice cream is ... and the whipped cream is, uh...
STATS:
Weight: 174 (Will inevitably change to 210 by June 17th.)
Heavenly Drinks (OJ): 7 (Last posting)
Death Drinks: 42 (Last posting)
Water Glasses: 25 (Last posting)
Foods I'm looking forward to: Chicken BLT, Chicken Parmesan Hero, Toasted Bagel with Butter, Toasted Muffin (Blueberry or Corn) with Butter, Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies, Cherry Berry Chiller and McDouble (McDonald's) and perhaps Burger King Chicken Nuggets (or was that just a craving?).
Thursday, June 14, 2012
This Crazy Cleanse Diet - Day Eleven
DAY ELEVEN - JUNE 13TH
You know you just had a day off from school or work when you go to type the date and you don't remember what it is. Needless to say (but I'll say it anyway) I had a day off from work. Which means I slept in super late. I got myself up eventually (2:30ish?) and went to the scale to weigh myself expecting not to see any change from the day before.
174 Pounds! Not exactly the 169 I was hoping to get to, but it was way more exciting after staying at the 175/176 range for a few days. Not only have I dropped 12 pounds in the past ten days, but I am also down 35 pounds from where I was 18 months ago. This is also the least I've weighed since... since I can remember. Before college, the my last weight measurement was when I played football in 9th and 10th grade and I remember being 175 then. I have eclipsed my high school-going, football-playing former self in weight loss. This should last for... a good 24 hours.
Yeah, I'll gain back weight to bring me back up. And, yeah, I'll have to work way harder than I did this past week to get it down further, but I am pretty happy with the results that I got. It's good motivation and a good starting place. I'm definitely headed in the right direction.
After getting off the scale I went straight to the orange juice. Aside from the idea of something new, I didn't really have any big expectations. Poured half a cup's worth. Took a sip.... WHOA! WHAT is THIS? I KNOW I just poured regular flavored orange juice into this here cup, so I know it's nothing crazy. I JUST opened it. Maybe it's because this is my first drink of the morning. Took a few more sips. This is EASILY the best drink of orange juice I've ever had. It was like I could taste more flavors now than ever. Dr. Pepper is, what, 23 flavors? But you only taste one. This orange juice had 23 flavors. Obviously this was a result of not having many flavors in eleven days. This was also my first sweet and non-tangy thing that I've had in this time period with the exception of the flavored ice. And I'm thinking that the flavored ice didn't have the same effect because it didn't move and swish all over inside my mouth. This got every crevice. This flavor didn't seem to change after cup two, cup three, or cup four. In fact, I changed brands of orange juice and I could tell the difference between the brands in ways I would've never noticed before. I guess having delicious tasting foods and flavors all the time dulls your taste buds a bit, preventing you from REALLY tasting all the subtleties available.
Aside from that, the day was pretty uneventful. I started asking my brother about his P90X experience, which apparently requires one to work out six days a week. Just trying to think ahead and plan for the next step. Quite a jump from Day One, where I was 186 pounds, eager to make some sort of change in my life, and acting out Gollum with his "He wants it, he NEEDS it" requests, but this time pertaining to food. Tomorrow will be a nice dose of fruits, vegetables, and tomato soup. Here's to coming back to normalcy whilst having the motivation to keep progressing.
STATS:
Weight: 174 (12 pounds lost)
Heavenly Drinks (OJ): 5
Death Drinks: 42
Water Glasses: 25
Foods I'm looking forward to: Chicken BLT, Chicken Parmesan Hero, Toasted Bagel with Butter, Toasted Muffin (Blueberry or Corn) with Butter, Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies, Cherry Berry Chiller and McDouble (McDonald's) and perhaps Burger King Chicken Nuggets (or was that just a craving?).
You know you just had a day off from school or work when you go to type the date and you don't remember what it is. Needless to say (but I'll say it anyway) I had a day off from work. Which means I slept in super late. I got myself up eventually (2:30ish?) and went to the scale to weigh myself expecting not to see any change from the day before.
174 Pounds! Not exactly the 169 I was hoping to get to, but it was way more exciting after staying at the 175/176 range for a few days. Not only have I dropped 12 pounds in the past ten days, but I am also down 35 pounds from where I was 18 months ago. This is also the least I've weighed since... since I can remember. Before college, the my last weight measurement was when I played football in 9th and 10th grade and I remember being 175 then. I have eclipsed my high school-going, football-playing former self in weight loss. This should last for... a good 24 hours.
Yeah, I'll gain back weight to bring me back up. And, yeah, I'll have to work way harder than I did this past week to get it down further, but I am pretty happy with the results that I got. It's good motivation and a good starting place. I'm definitely headed in the right direction.
After getting off the scale I went straight to the orange juice. Aside from the idea of something new, I didn't really have any big expectations. Poured half a cup's worth. Took a sip.... WHOA! WHAT is THIS? I KNOW I just poured regular flavored orange juice into this here cup, so I know it's nothing crazy. I JUST opened it. Maybe it's because this is my first drink of the morning. Took a few more sips. This is EASILY the best drink of orange juice I've ever had. It was like I could taste more flavors now than ever. Dr. Pepper is, what, 23 flavors? But you only taste one. This orange juice had 23 flavors. Obviously this was a result of not having many flavors in eleven days. This was also my first sweet and non-tangy thing that I've had in this time period with the exception of the flavored ice. And I'm thinking that the flavored ice didn't have the same effect because it didn't move and swish all over inside my mouth. This got every crevice. This flavor didn't seem to change after cup two, cup three, or cup four. In fact, I changed brands of orange juice and I could tell the difference between the brands in ways I would've never noticed before. I guess having delicious tasting foods and flavors all the time dulls your taste buds a bit, preventing you from REALLY tasting all the subtleties available.
Aside from that, the day was pretty uneventful. I started asking my brother about his P90X experience, which apparently requires one to work out six days a week. Just trying to think ahead and plan for the next step. Quite a jump from Day One, where I was 186 pounds, eager to make some sort of change in my life, and acting out Gollum with his "He wants it, he NEEDS it" requests, but this time pertaining to food. Tomorrow will be a nice dose of fruits, vegetables, and tomato soup. Here's to coming back to normalcy whilst having the motivation to keep progressing.
STATS:
Weight: 174 (12 pounds lost)
Heavenly Drinks (OJ): 5
Death Drinks: 42
Water Glasses: 25
Foods I'm looking forward to: Chicken BLT, Chicken Parmesan Hero, Toasted Bagel with Butter, Toasted Muffin (Blueberry or Corn) with Butter, Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies, Cherry Berry Chiller and McDouble (McDonald's) and perhaps Burger King Chicken Nuggets (or was that just a craving?).
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
This Crazy Cleanse Diet - Day Ten
DAY TEN - JUNE 12TH
Today is the last day of my cleanse before weening off of it and going back to normal foods (Ha, I said ween. ...Ahem!). As I had decided a few days ago, I would be getting on the scale everyday for the next few days. I got on the scale for it to tell me, once again, that I was 176 pounds. I don't think there are any excuses I can use at this point. I'm not sure how I wouldn't be able to lose more weight over the past few days. If people are supposed to burn roughly 2400 calories in one day with very little physical activity, how is it that I haven't lost any weight in the past three days when my diet consists of roughly 800-1000 calories each day? Aside from the possibility that my body has just adjusted to the diet, I don't really have an answer. And the fact that I will probably gain a few pounds back simply for just eating normal foods is making me a little less excited for the next few days. I just hope I manage to stay under 180.
One thing over the past few days that I can say is that the person in the mirror is coming closer to becoming the person that I feel like I am. While I think it's easy to pat myself on the back and take a rest after this diet, I don't think I will let that happen. After my body comes back to normal food for a week or so, I'll do one of two things. I'll try to start a routine with my stationary bike, push-ups, and sit-ups and try to work in a jog and/or yoga when I have some time. Or... I'm gonna start the P90X. My brother did the program and has the videos, so I need to talk to him to figure out some details first, but I'm seriously considering taking this next step so I can get to the weight that I want to be.
As for events within the day itself, I went to work and got to play cashier. Two or three times throughout the day I thought I was a bit woozy. I didn't think that anything crazy was going to happen, but I was prepared for the melodramatic sequence in my head of having to sit down in the middle of ringing someone up and deciding that my mom needed to be contacted before I fainted and an ambulance was called. Thankfully it never got to this point. I usually am not a fan of being cashier since one rude customer can shake me for the whole day, none of the customers past the first one were all that obnoxious. With the exception of the times where I was starting to get somewhat hungry, I didn't feel a terrible need for food even though I was ringing up food the whole time. I think this must mean that I crave anything and everything when I get hungry since I haven't had food in ten days, but the longing for food in general has dissipated quite a lot from the first few days. Aside from some returning lower abdomen pains hither and thither (which will most likely mean that I'll be getting a mean surprise once I start eating solids again), nothing too eventful happened with the diet today.
I did receive one interesting update much later in the day. I was under the impression that, starting tomorrow, I would start drinking orange juice and that would be included into my repertoire of drinks, along with water and the Death Drink. At around 10:30pm, I found out that this was not the case. Rather than simply ADDING the orange juice to my list of things I can drink, it actually now REPLACES the Death Drink altogether. Not only that, but this means that - with my last drink at 11:30pm - I am officially done with the Death Drink. My relationship with lemon juice, cayenne red pepper, and pure maple syrup has come to an end.
...For now...
I am tackling one big question that can only be appropriately brought up at this point. I am now going to turn back to foods that I am familiar with. Aside from gummy, fruit-flavored vitamins, an iron pill, water, ice, and one cherry-flavored Italian ice that I hadn't had for years before last Friday, all I had was what I referred to as the Death Drink which consisted of freshly squeezed lemons, water, cayenne red pepper, pure maple syrup, and sometimes ice. That drink, made mostly of ingredients that I had never had until the day I started this cleanse, took up the majority of my diet, as you can tell by the statistics below. So... get to the point, right?
As much as I loved diving into a new dish of... something every so often, I catch myself wondering if getting to enjoy these delicious foods (or any food) for the first time in about two weeks will be as exciting and as much of a reward as it was devastating and tough to live without when I lost it. Depressing, right? I mean, I've gotten to the point that I'm okay with not eating food. Clearly, I can't live like this forever. My body adjusted to the new "diet" to the point where I may not lose anymore weight from it, but I shouldn't be getting woozy moments on day ten. But I still have managed to live without food for this long and I'm not miserable or cranky because of its absence. I still hate the people around me when I take a whiff of a pungent-smelling dinner that they are about to devour, but I still deal. I can deal when the food is eaten in front of me, and I can deal even more when I hide away from it. But the bottom line is that I've learned to live without it. I suppose it shows my strength that I'm saying that I can move on with life and can survive without a basic human function (for the most part), but it still means that I can live without it. Although it's been short term, I've sort of made peace with it. I've made peace with not eating solid food anymore.
So now that it's coming back to me, how great can this return be? Isn't the return of something you miss that much greater when you are dying without it? If you are part of a relationship that ends and - after some time - you get over your loss, is the possibility of the return of this person into your life really that exciting if you've already come to terms with his or her leaving forever? Or is the return of this person greater when you had been crying, dying, aching for their return, deciding you could not live without him or her? As much as I appreciated my hosting friend as she got me a water ice as a dessert for our party, there wasn't that much of an excitement or reward from eating it as I thought there would be. Maybe I hadn't been a fan of this particular brand of ices for quite some time anyway, but shouldn't ANYTHING given to someone who hasn't really had any food or flavor in six or seven days be extremely exciting?
I guess I can still feel good about giving up something so necessary in human life, even though the time was short, and coming out on top. But there still seems to be something sad about getting something back and not having the reward equal the same amount positively as losing this same thing was devastating in a negative way. If I generally live at 0 (homeostasis, equilibrium, etc.), the stoppage of food and the reaction that had to me probably went down to a -10. Over time, I was able to overcome this and get myself back to 0. But now that food is returning back into my life, I feel like it will only bring me to a 5 rather than a 10. I guess it's not so sad in terms of food. It's something I've considered over the past few years when applied to life. Is it more heartbreaking to die from losing something (or multiple things) that you love so much, or is it more heartbreaking to know that there is nothing that a person can truly be connected to enough to the point where it will kill him or her, even if it shows how strong said person is?
I bet no one expected any of that out of a diet blog.
STATS:
Weight: 176
Death Drinks: 42
Water Glasses: 23
Foods I'm looking forward to: Chicken BLT, Chicken Parmesan Hero, Toasted Bagel with Butter, Toasted Muffin (Blueberry or Corn) with Butter, Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies, Cherry Berry Chiller and McDouble (McDonald's) and perhaps Burger King Chicken Nuggets (or was that just a craving?).
Today is the last day of my cleanse before weening off of it and going back to normal foods (Ha, I said ween. ...Ahem!). As I had decided a few days ago, I would be getting on the scale everyday for the next few days. I got on the scale for it to tell me, once again, that I was 176 pounds. I don't think there are any excuses I can use at this point. I'm not sure how I wouldn't be able to lose more weight over the past few days. If people are supposed to burn roughly 2400 calories in one day with very little physical activity, how is it that I haven't lost any weight in the past three days when my diet consists of roughly 800-1000 calories each day? Aside from the possibility that my body has just adjusted to the diet, I don't really have an answer. And the fact that I will probably gain a few pounds back simply for just eating normal foods is making me a little less excited for the next few days. I just hope I manage to stay under 180.
One thing over the past few days that I can say is that the person in the mirror is coming closer to becoming the person that I feel like I am. While I think it's easy to pat myself on the back and take a rest after this diet, I don't think I will let that happen. After my body comes back to normal food for a week or so, I'll do one of two things. I'll try to start a routine with my stationary bike, push-ups, and sit-ups and try to work in a jog and/or yoga when I have some time. Or... I'm gonna start the P90X. My brother did the program and has the videos, so I need to talk to him to figure out some details first, but I'm seriously considering taking this next step so I can get to the weight that I want to be.
As for events within the day itself, I went to work and got to play cashier. Two or three times throughout the day I thought I was a bit woozy. I didn't think that anything crazy was going to happen, but I was prepared for the melodramatic sequence in my head of having to sit down in the middle of ringing someone up and deciding that my mom needed to be contacted before I fainted and an ambulance was called. Thankfully it never got to this point. I usually am not a fan of being cashier since one rude customer can shake me for the whole day, none of the customers past the first one were all that obnoxious. With the exception of the times where I was starting to get somewhat hungry, I didn't feel a terrible need for food even though I was ringing up food the whole time. I think this must mean that I crave anything and everything when I get hungry since I haven't had food in ten days, but the longing for food in general has dissipated quite a lot from the first few days. Aside from some returning lower abdomen pains hither and thither (which will most likely mean that I'll be getting a mean surprise once I start eating solids again), nothing too eventful happened with the diet today.
I did receive one interesting update much later in the day. I was under the impression that, starting tomorrow, I would start drinking orange juice and that would be included into my repertoire of drinks, along with water and the Death Drink. At around 10:30pm, I found out that this was not the case. Rather than simply ADDING the orange juice to my list of things I can drink, it actually now REPLACES the Death Drink altogether. Not only that, but this means that - with my last drink at 11:30pm - I am officially done with the Death Drink. My relationship with lemon juice, cayenne red pepper, and pure maple syrup has come to an end.
...For now...
I am tackling one big question that can only be appropriately brought up at this point. I am now going to turn back to foods that I am familiar with. Aside from gummy, fruit-flavored vitamins, an iron pill, water, ice, and one cherry-flavored Italian ice that I hadn't had for years before last Friday, all I had was what I referred to as the Death Drink which consisted of freshly squeezed lemons, water, cayenne red pepper, pure maple syrup, and sometimes ice. That drink, made mostly of ingredients that I had never had until the day I started this cleanse, took up the majority of my diet, as you can tell by the statistics below. So... get to the point, right?
As much as I loved diving into a new dish of... something every so often, I catch myself wondering if getting to enjoy these delicious foods (or any food) for the first time in about two weeks will be as exciting and as much of a reward as it was devastating and tough to live without when I lost it. Depressing, right? I mean, I've gotten to the point that I'm okay with not eating food. Clearly, I can't live like this forever. My body adjusted to the new "diet" to the point where I may not lose anymore weight from it, but I shouldn't be getting woozy moments on day ten. But I still have managed to live without food for this long and I'm not miserable or cranky because of its absence. I still hate the people around me when I take a whiff of a pungent-smelling dinner that they are about to devour, but I still deal. I can deal when the food is eaten in front of me, and I can deal even more when I hide away from it. But the bottom line is that I've learned to live without it. I suppose it shows my strength that I'm saying that I can move on with life and can survive without a basic human function (for the most part), but it still means that I can live without it. Although it's been short term, I've sort of made peace with it. I've made peace with not eating solid food anymore.
So now that it's coming back to me, how great can this return be? Isn't the return of something you miss that much greater when you are dying without it? If you are part of a relationship that ends and - after some time - you get over your loss, is the possibility of the return of this person into your life really that exciting if you've already come to terms with his or her leaving forever? Or is the return of this person greater when you had been crying, dying, aching for their return, deciding you could not live without him or her? As much as I appreciated my hosting friend as she got me a water ice as a dessert for our party, there wasn't that much of an excitement or reward from eating it as I thought there would be. Maybe I hadn't been a fan of this particular brand of ices for quite some time anyway, but shouldn't ANYTHING given to someone who hasn't really had any food or flavor in six or seven days be extremely exciting?
I guess I can still feel good about giving up something so necessary in human life, even though the time was short, and coming out on top. But there still seems to be something sad about getting something back and not having the reward equal the same amount positively as losing this same thing was devastating in a negative way. If I generally live at 0 (homeostasis, equilibrium, etc.), the stoppage of food and the reaction that had to me probably went down to a -10. Over time, I was able to overcome this and get myself back to 0. But now that food is returning back into my life, I feel like it will only bring me to a 5 rather than a 10. I guess it's not so sad in terms of food. It's something I've considered over the past few years when applied to life. Is it more heartbreaking to die from losing something (or multiple things) that you love so much, or is it more heartbreaking to know that there is nothing that a person can truly be connected to enough to the point where it will kill him or her, even if it shows how strong said person is?
I bet no one expected any of that out of a diet blog.
STATS:
Weight: 176
Death Drinks: 42
Water Glasses: 23
Foods I'm looking forward to: Chicken BLT, Chicken Parmesan Hero, Toasted Bagel with Butter, Toasted Muffin (Blueberry or Corn) with Butter, Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies, Cherry Berry Chiller and McDouble (McDonald's) and perhaps Burger King Chicken Nuggets (or was that just a craving?).
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
This Crazy Cleanse Diet - Day Nine
DAY NINE - JUNE 11TH
After nine days of this diet, I'm not sure how much excitement there is left to really report on. In fact, I think I'm lucky that I've had enough normal, everyday struggles with going through this cleanse in work, at home, and at social gatherings that I've had enough of a story to provide at all. But I'm just about winding down on this journey, so I will try to squeeze out any small, hopefully interesting details i can muster up.
I got on the scale today and weighed myself at a somewhat disappointingly 176 pounds. I told myself that maybe I lost more weight the previous week because I worked Monday through Thursday and kept moving, but yesterday was quite the ordeal and I was playing football and frisbee the day before that, so that theory is a bit weak. Once again, I remind myself that I shouldn't be discouraged from ONLY losing ten pounds in an eight-day period. However, if I don't get down to 170 or under, I think it will motivate me to work to lose whatever extra weight I decide to drop. I am also pretty content with the fact that I've not only been able to keep with this diet every day, but I've managed to blog about it once for each day as well. As you might have read in an earlier post, it's hard for me to follow through with certain goals that need attention daily.
After having had three days off at my Wholesale Club job, I wondered how I would react walking back and forth through the place with food on either side of me and I have to say I was a bit pleased. Normally I would walk past the refrigerators stuffed with food, requiring a janitor to follow me as I salivated everywhere. However, I sort of looked at all the appetizers and goodies as if I was window-shopping at Sharper Image (RIP...?). It was nice to look at, and maybe eventually I'll get them, but the food no longer had the same effect on me. When I took note of this, I had recently had my Death Drink breakfast along with a water, so perhaps I was too full to be taken in by the Pizza Bites and random chicken hors d'oeuvres showcased around me. Although, it was frustrating when I had to pick up a torn bag of popcorn chicken and put all the little nuggets back in the bag. But I suppose if I'm full and not surrounded by food, the diet is not too unbearable.
I've actually decided that, if need be, I would be willing to do this diet again in the future. I would even extend this trial for another five days if I wasn't concerned about the possible risks that may go along with it. But I know that, if need be, I could probably do a few 5-9 day trials or even do a 10-14 day trial again further in the future.
I also went to work feeling like I could probably go home and exercise a bit without dying. By the time I got home I had a different opinion, but it's a good thing to know that - on such a low calorie diet - I can have such thoughts at any point in the day. Aside from two or three very brief dizzy moments (and an uncomfortable deposit), today was a relatively normal day for my body. I'm sure I will think of more to write about, but with my long entries, maybe this short one will be a break.
STATS:
Weight: 176
Death Drinks: 38
Water Glasses: 22
Foods I'm looking forward to: Chicken BLT, Chicken Parmesan Hero, Toasted Bagel with Butter, Chocolate Chip Cookies, Cherry Berry Chiller (McDonald's) and perhaps Burger King Chicken Nuggets (or was that just a craving?).
After nine days of this diet, I'm not sure how much excitement there is left to really report on. In fact, I think I'm lucky that I've had enough normal, everyday struggles with going through this cleanse in work, at home, and at social gatherings that I've had enough of a story to provide at all. But I'm just about winding down on this journey, so I will try to squeeze out any small, hopefully interesting details i can muster up.
I got on the scale today and weighed myself at a somewhat disappointingly 176 pounds. I told myself that maybe I lost more weight the previous week because I worked Monday through Thursday and kept moving, but yesterday was quite the ordeal and I was playing football and frisbee the day before that, so that theory is a bit weak. Once again, I remind myself that I shouldn't be discouraged from ONLY losing ten pounds in an eight-day period. However, if I don't get down to 170 or under, I think it will motivate me to work to lose whatever extra weight I decide to drop. I am also pretty content with the fact that I've not only been able to keep with this diet every day, but I've managed to blog about it once for each day as well. As you might have read in an earlier post, it's hard for me to follow through with certain goals that need attention daily.
After having had three days off at my Wholesale Club job, I wondered how I would react walking back and forth through the place with food on either side of me and I have to say I was a bit pleased. Normally I would walk past the refrigerators stuffed with food, requiring a janitor to follow me as I salivated everywhere. However, I sort of looked at all the appetizers and goodies as if I was window-shopping at Sharper Image (RIP...?). It was nice to look at, and maybe eventually I'll get them, but the food no longer had the same effect on me. When I took note of this, I had recently had my Death Drink breakfast along with a water, so perhaps I was too full to be taken in by the Pizza Bites and random chicken hors d'oeuvres showcased around me. Although, it was frustrating when I had to pick up a torn bag of popcorn chicken and put all the little nuggets back in the bag. But I suppose if I'm full and not surrounded by food, the diet is not too unbearable.
I've actually decided that, if need be, I would be willing to do this diet again in the future. I would even extend this trial for another five days if I wasn't concerned about the possible risks that may go along with it. But I know that, if need be, I could probably do a few 5-9 day trials or even do a 10-14 day trial again further in the future.
I also went to work feeling like I could probably go home and exercise a bit without dying. By the time I got home I had a different opinion, but it's a good thing to know that - on such a low calorie diet - I can have such thoughts at any point in the day. Aside from two or three very brief dizzy moments (and an uncomfortable deposit), today was a relatively normal day for my body. I'm sure I will think of more to write about, but with my long entries, maybe this short one will be a break.
STATS:
Weight: 176
Death Drinks: 38
Water Glasses: 22
Foods I'm looking forward to: Chicken BLT, Chicken Parmesan Hero, Toasted Bagel with Butter, Chocolate Chip Cookies, Cherry Berry Chiller (McDonald's) and perhaps Burger King Chicken Nuggets (or was that just a craving?).
Sunday, June 10, 2012
This Crazy Cleanse Diet - Day Eight
DAY EIGHT - JUNE 10TH
GOOD! LORD!
Woke up at around 9:15am, only to come to the conclusion that I was feeling some pains and needed to go to the bathroom.
I am going to make a disclaimer here. In the same style as I have been writing the posts within "This Crazy Cleanse Diet", I have been fairly good at writing in a conservative manner so that all audiences could read. While I am trying to maintain that for this group of posts specifically, it may be difficult for me to maintain that as this part could be considered a bit graphic. I feel that this part is important to post for those who are considering this diet, regardless of how gross it may read. If you want to stay away from the gross stuff, it might be best to either tread lightly or skip past...
LAXATIVES! AHHHHHHH!!!
Reluctantly carried myself into the bathroom, trying to prepare for what war I might face. In taking the throne, I found myself a bit woozy. I wasn't sure if this was happening because of a possible lack of sleep this night - even though six hours seems like more than enough - as well as sleeping on a hardwood floor the night before, or if it was from having been weak from the cleanse/diet. I usually wake up and have a Death Drink right when I wake up. Unfortunately, I would not be so lucky this particular morning.
I sat down and waited. And waited. And waited. Well before anything happened, I started to feel a familiar pain. A pain that had originally appeared in Day Two and Day Three: a pain in the lower abdomen. While the feeling itself was familiar, the intensity went from a three to an eight. I felt like I had been given a strong kick in the nether regions, and a pause button was added to this feeling. For those of you unfamiliar (girls, if you've even decide to tread this deep), while a male getting hit there lightly can be very painful, the feeling usually subsides after a few minutes. It's some of the LONGEST minutes ever, but it usually doesn't last terribly long. And it also doesn't get increasingly worse over time.
MY pain was getting INCREASINGLY worse over time. I was not doing anything to perpetuate this pain either; neither pushing nor making any effort other than sitting. I was genuinely worried that I was going to pass out from the combination of pain and wooziness. Not exactly the way I would like to be found unconscious. I tried to breathe heavy, hoping that some oxygen would bring some relief. No luck.
During this period, I wondered if this pain would have been less severe had I taken multiple sets of laxatives throughout the cleanse rather than waiting until Day Eight to do this the first time. I had had bowel movements before this, so I wasn't sure why this was as painful as it was. Another person who did this cleanse didn't seem to have the same trouble with the laxatives as I was having. Either way, I was glad that I did not risk taking laxatives any other day before this. This is not something I could have dealt with at work or in social gatherings. Today was the only day that I really had the opportunity to experiment with the laxatives as part of the cleanse. It will also be the last.
Eventually, after way too long, it happened. The pain eased. Not a significant deposit, but a thankful one. I stood up, cleaned up, and was ready to go back to sleep. I was so glad that this was finally over. I knew that I might have to do this a few times within the next few hours, but at least the first one was done.
Or was it.
I was just about done when there was a rumbly in the tumbly. Sat down again. Another ten to fifteen minutes given to this damn laxative. Not feeling anymore awake. Ready to be done with this part. Got up. Cleaned up. Went back to bed a little after 10am. I lost 45 minutes to the laxatives.
I was awoken at 3pm, encouraged to get up and enjoy the beautiful day. I wish I hadn't woken up this late, but I was scared of waking up for the sake of prolonging the next episode of laxative city. Sure enough, after deciding to make the effort to get up, still weak, woozy, tired, and dehydrated, I found myself in the bathroom. I did not have my phone beside me to track the time (or to call 911 in case I lost this battle), but it was less painful than the previous visit. It was pretty unpleasant though, as my body could not decide when it was finished. Sat down. Waited. Deposited. Stood up. Cleaned. Tried to pee. Struggled. Failed. Rumbly Tumbly. Sat down. Waited. Deposited. Stood up. Cleaned (this part starting to get painful now). Tried to pee. Struggled. Failed. More rumbling. AGAIN!? Sat down. Deposited. Stood up. Carefully cleaned. Tried to pee. Struggled. Success! Made my way out of the bathroom. Free at last, free at last!
END OF THE LAXATIVE SECTION!
For those of you who did not read, I have decided that (for reasons you would understand if you read the section above) the laxatives are easily the worst part of this diet. Moving on...
Still feeling lucky to be alive (sort of joking, sort of not), I decided to quickly grab the scale and weigh myself before pounding down some water and a Death Drink.
175 pounds. After having clocked in at 180 pounds the night before, this was a relief. I was, however, a bit disappointed that this was only two pounds less than my weigh-in two days earlier. I have been told that it is best to get weighed in the morning. I'm not sure if this really means "morning" or "when one first wakes up and before one does anything to change one's weight". If it really was important for me to get weighed in the morning then I had missed that boat by over three hours. Regardless, the fact that I had just used the bathroom twice before going on the scale could have had an impact on the scale's reading. Perhaps I weighed lighter than I should from the help of my - ahem - deposits. Or perhaps I weighed heavier than I should from the reaction of my body and its muscles or stress from the act of making said deposits (Something I have heard from an outside source. I'm starting to wonder about readers' validity of my sources. Hmm...). After this reading, I decided that I should just weigh myself everyday from here on out. Two days of the full-on cleanse would follow, as well as adding on new parts of my diet with each new day.
Using my powers of math, I realized that - to fulfill my previous pace of losing 3.5 pounds every two days - I should weigh 172 pounds tomorrow. That seems rather unlikely since this would require me to lose three pounds in under 24 hours. On the other hand, it would seem unlikely for me to lose nine pounds in five days to begin with. Even if I wanted to make the effort to work out and burn off some calories, I imagine that I would pass out before I got the chance. While I used my lack of caloric intake as an excuse to not work out for previous days, I felt like this was especially true for today.
Despite the loss of energy, I decided to make my way to church. While in church, I decided that I would be better off with the way I ate after this diet came to a close. When I say this, I don't mean that I made a promise to myself or that I would make a strong effort to never get above a certain weight. The idea, obviously, is to keep the weight off and live a better, healthier lifestyle. What I mean is that I really didn't feel that I needed to eat the same way I did before the diet. Granted, I would eventually want that juicy bacon cheeseburger with the onion rings on the side on a good day. But, overall, I don't need to eat a lot or overindulge. The example I sat on in church was cereal before work. Diet or not, I know for a fact that I need to eat something before work to get myself through the day. But what I DON'T need is to have a big bowl of Life/Raisin Nut Bran/Cheerios cereal with milk, as well as a cup of green tea on the side. I don't think this cereal spread is terribly unhealthy in comparison to, say, pancakes or toast, but I don't think I would miss cereal in exchange for a healthier meal.
Coming to this thought process - I think - may be a big deal. People who are entertained by the thought of eating significantly less for the rest of their lives just for the sake of being "healthy" are terrified by not eating the things in which they are accustomed to. But it isn't the idea of keeping myself from having the things I want as much as simply not having the desire to eat them. Milk, for one, has never been a big necessity in my life, so maybe it's just too easy to knock that off my list, but it's a good start.
I spent the rest of the day hanging out on the computer, playing video games, and having a somewhat passionate conversation as to why I fell out of love with watching sports (something that may be a new topic once this series of posts has come to an end). Facing about two to five days left of my diet, part of me knows that I could do this much longer if I needed to (or if it was even healthy to do so) and I would not be against doing this again for smaller periods of time. If I feel that I need to do this again full-scale within the next few months, I could definitely make it happen. Especially if I don't have delicious home-cooked meals staring me in the face/mouth/stomach.
STATS:
Weight: 175 (June 10th - Day Eight)
Next Weigh-In: Tomorrow Morning (I will not post this anymore as I will weigh-in every day after this.)
Death Drinks: 34
Water Glasses: 19
GOOD! LORD!
Woke up at around 9:15am, only to come to the conclusion that I was feeling some pains and needed to go to the bathroom.
I am going to make a disclaimer here. In the same style as I have been writing the posts within "This Crazy Cleanse Diet", I have been fairly good at writing in a conservative manner so that all audiences could read. While I am trying to maintain that for this group of posts specifically, it may be difficult for me to maintain that as this part could be considered a bit graphic. I feel that this part is important to post for those who are considering this diet, regardless of how gross it may read. If you want to stay away from the gross stuff, it might be best to either tread lightly or skip past...
LAXATIVES! AHHHHHHH!!!
Reluctantly carried myself into the bathroom, trying to prepare for what war I might face. In taking the throne, I found myself a bit woozy. I wasn't sure if this was happening because of a possible lack of sleep this night - even though six hours seems like more than enough - as well as sleeping on a hardwood floor the night before, or if it was from having been weak from the cleanse/diet. I usually wake up and have a Death Drink right when I wake up. Unfortunately, I would not be so lucky this particular morning.
I sat down and waited. And waited. And waited. Well before anything happened, I started to feel a familiar pain. A pain that had originally appeared in Day Two and Day Three: a pain in the lower abdomen. While the feeling itself was familiar, the intensity went from a three to an eight. I felt like I had been given a strong kick in the nether regions, and a pause button was added to this feeling. For those of you unfamiliar (girls, if you've even decide to tread this deep), while a male getting hit there lightly can be very painful, the feeling usually subsides after a few minutes. It's some of the LONGEST minutes ever, but it usually doesn't last terribly long. And it also doesn't get increasingly worse over time.
MY pain was getting INCREASINGLY worse over time. I was not doing anything to perpetuate this pain either; neither pushing nor making any effort other than sitting. I was genuinely worried that I was going to pass out from the combination of pain and wooziness. Not exactly the way I would like to be found unconscious. I tried to breathe heavy, hoping that some oxygen would bring some relief. No luck.
During this period, I wondered if this pain would have been less severe had I taken multiple sets of laxatives throughout the cleanse rather than waiting until Day Eight to do this the first time. I had had bowel movements before this, so I wasn't sure why this was as painful as it was. Another person who did this cleanse didn't seem to have the same trouble with the laxatives as I was having. Either way, I was glad that I did not risk taking laxatives any other day before this. This is not something I could have dealt with at work or in social gatherings. Today was the only day that I really had the opportunity to experiment with the laxatives as part of the cleanse. It will also be the last.
Eventually, after way too long, it happened. The pain eased. Not a significant deposit, but a thankful one. I stood up, cleaned up, and was ready to go back to sleep. I was so glad that this was finally over. I knew that I might have to do this a few times within the next few hours, but at least the first one was done.
Or was it.
I was just about done when there was a rumbly in the tumbly. Sat down again. Another ten to fifteen minutes given to this damn laxative. Not feeling anymore awake. Ready to be done with this part. Got up. Cleaned up. Went back to bed a little after 10am. I lost 45 minutes to the laxatives.
I was awoken at 3pm, encouraged to get up and enjoy the beautiful day. I wish I hadn't woken up this late, but I was scared of waking up for the sake of prolonging the next episode of laxative city. Sure enough, after deciding to make the effort to get up, still weak, woozy, tired, and dehydrated, I found myself in the bathroom. I did not have my phone beside me to track the time (or to call 911 in case I lost this battle), but it was less painful than the previous visit. It was pretty unpleasant though, as my body could not decide when it was finished. Sat down. Waited. Deposited. Stood up. Cleaned. Tried to pee. Struggled. Failed. Rumbly Tumbly. Sat down. Waited. Deposited. Stood up. Cleaned (this part starting to get painful now). Tried to pee. Struggled. Failed. More rumbling. AGAIN!? Sat down. Deposited. Stood up. Carefully cleaned. Tried to pee. Struggled. Success! Made my way out of the bathroom. Free at last, free at last!
END OF THE LAXATIVE SECTION!
For those of you who did not read, I have decided that (for reasons you would understand if you read the section above) the laxatives are easily the worst part of this diet. Moving on...
Still feeling lucky to be alive (sort of joking, sort of not), I decided to quickly grab the scale and weigh myself before pounding down some water and a Death Drink.
175 pounds. After having clocked in at 180 pounds the night before, this was a relief. I was, however, a bit disappointed that this was only two pounds less than my weigh-in two days earlier. I have been told that it is best to get weighed in the morning. I'm not sure if this really means "morning" or "when one first wakes up and before one does anything to change one's weight". If it really was important for me to get weighed in the morning then I had missed that boat by over three hours. Regardless, the fact that I had just used the bathroom twice before going on the scale could have had an impact on the scale's reading. Perhaps I weighed lighter than I should from the help of my - ahem - deposits. Or perhaps I weighed heavier than I should from the reaction of my body and its muscles or stress from the act of making said deposits (Something I have heard from an outside source. I'm starting to wonder about readers' validity of my sources. Hmm...). After this reading, I decided that I should just weigh myself everyday from here on out. Two days of the full-on cleanse would follow, as well as adding on new parts of my diet with each new day.
Using my powers of math, I realized that - to fulfill my previous pace of losing 3.5 pounds every two days - I should weigh 172 pounds tomorrow. That seems rather unlikely since this would require me to lose three pounds in under 24 hours. On the other hand, it would seem unlikely for me to lose nine pounds in five days to begin with. Even if I wanted to make the effort to work out and burn off some calories, I imagine that I would pass out before I got the chance. While I used my lack of caloric intake as an excuse to not work out for previous days, I felt like this was especially true for today.
Despite the loss of energy, I decided to make my way to church. While in church, I decided that I would be better off with the way I ate after this diet came to a close. When I say this, I don't mean that I made a promise to myself or that I would make a strong effort to never get above a certain weight. The idea, obviously, is to keep the weight off and live a better, healthier lifestyle. What I mean is that I really didn't feel that I needed to eat the same way I did before the diet. Granted, I would eventually want that juicy bacon cheeseburger with the onion rings on the side on a good day. But, overall, I don't need to eat a lot or overindulge. The example I sat on in church was cereal before work. Diet or not, I know for a fact that I need to eat something before work to get myself through the day. But what I DON'T need is to have a big bowl of Life/Raisin Nut Bran/Cheerios cereal with milk, as well as a cup of green tea on the side. I don't think this cereal spread is terribly unhealthy in comparison to, say, pancakes or toast, but I don't think I would miss cereal in exchange for a healthier meal.
Coming to this thought process - I think - may be a big deal. People who are entertained by the thought of eating significantly less for the rest of their lives just for the sake of being "healthy" are terrified by not eating the things in which they are accustomed to. But it isn't the idea of keeping myself from having the things I want as much as simply not having the desire to eat them. Milk, for one, has never been a big necessity in my life, so maybe it's just too easy to knock that off my list, but it's a good start.
I spent the rest of the day hanging out on the computer, playing video games, and having a somewhat passionate conversation as to why I fell out of love with watching sports (something that may be a new topic once this series of posts has come to an end). Facing about two to five days left of my diet, part of me knows that I could do this much longer if I needed to (or if it was even healthy to do so) and I would not be against doing this again for smaller periods of time. If I feel that I need to do this again full-scale within the next few months, I could definitely make it happen. Especially if I don't have delicious home-cooked meals staring me in the face/mouth/stomach.
STATS:
Weight: 175 (June 10th - Day Eight)
Next Weigh-In: Tomorrow Morning (I will not post this anymore as I will weigh-in every day after this.)
Death Drinks: 34
Water Glasses: 19
This Crazy Cleanse Diet - Day Seven
DAY SEVEN - JUNE 9TH
Woke up from my reunion/sleepover today. Since I was obviously not home there was no weigh-in for me today. My first container of Death Drink had depleted the night before and I had left the second one at a friend's in Nassau county, the location of my friend who I had picked up on the way to the reunion and who was celebrating his birthday on the beach today. This friend wanted us to leave Westchester by 11am so we could get to his place, make a purchase, change, and be at the beach by 1pm. This didn't seem too unrealistic since we had woken up at 9:45am.
After having woken up, everyone was hungry. We got ourselves together while trying to figure out what/where to eat. IHOP was the first choice, but I pointed out the fact that it would take forever for us to get a table on a Saturday afternoon and my friend and I had to depart by 11am. I also wasn't particularly looking forward to watching everyone eat IHOP while I had to survive on water until I got to Long Island. If this is what would end up happening, I obviously would deal with it, but the time constraints vs. restaurant population was a real concern, and I wasn't the only one who was hungry. In the end, the group decided for IHOP around 10:45, so my traveling buddy and myself went our separate way to Long Island.
Fast-forwarding a few hours later, we stopped over at my Nassau buddy's house, grabbed a water refill and the Death Drink container and made our way to the beach. Despite the questionable weather (slight drops and some clouds), the sun came out for a bit and we had a solid four hours enjoying the beach. (During this time, I had an epiphany (all too late) that I should have named this series "The Hunger Games". I suppose the topic would be rather misleading for those who found this blog expecting the book or movie and found this.) I had not made a trip to the beach in this way in roughly two years (despite living on an island), so it was refreshing. When some of my buddy's friends came, they brought with them Kan Jam (a game revolved around Ultimate Frisbee) and a football.
While playing either game, I found that there were two or three times where I felt either fatigued or had the wind knocked out of me. Kan Jam is not a very physically demanding game, and we didn't actually play a game with the football. This told me that my being fatigued must have been a result of my diet. Within the past few weeks I had either played Wiffleball (which required more energy than either of these activities) and had spent some time on my stationary bike at home for hours, so I knew it wasn't on account of me being out of shape.
Upon returning from the beach, I was exhausted and passed out on my friend's bed before we made a trip to the bar. During my nap, my friends drank and some new people joined the crowd. When I got up and was asked a few questions about the diet, one of the new people asked why I was on this cleanse when I already seemed "skinny". Even though I wouldn't necessarily agree with this statement, I was appreciative and a bit taken back by the comment. I had some friends at the reunion the night before who said they could see a difference, but it was also nice to know that someone who I had never met before would say feed me a compliment when she was in no position to do so.
I played designated driver to the group, stayed at the bar for a few hours, and then made my way home. I relayed a bit of the events to my parents. A suggestion was made for me to get on the scale, even though it wouldn't be as accurate of a reading as my weigh-in the following morning would be. Taking the readings lightly, I decided to get on the scale. 180 pounds. While I am trying to take this with a grain of salt, it is a bit disappointing to know that I left at 177 pounds roughly 40 hours earlier. I have been consistently weighing myself in the morning, so I have decided to try and ignore this measurement until it is confirmed or denied tomorrow morning.
Before I end this post, it was suggested that I take a laxative before I go to bed. It IS part of the cleanse and I haven't taken any until this point and it IS Day Seven already. So, after a bit of encouragement and forewarning, I took the laxatives at around 2am. We'll see what this brings for tomorrow...
STATS:
Weight: 179 lbs. (From June 8th, Day Six).
Next Weigh-In: Tomorrow Morning.
Death Drinks: 30
Water Glasses: 17
Woke up from my reunion/sleepover today. Since I was obviously not home there was no weigh-in for me today. My first container of Death Drink had depleted the night before and I had left the second one at a friend's in Nassau county, the location of my friend who I had picked up on the way to the reunion and who was celebrating his birthday on the beach today. This friend wanted us to leave Westchester by 11am so we could get to his place, make a purchase, change, and be at the beach by 1pm. This didn't seem too unrealistic since we had woken up at 9:45am.
After having woken up, everyone was hungry. We got ourselves together while trying to figure out what/where to eat. IHOP was the first choice, but I pointed out the fact that it would take forever for us to get a table on a Saturday afternoon and my friend and I had to depart by 11am. I also wasn't particularly looking forward to watching everyone eat IHOP while I had to survive on water until I got to Long Island. If this is what would end up happening, I obviously would deal with it, but the time constraints vs. restaurant population was a real concern, and I wasn't the only one who was hungry. In the end, the group decided for IHOP around 10:45, so my traveling buddy and myself went our separate way to Long Island.
Fast-forwarding a few hours later, we stopped over at my Nassau buddy's house, grabbed a water refill and the Death Drink container and made our way to the beach. Despite the questionable weather (slight drops and some clouds), the sun came out for a bit and we had a solid four hours enjoying the beach. (During this time, I had an epiphany (all too late) that I should have named this series "The Hunger Games". I suppose the topic would be rather misleading for those who found this blog expecting the book or movie and found this.) I had not made a trip to the beach in this way in roughly two years (despite living on an island), so it was refreshing. When some of my buddy's friends came, they brought with them Kan Jam (a game revolved around Ultimate Frisbee) and a football.
While playing either game, I found that there were two or three times where I felt either fatigued or had the wind knocked out of me. Kan Jam is not a very physically demanding game, and we didn't actually play a game with the football. This told me that my being fatigued must have been a result of my diet. Within the past few weeks I had either played Wiffleball (which required more energy than either of these activities) and had spent some time on my stationary bike at home for hours, so I knew it wasn't on account of me being out of shape.
Upon returning from the beach, I was exhausted and passed out on my friend's bed before we made a trip to the bar. During my nap, my friends drank and some new people joined the crowd. When I got up and was asked a few questions about the diet, one of the new people asked why I was on this cleanse when I already seemed "skinny". Even though I wouldn't necessarily agree with this statement, I was appreciative and a bit taken back by the comment. I had some friends at the reunion the night before who said they could see a difference, but it was also nice to know that someone who I had never met before would say feed me a compliment when she was in no position to do so.
I played designated driver to the group, stayed at the bar for a few hours, and then made my way home. I relayed a bit of the events to my parents. A suggestion was made for me to get on the scale, even though it wouldn't be as accurate of a reading as my weigh-in the following morning would be. Taking the readings lightly, I decided to get on the scale. 180 pounds. While I am trying to take this with a grain of salt, it is a bit disappointing to know that I left at 177 pounds roughly 40 hours earlier. I have been consistently weighing myself in the morning, so I have decided to try and ignore this measurement until it is confirmed or denied tomorrow morning.
Before I end this post, it was suggested that I take a laxative before I go to bed. It IS part of the cleanse and I haven't taken any until this point and it IS Day Seven already. So, after a bit of encouragement and forewarning, I took the laxatives at around 2am. We'll see what this brings for tomorrow...
STATS:
Weight: 179 lbs. (From June 8th, Day Six).
Next Weigh-In: Tomorrow Morning.
Death Drinks: 30
Water Glasses: 17
This Crazy Cleanse Diet - Day Six
DAY SIX - JUNE 8TH
Being that I was invited to a reunion of sorts with my friends and would be staying the night, I knew that I would not be able to write my blog or weigh myself on the same scale that I had been using thus far on Day Seven, so I weighed myself this particular morning before making the travel to attend the reunion.
177 Pounds. Seemed to be continuing the pace as expected. But having lost roughly nine pounds in five days was a pretty good feeling. A good enough feeling to know that I would be sharing the details of my diet with friends while watching them eat tacos, nachos, cake, and other food as well as drinking beer, margaritas, and sangria.
After having packed two 59oz. containers filled with the Death Drink for my two-day expedition, I picked up my friend and took my talents to Westchester County for the night. I visited a friend who decided to try a sip of the Death Drink and did not mind it and even had a second sample. He would comment that he did enjoy spicy foods, which I use as an explanation as why anyone can enjoy this drink without a problem.
In going to visit friends, I would eventually explain my diet to most of the people in attendance (excluding the few who had already read my blog), usually explaining this to no more than two people at a shot in a crowd of about 15. Through appetizers, snacks, dinner, dessert, and the drinking, the jokes of: "Hey, do you want some of this- oh, wait, you can't" never seemed to stop and never seemed to get old. Luckily, they didn't get old for me either. I am fortunate enough to have friends not only with a sense of humor and care for what I'm doing, but who also happen to be creative enough to make fun of my situation in original and humorous ways. There's a chance that some of these very people are reading this, so - for the record - these last few sentences are not written sarcastically.
One popular response I got when explaining to people my situation was, "Wow. I don't think I could ever do that." And I would imagine that a month ago I would say the same thing. However, after two days of going through the process, it just becomes easier and makes you think differently about how you eat, what your body can handle, and what limitations a person can move past. I also have to realize that, while it is very easy for me to downplay efforts that I make, I also have to realize that most people I come into contact with can't - and probably won't - use the sentence: "I haven't eaten anything since last Saturday and I can't eat a normal meal until next Friday." Despite all the responses I got, I feel like anyone can do this if I can.
I think this was also a good test to have and it came at a good time. I walked into this gathering roughly at the halfway point. Had I been surrounded by delicious smelling food and alcohol on Day Two, it might have been much tougher to deal with. At this stage of the game, people may wonder if there is any temptation on my part. The answer to that is "No". Partaking in this cleanse/diet is certainly not easy. I definitely would love to eat most of the things that I am in the same room with, even if they are not particularly exciting. But not being able to eat has been hardwired into my brain for this period in time. I know that the consequences of me deciding to splurge on a sandwich may make me terribly ill, and I will not let myself get this far without finishing what I started. Nonetheless, there is no part of me that's going: "Well, maybe if I just have ONE chip with a LITTLE cheese on it." The idea is nice, and I think about what it would taste like, but I'm not questioning whether or not I might break. Yes, it's certainly difficult to watch the people around you eat and drink when you cannot, but I do not feel tempted. When you hear that a friend got a new computer - for example - and you know that you yourself really wants a new computer, there is not temptation there if you do not have the funds to get one. Yes, you may be jealous of your friend, but it's not like you can just acquire a new computer without a problem. I suppose the analogy breaks down if you want to say that I went to a reunion where free computers were being handed out and I failed to take one. At the end of the day, I'm trying to explain that there's the desire to actually want to eat, but at no point have I been considering breaking from that.
...Aside from one exception. My friend who planned the party knew of my diet and asked me ahead of time if there is anything that she should pick up that I could indulge in. Aside from water, she mentioned that she would be picking up Italian ices (Marino's brand) and asked if I would be able to have one since they were mainly just fruit-flavored sugar and water. I agreed, as long as the ice that I would be having would be fruit flavored (Cherry or lemon rather than chocolate or vanilla).
Upon my diving into the cherry-flavored ice, I found myself in an interesting conversation with another friend. (By the way, I'm listing everyone as a title rather than by name for their protection. I do not want people who know I have a blog to act differently or censor themselves around me just because I'm writing down my own experiences. If I am given permission and feel the need to provide names in the future, I may do so, but for the purpose of the story, everyone will be listed as "friend".) This gentleman, who I had just explained how I would be weening myself off of the diet once the ten-day period was over (Day 11: Orange Juice; Day 12: Fruits, Veggies, and Vegetable Juice; Day 13: Grains; Day 14: Back to normal), was confused by the idea that I was allowing myself to enjoy a sugary, artificial Italian ice, but I was not allowed to have vegetables on this diet. I made a weak argument, and then stood behind the fact that I really didn't do the research necessary to understand why I was doing this diet and that I'm not a dietician, so I can't really given a good explanation as to why the rules are they way they are. I'm not sure if I have much more to add to my argument, but I think there must be something to the fact that fruits and vegetables are all solids, and perhaps the cleanse needs mostly liquids to work most effectively. The only solids I have been putting into my body have been vitamins and ice (as in ice cubes, not the aforementioned Italian ices). The first day after the first ten-day period only lets me move onto orange juice and no additional solids, so there must be something to that. Also, there are a handful of calories that I am absorbing through the pure maple syrup. So - to me - the fruit-flavored ice could be compared to the fruit-flavored drink I was having (solid and artificial cherry instead of liquid and natural lemon), and the sugar within the ice could be compared to the pure maple syrup. Obviously this was still a dessert and came with some unnecessary carbs and whatnot, but in comparison to what had been put before me in the previous days, I felt like this wasn't the end of the world. And hopefully this whole paragraph doesn't negate my whole "there's no temptation" paragraph earlier.
After I ate my cherry ice, I repeatedly joked that I was going to vomit from the one ice (similar to Adam in Workaholics: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ML_yKt_SzvI). However, I must admit that I was a bit concerned that I would get sick and kept this in the back of my mind for the rest of the night.
As a side-note, there was also something different and interesting about being at a party where I was not allowed to drink. Unless I have to drive somewhere, I usually decide to have a drink or two whenever I'm at a social gathering. This had been the second time in about a month where I had spent a good amount of time with the people around me without having had a drink in a party setting. I think everyone who rarely finds themselves in this situation should take a chance to step back and not drink when they have the opportunity to do so. Taking a chance to enjoy yourself and interact with people without letting alcohol have an influence on you - something that most people don't experience past the age of 18 - could be an interesting learning experience. Seeing how you react without outside forces having an influence or maybe taking into consideration how people may act when they are drunk and taking the chance to step outside of that for once may do some good.
As a last note, I drank most (if not all) of the first 59oz container of the Death Drink, as well as probably five cups of water to help myself get through the night. I also had 3-6 people take a sip of the drink themselves. As noted earlier, the people with the least trouble with it seemed to be the ones who enjoyed spicy drinks the most. At the end of the night, which ended at roughly 4am, I had successfully avoided nine hours of food and alcohol even though it all smelled and looked amazing. I hope that my appreciation of food will heighten once Friday comes.
STATS:
Weight: (About) 177 lbs.
Next Weigh-In: Day Eight - June 10th
Death Drinks: 25
Water Glasses: 13
Being that I was invited to a reunion of sorts with my friends and would be staying the night, I knew that I would not be able to write my blog or weigh myself on the same scale that I had been using thus far on Day Seven, so I weighed myself this particular morning before making the travel to attend the reunion.
177 Pounds. Seemed to be continuing the pace as expected. But having lost roughly nine pounds in five days was a pretty good feeling. A good enough feeling to know that I would be sharing the details of my diet with friends while watching them eat tacos, nachos, cake, and other food as well as drinking beer, margaritas, and sangria.
After having packed two 59oz. containers filled with the Death Drink for my two-day expedition, I picked up my friend and took my talents to Westchester County for the night. I visited a friend who decided to try a sip of the Death Drink and did not mind it and even had a second sample. He would comment that he did enjoy spicy foods, which I use as an explanation as why anyone can enjoy this drink without a problem.
In going to visit friends, I would eventually explain my diet to most of the people in attendance (excluding the few who had already read my blog), usually explaining this to no more than two people at a shot in a crowd of about 15. Through appetizers, snacks, dinner, dessert, and the drinking, the jokes of: "Hey, do you want some of this- oh, wait, you can't" never seemed to stop and never seemed to get old. Luckily, they didn't get old for me either. I am fortunate enough to have friends not only with a sense of humor and care for what I'm doing, but who also happen to be creative enough to make fun of my situation in original and humorous ways. There's a chance that some of these very people are reading this, so - for the record - these last few sentences are not written sarcastically.
One popular response I got when explaining to people my situation was, "Wow. I don't think I could ever do that." And I would imagine that a month ago I would say the same thing. However, after two days of going through the process, it just becomes easier and makes you think differently about how you eat, what your body can handle, and what limitations a person can move past. I also have to realize that, while it is very easy for me to downplay efforts that I make, I also have to realize that most people I come into contact with can't - and probably won't - use the sentence: "I haven't eaten anything since last Saturday and I can't eat a normal meal until next Friday." Despite all the responses I got, I feel like anyone can do this if I can.
I think this was also a good test to have and it came at a good time. I walked into this gathering roughly at the halfway point. Had I been surrounded by delicious smelling food and alcohol on Day Two, it might have been much tougher to deal with. At this stage of the game, people may wonder if there is any temptation on my part. The answer to that is "No". Partaking in this cleanse/diet is certainly not easy. I definitely would love to eat most of the things that I am in the same room with, even if they are not particularly exciting. But not being able to eat has been hardwired into my brain for this period in time. I know that the consequences of me deciding to splurge on a sandwich may make me terribly ill, and I will not let myself get this far without finishing what I started. Nonetheless, there is no part of me that's going: "Well, maybe if I just have ONE chip with a LITTLE cheese on it." The idea is nice, and I think about what it would taste like, but I'm not questioning whether or not I might break. Yes, it's certainly difficult to watch the people around you eat and drink when you cannot, but I do not feel tempted. When you hear that a friend got a new computer - for example - and you know that you yourself really wants a new computer, there is not temptation there if you do not have the funds to get one. Yes, you may be jealous of your friend, but it's not like you can just acquire a new computer without a problem. I suppose the analogy breaks down if you want to say that I went to a reunion where free computers were being handed out and I failed to take one. At the end of the day, I'm trying to explain that there's the desire to actually want to eat, but at no point have I been considering breaking from that.
...Aside from one exception. My friend who planned the party knew of my diet and asked me ahead of time if there is anything that she should pick up that I could indulge in. Aside from water, she mentioned that she would be picking up Italian ices (Marino's brand) and asked if I would be able to have one since they were mainly just fruit-flavored sugar and water. I agreed, as long as the ice that I would be having would be fruit flavored (Cherry or lemon rather than chocolate or vanilla).
Upon my diving into the cherry-flavored ice, I found myself in an interesting conversation with another friend. (By the way, I'm listing everyone as a title rather than by name for their protection. I do not want people who know I have a blog to act differently or censor themselves around me just because I'm writing down my own experiences. If I am given permission and feel the need to provide names in the future, I may do so, but for the purpose of the story, everyone will be listed as "friend".) This gentleman, who I had just explained how I would be weening myself off of the diet once the ten-day period was over (Day 11: Orange Juice; Day 12: Fruits, Veggies, and Vegetable Juice; Day 13: Grains; Day 14: Back to normal), was confused by the idea that I was allowing myself to enjoy a sugary, artificial Italian ice, but I was not allowed to have vegetables on this diet. I made a weak argument, and then stood behind the fact that I really didn't do the research necessary to understand why I was doing this diet and that I'm not a dietician, so I can't really given a good explanation as to why the rules are they way they are. I'm not sure if I have much more to add to my argument, but I think there must be something to the fact that fruits and vegetables are all solids, and perhaps the cleanse needs mostly liquids to work most effectively. The only solids I have been putting into my body have been vitamins and ice (as in ice cubes, not the aforementioned Italian ices). The first day after the first ten-day period only lets me move onto orange juice and no additional solids, so there must be something to that. Also, there are a handful of calories that I am absorbing through the pure maple syrup. So - to me - the fruit-flavored ice could be compared to the fruit-flavored drink I was having (solid and artificial cherry instead of liquid and natural lemon), and the sugar within the ice could be compared to the pure maple syrup. Obviously this was still a dessert and came with some unnecessary carbs and whatnot, but in comparison to what had been put before me in the previous days, I felt like this wasn't the end of the world. And hopefully this whole paragraph doesn't negate my whole "there's no temptation" paragraph earlier.
After I ate my cherry ice, I repeatedly joked that I was going to vomit from the one ice (similar to Adam in Workaholics: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ML_yKt_SzvI). However, I must admit that I was a bit concerned that I would get sick and kept this in the back of my mind for the rest of the night.
As a side-note, there was also something different and interesting about being at a party where I was not allowed to drink. Unless I have to drive somewhere, I usually decide to have a drink or two whenever I'm at a social gathering. This had been the second time in about a month where I had spent a good amount of time with the people around me without having had a drink in a party setting. I think everyone who rarely finds themselves in this situation should take a chance to step back and not drink when they have the opportunity to do so. Taking a chance to enjoy yourself and interact with people without letting alcohol have an influence on you - something that most people don't experience past the age of 18 - could be an interesting learning experience. Seeing how you react without outside forces having an influence or maybe taking into consideration how people may act when they are drunk and taking the chance to step outside of that for once may do some good.
As a last note, I drank most (if not all) of the first 59oz container of the Death Drink, as well as probably five cups of water to help myself get through the night. I also had 3-6 people take a sip of the drink themselves. As noted earlier, the people with the least trouble with it seemed to be the ones who enjoyed spicy drinks the most. At the end of the night, which ended at roughly 4am, I had successfully avoided nine hours of food and alcohol even though it all smelled and looked amazing. I hope that my appreciation of food will heighten once Friday comes.
STATS:
Weight: (About) 177 lbs.
Next Weigh-In: Day Eight - June 10th
Death Drinks: 25
Water Glasses: 13
Friday, June 8, 2012
This Crazy Cleanse Diet - Day Five
DAY FIVE - JUNE 7TH:
Before I fell asleep last night, I decided I should not jump to conclusions about what my weight would be the following morning. It would just be a few hours before I would find out if those initial three pounds in 40 hours was my body reacting to what I had gone through in a radical way, or if that pace was going to be consistent throughout my cleanse and perhaps prove to be ever so promising. The beginning of Day Three told me I had lost three pounds, bringing me from 186 pounds to 183. If this trend were to continue, I would be at 180, but I told myself, "It's okay if it's at 182. Don't set any expectations. Anything can happen and just be patient." I went to sleep and woke up roughly 88 hours into this cleanse/diet. I got myself on that scale, ready for anything...
179 FREAKING POUNDS! WHAAAATTTT!?!?
Three pounds in 40 hours and four pounds in 48 hours? What the living $#!!#-Ampersand-*)($^@($_*#!!!!!? That's awesome! I don't think I've been that low in five years! And in checking my weight, the little arrow thingy quivered between 180 and 178, so there's a chance I was actually at 178 pounds!
I worked again today with no problem. A lower abdomen issue for a few moments, but nothing serious or worth giving power to. Relied on my gum and water again.
After crunching some numbers, in realizing that I had lost seven pounds in four days, I came to the conclusion that on average (hopefully) I will be losing 3.5 pounds every two days. So in ten days, I should lose 17.5 pounds. I will still have another two days where I can eat things beyond the water and Death Drinks, but nothing more than fruits and veggies. This means that I should be losing roughly 21 pounds. I will also factor in gaining four pounds after I go back to a more normal diet just from my body adjusting to regular food. So, give or take, I should lose 17 pounds overall, bringing me to 169 pounds when this is over with. I feel like that's quite an expectation to have, but we'll see what happens.
In starting this diet, one worry of mine was that I would get addicted to the idea of rapidly losing weight. I know at least one person who liked watching herself lose weight and eventually found herself stuck having an eating disorder, which has been quite the devastating affliction for her (I am summing this up horribly and probably insensitively, but this is what it has been in a nutshell). With that said, never having been able to lose weight at such a pace, I wondered if I would get stuck in the same predicament. While I could certainly see myself not being satisfied with my weight loss by the time this is over, I don't think I will see any sort of "addiction" to weight loss coming of it.
On the flip side, I am looking forward to seeing tremendous advantages from having gone through this experience. Aside from the weight loss (uh-DUH!), I think it teaches a good sense of discipline for the body, as well as finding alternatives. If I was hungry and I had food lying around, good chances I would find something to nibble on. After this, I would like to think that I would be more likely to chew gum, drink water, or find a better way to fight off the hunger pains than to just eat it away.
Lastly, I've decided on a new invention that would help all people trying to lose weight that would - without a doubt - be unbelievably successful: Meat flavored gum. An INSTANT craze, I tell ya! "Jonesing for a bacon cheeseburger? Look no further than Cheeseburger flavored gum! BIG cheeseburger flavor for HOURS without the calories! Ketchup not included."
If that gets popular within the next few years, I better be a millionaire. DAMN I could go for a cheeseburger!
STATS:
Weight: 179 (From Day 5, June 7th.)
Next Weigh In: Tomorrow Morning (Won't be near a scale for Day 7)
Death Drinks: 20
Water Glasses: 8
Before I fell asleep last night, I decided I should not jump to conclusions about what my weight would be the following morning. It would just be a few hours before I would find out if those initial three pounds in 40 hours was my body reacting to what I had gone through in a radical way, or if that pace was going to be consistent throughout my cleanse and perhaps prove to be ever so promising. The beginning of Day Three told me I had lost three pounds, bringing me from 186 pounds to 183. If this trend were to continue, I would be at 180, but I told myself, "It's okay if it's at 182. Don't set any expectations. Anything can happen and just be patient." I went to sleep and woke up roughly 88 hours into this cleanse/diet. I got myself on that scale, ready for anything...
179 FREAKING POUNDS! WHAAAATTTT!?!?
Three pounds in 40 hours and four pounds in 48 hours? What the living $#!!#-Ampersand-*)($^@($_*#!!!!!? That's awesome! I don't think I've been that low in five years! And in checking my weight, the little arrow thingy quivered between 180 and 178, so there's a chance I was actually at 178 pounds!
I worked again today with no problem. A lower abdomen issue for a few moments, but nothing serious or worth giving power to. Relied on my gum and water again.
After crunching some numbers, in realizing that I had lost seven pounds in four days, I came to the conclusion that on average (hopefully) I will be losing 3.5 pounds every two days. So in ten days, I should lose 17.5 pounds. I will still have another two days where I can eat things beyond the water and Death Drinks, but nothing more than fruits and veggies. This means that I should be losing roughly 21 pounds. I will also factor in gaining four pounds after I go back to a more normal diet just from my body adjusting to regular food. So, give or take, I should lose 17 pounds overall, bringing me to 169 pounds when this is over with. I feel like that's quite an expectation to have, but we'll see what happens.
In starting this diet, one worry of mine was that I would get addicted to the idea of rapidly losing weight. I know at least one person who liked watching herself lose weight and eventually found herself stuck having an eating disorder, which has been quite the devastating affliction for her (I am summing this up horribly and probably insensitively, but this is what it has been in a nutshell). With that said, never having been able to lose weight at such a pace, I wondered if I would get stuck in the same predicament. While I could certainly see myself not being satisfied with my weight loss by the time this is over, I don't think I will see any sort of "addiction" to weight loss coming of it.
On the flip side, I am looking forward to seeing tremendous advantages from having gone through this experience. Aside from the weight loss (uh-DUH!), I think it teaches a good sense of discipline for the body, as well as finding alternatives. If I was hungry and I had food lying around, good chances I would find something to nibble on. After this, I would like to think that I would be more likely to chew gum, drink water, or find a better way to fight off the hunger pains than to just eat it away.
Lastly, I've decided on a new invention that would help all people trying to lose weight that would - without a doubt - be unbelievably successful: Meat flavored gum. An INSTANT craze, I tell ya! "Jonesing for a bacon cheeseburger? Look no further than Cheeseburger flavored gum! BIG cheeseburger flavor for HOURS without the calories! Ketchup not included."
If that gets popular within the next few years, I better be a millionaire. DAMN I could go for a cheeseburger!
STATS:
Weight: 179 (From Day 5, June 7th.)
Next Weigh In: Tomorrow Morning (Won't be near a scale for Day 7)
Death Drinks: 20
Water Glasses: 8
Thursday, June 7, 2012
This Crazy Cleanse Diet - Day Four
DAY FOUR - JUNE 6TH:
As far as mixing work with the diet, today was going to be the biggest challenge since I would be working an eight-hour shift in my department solo, as opposed to the previous two days of working five hours with my supervisor each day. When I got home yesterday, I took my obnoxiously long (five-hour-ish) nap, worried that my sleep schedule would be screwed up. Having to be at work at 7am, I had hoped to get to bed by 10pm. I managed to get to bed right on time. At 1am. This shouldn't be a surprise to people who know me. Luckily, with a strong five-hours of sleep (and a total of ten hours for the whole day), this was good enough to give me a good amount of energy for today's shift. I had my non-consecutive ten hours of sleep, a Death Drink before I got to work, and started with the single piece of gum early on. Sleep was a good choice.
Also, before falling asleep last night, I had experienced a bit of a battle in the stomach. Something along the lines of heartburn, which would make sense being that I was consuming lemons (high in acid) and cayenne pepper (high in spicy) and little else for three days. This, however, did not give me too much trouble in trying to go to sleep.
Whilst at work, I did not experience any lower abdomen pain as I had been in the past few days. I also dealt with my hunger better than expected. I came to work prepared with two water bottles and one Death Drink and the gum as a back-up. A few years ago, when I was strapped for time or money, I would often get hungry doing what I was doing (which might have been sitting around and not having money) and just waited for the hunger pains to subside. The pain would go away, and then come back a little bit later. Within 30-60 minutes, the hunger would be replaced by a headache. After doing this to myself enough times, my body learned that I was not listening and - if I wasn't paying attention to the first set of hunger pains - would jump right to the headache. Having said all of that, aside from a five-minute headache - which was not similar to the ones I'm used to having - I was able to ignore my tummy and not get the loveable headache. Needless to say (which I'm going to say anyway), I was able to get through the workday much more successfully than the previous days on this diet.
It is getting easier to deal with, the whole not eating thing. I do still very much want to eat what I see, but it's not as much wanting to eat everything as much as just wanting SOMETHING that I can't have. It's more about the mind than it is about the stomach at this point.
In other news, a friend of mine was generous enough to read my entire blog. After deciding that I was crazy (I'm sure most people agree), he privately sent me this link: <http://www.livestrong.com/article/84261-cons-master-cleanse-diet>. If you choose not to follow it, the title is: "Cons of the Master Cleanse Diet". I am fortunate enough to have a friend who cares enough about me to read this new change in my life and then show concern by crapping all over it (just kidding budday). I'm actually glad that he brought this to my attention because, aside from sharing my experiences, the point of blogging about this is to explain to people what the cleanse is like, especially if they want to give it a shot themselves. I shouldn't be neglecting the potentially dangerous parts or the downsides to the diet. Therefore, I am going to cover some of the points that are made and explain my experience in relation to what is provided in the article. There are things that - as a writer - I may disagree with, but I'm going to just stick to the basic points where my plan and this person's suggestions clash.
1. Starvation: In short, the writer states that having a diet that constricts you to 600-1200 calories a day could have devastating effects on the body, including the heart and brain. No details on this are provided further. In growing up, I learned that there are multiple, successful ways to treat something outside of Western medicine. For example, I was told a story of a person who had cancer and refused to take the instructions of her doctor(s?). She lived way longer than the time she was given, to the point where the doctors were asking her for advice. Granted, this point and the others I provide may not give enough evidence or good reason to follow this writer's advice, but my suggestion then is to truly do your research. I'm giving you my personal answers and the writer who does not agree with the diet does not appear to have taken the diet herself.
2. Bowel Irritation: The second part of the cleanse is to partake in a salt water flush, which claims to cause diarrhea, chafing, and dehydration. I myself have yet to use laxatives, despite the fact that that indeed IS part of this cleanse. I am going to see how this diet works as is and see if the laxative part is necessary. If and when I experience this step, I will update and try to reflect back on this article, but I should not make comments about points that I do not personally attempt.
3. "Temporary": The weight loss may only be temporary since a person who steps off of the diet will be inclined to take in enough calories to offset the diet to begin with. This does seem like a really good point, but the cleanse's intention is specifically to change your diet after the cleanse ends. Honestly, I hesitated to take this diet because I didn't see myself making a life-altering change in what I ate after it was over. While I can see how people could become vegetarians or just change their diet after experiencing this, I did not see myself as becoming one of those people. I still like my burgers, bacon, and beer. However, in trying this cleanse, I am realizing how well I can function without the normal calorie intake. Now that my body is reacting to it well without yelling at me, I have to consider the possibility that I just won't have the desire to eat as much. I may see large meals as overwhelming or unnecessary. A separate friend also made a good point that my stomach should be decreasing in size, which will allow smaller quantities of food to fill it up.
4. The last point made is a jab at the creator of the cleanse for having been charged with second-degree murder for having a cancer patient take part in the Master Cleanse, along with other things. My solution is that this should not stress me out since - to the best of my knowledge - I am not currently riddled with cancer. If i had been diagnosed with cancer, I would probably avoid being involved in a diet with such a low-caloric intake. I'd also probably just eat whatever the Hell I wanted at that stage of the game. There are many people out there who have contributed to society in their own ways who might not have been perfect in every facet of their lives, so I think it's a bet unfair to negate the legitimacy of a diet/cleanse based on the actions or intentions of its inventor.
If anyone wants to see the source material from which I based my diet/cleanse on (which I probably should've posted from day one), here it is: <http://themastercleanse.org>. As I have already stated, I am not exactly following it by the book. If I were to try this for a third or fourth trial, I might be more adamant about including the laxatives, but since this is such a drastic change in my life and I need to be alert and prepared at my job, I didn't feel it was necessary to do everything as instructed.
Finally, I was sent this link today from The Office (US). While I certainly appreciate the humor, I can assure you that this has not been my experience: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7ZBGzaU588>.
AND feel free to ask me any questions or comments you may have here in the blog. Thanks for reading!
STATS:
Weight: 183 (From Day 3, June 5th.)
Next Weigh In: Tomorrow Morning
Death Drinks: 16 (5 Today)
Water Glasses: 8
As far as mixing work with the diet, today was going to be the biggest challenge since I would be working an eight-hour shift in my department solo, as opposed to the previous two days of working five hours with my supervisor each day. When I got home yesterday, I took my obnoxiously long (five-hour-ish) nap, worried that my sleep schedule would be screwed up. Having to be at work at 7am, I had hoped to get to bed by 10pm. I managed to get to bed right on time. At 1am. This shouldn't be a surprise to people who know me. Luckily, with a strong five-hours of sleep (and a total of ten hours for the whole day), this was good enough to give me a good amount of energy for today's shift. I had my non-consecutive ten hours of sleep, a Death Drink before I got to work, and started with the single piece of gum early on. Sleep was a good choice.
Also, before falling asleep last night, I had experienced a bit of a battle in the stomach. Something along the lines of heartburn, which would make sense being that I was consuming lemons (high in acid) and cayenne pepper (high in spicy) and little else for three days. This, however, did not give me too much trouble in trying to go to sleep.
Whilst at work, I did not experience any lower abdomen pain as I had been in the past few days. I also dealt with my hunger better than expected. I came to work prepared with two water bottles and one Death Drink and the gum as a back-up. A few years ago, when I was strapped for time or money, I would often get hungry doing what I was doing (which might have been sitting around and not having money) and just waited for the hunger pains to subside. The pain would go away, and then come back a little bit later. Within 30-60 minutes, the hunger would be replaced by a headache. After doing this to myself enough times, my body learned that I was not listening and - if I wasn't paying attention to the first set of hunger pains - would jump right to the headache. Having said all of that, aside from a five-minute headache - which was not similar to the ones I'm used to having - I was able to ignore my tummy and not get the loveable headache. Needless to say (which I'm going to say anyway), I was able to get through the workday much more successfully than the previous days on this diet.
It is getting easier to deal with, the whole not eating thing. I do still very much want to eat what I see, but it's not as much wanting to eat everything as much as just wanting SOMETHING that I can't have. It's more about the mind than it is about the stomach at this point.
In other news, a friend of mine was generous enough to read my entire blog. After deciding that I was crazy (I'm sure most people agree), he privately sent me this link: <http://www.livestrong.com/article/84261-cons-master-cleanse-diet>. If you choose not to follow it, the title is: "Cons of the Master Cleanse Diet". I am fortunate enough to have a friend who cares enough about me to read this new change in my life and then show concern by crapping all over it (just kidding budday). I'm actually glad that he brought this to my attention because, aside from sharing my experiences, the point of blogging about this is to explain to people what the cleanse is like, especially if they want to give it a shot themselves. I shouldn't be neglecting the potentially dangerous parts or the downsides to the diet. Therefore, I am going to cover some of the points that are made and explain my experience in relation to what is provided in the article. There are things that - as a writer - I may disagree with, but I'm going to just stick to the basic points where my plan and this person's suggestions clash.
1. Starvation: In short, the writer states that having a diet that constricts you to 600-1200 calories a day could have devastating effects on the body, including the heart and brain. No details on this are provided further. In growing up, I learned that there are multiple, successful ways to treat something outside of Western medicine. For example, I was told a story of a person who had cancer and refused to take the instructions of her doctor(s?). She lived way longer than the time she was given, to the point where the doctors were asking her for advice. Granted, this point and the others I provide may not give enough evidence or good reason to follow this writer's advice, but my suggestion then is to truly do your research. I'm giving you my personal answers and the writer who does not agree with the diet does not appear to have taken the diet herself.
2. Bowel Irritation: The second part of the cleanse is to partake in a salt water flush, which claims to cause diarrhea, chafing, and dehydration. I myself have yet to use laxatives, despite the fact that that indeed IS part of this cleanse. I am going to see how this diet works as is and see if the laxative part is necessary. If and when I experience this step, I will update and try to reflect back on this article, but I should not make comments about points that I do not personally attempt.
3. "Temporary": The weight loss may only be temporary since a person who steps off of the diet will be inclined to take in enough calories to offset the diet to begin with. This does seem like a really good point, but the cleanse's intention is specifically to change your diet after the cleanse ends. Honestly, I hesitated to take this diet because I didn't see myself making a life-altering change in what I ate after it was over. While I can see how people could become vegetarians or just change their diet after experiencing this, I did not see myself as becoming one of those people. I still like my burgers, bacon, and beer. However, in trying this cleanse, I am realizing how well I can function without the normal calorie intake. Now that my body is reacting to it well without yelling at me, I have to consider the possibility that I just won't have the desire to eat as much. I may see large meals as overwhelming or unnecessary. A separate friend also made a good point that my stomach should be decreasing in size, which will allow smaller quantities of food to fill it up.
4. The last point made is a jab at the creator of the cleanse for having been charged with second-degree murder for having a cancer patient take part in the Master Cleanse, along with other things. My solution is that this should not stress me out since - to the best of my knowledge - I am not currently riddled with cancer. If i had been diagnosed with cancer, I would probably avoid being involved in a diet with such a low-caloric intake. I'd also probably just eat whatever the Hell I wanted at that stage of the game. There are many people out there who have contributed to society in their own ways who might not have been perfect in every facet of their lives, so I think it's a bet unfair to negate the legitimacy of a diet/cleanse based on the actions or intentions of its inventor.
If anyone wants to see the source material from which I based my diet/cleanse on (which I probably should've posted from day one), here it is: <http://themastercleanse.org>. As I have already stated, I am not exactly following it by the book. If I were to try this for a third or fourth trial, I might be more adamant about including the laxatives, but since this is such a drastic change in my life and I need to be alert and prepared at my job, I didn't feel it was necessary to do everything as instructed.
Finally, I was sent this link today from The Office (US). While I certainly appreciate the humor, I can assure you that this has not been my experience: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7ZBGzaU588>.
AND feel free to ask me any questions or comments you may have here in the blog. Thanks for reading!
STATS:
Weight: 183 (From Day 3, June 5th.)
Next Weigh In: Tomorrow Morning
Death Drinks: 16 (5 Today)
Water Glasses: 8
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
This Crazy Cleanse Diet - Day Three
DAY THREE - JUNE 5TH
Woke up with far less sleep than I should have gotten today. I want to make it very clear that this is from my own stupid lack of a sleep cycle and it has no bearing on this diet. The fact that I am a bit less functional because of the decreased caloric or sugar intake can obviously be attributed to the Death Drink, but I would imagine that no other person would have the same difficulty as I am. In other words, most people will get the required amount of sleep necessary for a five-hour work shift. I, apparently, am not as smart.
Before doing anything productive in the means of preparing for work, which includes having another Death Drink, I made myself get on the scale. As a reminder, I first started taking notice of my weight at roughly 2:30pm on Sunday (Day One), which was recorded as 186 lbs. I then weighed myself again shortly before bed time, saw no change, and decided not to weigh myself the following day. So I got on the scale today before work...
183 POUNDS! In about 40 hours, I had lost three pounds! Of course, I wasn't able to physically sense this. Had the master scale told me that I had lost no weight, aside from being upset at the lack of response for my efforts, I would have fully believed this. But instead it told me that I lost three pounds in under two days. WHAT UP! I was so pumped, I went to work for five hours, came home, and took another ridiculously long nap!
Once again, I found myself a bit out of it at times and needing to snap myself back into what was going on at work. After drinking the water that I brought and still feeling exhausted after working for two hours of undemanding work, I took a nap during my break. I must admit, though, to a most heinous crime. As to not let the combo of my diet and sleeping habits affect my productivity, I cheated. Refusing to let my body get the best of my will, I came back from my nap break and made a preemptive strike against my tired body.
I HAD A PIECE OF GUM!
Determined to follow the rules and not have a small cookie, a half sandwich, or a sugary drink, I decided to go with a piece of Wrigley 5 Gum. Just one piece though. Gum has been a huge lifesaver in the past.
Winter of 2009-2010, one of my apartment-mates and I were left in our apartment before our break began. Classes were over for a bit (not sure how long this period was) and we decided to hang out for a day or so before leaving the empty setting as our other two roommates had already left. We ordered some food, watched television, and hung out. For my friend's protection, all I will say is that he got sick and eventually retired into his room in hopes of recovering. It soon became clear to me that my family was expecting me home the following day and it was expected to snow. My friend/apartment-mate lived out of state and didn't seem like he was in a good enough disposition to fully take care of himself. I decided to pack my things, help him get some of his stuff together, and force him to take the drive with me. He had a place he could stay that happened to be on the way to my home. Fighting sickness, weariness, and time, we got ourselves in the car and made the trip. However, as the driver and the most physically stable person in this situation, I had not gotten much sleep the night before in trying to properly prepare myself for the ride home (big surprise). After successfully dropping off my friend to a safe location, having had little sleep and probably nothing to eat that day, I made the rest of the trip home. Snow flakes started falling to the Earth as I just needed to keep my eyes open for about another half hour. Determined to not make anymore stops, and having to stop at lights and operate on the Long Island Expressway, I found a savior in gum. There were a few scary moments when I had been preparing to stop at a light and opened my eyes early enough to make sure that I didn't go through the red traffic light into potentially deadly traffic. After more than one of those instances, I turned to the gum, which kept me awake long enough to get home before the snow became a real threat.
...I think I just wanted an excuse to tell that story and promote the effects of having gum at your car's disposal. ANYWAY...
Yeah, the 5 Gum was a lifesaver and such. One thing that I noticed yesterday that I neglected to admit was the fact that I had a slight pain in my lower abdomen. My LOWER abdomen. I wasn't sure if I had taken a slight kick or if I needed to spend some intimate time in el baño, but it went from a one-day coincidence to a two-day symptom of this cleanse/diet. I should also mention that part of doing this cleanse/diet is that I should be taking laxatives as part of the program, which I have yet to partake in. So, either this slight pain is a response to me not doing this, or I would've felt it even if I did take the laxatives. Regardless, it was forgotten after ten minutes and might've only returned once or twice today before disappearing.
After work, I messed around on the computer for a bit before taking another obnoxiously long nap. I plan to get more than six hours of sleep tonight, so hopefully I can determine if this weariness is a result of the cleanse/diet or if it's all my big fat fault. It should also be noted that, if I wasn't clear in previous blogs, I MUST have allergies. They are not bad by any means, but I am experiencing mucus a bit more than normal. If I had been taking in a lot of dairy then that could clearly be to blame. Unless pure maple syrup is a big exporter of phlegm, I do have allergies, which is important to take note for anyone who is reading this and wants to understand what I'm experiencing and what the reasons may be.
The last thing I will mention today is that I am not struggling by any means. I am a person who loves food. I work in a wholesale club, so just walking from my area to the break room gives me an opportunity to point at 20 different things that I decide I will eat once I am done with this trial period. I get jealous of the smells when I walk into the kitchen and know that other people can have food that I can't. I am getting more hungry than usual (something a long nap helped to put off). However, with all things considered, I am not going crazy. The idea of not going without food for 10-14 days was killing me at day one. While I will be looking forward to the day when I will be able to enjoy infinity more types of food, I am looking forward to the challenge and not really thinking about food unless it is being made in front of me.
STATS:
Weight: 183 (Early, Day 3)
Death Drinks: 11
Water Glasses: 6
Woke up with far less sleep than I should have gotten today. I want to make it very clear that this is from my own stupid lack of a sleep cycle and it has no bearing on this diet. The fact that I am a bit less functional because of the decreased caloric or sugar intake can obviously be attributed to the Death Drink, but I would imagine that no other person would have the same difficulty as I am. In other words, most people will get the required amount of sleep necessary for a five-hour work shift. I, apparently, am not as smart.
Before doing anything productive in the means of preparing for work, which includes having another Death Drink, I made myself get on the scale. As a reminder, I first started taking notice of my weight at roughly 2:30pm on Sunday (Day One), which was recorded as 186 lbs. I then weighed myself again shortly before bed time, saw no change, and decided not to weigh myself the following day. So I got on the scale today before work...
183 POUNDS! In about 40 hours, I had lost three pounds! Of course, I wasn't able to physically sense this. Had the master scale told me that I had lost no weight, aside from being upset at the lack of response for my efforts, I would have fully believed this. But instead it told me that I lost three pounds in under two days. WHAT UP! I was so pumped, I went to work for five hours, came home, and took another ridiculously long nap!
Once again, I found myself a bit out of it at times and needing to snap myself back into what was going on at work. After drinking the water that I brought and still feeling exhausted after working for two hours of undemanding work, I took a nap during my break. I must admit, though, to a most heinous crime. As to not let the combo of my diet and sleeping habits affect my productivity, I cheated. Refusing to let my body get the best of my will, I came back from my nap break and made a preemptive strike against my tired body.
I HAD A PIECE OF GUM!
Determined to follow the rules and not have a small cookie, a half sandwich, or a sugary drink, I decided to go with a piece of Wrigley 5 Gum. Just one piece though. Gum has been a huge lifesaver in the past.
Winter of 2009-2010, one of my apartment-mates and I were left in our apartment before our break began. Classes were over for a bit (not sure how long this period was) and we decided to hang out for a day or so before leaving the empty setting as our other two roommates had already left. We ordered some food, watched television, and hung out. For my friend's protection, all I will say is that he got sick and eventually retired into his room in hopes of recovering. It soon became clear to me that my family was expecting me home the following day and it was expected to snow. My friend/apartment-mate lived out of state and didn't seem like he was in a good enough disposition to fully take care of himself. I decided to pack my things, help him get some of his stuff together, and force him to take the drive with me. He had a place he could stay that happened to be on the way to my home. Fighting sickness, weariness, and time, we got ourselves in the car and made the trip. However, as the driver and the most physically stable person in this situation, I had not gotten much sleep the night before in trying to properly prepare myself for the ride home (big surprise). After successfully dropping off my friend to a safe location, having had little sleep and probably nothing to eat that day, I made the rest of the trip home. Snow flakes started falling to the Earth as I just needed to keep my eyes open for about another half hour. Determined to not make anymore stops, and having to stop at lights and operate on the Long Island Expressway, I found a savior in gum. There were a few scary moments when I had been preparing to stop at a light and opened my eyes early enough to make sure that I didn't go through the red traffic light into potentially deadly traffic. After more than one of those instances, I turned to the gum, which kept me awake long enough to get home before the snow became a real threat.
...I think I just wanted an excuse to tell that story and promote the effects of having gum at your car's disposal. ANYWAY...
Yeah, the 5 Gum was a lifesaver and such. One thing that I noticed yesterday that I neglected to admit was the fact that I had a slight pain in my lower abdomen. My LOWER abdomen. I wasn't sure if I had taken a slight kick or if I needed to spend some intimate time in el baño, but it went from a one-day coincidence to a two-day symptom of this cleanse/diet. I should also mention that part of doing this cleanse/diet is that I should be taking laxatives as part of the program, which I have yet to partake in. So, either this slight pain is a response to me not doing this, or I would've felt it even if I did take the laxatives. Regardless, it was forgotten after ten minutes and might've only returned once or twice today before disappearing.
After work, I messed around on the computer for a bit before taking another obnoxiously long nap. I plan to get more than six hours of sleep tonight, so hopefully I can determine if this weariness is a result of the cleanse/diet or if it's all my big fat fault. It should also be noted that, if I wasn't clear in previous blogs, I MUST have allergies. They are not bad by any means, but I am experiencing mucus a bit more than normal. If I had been taking in a lot of dairy then that could clearly be to blame. Unless pure maple syrup is a big exporter of phlegm, I do have allergies, which is important to take note for anyone who is reading this and wants to understand what I'm experiencing and what the reasons may be.
The last thing I will mention today is that I am not struggling by any means. I am a person who loves food. I work in a wholesale club, so just walking from my area to the break room gives me an opportunity to point at 20 different things that I decide I will eat once I am done with this trial period. I get jealous of the smells when I walk into the kitchen and know that other people can have food that I can't. I am getting more hungry than usual (something a long nap helped to put off). However, with all things considered, I am not going crazy. The idea of not going without food for 10-14 days was killing me at day one. While I will be looking forward to the day when I will be able to enjoy infinity more types of food, I am looking forward to the challenge and not really thinking about food unless it is being made in front of me.
STATS:
Weight: 183 (Early, Day 3)
Death Drinks: 11
Water Glasses: 6
This Crazy Cleanse Diet - Day Two
DAY TWO - MONDAY, JUNE 4TH:
I woke up this morning and started my day off with a delicious Death Drink. The big difference from today to yesterday was that I didn't have the luxury to be unproductive and complainy the entire day. I had to work a grueling FIVE hours on a MONDAY. OH LORDY! Luckily, the drink was not that bad to get through and I still had enough energy in the morning to get everything accomplished. And the fact that I had six hours of sleep this time also helped (which is, unfortunately, a lot for the night before a work day... for me).
I got up. Got to work at a good time. Was in a good enough mood to make jokes with my supervisor, and was surviving. At times, while I wouldn't say that I was "dizzy", I did feel a bit "out of it". I'm not sure what words to use to explain the sensation, but I did feel like I needed a jolt to get myself going sometimes. It probably didn't help that - of all the Mondays to come into work - this Monday had probably the biggest amount of overwhelming stuff to take care of.
I still had some unusual cravings throughout the day. I think I actually craved a salad at one point, but mostly thinking about the Russian dressing. I only drank water while at work because I didn't work long enough to get a lunch break, but it was manageable. My body switched back and forth from being hungry and not hungry. I was fine walking out of work, but a five-minute drive later I pulled up and was already hungry. As long as I ignored it and occasionally followed up with the Death Drink and water, I was okay. I took a five-hour nap when I came in, which is a bit longer than I usually do. I'm not sure if this is a reaction for the lack of energy that I'm used to in my diet or if I was just crazy lazy todazy. Woke up, stayed in my room while the family had dinner (Tacos. Arrrrggghh!). I think I consumed 4 Death Drinks, and maybe two or three glasses of water. Once again, nothing else was consumed aside from the two vitamins and the iron pill I took this morning (the vitamins being the only consistent part of my diet as well as my only source of flavor).
So, if we're keeping score, 7 Death Drinks total, and roughly 4 glasses of water. I told my mom that I will be consuming a BLT with Chicken after this is over with. I'm hoping this and all other cravings will disappear when this is done with, as I was told may happen. A scale update tomorrow.
I woke up this morning and started my day off with a delicious Death Drink. The big difference from today to yesterday was that I didn't have the luxury to be unproductive and complainy the entire day. I had to work a grueling FIVE hours on a MONDAY. OH LORDY! Luckily, the drink was not that bad to get through and I still had enough energy in the morning to get everything accomplished. And the fact that I had six hours of sleep this time also helped (which is, unfortunately, a lot for the night before a work day... for me).
I got up. Got to work at a good time. Was in a good enough mood to make jokes with my supervisor, and was surviving. At times, while I wouldn't say that I was "dizzy", I did feel a bit "out of it". I'm not sure what words to use to explain the sensation, but I did feel like I needed a jolt to get myself going sometimes. It probably didn't help that - of all the Mondays to come into work - this Monday had probably the biggest amount of overwhelming stuff to take care of.
I still had some unusual cravings throughout the day. I think I actually craved a salad at one point, but mostly thinking about the Russian dressing. I only drank water while at work because I didn't work long enough to get a lunch break, but it was manageable. My body switched back and forth from being hungry and not hungry. I was fine walking out of work, but a five-minute drive later I pulled up and was already hungry. As long as I ignored it and occasionally followed up with the Death Drink and water, I was okay. I took a five-hour nap when I came in, which is a bit longer than I usually do. I'm not sure if this is a reaction for the lack of energy that I'm used to in my diet or if I was just crazy lazy todazy. Woke up, stayed in my room while the family had dinner (Tacos. Arrrrggghh!). I think I consumed 4 Death Drinks, and maybe two or three glasses of water. Once again, nothing else was consumed aside from the two vitamins and the iron pill I took this morning (the vitamins being the only consistent part of my diet as well as my only source of flavor).
So, if we're keeping score, 7 Death Drinks total, and roughly 4 glasses of water. I told my mom that I will be consuming a BLT with Chicken after this is over with. I'm hoping this and all other cravings will disappear when this is done with, as I was told may happen. A scale update tomorrow.
This Crazy Cleanse Diet - Day One
DAY ONE - SUNDAY, JUNE 3RD:
Since I usually have to go into work at 7am and I had been super socially active this week, I didn't care that I decided to wake up at 1:30 this day. Or was it 2:30? Or was it the fact that today would be the beginning of the worst-tasting diet of all time that kept me from waking up at a normal hour? I had enjoyed alcoholic beverages for many days in the past week, had shared four appetizers for half-off Apps at Applebee's (Mozzarella Sticks, Onion Rings, Honey BBQ Boneless Wings and Spinach Artichoke Dip, to be exact) the previous Friday and on Saturday I had indulged in delicious taco dip with Tostitos as well as brownies, cookies, and pretzels, all knowing that this would be my last hurrah.
I woke up to my mom bringing me in my first Death Drink. Despite her kindness, I decided that I wanted to get weighed and have a picture taken before any of this had begun. A picture was snapped (which will not be posted) and my weight was recorded.
186 POUNDS. This was fairly timid in comparison to all the things I had consumed in the week leading up to this. In the past year, my weight has varied from 181 - 195, and about 18 months ago, I was 209, so jumping into this diet at 186 pounds was not a bad place to start at all. I begin ingesting the drink. Despite the bad things I had heard about it (mostly the ingredients), it wasn't as bad as I had expected. A watered-down lemonade. Except instead of Sugar? Pepper. I don't have a good tolerance for spicy, so while this might not affect most people, it was definitely a negative factor for me. And, for good measure, it wasn't the fact that it was spicy that bothered me as much as it decided to be spicy right in my throat. I have been struggling with undiagnosed and untreated allergies in previous summers and it is definitely getting to me this time around. The fact that the red pepper decided to have a bonfire near my tonsils wasn't exactly my favorite part of the drink. I was then informed that I had consumed the wrong drink and was given less syrup and more pepper than I should have had. So maybe this was the worst it was going to get.
Mass at 5pm rolls around. It all starts to dawn on me. "I'm hungry. I can't wait for dinner. I wonder what it's going to be. Oh no. I'm not having dinner tonight. I can't have dinner because I'm on this diet. Well then I'll have to just wait until tomorrow. OH NO! I'm not having dinner tomorrow because I'm on this STUPID DIET(/CLEANSE)! I'M NOT GOING TO HAVE DINNER OR ANY MEAL FOR TEN TO FOURTEEN DAYS!" I definitely knew this going into the diet since I made this choice on my own, but now it had finally hit me. No chicken, red meat, soup, cereal, bread, peanut butter and jelly, chocolate, anything. Nothing but lemon juice, red pepper, and maple syrup. And water.
I get home to learn that pasta is being made. My mom is cooking the sauce. It's only been about four or five hours, but I decide that I would be completely satisfied with the idea of just having one spoonful of Ragu sauce. It becomes very clear that this diet is now starting to get to me mentally/psychologically. My body is craving things in an excessive manner. I had obviously gone way more than four or five hours without eating anything in the past, so the problem was the fact that this wasn't just four or five hours without real food. This would be (goes to calculator) roughly 320 hours before I could have anything in the realm of a meal I was used to. I started to find ways to keep busy. At any moment I can go into writing mode; whether it's music, stand-up, sketches, etc. I can organize stuff on my phone or computer. But at this moment, I knew I needed to do some crappy, non-productive things so I could distract myself from my irrational cravings. Mess around on guitar? Let's see how that goes. Played around on the E scale for a bit before it lost my attention. Spider Solitare? YUP! Music? Sure, why not? Won Spider Solitare. Regular Solitaire? OBVIOUSLY! Won that. NES Emulator? ...Yeah, let's get it done. Let's go through the library of games from my childhood that I've put to the side in an attempt to live a productive life. I hate feeling like I'm wasting my time in this way, but it may be the best way to distract myself.
I'm hungry. My mom is frustrated because our oven isn't working properly. I'm eventually blamed for this due to the fact that "If I can't eat a normal meal, then nobody can." This is obviously done in a joking manner. It seems too convenient. Due to my dad's attempts to fix said oven, the kitchen is taken over and I wouldn't have another Death Drink for another hour or two. Throughout this point, hysteria kicks in. I am not sure if this is caused from my "adjustment" to the drink's effects (or lack of normal nourishment) or if I was just super tired. I'm sure both or either of these things could be attributed to the Death Drink. I start feeling silly and making stupid comments as my brother watches Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals which - according to Portland, Maine - would end in a tie (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8c0l45DWfY) . My mom comes home from making a journey in an effort to save dinner and asks me if I'm drunk or high. She gets me another drink. I try to consume it pretty quickly. My friend calls and I can safely presume for her that I was not in my most normal state. Shortly after, I start to rest my head and pass out here and there as Game 4 goes into overtime. I eventually wake up as it ends, have my third Death Drink, and go to bed shortly after.
On our way home from Church earlier that evening, I mention something to my brother; A sentiment that is repeated to my father later on. A few months ago, when our family had a family meeting, I tried to explain that if some of us are trying very hard to watch what we eat and lose weight then food needed to be treated like drugs. If I'm hungry, I shouldn't be told where there are candy bars that have been hiding out since the previous holiday. "You wanna score? There's some coke that's sitting right in the basket above the refrigerator if you're getting antsy." This is a bit of a dramatic simile, but I felt it was at least somewhat appropriate based on the fact of how difficult it was for me to lose weight and fight stupid little cravings, especially if I'm not terribly consistent at working out. And it was just a craving. I looked at wanting a piece of chocolate cake as withdrawals. I don't need to be tied up to my bed and locked in my room, but I do need to be ignored when I'm hungry for a Peanut Butter Twix.
I have also been told that, despite all of the terrible things that drugs have caused people to do (including eat another person's face and being unresponsive to gunshots [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/29/ronald-poppo-identified-man-eats-face-miami-rudy-eugene_n_1554063.html]), that the hardest addiction to overcome is cigarette smoking. This was told to me by a doctor, so i believe it. However, I was/am in a position to argue that the addiction to food also has to be up there. I've never been addicted to cigarettes or any type of drug for that matter and there must be something in the brain that yells at us to crave food for the sake of our bodies being healthy and surviving as a species. However, as noticed by the unlimited amount of obese jokes at the expense of Americans, we do not eat for the sake of survival. Many people - myself often included - will eat until we are full and even then some. I can be completely stuffed and not want to look at a thing, but I have convinced myself that I have a side pocket coming off of my stomach that exists solely for the devouring of dessert. How many people do you know personally that are at an appropriate weight? It's not a good percentage. Being fat used to be tied in with having money, but we have to know that that connection has since disappeared. We know it's not good for us and we continue to do it anyway. And when people become the butt of these jokes, they find solace in food further. I don't know the statistics for obesity-related deaths compared to drug/alcohol related deaths, but how many people die from heart disease? Heart attacks? How many people died because they were running from a natural disaster, an attack, any type of danger and failed because they were overweight or not in good enough shape? I will never harp on these people or look down on them, but is it not fair to look at eating in this way and not take the slightest consideration that food - or our "normal" food intake - could be compared to the worst addictions we currently know of.
I hope this damn thing works.
Since I usually have to go into work at 7am and I had been super socially active this week, I didn't care that I decided to wake up at 1:30 this day. Or was it 2:30? Or was it the fact that today would be the beginning of the worst-tasting diet of all time that kept me from waking up at a normal hour? I had enjoyed alcoholic beverages for many days in the past week, had shared four appetizers for half-off Apps at Applebee's (Mozzarella Sticks, Onion Rings, Honey BBQ Boneless Wings and Spinach Artichoke Dip, to be exact) the previous Friday and on Saturday I had indulged in delicious taco dip with Tostitos as well as brownies, cookies, and pretzels, all knowing that this would be my last hurrah.
I woke up to my mom bringing me in my first Death Drink. Despite her kindness, I decided that I wanted to get weighed and have a picture taken before any of this had begun. A picture was snapped (which will not be posted) and my weight was recorded.
186 POUNDS. This was fairly timid in comparison to all the things I had consumed in the week leading up to this. In the past year, my weight has varied from 181 - 195, and about 18 months ago, I was 209, so jumping into this diet at 186 pounds was not a bad place to start at all. I begin ingesting the drink. Despite the bad things I had heard about it (mostly the ingredients), it wasn't as bad as I had expected. A watered-down lemonade. Except instead of Sugar? Pepper. I don't have a good tolerance for spicy, so while this might not affect most people, it was definitely a negative factor for me. And, for good measure, it wasn't the fact that it was spicy that bothered me as much as it decided to be spicy right in my throat. I have been struggling with undiagnosed and untreated allergies in previous summers and it is definitely getting to me this time around. The fact that the red pepper decided to have a bonfire near my tonsils wasn't exactly my favorite part of the drink. I was then informed that I had consumed the wrong drink and was given less syrup and more pepper than I should have had. So maybe this was the worst it was going to get.
Mass at 5pm rolls around. It all starts to dawn on me. "I'm hungry. I can't wait for dinner. I wonder what it's going to be. Oh no. I'm not having dinner tonight. I can't have dinner because I'm on this diet. Well then I'll have to just wait until tomorrow. OH NO! I'm not having dinner tomorrow because I'm on this STUPID DIET(/CLEANSE)! I'M NOT GOING TO HAVE DINNER OR ANY MEAL FOR TEN TO FOURTEEN DAYS!" I definitely knew this going into the diet since I made this choice on my own, but now it had finally hit me. No chicken, red meat, soup, cereal, bread, peanut butter and jelly, chocolate, anything. Nothing but lemon juice, red pepper, and maple syrup. And water.
I get home to learn that pasta is being made. My mom is cooking the sauce. It's only been about four or five hours, but I decide that I would be completely satisfied with the idea of just having one spoonful of Ragu sauce. It becomes very clear that this diet is now starting to get to me mentally/psychologically. My body is craving things in an excessive manner. I had obviously gone way more than four or five hours without eating anything in the past, so the problem was the fact that this wasn't just four or five hours without real food. This would be (goes to calculator) roughly 320 hours before I could have anything in the realm of a meal I was used to. I started to find ways to keep busy. At any moment I can go into writing mode; whether it's music, stand-up, sketches, etc. I can organize stuff on my phone or computer. But at this moment, I knew I needed to do some crappy, non-productive things so I could distract myself from my irrational cravings. Mess around on guitar? Let's see how that goes. Played around on the E scale for a bit before it lost my attention. Spider Solitare? YUP! Music? Sure, why not? Won Spider Solitare. Regular Solitaire? OBVIOUSLY! Won that. NES Emulator? ...Yeah, let's get it done. Let's go through the library of games from my childhood that I've put to the side in an attempt to live a productive life. I hate feeling like I'm wasting my time in this way, but it may be the best way to distract myself.
I'm hungry. My mom is frustrated because our oven isn't working properly. I'm eventually blamed for this due to the fact that "If I can't eat a normal meal, then nobody can." This is obviously done in a joking manner. It seems too convenient. Due to my dad's attempts to fix said oven, the kitchen is taken over and I wouldn't have another Death Drink for another hour or two. Throughout this point, hysteria kicks in. I am not sure if this is caused from my "adjustment" to the drink's effects (or lack of normal nourishment) or if I was just super tired. I'm sure both or either of these things could be attributed to the Death Drink. I start feeling silly and making stupid comments as my brother watches Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals which - according to Portland, Maine - would end in a tie (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8c0l45DWfY) . My mom comes home from making a journey in an effort to save dinner and asks me if I'm drunk or high. She gets me another drink. I try to consume it pretty quickly. My friend calls and I can safely presume for her that I was not in my most normal state. Shortly after, I start to rest my head and pass out here and there as Game 4 goes into overtime. I eventually wake up as it ends, have my third Death Drink, and go to bed shortly after.
On our way home from Church earlier that evening, I mention something to my brother; A sentiment that is repeated to my father later on. A few months ago, when our family had a family meeting, I tried to explain that if some of us are trying very hard to watch what we eat and lose weight then food needed to be treated like drugs. If I'm hungry, I shouldn't be told where there are candy bars that have been hiding out since the previous holiday. "You wanna score? There's some coke that's sitting right in the basket above the refrigerator if you're getting antsy." This is a bit of a dramatic simile, but I felt it was at least somewhat appropriate based on the fact of how difficult it was for me to lose weight and fight stupid little cravings, especially if I'm not terribly consistent at working out. And it was just a craving. I looked at wanting a piece of chocolate cake as withdrawals. I don't need to be tied up to my bed and locked in my room, but I do need to be ignored when I'm hungry for a Peanut Butter Twix.
I have also been told that, despite all of the terrible things that drugs have caused people to do (including eat another person's face and being unresponsive to gunshots [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/29/ronald-poppo-identified-man-eats-face-miami-rudy-eugene_n_1554063.html]), that the hardest addiction to overcome is cigarette smoking. This was told to me by a doctor, so i believe it. However, I was/am in a position to argue that the addiction to food also has to be up there. I've never been addicted to cigarettes or any type of drug for that matter and there must be something in the brain that yells at us to crave food for the sake of our bodies being healthy and surviving as a species. However, as noticed by the unlimited amount of obese jokes at the expense of Americans, we do not eat for the sake of survival. Many people - myself often included - will eat until we are full and even then some. I can be completely stuffed and not want to look at a thing, but I have convinced myself that I have a side pocket coming off of my stomach that exists solely for the devouring of dessert. How many people do you know personally that are at an appropriate weight? It's not a good percentage. Being fat used to be tied in with having money, but we have to know that that connection has since disappeared. We know it's not good for us and we continue to do it anyway. And when people become the butt of these jokes, they find solace in food further. I don't know the statistics for obesity-related deaths compared to drug/alcohol related deaths, but how many people die from heart disease? Heart attacks? How many people died because they were running from a natural disaster, an attack, any type of danger and failed because they were overweight or not in good enough shape? I will never harp on these people or look down on them, but is it not fair to look at eating in this way and not take the slightest consideration that food - or our "normal" food intake - could be compared to the worst addictions we currently know of.
I hope this damn thing works.
This Crazy Cleanse Diet - Background
June 4th, 2012
In one of my more rare spontaneous decisions, I decided within the past week to start a new diet/cleanse. Because this is such a unique experience in my life, I figured I would spend some time writing about it.
SO WHAT CONSISTS OF THIS "CRAZY CLEANSE DIET" THING THAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT?
I am allowed to consume a drink that is made solely of lemon juice, cayenne red pepper, and pure maple syrup. I am also allowed to drink water. That's it. No food. Just the things I listed above. The only exceptions are my intake of two vitamins a day and an additional iron pill for energy, all of which I have already been taking for months.
This cleanse/diet (I keep using both words since I do not know which term is more appropriate) lasts for 10-14 days. For the first 10 days, I can only consume the two drinks listed above. On day 11, I may add orange juice to the diet. On day 12 I can eat fruits, vegetables, and vegetable juice. On day 13 I can eat grains. And on day 14 I can eat whatever.
WHY THE EFF ARE YOU DOING THIS?
I am "the eff doing this" because this seems like the best, most realistic option for me to drop some pounds. Yes, this is a bit of an extreme way to go about losing weight, but my other attempts have not been as successful.
In many ways, I would consider myself to be a consistent person. My video games, CDs, and movies must face the same way and be in alphabetical order. If I write out something and I use punctuation in a certain way I have to make sure that they are all used in the same manner, even if there is no set rule or right/wrong way. Being consistent is a part of my sometimes OCD-like nature. However, when it comes to doing something for my health, I cannot follow a regimen or a schedule. Whether I make my efforts public or not as motivation to have someone hold my accountable, use a journal, get people to make me do things or try to involve them, in the end I can't go past three or four days until it falls apart.
I do not go to a gym (for reasons I have just explained) and I cannot get on a good schedule to work out. And now that I have been living at home for a few months, doing things on my own time become more difficult. The best part about this diet is the fact that I do not have any choices to make. I already made one: to be on this diet. I don't have to decide whether or not a slice of pizza will fit into the confines of whatever diet I have created. I don't have to count calories. I don't have to worry about getting McDonald's when I'm visiting friends because I can't reach a home-cooked meal. At no time during this cleanse do I have to worry about making decisions of any kind regarding food. And since this is such a dramatic change for me, I will feel less guilty if I don't force myself to work out. If I do work out, it would solely be riding on my stationary bike, push-ups, and/or sit-ups. However, if I don't get to do any of those things, I'll give myself a break.
Lastly, I have no choice but to follow this plan until its end. Granted, I could decide to ween off of the diet at an earlier time than I should. However, this would be a big decision to make and I don't think I'll let myself do that without going the full 10-14 days. I COULD cheat. However, to the best of my understanding, any food that drifts too far from what I'm already consuming would be a shock to my system and would cause me to become very ill, as has been an experience from someone else I know who has done this already. While I do not abhor the idea of vomiting more so than most people I know, it will be much easier to stay on track knowing that hours of being sick will be the punishment for having that bowl of ice cream.
LOG/EXPERIENCES:
Now that I have provided a background, I will follow up with the thoughts/experiences I have during this cleanse to share with people who may be interested. From what I understand, the diet will not only help someone drop a good amount of weight in a short time, but some results have included dropping one's overall hunger as well as cravings for specific foods. I am writing this current entry on Day 2, so I will have to backtrack and list my experiences of Day 1 before I can catch up with my experiences for the present day.
In one of my more rare spontaneous decisions, I decided within the past week to start a new diet/cleanse. Because this is such a unique experience in my life, I figured I would spend some time writing about it.
SO WHAT CONSISTS OF THIS "CRAZY CLEANSE DIET" THING THAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT?
I am allowed to consume a drink that is made solely of lemon juice, cayenne red pepper, and pure maple syrup. I am also allowed to drink water. That's it. No food. Just the things I listed above. The only exceptions are my intake of two vitamins a day and an additional iron pill for energy, all of which I have already been taking for months.
This cleanse/diet (I keep using both words since I do not know which term is more appropriate) lasts for 10-14 days. For the first 10 days, I can only consume the two drinks listed above. On day 11, I may add orange juice to the diet. On day 12 I can eat fruits, vegetables, and vegetable juice. On day 13 I can eat grains. And on day 14 I can eat whatever.
WHY THE EFF ARE YOU DOING THIS?
I am "the eff doing this" because this seems like the best, most realistic option for me to drop some pounds. Yes, this is a bit of an extreme way to go about losing weight, but my other attempts have not been as successful.
In many ways, I would consider myself to be a consistent person. My video games, CDs, and movies must face the same way and be in alphabetical order. If I write out something and I use punctuation in a certain way I have to make sure that they are all used in the same manner, even if there is no set rule or right/wrong way. Being consistent is a part of my sometimes OCD-like nature. However, when it comes to doing something for my health, I cannot follow a regimen or a schedule. Whether I make my efforts public or not as motivation to have someone hold my accountable, use a journal, get people to make me do things or try to involve them, in the end I can't go past three or four days until it falls apart.
I do not go to a gym (for reasons I have just explained) and I cannot get on a good schedule to work out. And now that I have been living at home for a few months, doing things on my own time become more difficult. The best part about this diet is the fact that I do not have any choices to make. I already made one: to be on this diet. I don't have to decide whether or not a slice of pizza will fit into the confines of whatever diet I have created. I don't have to count calories. I don't have to worry about getting McDonald's when I'm visiting friends because I can't reach a home-cooked meal. At no time during this cleanse do I have to worry about making decisions of any kind regarding food. And since this is such a dramatic change for me, I will feel less guilty if I don't force myself to work out. If I do work out, it would solely be riding on my stationary bike, push-ups, and/or sit-ups. However, if I don't get to do any of those things, I'll give myself a break.
Lastly, I have no choice but to follow this plan until its end. Granted, I could decide to ween off of the diet at an earlier time than I should. However, this would be a big decision to make and I don't think I'll let myself do that without going the full 10-14 days. I COULD cheat. However, to the best of my understanding, any food that drifts too far from what I'm already consuming would be a shock to my system and would cause me to become very ill, as has been an experience from someone else I know who has done this already. While I do not abhor the idea of vomiting more so than most people I know, it will be much easier to stay on track knowing that hours of being sick will be the punishment for having that bowl of ice cream.
LOG/EXPERIENCES:
Now that I have provided a background, I will follow up with the thoughts/experiences I have during this cleanse to share with people who may be interested. From what I understand, the diet will not only help someone drop a good amount of weight in a short time, but some results have included dropping one's overall hunger as well as cravings for specific foods. I am writing this current entry on Day 2, so I will have to backtrack and list my experiences of Day 1 before I can catch up with my experiences for the present day.
The Set-Up
Welcome to my underground lair.
Correction: "You're welcome." It's a favor to you, really.
This is where I will be housing my thoughts for awhile. It's okay though because they are super important. I don't plan on discussing any of of those boring, irrelevant subjects such as politics, science, space, or the state of our country. Who cares about that stuff? You know what people DO care about? My personal interest in music, movies, television, and stand-up comedians. THAT'S what's super important. In fact, I'm already regretting the idea that I didn't name this blog: "Super Important Stuff!" It's clearly a more appropriate title.
"I get to hear what Jay Haze's interest in music is?!?! Awesome!" Relax, okay? It will come. I've been wanting to write a blog for awhile, but the real starting point was a few days ago when I started on this crazy cleanse/diet. I had been posting Facebook updates, but I would really prefer them to be in separate blog entries rather than one long Facebook note or broken up into several Facebook notes. I also feel bad that the one person who cared to comment on that note will have a daily Facebook notification telling her that I updated this same note for the seventeenth time. I'd much rather just do this the right way. And after that topic ends, I can go onto new subjects without starting a new Facebook note/entry/etc.
One thing that I will also try to do on here is a sign of a true winner: have proper grammar and punctuation. This may come as a shock to you since proper writing etiquette is a dying art form on the internet on both personal and professional web pages (and of COURSE I would blank on how to write "etiquette" as I wrote that condescending line), but I will do my utmost to provide you with commas in correct places and correct uses of your, you're, there, their, and they're. I will NOT burden you with unnecessary apostrophe marks for plurals or verbs (I'm definitely gettin' me some new shoe's; Circle get's the square). I may even throw in a semi-colon or two, perhaps just for practice (as per the previous sentence. How brave!).
Alright. Let's take this English major off his soap box and get to matters that matter. Or is that matters WHOM matter?...
I'm so deliciously edgy.
Correction: "You're welcome." It's a favor to you, really.
This is where I will be housing my thoughts for awhile. It's okay though because they are super important. I don't plan on discussing any of of those boring, irrelevant subjects such as politics, science, space, or the state of our country. Who cares about that stuff? You know what people DO care about? My personal interest in music, movies, television, and stand-up comedians. THAT'S what's super important. In fact, I'm already regretting the idea that I didn't name this blog: "Super Important Stuff!" It's clearly a more appropriate title.
"I get to hear what Jay Haze's interest in music is?!?! Awesome!" Relax, okay? It will come. I've been wanting to write a blog for awhile, but the real starting point was a few days ago when I started on this crazy cleanse/diet. I had been posting Facebook updates, but I would really prefer them to be in separate blog entries rather than one long Facebook note or broken up into several Facebook notes. I also feel bad that the one person who cared to comment on that note will have a daily Facebook notification telling her that I updated this same note for the seventeenth time. I'd much rather just do this the right way. And after that topic ends, I can go onto new subjects without starting a new Facebook note/entry/etc.
One thing that I will also try to do on here is a sign of a true winner: have proper grammar and punctuation. This may come as a shock to you since proper writing etiquette is a dying art form on the internet on both personal and professional web pages (and of COURSE I would blank on how to write "etiquette" as I wrote that condescending line), but I will do my utmost to provide you with commas in correct places and correct uses of your, you're, there, their, and they're. I will NOT burden you with unnecessary apostrophe marks for plurals or verbs (I'm definitely gettin' me some new shoe's; Circle get's the square). I may even throw in a semi-colon or two, perhaps just for practice (as per the previous sentence. How brave!).
Alright. Let's take this English major off his soap box and get to matters that matter. Or is that matters WHOM matter?...
I'm so deliciously edgy.
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