Master Cleanse: Day 2

I know that there are at least a few of you curious about my progress with doing the Master Cleanse. It seems like there are a lot of people who have been wanting to do it themselves, but unsure of its actual difficulty or effectiveness. I am glad to be the guinea pig. And so here is the first of the updates I promised!

The first several waking hours of the first day were arduous. A person who is awake at 6 o'clock in the morning is not usually a happy person. But a person who is awake at 6 o'clock in the morning to start a day of grueling homework and can take no solace in food nor coffee -- the cleanse does not allow coffee, and I don't drink it either way -- is a very unhappy individual. The combination of being tired and super hungry was too much, and by the time 9am rolled around I was very fatigued. I added more syrup to my mixture and laid down for a long nap. It seemed to do the trick; I was A-OK for the rest of the day.

Actually, I'm surprised at how good I felt. I wasn't just fine, I was in a better mood. This could have been due to the extra sleep; I suppose it's too early to tell. All I know is that my husband and I were running errands that evening and I could have completely forgotten I had nothing to eat that day.

(Alright, confession: my husband demanded I eat something when he got home so I had about 100 calories worth of the tomato basil soup I made him. I honestly didn't want to, but he was convinced I should ease myself in to it... though I'm pretty sure he's just afraid to come home to me looking like Mary Kate Olsen. And so I appeased him. However this was not necessary for the cleanse, and I would have been just fine without it. But mark my words mister, that was just for day 1.)

Today was just as good. All in all I feel perfectly fine, though to be honest I might tell a different story if I wasn't able to spend all day at home with no physical demands.

Here is my advice to anyone who is considering the cleanse so far:

• Keep drinking. If you do this, the hunger won't hit you. However if you wait until you're hungry to fix another glass, you've just made the challenge harder.
• Up the syrup when you feel weak. The syrup maintains your glucose level and tricks your body into thinking it's being nourished. People who do the cleanse aren't super heroes; the sugar is what makes this possible.
• Eat Macaroni Grill at least once before you start... because if you're anything like me, you'll randomly crave it. =(
  
• Don't use your love for food as an excuse not to do this because technically it will make you appreciate it all the more!
  

Also, get to bed early if you can. Yesterday I took a long nap as I had mentioned and this morning I also slept in an extra four hours. I have no idea if this is crucial to the process, but I'm doing it because it makes the days go by a little faster. However I am curious about the importance of extra rest and while I don't like the thought of being awake for my normal 17 hours of the day, I am the guinea pig so I guess I'll try.

So far the most surprising thing for me has been the fact that the real challenge does not come from withstanding hunger pangs as one may assume, but the real obstacle is not being able to look forward to food. I never realized that eating was something I had looked forward to! But apparantly I did, and frequently. It's true that I have been known to curse eating as the inconvenience that it is, but make no mistake -- I love my food. And to end the curiosity of those of you in the past who suspected me of being anorexic ( the reality of it was something I believe they call "exercise"), this is fo sho the longest I have ever gone without consuming something tasty like my favorite parmesan and garlic triscuits, or brussel sprouts with garlic and parmesan... anddd I just realised how huge a fan I am of the garlic/parmesan combination.

Ugh. I don't know why I torment myself.

This weekend will be soooo interesting!





I have FINALLY started drinking tea!!!! The cleanse allows it. You have no idea what a huge step this is for me... But that is an entry for another day:)