What day are you on and How are you doing: General Check in

[Lahontani]

Well I have only lost about 1 pound, but I have gained a whole new perspective on food as well as my body.

I hate the smooth move tea, but since we are allowed to drink peppermint tea once a day, I found that if I mix the 2 (peppermint and smooth move) the taste isn't so bad.

Other than that I haven't had many bad symptoms besides a few headaches(which I rarely EVER get off the cleanse) and tiredness. Does that mean I am not really detoxing yet?

Welcome, Amy!

Glad to see you're not focused on the scale. The scale is a LIAR !! (LIAR, LIAR, LIAR !!!) Ooops...maybe I'm a little too focused on the scale.

Smooth move also makes a "Chocolate Smooth Move" which I think tastes better than the regular flavor. I've also tried a different brand of senna tea which tasted like anise. I'll try to look up the name if you're interested.

Yes, you are still detoxing, since you are doing the cleanse to the letter. Don't jinx yourself by asking where all the tough symptoms are. Different parts of your body seem to detox at different times. And you may have fewer stored toxins than people with harsh symptoms? congrats on making it through day 4!

Lennon - Welcome! I've never had a colonoscopy, but I did have a high colonic once and had the same reaction. I wanted to eat everything and anything...plain pieces of toast, etc. Don't know why.

Hi Irongal - I'm ending a little earlier cause of Easter, too. I have found for me that cutting down on my M.S. makes it harder for me to lose weight. My body thinks I'm starving it and goes into "hording fat against the famine" mode. I have lost plenty of weight, and felt better, taking the prescribed amount for the minimum 60 oz, then only drinking extra lemonade if I have genuine hunger (not just cravings). When I have cravings, I try to either take a bath or drink peppermint tea. Good luck to you.

*sending good thoughts your way* to help you be strong, tomorrow, Deba. Hope you're on an easy day, not a cravings day. Since you are going to be immersed in the aroma of pizza, no matter what, I'd like to pass on some advice I received on the "lost thread" - revel in the smells. Instead of fighting them, delight in them. Your brain can't tell the difference between what it sees/smells and what it remembers ("What the Bleep Do We Know") so let your nose smell the pizza and then - instead of telling yourself, "No, I CAN'T eat that!" tell yourself that you are ALREADY eating it. Imagine the flavor and consistency. This has worked for me in the past in an emergency - but I don't push my luck by trying it too often. Another possibility is that you may look at the pizza and think it just looks like some horrible greasy mess. The colored oil oozing from the pepperoni...the globs of meat or mucousy, fatty cheese. EEW! Depends on the day. Maybe you'll get lucky and have to sit next to someone who likes pizza with something you find disgusting (I hate pineapple on pizza, my friend can't stand the sight of mushrooms)...You also might try drinking a ton of the lemonade before you go to the pizza place, so that you're really full. And remember, you can drink peppermint tea! Good luck on day 2!

irhxcbcziu!#%&! - having only liquid and semi-liquid BMs are normal. The lemonade dissolves the gunk slowly, rather than pushing out big globs of it.

Natalyawoo - hi and welcome. Yikes! How long ago did you take the SWF? There've been a few people who say they don't have the flush for several hours, but...all day long? Make sure you're using the correct proportion of salt to water.
I work part-time and go to school part-time. I've found that after day 3, I don't need as much sleep when I'm on the cleanse, so waking up early is not a problem for me. But I have "the flush" about 20 minutes after drinking it. It takes about an hour for me to get everything out starting with the first trip. The only day I can't do the SWF is Tuesday, cause of my early morning class and the 1 1/2 hour commute to get to the college.

[Apladyoh]

Hi! This is my first post. A friend told me about this fast just before I was ready to do a week of juice fasting. I started doing this fast instead and then ordered Peter's book. I was not prepared to go for 10 days but made it for 7 days. I've now read both books and am anxious to do a longer fast.

I've read somewhere on one of these boards to not start another fast for a minimum of 6 to 8 weeks. I am wondering if that holds true only if you finished the whole 10 days. I am wanting to do a 10 day fast but don't want to wait 6 weeks.

Also, I had the measurements wrong (since I didn't read before starting) but didn't get hungry. I had less lemon and less Maple Syrup, but drank 1/2 gallon of the mix each day. If I am not hungry using the less amount, do I really need to add more in my mix?

Thanks for any help given. This board has been very interesting to read.

Apladyoh

[Zski]

Hi All,

I am at the end of my 5th day. So far so good I guess. Bad day today. I was really irriatable but my coworkers understood. This is my first ever cleanse. I am a 42 year old mother of a 12 year old. It is easier than I thought but I don't really feel like I am eliminating like I should. I haven't really passed anything 'gross' yet. Just the yellow stuff. Well tomorrow starts day 6. Any encouragement would be great. I just noticed today the tongue bumps so I guess (hopefully) 10 days should do the trick.

Thanx guys

[SheriO]

SheriO-Many of us have experienced naysayers. My solution to this is just not to tell anyone until about the 10th day or so. It's amazing how clueless people are. I'll just turn down the food, say "I'm not hungry Thanks" or "I have something big planned for later, so I'm saving the calories." By the 10th day, when I say I haven't eaten for 10 days, jaws drop and their attitude is different. Plus, they can see the weight loss by that time.

Ginger- I actually didn't tell anyone about it, except for the one friend I knew would support me. As the day went by (at work) I continued to make my lemonade at the desk. Then someone said, "What are you doing?" and I said, "Just mixing a drink." They asked me why and I told them just because I like it... which in all honesty, I do like it. Then the second day, someone offered me food and they noticed I wasn't eating, so I wasn't going to lie again and just told them that I was doing a cleanse. As the days have gone by people are more curious than anything. I'm obviously not sickly or in low spirits, so I'm thinking that they are realizing that I am not hurting myself. I don't tell people about it unless they blatantly ask. So, I haven't told people for any other reason than not wanting to lie to them. When you work closely with people, it's hard to not notice when someone stops eating and starts making this crazy concoction every few hours. I understand that.

Anywho... day 4 is OVER! I'm about to drink my laxative tea, which I find very unappealing and then go to bed. Day 5 is well on its way. I'm hoping to get a better flush out of the SWF tomorrow. The first days was great, but I think that had something to do with the fact that I misread the two teaspoons as two tablespoons of salt water! OOPS! no wonder I almost gagged myself!

Happy fasting,
SheriO

[Lahontani]

Oh! Remembered something funny I wanted to share with y'all.

Today, after spin class, the instructor came up to me and gave me a compliment on how hard I had worked in class and how consistent I had been with spinning. BUT, like a lot of fitness trainers, he assumes that the only reason that someone could possibly be overweight is that they are either: 1) lazy, or 2) completely ignorant of healthful eating habits. Well, he could see I wasn't lazy, and therefore I must surely be ignorant. SO, he says to me, very sincerely, "Try not to eat any sugar. At least try to cut back." I am trying hard not to laugh. And he can see that, so he thinks I'm suppressing laughter because cutting out sugar is something I consider impossible. So he says, "Try, just try. I know it takes discipline, but you have discipline, I know you do!" And I'm still trying not to crack up; he gets this dissappointed look on his face, like he has so much pity for me that I just can't understand the basics of good nutrition. So I finally tell him, "I haven't had anything to eat except juice in 8 days." I didn't say lemonade, because most people hear the word "lemonade" and assume "Country Time" or some other fake junk. Well, he became confused, but still gave me that look that said he thought I knew nothing about nutrition. I just laughed and smiled and left.

[cubbiebullbear]

Well I just finished my tea to end day 3. I have felt pretty good the whole time so far. It has been hard watching my family with food though and it seems liek every commercial that comes on the tube is food fod food. Oh well what doesnt kill me makes me stronger right. My daughter having popcorn tonight was rough though. I have been good though and not even had a bite out of anything even though I REALLY wanted to a couple of times. It is kind of funny though I look forward to the tea then getting up and not drinking the swf but the results from it. the first two days I lost 4.5 total so it would be great if that continues. It makes it easier to stay in the rules when you see results are happening. Anyway I hope everyone is doing well and I will check in again tomorrow. Scott

[TallTravel]

Day 4 of my cleanse and I did perfectly well until yoga. I did not want to have too much water or lemon drink before the class, because I hate having to visit the bathroom 2-3 times during the 1.5 hour class, so my fluid level was less than is ideal for me during class.

Well, last night I paid a price. My yoga instructor kept looking at me, as she knows my abilities and strength very well, and she kept wondering what was wrong. One particular position she uses a lot, the downward dog, is normally something I can maintain for quite a while. Laughing the whole while, I kept having to rest on my knees.

I never told her I had not eaten in four days, but I probably should have. Maybe next time....

No, I am not the least bit worried about strength, because I had just done 50 push ups and 60 sit ups prior to class. I was weak, but in a good way....

Another good day yesterday....

[shane]

I'm doing the MC for the first time, so far it's been great, I'm on day 4 and have plenty of energy and feel more clear headed today. I have a question related to IBS (irritable bowel syndrome).
I had a lot of problems with it a couple years ago, but during the last year it's been non existent. I introduced meat and dairy into my diet over the last seven months, which is something I've only ever had rarely. I've ate a primarily vegetarian diet for most of my life and was even eating vegan for a couple years. Although, lately, I've been cutting out the meat and dairy because I feel like it's not the best for my digestion and metabolism.
So, today is my fourth day of the cleanse, up until now I've had no stomach problems. Today I've been having IBS symptoms, my stomach hurts and there's a lot of excess gas, it mostly gets trapped in my stomach and chest, at any rate it's uncomfortable.
My thoughts are that I'm releasing toxins from the meat and dairy I've consumed and my body is having IBS like symptoms because of that. I'm wondering if you know anything about this, have any input or suggestions about what I'm going through.
Peppermint tea has been great for me, calming my stomach.
Thanks for your time!!

shane

[teri3333]

Hi everyone. Tomorrow (3/30/07) will be the first day of my second mc. I am really excited about this one. I believe I will be more successful after this one. Cleanse #1 was 24 days. I was so nervous about going back to food; it's easier to drink lemonade, tea, and that lovely swf! I don't know how long this cleanse will last, but I'm looking forward to everyday that I am on it. Thanks to everyone who uses the BB, you're great. Peanutterb...you crack me up! Thanks for the smiles. God bless. MMMMMmmmm, I just love Chocolate Smooth Move tea!!

[peanutterb]

Good morning all
It's 5 am and I've been up since 3:45 drinking my swf. I tried to go back to sleep but couldn't. Then was scared that my swf didn't start working right away. Took about 45 mins. it's going really low today. I was hoping it'll be mostly done by the time I start getting ready at 5:45 but now I donno.

Day 5 here and I'm anxiously waiting for day 7-8 which is usually when I get the hang of things and my body goes in cruise control.
I'm doing okay now, but still battling some stuff. Negativity still there a bit. It's still easy for me to get down about things. Not as easy as it was last week, but still. And I keep thinking about food. No food in particular, but just the idea of eating. But I know all this will go away over time.

Today's Challenge is to give generously. If someone asks you for something, give, and give out of the goodness of your heart, not expecting anything back. Whether it's a bum asking for some change or a person asking for a dollar or a co-worker/ friend asking for a pen or someone asking for directions or help.

And don't worry about what they're going to do with it or whatever because the judgement will be on them for having tried to trick you but the blessing will be given to you for having given from the heart.

Now, to reply to people:

apladyoh - welcome. it's up to your whether or not you want to start another MC sooner. We just give the best advice we can and then people can make a decision that's best for them.
as for the measurements - as long as you have at least 12oz of lemon juice a day, you're okay.

All new people Please read the general help for newbies thread for your own health and wellbeing.

Zski - welcome glad to have you on. Don't worry about the bad days, they just come to make sure you appreciate the good days. Stick in there. I'm on day 5 too. We're gonna make it!

SheriO, when people used to asked me what I was drinking, i'd tell them my urine. They'd usually leave me alone. I don't like when people ask me about what I eat or drink in general because usually it's just to judge me because I'm vegan. One thing I've noticed about Americans is a habit of pointing and making faces at things people are eating. i don't make faces at that nasty piece of animal flesh you're devouring so please don't even bother looking at my delicious and healthy lentil soup.

I hate the lax tea. hate it. And then after that, I hate it some more.

such a funny story SierraMagic. (I have a little cousin named Ciara Marie) and I always want to call you that)

cubbiebullbear - day 3! yeah for you! On the cleanse you do notice how we're so food obsessed. Billboards, ads, commercials, people always eating everywhere you go. It's good though, because it makes you reevaluate things for yourself.
My sense of smell is so acute now I can smell where food was. It may not be there now, but 3 hours ago, someone was here eating popcorn lol.

TallTravel, sorry tou had to lear the hard way. Try to make sure you always have water and lemonade on hand whenever doing any kind of exercise.
I wish I wasn't as broke as I am and could go do a Bikram Yoga session. That'll be awesome on the cleanse - all the twisting and all the heat...

Hey Shane. Try to do a search on the board for "ibs" and "irritable bowel" or just "irritable" and see what comes up. There is a tutorial on how to do a search at the end of the General Help for Newbies thread.

One thing about the cleanse, is that it may cause things to flare back up as it is dealing with it. Perhaps getting it out of your system. So try to grit your teeth and let it run its course.

Drinking hot water, or hot tea, can help with the gas pains. Doing stretches and twists as well. Also, cut back on your cayenne and do not let it sit in your drink too long. That can cause you heartburt and gas (happened to me once after letting a premade bottle of lemonade sit for a few hrs)

hi teri3333, welcome. I think the swf is lovely too. I love your attitude coming into the cleanse and I think when people approach it as a positive thing, they have a more positive experience. (Versus assuming it'll be painful and difficult. Can you say "self fulling prophesy?")

Alright gals and guys. It's 5:30 now and I gotta figure out what I'm wearing and what not. And maybe take a quick 15 min nap before I start getting ready. And meditate a bit on today, and going to this job I hate. This is my last Friday, I made this decision on Wed. So I will be out of my misery soo. I'll be broker than I am now, but at least not miserable.
I might go look into a couple other part time gigs today. but we'll see. My true heart is set on NY in my true career field so maybe I just need to focus on that right now because nothing else will make me happy.