Day 8

Morning Weight: 152 lbs
Evening Weight: 150 lbs

Well obviously I skipped a couple of days, I blame it on late night phone calls *ahem* that left me no time to journal. Ah well. The important thing is...I'm almost done!! This is the last day of the cleanse, tomorrow I get to start on Orange juice and then in the afternoon, soup broth!! Words cannot begin to describe the excitement that's building inside me. I probably won't sleep tonight. It's that serious. My next two weeks will consist of touring the city with David to partake in all the most wonderful delicacies that Edmonton has to offer.

Anyways, the truth is I could probably go the extra two days if time allowed--obviously being ready for Ryan's going away thing is more of a priority, but food cravings have significantly diminished. Energy level is still pretty good, although i definately had a headache and got dizzy mid afternoon, but I think it was cause I hadn't drank any mix in a couple hours. Oh well. The bottom line is, barring any unforseen accidents, I've survived--guess that's all for now, I will do a real introspective entry pondering the worth and results of the cleanse in the next couple of days--in the mean time, happy eating everyone!

Day 5

Morning Weight: 154 lbs
Evening Weight: 155 lbs

Man, this was definately a tough day--went to a doctor's appointment cause my throat was sore and I was worried about strep, and of course I had to tell my doc i'm doing this cleanse--basically she laughed in my face and said "if i were you i'd stop doing it right now, and don't do it again." So obviously not a strong supporter. Plus I haven't really noticed any health benefits or anything, and Dave was agreeing with me...we very nearly broke down and went to make some soup. Somehow we held off though, and now the plan is to make it till Monday as our last day--note, this will be day 8, but we can't go any longer because Ryan (one of our best friends) is leaving town this weekend and so has his going away thing--and priorities definately dictate supporting our brother. So yeah, our goal is 8 days, or until monday...hope we can stick to it...lots of doubts today, so we'll see how tomorrow goes. Also, i'm not really losing any weight, which makes me feel like i'm not burning any fat or toxins. Bleh. This whole idea was stupid perhaps. Ah well, pride drives me on...

Day 4

Starting Weight: 157lbs
Ending Weight: 155 lbs
Mood: Somebody's gonna get'a hurt real bad. I'm not saying who. But somebody

So obviously i missed a day of blogging, ah well it was the same as before--i'm not super hungry but i'm craving food like mad and am getting moody---damn it's like i'm pregnant. Not fun. My will power is tested daily by the sights and smells of food--i thought this was supposed to get easier! My energy is pretty good although a headache earlier tonight--also some ennui, not that i would attribute to energy but more to the idea of without a meal at night, there isn't really anything to look forwards to. Bizzare. Food is actually an addiction. Anyways enough for now, i'll update tomorrow...keep the faith....

Day 2

Starting Weight: 177 lbs
Ending Weight: 175.5 lbs
Salt Water Flush: Still unpleasent

Ugh, too tired to blog very much--day two passed much like day 1, without serious hunger, but I am craving food all the time almost. I'm starting to realize that eating was almost an addiction--my night seems totally lame without dinner to look forwards to, for example. If nothing else, this cleanse will change my attitude towards food as well as make me more appreciative of it. Energy levels good through the day, very tired now because spent a couple of hours at the gym working on Parkour moves. Time for bed.

Day 1

Starting Weight: 162 lbs
Finishing Weight: 160 lbs
Health benefits felt: none
Times I wanted food: Lost count after 25

So here it is, the end of the first day of the master cleanse...new experiences included the first *ahem* salt water flush, in which you drink 2 cups of warm salt water, and it...uh...well, it flushes you. Quickly. Need I say more? I thought not. Sort of like drinking lukewarm chicken soup broth, without the chicken flavour. Which is to say, the experience isn't terrible, but it's not pleasent.

Actually preparing the drink is a task for the night before, as it's somewhat labour intensive. Dave and I figured out to make a day's supply, it takes about 6 lemons (juiced on our new citrus juicers, now with reversable citrus reaming action! Hahaha...reversable reaming...), 10 tablespoons of organic maple syrup, and about a half teaspoon of cayenne pepper. Juicing the lemons takes a while, but then you can put the mix in the fridge and you are all set for the next day.

Thoughts so far...hmm...i don't think I'm that HUNGRY per se (well I was earlier but not now), it's just that i'm craving food--the smells of food are tantalizing, and I have to pay attention to stop from opening the fridge to get my drink, seeing some leftovers and eating without thinking. It's crazy the attitude we have towards food--I definately miss it already, but am sorta shocked by the fact that I just want to eat even though i'm not starving or anything. I'm sure the feeling will intensify tomorrow. Oh, the worst temptation, incidentally, was when I went down to the living room to drink my drink and be away from the kitchen, and my Mom comes down with a heaping plate of corn, rice, chicken marinated with prunes and spices and cooked all day, etc etc...what kind of cruel joke is that?! That just ain't right. Lemme hear you say it. That ain't right.

Anyway, my energy level is pretty good, although I experienced a brief dip at about 3PM where i almost started dozing off...but that could just be attributable to normal mid-day tiredness, so i'll have to see what happens tomorrow. Not much else to report...we shall see what the morrow brings. Still alive after Day 1...nine...days...to go....*sob*...

It Begins Anew...

Greetings at long last my loyal readers--it is I, Rob, back from the ashes of the old CubicallyInclined to bring you a new and harrowing narrative, a story of adversity and courage, of conflict and triumph, of perseverance and, hopefully, of the power of mind over body. Tremble in awe as I unleash the beginnings of...the Master Cleanse.

While working through some health-related goal setting a little while ago, it struck me that I haven't led the most pure of lifestyles, especially in the past year or so. Far too little physical activity, a diet that at best catered to my tastes rather then my physiological needs, excessive alcohol consumption, a work environment that was terrible for my allergies (breathing in wood dust and concrete particles will do that to anyone)--the truth of the matter is that my body is probably filled to the brim with all sorts of unhealthy junk and toxins. In response to this realization, I decided to embark on the Master Cleanse diet to purify my system and get my body back to homeostasis.

The Master Cleanse basically entails restricting your diet to a mixture of fresh squeezed lemon juice mixed with maple sugar for caloric content, as well as cayenne paper to break up toxins and aid your body in getting rid of them. That's it. No food at all. No liquids other then water and the mix. For 10. Days. At this point, if you're not laughing at the thought of Rob giving up eating for even a day, let alone ten, you don't know me well enough. Food is a central part of my life, one of my simplest and most readily available pleasures, and on top of that, I have a crazy metabolism so I eat constantly. So why this insane cleansing diet? I'm not actually sure--perhaps I was looking for a challange, maybe the idea of a pure body appealed to me, or more then likely it was just another stupid idea that I thought it would be funny to talk myself into. At this point, I would like to shift some blame to brother Dave for encouraging me by agreeing to undergo the cleanse at the same time.

Anyways.

This is really just a short entry, the night before the cleanse starts--tomorrow I will begin the actual process, and will keep a daily journal of how i'm feeling and my thoughts on the process. Expect it to be graphic. And whiney. And hopefully funny. But most of all, wish me luck as I embark on what could prove to be one of the most challanging tasks I've ever set myself.