Days 14-16

It is now day 16 and I am finally starting to feel better. I'm kind of upset that the benefits of extra energy and feeling amazing from the cleanse have been taken over by the stupid sickness. I can't believe that I am almost in the middle of the last week. I'm contemplating extending this. It's funny, when I was just starting the cleanse and I heard about people wanted to extend it or do a double cleanse I thought they were nuts, but I get it now. It's amazing to feel so light. The liquid dinner was really the most difficult thing to get used to, but now that I am used to it, I can't imagine eating a big heavy dinner. Ugh.

Yesterday I made my own Kitchari recipe that got published in VegNews magazine last year. :)

Today, I'm attempting to make cuban style black beans... key word: attempting. So far, they are not coming out as "cuban style" as I would like, but they are still good. I had to leave out the green bell pepper, but I don't think it will be that big of a deal. Instead of the traditional white rice, I'm making brown rice.

I don't know if I have mentioned that I finally started to notice some weight loss, and it feels amazing. I'm absolutely certain that I would have lost more had I been able to exercise as much as I wanted to. I feel sad that it's almost over...

Days 11-13

I wish I had better news, but alas, I am sick.

Ugh.

There is nothing worse then being sick while not being able to have your usual things that help you get better, such as Emergen-C or Airbourne or something. Day 10 I was still recovering from a hard dose of women stuff, and then later on in the day a scratchy throat and in the evening, bam, fever. Today has been the worst of all though. My remedy has been clean shakes, soup, and movies. I'm hoping that tomorrow I will feel better because I have a pretty busy day... so wish me luck.

As for the cleansing, I have been sticking to it quite strictly. I have noticed that I lost a little bit of weight, but nothing to brag about. Tomorrow will be day 14 and I will have completed 2 weeks with only a week left to go. I have yet to experience that energy surge or amazing clean high that people talk about, but I guess my circumstances have been different. Maybe being clean will help me get rid of this bug more quickly.

Days 9 and 10

The past couple of days have been plagued by, well, for TMI's sake i'll just say women's troubles. Yesterday was really hard to get through. I made my morning shake with extra pineapple because I hear that pineapple is good for inflammation... hence, my sprained ankle. I also put maca in it because I needed the extra energy. I spent the rest of the morning scrubbing down the house, trying to distract myself and build up some sort of appetite in time for lunch. I pretty much had to force myself to eat lunch because I had absolutely no appetite whatsoever. I had salad with mushrooms, shallots, and balsamic vinegar. Oh, I almost forgot! I got an ice cream maker a few weeks ago and decided that I was going to make "clean" ice cream! So that's what I did after lunch. I made ice cream out of coconut milk, vanilla, and agave. And that's it. It came out sooo good. I'm still going to eat it in extreme moderation, I had only a spoonful yesterday. The rest of the day was spent napping off and on while my boyfriend and a friend installed our new awesome tv. Snack was rice cake with almond butter - my favorite. Dinner shake was made with pineapple as well, and was delicious. It filled me up and I went to bed easily with no residual hunger, and I slept pretty well through the night!

Today I woke up feeling a little bit better but still with no hunger. I took my morning supplement and made my shake anyway, out of berries, more pineapple, and almond milk. Have I mentioned how much I enjoy my shakes? I think that might be something that I take out of this, is having different kinds of shakes in the morning.... well, for summer, anyway. I do have to admit that I miss eating solid food for dinner. When I am done with the cleanse my BF and I are going to celebrate by going out to dinner. Lunch was sauteed greens with red onion, garbanzo beans, and quinoa. I wasn't hungry and pretty much just made lunch because it was lunchtime. Snack today was an apple with some raw almond butter. I accidently made my dinner shake extra big, and didn't want to waste it so I drank it all up. Now I'm so freaking full... waiting to digest. I've still been pretty low energy all day and I'm hoping that tomorrow will be better because I'm supposed to go to the gym -finally.

Day 8

I have now officially completed the first day of the second week of the clean program. I have to say, this is one of the most fun and delicious cleanses I have ever done. I wasn't so sure about it at first... 21 days seemed like a lifetime when I was starting day 1. But now at day 8, I see how the 21 days can breeze by... I can almost see myself being sad when they are over. This could be the beginning of a permanent change of lifestyle for me. I can already see how easy it could be to incorporate the "clean" principles into every day life. There is also tons of community support at my.cleanprogram.com, as well as so many fun recipes that I'm dying to try.

Today has probably been the best day so far, except for right now I'm feeling a pretty bloated. I had my evening shake, and I haven't eaten anything else out of the ordinary, except for pineapple, but I can't imagine pineapple making me bloated.

I have also been VERY good about taking all of the supplements. I'm not sure if I mentioned yet that there are two versions of this cleanse. There is the one where follow the book, and one where you purchase the kit. I'm doing the kit version, because I like anything that makes my life easier, and the kit does just that. It is super user friendly and gives me the freedom to only have to think about what's for lunch.. and includes all the supplements that I am supposed to take. Apparently, the supplements are one of the most important components to this cleanse. The shakes are tasting so much better to me now then when I first started. I love that I can get creative and add different things to the shakes as well. Tonight, for instance, I had some blueberries and a little bit of peach, almond milk, spinach, and stevia to make it a bit sweeter.

I have noticed my skin complexion is evening out a little more, my eyes are brighter, and the darkness under my eyes is fading. I even opted not to wear any makeup today. I think I may have lost a little bit of weight as well.

My cravings for foods not allowed in the program have almost completely dissipated (not counting the occasional longing for corn chips and salsa... weird craving)I made my boyfriend eggs and pancakes this morning and did not even desire to take a tiny little bite. That is so rare and weird, since eggs were probably the hardest thing for me to give up.

Today's lunch was bok choy sauteed in EVOO with quinoa and kindey beans. Snacks were a spoonful of almond butter, and later some pineapple. To me that sounds so minimal, I'm one of those people that eats pretty much throughout the whole day, but honestly, it was more then enough. Also, a few cups of green tea were consumed throughout the day. I used to never be a fan of green tea, I have to admit. It was always too dry or bitter and made me slightly nauseous, but lately it's really grown on me. In other news, hollywood's hottest days seem to be taking a slight break, and oh man am I grateful. There is nothing worse then being cranky from detox and overheated. Hopefully though the crankyness has disappeared for good... only time can tell...

As for now, my happiness level is off the charts. I'm ecstatic for no good reason other than simply being alive. It's fun. Let's see what tomorrow brings.

Days 6 and 7

I have been feeling so much better these past two days. My detox symptoms or pretty much gone and i've been feeling like myself again. I have inquired within the clean forums and dutifully added in more snacks throughout the day to keep my hunger levels normal. This is not a deprivation diet, it is a cleanse meant to nourish the body... So i've learned that if I eat salad for lunch, I have to follow it up with some good snacks like a brown rice cake with almond butter. The last two days though I had some heartier lunches. Today I made quinoa with beans and greens. Yesterday lunch was such a treat - brown rice penne with a sauce made out of nutritional yeast, almond milk, and pesto. It was absolutely divine. Probably not something I should be eating every day though. I'm still not really feeling as though i've lost any weight, but my skin seems nicer and my eyes seem brighter. If I didn't have this sprained ankle I would probably be exercising a lot more and losing more weight. But I have TONS of energy and have been able to run all my errands without losing energy. Every other cleanse I have ever been on I have not been able to maintain a normal lifestyle. Right now, I feel like I could do this forever.

I feel so good, in fact, that I am in no means craving any foods that aren't approved on the diet. I've been looking forward to my shakes and actually craving those. I think I stopped craving sugar about 2 days ago. In fact, I was even able to make my boyfriend his breakfast of eggs, toast, butter, and coffee this morning without even wanting any of it a tiny bit. I just enjoyed making it for him and that was that. That's huge because coffee and eggs have been the hardest thing for me to give up. My body is really starting to adapt nicely to this.

Day 5

I can summarize how today has been with one word: Hunger.

I have been so freaking hungry all day.

I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't sleep for hours because it was so hot, and because my stomach was growling. I downed about two glasses of water but it didn't seem to help.

Finally fell asleep and woke up again at a more normal hour, and was still hungry. I had a cup of tea and waiting for about an hour before having my morning shake, which was quite delicious.

An hour after drinking it, I was hungry again, and even hungrier still with the wafting smells as my boyfriend made himself eggs, toast, and coffee.

I battled my hunger by drinking excessive amounts of water and trying to stay busy. Finally lunch time rolled around, and I made a big salad with quinoa, cucumbers, kidney beans, and a tahini dressing. I also had a spoonful of almond butter. Finally full, I headed out to my voice lesson which kept me busy. Then I had a third of a nice, big, juicy apple. I must be shrinking my stomach, because I was too full to finish the whole apple. I felt happy and full, but there was a headache there and I am not sure whether it was caused by the heat (103 degrees F) or the cleanse. I then spent the better part of the rest of the day cleaning and organizing the back room, and taking lots of things to Goodwill. Still drinking lots and lots of water.

I got hungry again around 6pm, but I waited another hour and a half before making my dinner shake. I used chocolate nourish, which is now my favorite because it tastes the most hearty for some reason, and I used blueberries and almond milk, which has become my standard. Yes, I still have not tried the shake made with just water. I don't really see why I should though... I'm not extremely overweight, though I could stand to lose a few pounds. Yeah, just not worth it to me. I like anything I put in my body to be satisfying and delicious. Anyway, I don't know what is up with me today but I was still very hungry after the shake. It has now been a few hours and I am doing anything in my power to stop thinking about my stomach that is loudly growling at me. I've drank lots of water, which helped a bit but not much. I think I shall make a cup of chamomile tea and see how that does. Also re-reading Harry Potter for the umpteenth time.

I still don't feel as though i've lost any weight, but then again, I'm just judging by looks because I don't have a scale. 16 days to go...

Day 4

Wow. If there ever was a day to represent feeling crazy, today would be the one.

PMS + Detox + insane heat = Crazy me.

Morning time was nice, though I woke up at 4am and couldn't sleep until 6am, and then I slept until 9am. After going to bed early last night, I ended up feeling as though I had overslept. Head fuzz. Detox symptom? Not sure.

I don't think i've lost any weight yet, though I do feel like I have less water retention. I'm also breaking out a little bit which is sometimes a detox symptom.

The smoothie was so delicious this morning - I put a some stevia in it. It tasted like a nice cool breakfast dessert meal that was incredibly satisfying. Kind of like how hot pancakes with maple syrup would make you feel on a cold day when it's raining outside, this was the lovelyness of my morning shake.

And I was full.

This was the best part of my whole day... from here on out, it started getting ugly.

The boyfriend came home and when he is feeling agitated from heat and I am feeling emotional/agitated from heat, nothing good comes of it.

But, we had errands to do, and so we did. Farmer's market for some local fresh produce for me (red cabbage, kale, avocados, lettuce, and bok choy for me, fresh organic farm eggs for him)

Then was kinkos for some printing job that my printer has just been refusing to do, then Trader Joe's where I got almond milk, tuna for my cat, chicken for my dogs, organic persian cucumbers, and dishwashing soap.

We went home and by this time I was hungry for lunch and feeling faint, hot, headachy and gross. I made a salad with lettuce, kidney beans, some quinoa sprinkled in, and cucumbers. So good and refreshing. I instantly felt better as soon as I ate this. It was then time to go to the gym.

I did not have as much energy as I would have liked to have. I felt weak, and normally when I can use 10 lb weights I had to use 8 lbs and it was hard. I could barely make it through cardio. I was absolutely drained. Maybe next time i'll try adding more protein powder to my morning smoothie, or eating more carbs right before the workout. Then was home, where someone came to pick up the armoire I put on craigslist, and I made kale crisps inspired by Neeta from neetascleanrecipes.com.

They were wonderful and satisfying.

Then was some craziness. We had to put together a futon, move an insanely large armchair through doorways that it did not want to fit through, and move lots of things around. Yes, i'm redecorating... or trying to anyway.

I am constantly thirsty and I have a constant headache. I had my evening shake which went down really fast and left me wanting more.

I don't know how our relationship is going to survive this heat wave.