HEALTH :: The Lemon Cleanse

[» ladycrowe]

It's going fabulous, dahling. My flatmate just started the cleanse today and I'm excited to have someone doing it with me.

There is one thing that has completely floored me about this diet thus far. Not the weight loss or the fact that I have so much energy and am not really all that hungry.. but something deeper than that. For as long as I can remember, this is the first time (for two days running now) that I do not feel any of the anxiety, fear or any other feelings/emotions I associate with my own personal depression. This is something I've struggled with for my entire life and it's suddenly gone.

I'm also finding that my head is clearer and my body doesn't feel weighed down all the time. I tried getting into the habit of feeding my mind with information when it wanted food. I've got two books on the go right now.. one based on various eastern religions (thus far I've read through the Hindu and Bhuddist sections and am on Taoism). I'm also re-reading a book a friend gave me called "When Things Fall Apart" by Pema Chodron. I tried reading it last fall but I wasn't in the right mind frame.. I couldn't understand the simple concepts it was attmepting to bring across. Now that my thoughts have evolved, I am finding it much easier to understand and relate with the information it's giving.

I'm also finding I'm becomming more and more talkative. I like it ^_^

[» meloyelo]

That's so inspiring, I think I'm actually going to go back on the cleanse next week.
Seriously, I am longing for the feeling! That feels really weird to say
I know what you mean about the clarity and especially the talkativeness.
I look back at my chat logs and I was writing books

Something you might want to look into that i've been doing since I finished, is eating raw foods. I have alot more energy, not tweaky energy either, it's more of a spiritual energy... not to mention I've continued to lose excess baggage even after the cleanse.

It may seem difficult but it's actually delicious.

[» ladycrowe]

To be completely honest with you, a stick or two of celery would be a dream right now.. and I'm not a big fan of celery unless it's in what I'm cooking.

I also told my brother just yesterday that I'm on the cleanse and he seemed really excited. He even tried talking me in to extending it as far as I can rather than just doing it for the ten days. I'm seriously considering it as well, but will decide for sure when the time comes. I have a feeling I will. If only to continue losing weight and keep up this wonderful good feeling! At the same time, though, I'm dreaming of a foccacia style pizza with very little cheese and lots of cooked but crunchy veggies.

[» meloyelo]

update?

[» ladycrowe]

I have three days left to go after this one.. as of Tuesday morning I can start drinking orange juice! Thus far I've lost ten pounds and feel great. I've even begun to plan how I'm going to change my diet after this is done as well as making use of some Tae Bo tapes my flatmate has and starting up our little four time a week workout regime we used to do all the time.

I considered extending it beyond the ten days, but I miss food enough that I won't.. not this time, anyway. M (my flatmate) and I have decided that our first full meal after we wean ourselves back onto food will be a curry feast! Mmm... I'm soo looking forward to it!

I almost gave in last night.. my will was weak. But I didn't and I'm very proud of myself. The strangest feeling in the world is not being hungry but still wanting to eat.

[» ladycrowe]

So.. are you supposed to continue drinking the lemonade while you're doing the orange juice thing? It doesn't say at all and I'm a little unclear... I'm really excited that I only have 24 hours left. Too excited, maybe >_>

I've already picked out a nice Butternut Squash Soup to make. Getting most of the ingredients tomorrow, though I have to go out and hunt for the squash and some vegetable stock. I was also so impressed with that picture Melo posted earlier in the thread that I've got ingredients to make some nummi guacamoli and I've got some delish crackers on my grocery list \o/

[» air]

\o/ \o/

[» meloyelo]

the first day coming off, drink the OJ, second day have OJ or lemonade for breakfast and broth for lunch then the veggies for dinner. the third day have soup all day.
Those crackers are rye crispbread, very good for you. I like the wasa sourdough.

[» ladycrowe]

Sweet.. I think it was actually the wasa crispbread that I had put on the list, too! *eyes time* I have 7-8 hours left and I can have my first glass of orange juice! My taste buds are tingling with anticipation *shiver*

[» markscholey]

mumbai.. that's great well done for getting through this!

[» ladycrowe]

I've been pondering for the past few days and something has been pulling me back to this thread. One thing I should mention and definately stress about this cleanse is what happens afterward. We seem to have covered plenty of ground about the cleanse itself and we've all gotten excited about our newfound tastebuds and the beauty of healthy foods, but we haven't quite touched on much beyond that.

I did run across a few people in Calgary who have done the cleanse and one in particular struck home pretty hard. This cleanse changes your metabolism. For the better if you treat it right and with plenty of respect.. and for the worse if you continue with old habits. Melo and I, it seems, have both been reaping the benefits of such a change in our bodies, but I have met one person who did the cleanse, lost thirty pounds and afterward just went back to eating the way she used to. She ended up gaining back two to three times the amount of weight she had lost in a Very Short Time.

When you read the book it gives specific directions on how to begin eating again and what to do in cases of distress. It describes this process as getting your stomach used to processing foods again. In part that is true, but only in part. What it doesn't describe.. and this could be because of how old the writings are.. is that it also prepares your body and rest of your digestive system for the processing of foods. I myself didn't understand this and started eating a little too soon.. I gained weight back and had the clarity of mind to realise what was happening. Thus I slowed down and watched what I ate very carefully. I have since re-lost the gain and lost a small amount on top of that.

You see it in a lot of different "diets" where people essentially starve themselves, get to the weight they want, then start eating again. When you do something like that your body gets into the habit of storing any excess fat you eat because it isn't getting enough sustenance.. or, at least, not the sustenance it is used to receiving. When you don't eat enough this excess fat gets used up. When you begin eating normally again, your body is used to storing this excess fat and continues to do so "Oh look.. food.. they're going to starve me again in the future so I'll just save a bit just in case". Well.. this little bit ends up being a lot in a very short amount of time.

So when the cleanse says to take a full day on orange juice, the next day with mostly orange juice and some fruits and the 'last' day with orange juice, some veggies and a veggie soup, it is essentially preparing your body to metabolise food in Very Small Steps. That way it isn't so much of a shock that your body will store all of those fat cells. They are being introduced slowly enough that what is stored gets used up.

Even beyond that, though, you should watch what you eat. Stay on mostly raw vegetables for some time and slowly escalate. If you eat meat, try adding some chicken breast to your salad or a can of tuna (it's really good with some lemon and cayenne in it.. then added to your salad with a very light sauce). Same thing goes if you want to add caffiene or milk products to your diet. Don't just start drinking that stuff outright, wean yourself on it. Start with some herbal tea and slowly make your way into white or green teas. If you find that is ok, try some black. I myself haven't yet moved beyond herbal tea. As for dairy products, if you wish to start eating them again, I highly recommend you start slowly. Your body is no longer used to processing the milk of another animal. I myself used to have a minor lactos intolerance. I could take in dairy but I would get achey afterwords. Now I can't even do it. The smell of milk sours my stomach. I tried a small amount of yogurt and it tasted horrible. Since the cleanse I've had about three teaspoons worth of grated cheese and I've no desire for more than that.

Wow.. and I just realised I started going on a rant about all of this *L*. My whole point being that this changes your body and if you don't respect it the way it needs to be respected you will not only Not reap the Benefits of the cleanse, but it will bite you in the ass and will cause health issues weight wise. For anyone considering doing this, I highly recommend not doing it on a whim. Do your research. Find what information you can about it and prepare. Not only physically, but spiritually as well. If you have health concerns or health issues, consult your physician before taking the cleanse.

I don't want to scare people away from such a wonderful experience, but I do want to ensure that others are Safe and Healthy with their choices.

[» meloyelo]

I don't know about the metabolism change thing.
There were those who warned me about it, but they had either done a different fast, or they went right back into their old habits after cleansing.
I'm no expert but I'd say my metabolism has increased, but I've been eating vegan ever since I came off. Not only vegan, but as raw as I can, with no refined sugar, bleached flower etc. A rule I've been following is if their are ingredients that I can't pronounce or don't recognize I stay away.

Just wanted to let everyone know I started cleanse #2 today. I woke up very hungry and the first glass of lemonade took care of it. I'm super stoked about this one.

Rock and rollio!

Casey

[» markscholey]

ok 3 hours in to this... the salt water does taste disgusting, there is no way around it, though the benefits do feel good. I have plenty of the juice ready to dilute while at work.... we'll see how long this lasts.