Doing a Cleanse

So, on Monday I started a 12 day whole body detox/cleanse by Wild Rose brand... it's quite intense. It came with 48 each of 3 different herbal pills (take 2 of each at breakfast and another 2 at supper each day) plus some drops to take at those same times. It also has a diet plan I need to follow. A very difficult diet plan. It lists all the foods I'm allowed to have, that I'm only supposed to have 20% of my diet from one column, and 80% from the rest (and of course, which column is the most diverse? Yeah... you guessed it), and there's a list of foods to avoid (and if anything is NOT on the list, I'm not supposed to eat it). No flour. Period. That means bread, pasta, pitas, tortillas, crackers, everything. Can't have it. No sugar. Meaning zero pre-made dressings or condiments. Or desserts. Again. Sigh. No chocolate. No tropical fruits (they have a higher sugar content and thus should be avoided during this cleanse). No mushrooms (fungus... also promotes yeast growth I believe, and this cleanse is taking care of yeast as well). No dairy. Which means cheese, yogurt (sigh... I love my plain yogurt with fruit... can't even make that into a dip right now), milk, etc. I can have butter, though. And popcorn. Yes.... been having popcorn almost daily.

So... what HAVE I been eating? Planning on making spaghetti squash this week, with meatballs. Lots of chicken and fish. Potatoes, yams, avocados, carrots, leeks (never had these before this week, and I like them!), onions, apples, pears, nuts, beans... the list goes on. I've been attempting various recipes, and my husband recently bought some millet for me to try instead of rice for one meal. Rice is getting boring. Especially since I cannot have soy sauce. So I've been frying it with butter and egg and veggies for something different. I made a green smoothie the other day with berries, apple juice, water, and spinach. Spread it out over 3 days for my snack (with popcorn of course). I've added fiber to it, too. I've been taking extra fiber every day for a week and a half now.

Anyway, the reason I wanted to post this is because I thought it would be interesting to put up a day to day experience on this cleanse. I've done cleanses before, but none to quite the extent this one is... no diet change to be exact. I've been writing up a little blurb daily on how my body is reacting... including BM's (although I don't get so descriptive about those... it's not necessary... number per day is enough, really). So, if you are looking into a cleanse and want to know what to expect, here you go!

Day 1: No real changes... although I'm craving toast and cheese like crazy. And urinating a lot. Must be getting rid of excess water buildup since I haven't changed my water consumption from before. I'm not sure where else all the extra water would come from.

Day2: Headaches... not crazy headaches, but a constant nagging one all day long. And my knees started to hurt this morning. I could hardly stand back up at one point (from crouching on the floor) they hurt so bad. Today was also really cleaning the colon... I usually only have 1 bm a day, early morning. Today I had 4. I need to cut down on the 'laxaherb'. Will do only 1 in the am and another in the pm (halving it). Popcorn is my friend. And almonds. And my green smoothie. I'm adding fiber to the smoothie as I drink it. Should help with bulking up my stools as well. I took a nap today, too.

Day3: I did not sleep well. My legs feel like they have growing pains... haven't had that since I was little. Still have headaches, too. I've been REALLY grouchy. I am still exercising, although it is hard (I've been doing the lower impact/resistance versions), and M is getting on my nerves. Repeating the same things, over and over and over... with this headache, I want to pop. I forgot to take my supper pills today... I'll be spreading those out over tomorrow. I needed the nap today.

Day4: Slept much better last night. Took 3 of each pill in the morning and in the evening to make up for yesterday. My ankles are in a lot of pain today. I didn't exercise at all due to that. I'm afraid I'll hurt myself further if I do. I think I'll be using a pillow between my knees for sleep tonight to help my joints. I have growing pain like feelings all over my lower legs. Back down to 1 bowel movement today... yesterday too. I cheated on my diet today and had 1/2 a piece of rye toast with breakfast. I couldn't eat breakfast... oatmeal and apples, no sugar, no milk... tasteless and just plain blech. Plus, I can't have oatmeal without toast! Although.. I did do it before. Whatever, 1/2 a piece isn't gonna kill me. I went from 3 pieces per day to 1/2, no problem. Oh, I had mushrooms today as well. They happened to be in the quinoa chili I had planned for today... I had it frozen from before, and forgot I had mushrooms in there. Ah well. It tasted good. Good news... when I got up this morning, I looked less 'puffy' in my tummy. And it seems my stretch marks are finally healing up a bit! I am using a shea butter cream as well, but I think there was a lot of water in the skin that has come out.

Day5: Made my son's birthday cake yesterday, and spent all day decorating it today. On my feet a LOT. Thankfully, they actually don't hurt like they normally would. I wanted to eat some cake SO badly... but I didn't. I did lick icing off my finger (from when I gave some cake to Bram and got a bit on my finger, I instinctively licked it off). WHEW. I've heard of sugar rush before, but never have I really experienced it like THAT. We must have a lot of sugar in our normal food for me to be able to eat a whole piece of cake like that and not feel it before. Yeah... that sugar went straight to my head. Very lightheaded for only a second or two. Strangest feeling ever. Think laughing gas... without the awful taste in your mouth. Not much else to report for today. Oh, I did have another 1/2 piece of rye toast.

Day6: I was planning on cheating today... but I didn't, aside from what seems to be my daily 1/2 piece of rye toast. We went out for lunch, and I found something I could eat! There may have been some sugar or something in the rotisserie chicken rub, but it was mostly butter, and herbs. Mmmm. I've been having terrible runs again. Planning on halving the laxaherb yet again to only one in the morning OR evening. Not sure yet which. I got a massive headache in the evening today. Perhaps from stress. Or wanting sugar so badly and not getting it. Or maybe being barefoot for belly dance class, dancing for a full 1.5 hours straight. Who knows.

Well, I'm halfway through, and looking forward to being done on Saturday. Looking forward to it... yes... will celebrate by... eating toast (haha). And maybe some cheese! :) Best to stay away from the sugar for a little bit longer, methinks.

Today is day 7... not much to report as of yet. I'll report later on.

Oh, and a Happy Mother's Day to all you moms (and even you ladies who aren't moms, but still have children in your lives) out there! :)