day 7 complete, my first "solid" meal

this afternoon marked seven days of the master cleanse juice fast/cleanse/diet/whatever. seven days was my original goal, although early on i was considering stretching it to ten, as that was the recommended minimum. i woke up today feeling really good, without the inclination to laze around in bed for very long. last night i was pretty excited about the idea of making soup today. now that i've made and consumed a bit of the soup (which was pretty damn good by the way), everything seems a little less exciting. my food fantasies were really vivid on days 6 and 7, which coincidentally were also the hardest days for me. my fantasies included all the places i wanted to go eat (new and old favorites) and what i was going to eat for our celebratory dinner.

as side note, sunset and i went out last night and she got a glass of wine. i had a sip and it tasted really strange. i can't really explain how, but maybe if you drank some orange juice and then had a sip of wine, that would be a similar experience.

a few things about me
i'm young (around 30)
i'm relatively active (2 yoga classes a week)
i'm healthy, always have been
i'm relatively thin, although i had a pretty small "gut" to start with

where i'm at now
earlier today i felt really thin and light. it's definitely a different feeling to have your insides full. i was noticing how satisfying it is to fill my insides while i was enjoying a second bowl of thick soup today. my belly feels more "in the way" than it has in a while.

speaking of thin, i've definitely lost weight on this fast/cleanse/diet. i'm not sure how much, as i don't have a scale, but i would assume 5 pounds, maybe a bit more. i realized a day or so ago that i could pull my jeans off *with* my belt on in it's usual position. so now my somewhat form-fitting jeans feel like they're falling off a bit. i don't mind so much, but i'm not sure how long that will last as i ease back into my regular omivorian diet.

appreciation
one of my reasons for trying this "cleanse" was because i felt like i was losing some of my appreciation for food. last night i felt that appreciation in spades, which was refreshing. now that i've eaten a bit, i wish i had the same overwhelming appreciation that i felt last night.

activity during
i definitely found i could function as usual at work and with my regular excersize schedule. my caffeine intake was pretty moderate before starting, and i didn't have big issues with cravings there. all of us quit caffeine while on the cleanse, and sunset and scott had a more difficult time with this, although they're much bigger caffeine addicts than me. (do note, however, that i love coffee as much as either of them ;)

my experience
out of everybody, i seemed to have the most even-keel experience. the most dramatic day for me was thursday (day 6), which wasn't helped by my mistake with the "internal salt water bath" (see below). i think i was looking for something dramatic at this point, as the boredom/monotony of it all had really started to set in. sunset and i discussed early on that this would be a real issue for both of us.

would i do it again?
i would definitely consider it. i think it's a healthy way to clear out your body, get things in perspective, and loose a few pounds in the process. i'd also be interested in looking into vegetable broth alternative, as i'm very much a savory person, so i think that might be easier for me to sustain (especially if there was some variety).

other stuff
there's so much to tell. everyone has their own experience and up-and-downs. if you are considering the master cleanse, i would suggest that you commit to at least 3 days, and try to end on an "up" day. i still had solids in my system before day 3, so i consider that the beginning of being "cleared out".

i think most of us described something resembling a sore throat early on (day 3 or before). it might have been related to our citrusy drink, but for me it was pretty subtle. i'm sure it's not indicative of a real problem.

be prepared for a heightened sense of smell! this was noticeable to me early on, but seemed more so as i progressed.

at least one person at work asked me about protein on the fast, and i know scott has voiced concerns about the lack of protein in this diet. i am particularly sensitive to protein in my regular diet. i find that when i don't have a good balance, especially first thing in the day, i get really sleepy after i eat. however, on this diet i found that my body was able to adjust pretty well.

mixed feelings coming off
i'm definitely looking forward getting back to my normal flexible diet, but i do feel surprisingly mixed now that i've transitioned off the cleanse. that might have something to do with wondering what would have been in store for me on day 8, 9, and 10.

i think all of us have been more conscious about what we're putting into our bodies which is good. it will be interesting to see how this affects our omnivorious diets.

that's about all i have in me for right now. now i'm going to contemplate when i'll have my first post-cleanse espresso ;)