Cleanse Day 12...

Amazing.... I made it to day 12...that was actually on 5/24/08 which was Saturday. I haven't been able to get to the computer to make any updates. I am very pleased with how the cleanse went. I have lost a total of 10 lbs. I think it was worth it. I decided to make day 12 my last for 2 reasons. 1. I ran out of Lemons and didn't want to have to go get more. 2. My tongue was mostly cleared up, there was only a little spot in the back that was still coated. I am planning to do another cleanse next month....so look for more updates then! When I got on the scale this morning (Monday) I weighed 219lbs. I would call that a success!

Cleanse Day 11....

AM/NOON: Yes, you read that right cleanse day 11. That means I am continuing on.....I am not sure if I am happy about that or not. I really just want to be done but I don't want to jump back into food too soon. I am afraid of going back to my bad habits. (Emotional eating....boredom eating....too many carbs....ect.) I am really craving bread and tortillas. Both of those are heavy carbs so that makes me think I am detoxing carbs. I am really going to try and up my water intake as well as drink the lemonade. I am hoping that will help my tongue clear up faster. It's worth a try, right? Oh....sigh....I just want to be done!
PM: Ahhhh..I think I have had my moment of clarity. I am no longer worried about what it is I will eat. I think I will be ok to eat things like bread and tortillas....but only in moderation. I just need to make sure that my diet is mostly all raw fruits, nuts, seeds, and veggies. I can do that! I have been so hungry this afternoon for some carrot sticks, cucumber, jicma, and a salad without ranch dressing. The thought of ranch dressing, milk, cheese, mayo, ice cream , sugar, ect is really making my stomach turn...so I think I am past the hump. However I still wouldn't mind some chocolate. :) I have enough lemons to make it through tomorrow on the cleanse, then I am going to start weaning off. Hurray! I really think I will do another cleanse next month. Oh, by the way, my tongue is almost clear!

Cleanse Day 10!!!!....

AM/NOON: Hurray! I have made it to 10 days!!!! Now for the bad news....my tongue is still coated. :( I am having a hard time with that. Basically if you go and look at a tub of shortening that is what my tongue looks like. Pretty nasty! I think I am going to continue it at least through the weekend. I want to see if I can give my tongue a chance to clear up. Also I wanted to give you the website that gives more information on the cleanse. www.themastercleanse.com I will post more this evening.
PM: I have decided to at least continue the cleanse through Monday. That is unless my tongue magically clears up soon. I had some good energy today..I got a lot done around the house. One thing I can say is that the cleanse has given me more energy even if it hasn't felt like it. What I mean is I have been averaging maybe 4 hours of sleep a night. I have still been able to get up and go throughout the day. I have been able to chase the kids and work on things around the house. Normally with that little amount of sleep I would be dragging and pretty much useless! So just imagine how much more energy I would feel like i have if I were getting a good nights rest! My tongue is still coated although not nearly as bad tonight. I guess we will see what the morning brings. I'm chugging my tea and off to bed!

Cleanse Day 9...

AM/NOON: I woke up this morning feeling very sick. My hiney hurts like I need to go to the bathroom....but nothing comes out! Even the salt rinse didn't help very much! I didn't know you could get constipated on the cleanse. Leave it to me I guess. I still have only lost the 5 lbs. I was hoping for more but will take what I can get. I am feeling very out of sorts and my eyes are very unfocused. My tongue is just as coated as ever. I hope it clears up tomorrow because I really want to be done! Maybe I will take a picture of my tongue.

PM: Well there you have it...a picture of my tongue. It is not a very good picture but hey, I took it myself! However you can see the white on my tongue. It varies from really coated to kinda coated. I am praying that it is all clean tomorrow! I am ready for my fruit and veggies! I had a really hard time getting all the lemonade down today. I am sooooo tired of it! I have definitely decided that I am going to do one of these cleanses at least twice a year. I did get some more energy this afternoon which is good. More tomorrow.....

Cleanse Day 8...

*Sigh* Another late night for me! I finally got to bed about 1:30 this a.m. I got up and had everyone out the door at 5:30 a.m. (Yes, that is less that 4 hours rest.) I drove Hubby to work and then came right back home. When we got home I did my salt wash and got the kids dressed and some breakfast. (I was hoping they would sleep in the car, but they didn't.) I spent some time playing with them and then we laid down for naps at about 10:30. The next thing I knew it was noon and Lindsy was crying in her crib. I got the kids up and made them lunch. Then we drove over to my parents to take care of the dog that had been shot. When we got back I started to water all the trees in our yard. It took me a full 2 hours to water everything! Before I knew it was 5 p.m. I went in to start supper. After supper I did the dishes and then loaded the kids in the car again. We went back to my parents so that Hubby could return the pickup he was borrowing. We left at 9 p.m. After doing the evening chores (eggs, kids, animals, ect...) I have finally brewed myself a cup of laxative tea and have made my way to the computer. The only thing can think is I have had an amazing amount of energy considering how much sleep I have had. I think the cleanse has given me more energy it is just hard to tell when I am only getting a few hours of sleep a night. I also still have the coated tongue but my ears don't hurt anymore. Also my sense of smell is still really strong and my whole family smells to me. That is one thing I wish would go away. Tomorrow is day 9 which is hard to believe. I have been having dreams about me eating everything in sight. I wonder if that means anything? They say you get great mental clarity at day 8 but I guess I am still waiting for mine. I am off to the shower and bed.

Cleanse Day 7....

Well once again apologies for not making 3 updates here. Today was busy....as usual! I got up with the hubby fed him breakfast, and packed him a lunch, then sent him to work. I didn't mean to but I did fall back asleep for like an hour and a half. I finally did get up and did the salt wash. This morning I had to force it down....all the other mornings it hasn't seemed to bad. I once again took up my throne and played queen for awhile. Then the kids woke up. It was rushing around and breaking up fights between the 2 of them all morning. About noon we finally made it out of the house. I had several errands to make. The hardest of them was the grocery store. I wanted to buy EVERYTHING! I was feeling good about the cleanse this morning but by 3 pm I was ready to throw in the towel! I just want regular food! I think mostly I am tired (or bored) with the same old lemonade mix. I need a different texture and I need a different flavor! I can see why they say day 7 is hard. Oh well..... 7 days down and only 3 more to go hopefully! (It depends on the tongue!) I am off to crash in to bed for about 4 hours of sleep before I have to get up and make breakfast and drive the hubby in to work. Oh...I didn't want to forget to mention that my ears are killing me today! I am hoping it is detox and not ear infections.

Cleanse Day 6...

What a day... I was up at 5:30 to drink my salt wash. I spent lots of time in the bathroom this morning. Cooked everyone (but me) breakfast. Then we rushed out the door at 8:30 to go to a baptism. We finally got home about 12 noon. I cooked everyone else lunch and then we all laid down for a nap. We laid down at 1 and I & the kids didn't wake up until 4:30. I guess we really needed the rest. I started cooking supper and fed everyone again. Then we all went for a 2.5 mile walk. Once home I baked ginger snaps for everyone else. (pure torture) I also baked a loaf of bread. I got the kids ready for bed and then made hubby's lunch for the next day. I stood at the sink and gulped down my laxative tea. As I was headed up to bed I realized that I had yet to post the excitement for day 6.
I woke up feeling great and full of energy. However I didn't get to go to the bathroom during the baptism and I really needed to go. I had to wait for like 30 minutes. I started to feel bad and haven't felt much better for the rest of the day. Later this evening I finally put 2 & 2 together and realized that my body was trying to get rid of toxins. However when I wasn't able to go to the bathroom my body sucked the toxins back in. Hence the very sick feeling the rest of the day. Hopefully with the salt wash tomorrow I can flush those toxins back out. Even if I have to set up camp in the bathroom!
I am ready for day 7!

Cleanse Day 5....

AM: Hurray! I am half way there! I am surprised it has gone pretty quickly. I didn't think I would make it on day 2. I have decided that I am going to go until June 1st or until my tongue goes clear and pink. They say that you know you are done when your tongue goes clear and pink. Since starting the cleanse I have had a white pasty tongue. It is quite gross! I have lost 5 lbs so far. So I am excited about that. I had my salt wash this am and I am about to go make up my first lemonade mix. There most won't likely be a noon update since we are having to go over to my parents. They had a horse die this morning and are needing my hubby to go take care of it.
PM: Whew! What a day...I wish someone could take my shower for me and put me in bed because I am way too tired to move! In the midst of all the chaos (While we were taking care of the horse problem, my dog that has been living at my parents was shot. I rushed her to the vet and she is loaded with buckshot but it all seems to have missed her organs. So they refused to put her to sleep. None the less she is back home and resting.) As I was saying in the midst of all the chaos I still managed to get in 6 lemonades. Not bad if you ask me! However tonight I must say I AM EXHAUSTED! Also my teeth feel nasty! I am sure it is just stuff coming out. The best bonus of the day is that I was able to comfortably wear a pair of jeans all day. Even this late into the night the waist band still isn't cutting into my stomach. So while I may have only lost 5 lbs my clothes are fitting much better already. Also We (hubby, kids, & I) all took a 3 mile walk this evening. Well I guess the kids did ride in the stroller...but I walked! Well, I think I am done for the night. The laxative tea is down the hatch and I am going to bed!

Cleanse Day 4.....

AM & NOON: I woke up with more energy today. I was in bed after midnight and up several times in the night. When I got up with my hubby at 5:30 I packed his lunch as usual and sent him off to work. The odd thing was that I wasn't able to go back to bed. So I sat downstairs wrapped in a blanket enjoying the quiet morning. I drank down my salt wash and spent some time on the throne. (I always knew I was a queen bee!) I spent most the morning chasing around turkeys in the yard. I finally have Lindsy down for a nap so I am going to go get a shower. One quick note; my kid's breath smells so horrible to me...it's almost like its toxic. They say if you re healthy your breath should never smell. I think I may really need to evaluate and change my kid's diets!
PM: Wow the evening just ran away from me. I have been able to drink 6 of the lemonade mixes. I am sipping down my laxative tea and going to bed. One weird thing....I love to cook. I have been having a hard time with boredom on this cleanse. This evening I found a weird solace in looking through my cookbooks. I would have thought it would have made me hungry but it hasn't it was more relaxing than anything else....STRANGE!

Cleanse Day 3...

AAARRRRGGGG! I tell you I wasn't able to get to the computer all day so please forgive the late update. I woke up with my hubby at 5:30 am. I went downstairs to make his lunch and send him off to work. I went back to bed around 7:30 am. I was feeling so rotten and unfocused that I thought more sleep would help. I had a long night last night....weird dreams and tossed and turned in bed. Any how I passed out cold until 9 am. I laid in bed listening for the kids. I didn't hear the kids making any noise so I laid there and listened to the rain come pouring down. The sound was so relaxing that I couldn't help myself.... I drifted back off to sleep. The next thing I knew It was 9:50am and I lept out of bed and ran downstairs to check the kids. Lindsy was sitting up in bed playing quietly and Clayton was laying in bed reading a book. I got them each a bowl of cereal and made my salt wash. I sat down to drink my salt wash and got about half of it chugged down before my phone rang. I was the appliance man saying he was on his way out to deliver my sister's new washer and dryer. She was going to be out of town for the day and I had promised her that I would take delivery of them at her house for her. I set down the remainder of my salt wash and jumped up to get dressed and get the kids ready. I rushed to my sisters house where I sat from 11 am til 1 pm. I was going crazy without any of my lemonade and 2 ornery kids. When I got home from my sis's I made the kids a sandwich and sat down to feed them. Thankfully food didn't seem to interesting to me. (Don't get me wrong I would have gladly taken a bite of the meat and cheese!) As they were eating My hubby came home from work...they had gotten rained out. I drank some lemonade and tried to do laundry. I am feeling pretty weak so I didn't feel like I had the strength to lug the clothes to the proper rooms. Most of the laundry is folded on the kitchen counter and the table. I cooked hubby and the kids some dinner. (Homemade stroganoff) I did dishes while everyone else ate. Lindsy took a bath and then we went on a walk. I thought I was going to pass out. My spine started to hurt with a burning pain. It still really hurts. My whole back hurts really bad right now. The other thing I am having is that I am soooooooo COLD! I can't stand it. I am not a normally cold person but I have been freezing since starting the cleanse. Hubby was nice enough to build a fire tonight. I sat there drinking more lemonade, wrapped in a blanket, wearing a jacket and jogging pants, warming by the fire. I was and still am cold! I am having my laxative tea now and looking forward to crawling under the WARM covers. Oh just a quick note....my family smelled today...they all smelled like they were detoxing too. The smell of hubby and Clayton about made me throw up! Although I am sure I don't smell like roses either! Hmmmmm.....interesting!

Cleanse Day 2.....

AM: Ugh.... I woke up with a horrid sore throat and and white pasty tongue. I did my salt wash and felt a little better. Mostly I spent the last hour running to the toilet. I lost count of how many times. I have drank one Lemonade mix and plan to go make another right now. I am feeling kinda tired and out of sorts. Look for more this afternoon.
PM: So sorry I didn't get a noon update in here today...things just went crazy this afternoon. I had to go pick up my hubby from the truck shop as his work trucks transmission went out on him. We met up at one shop on the east side of town and they told him they couldn't fix it to take it to another shop. The other shop was on the far west side of town and we were battling rush hour traffic. It took us 45 minutes to get across town and to the shop. Then I had to take him to go pick up the crane at the job he was at today. Then I followed him back to the 'yard' where all the company's equipment is parked. Then I needed to go to Wild Oats to get more lemons. (I have gone through 14 in the last 2 days) The next thing I knew it was 7 pm and everyone was starving....We stopped in for hambugers. The kids each gobbled theirs up and then shared a pack of fries. (NO WE DID NOT EAT AT MCDONALDS! We went to Lotaburger which is a very clean and tasty NM tradition!) Anyhow anyone who knows me knows I will not touch a hamburger with a 10 ft pole. However I LOVE Lotaburger fries. Does anyone have any idea how hard it was to keep from eating just 1 fry? To top it all off I am so hungrey that I was actually tempted to eat Lindsy's hamburger. Insane I tell you! It was pure torture! On the way home I started to get weird cravings. Now mind you I eat all organic diet and never eat fast food. This is the things I was craving on the way home. Captain D's (its nasty fast food fish, I HATE fish) Starbucks, Arby's, Pizza, Salad, Movie theater nachos (I haven't been in a movie theater in over 5 years) Popcorn, crackers, ice cream, cheese, yogurt, cereal, steak, fruit, carrots, and ranch dressing. What nasty cravings and yet I wanted some sooooooooooo bad. However when we got home my low back and hip started burning with pain. Then my right butt cheek and hip swelled up. Then I lost feeling in my legs. (These are the same symptoms I had after my 2 RhoGam shots with the kids....INTERESTING!) I am sure it would be safe to say my body is releasing that toxin. The pain lasted about and hour. My hip is still sore but the cravings have gone away. I think the hardest part of this cleanse is having to make sure everyone else is properly fed and having to sit there while everyone else eats. I am sure I will survive. I am off to go drink my laxative tea as soon as I finish my last glass of lemon stuff. (I did 7 today.) I will update more in the AM.

The Master Cleanser....

Hello all! I realize that it has been awhile since I updated here. I am so sorry for the lack of updates. I have had a little girl that has had a round with the flu. Then I managed to get it and then it has been a rough week afterwards. It is amazing how much stuff needed caught up.
I am going to change the route of this blog a bit for the next few weeks. I am starting something called The Master Cleanser. It is a cleansing and detox program. I am hoping it will help with some of my issues. I learned about it from my Young Living Essential Oils desk reference book. You can learn more about it at; http://healthandlight.com/TheMasterCleanse.pdf I am hoping that it will help with some of my issues. (Bloating, swelling, exhaustion, skin disorder) I am going to take some before pictures of my legs (the swelling and skin issue) I am going to post them side by side after I complete the cleanse. I am going to update this blog 3x's a day while on this cleanse. I am going to do the cleanse for the recommended 10 days but I may go longer if I feel like it. AM: So lets get to the first update! Last night I started with a cup of laxative tea as recommended. I did have some stomach gurgling but nothing else. This am 5/13/08 I drank my 32 oz of salt water as recommended. I have now ran to the bathroom twice in the last hour. I am feeling a little weak and a bit dizzy but I am sure it is the lack of the caffeine that my body is used to. I am already amazed at the amount of mucus releasing from my sinuses. I haven been blowing my nose a ton and swallowing back HUGE mucus balls. I am like an hour and a half into the cleanse and I can already feel huge things moving! Hurray! Oh real quick at the start of this cleanse I am weighing in at 230 lbs. Look for my afternoon update! NOON: Whew.... I am surprized! I thought this would be waaaayyy worse! I am having some issues with wanting to 'snack' I am not hungry but when I cut the kids an apple it was so hard to resist taking one of the slices for myself. Also when Clayton brings me things like his crackers to open I have a really hard time not just putting a few in my mouth. (Hmmm...maybe it's my kids that are making me fat??? :) ) I really just want to chew something. But it is more like an emotional release. I am having some with drawls of things like coffee and tea. The hardest was nearly automatically reaching the the fridge to get a slice of cheese. I am beginning to think I was really addicted to cheese. NOT GOOD! I wonder if I will even like cheese when I am done with this cleanse. A few notes about the drink.....I loved the taste of my first one! However the second batch I mixed up I put a little too much Cayenne pepper in it and it nearly lit flames all the way down! I chugged it so that it would burn as much *hopefully. However it made me need to lay down. I am wondering if it is the too much pepper or the chugging? I felt the need to get in the shower around 1 pm. Mostly because I was so cold I couldn't stop shivering. I am sure that is just a detox. Look for more tonight! PM: Well the rest of the afternoon was ROUGH! I got ill (detox) and then I had to lay down for a nap. I don't even remember my husband coming home. I have drank 7 of the lemonade mixtures and am going to put the kids to bed and drink my laxative tea. With any luck I won't be up all night, however my guts have been protesting pretty loudly this afternoon. I stayed cold for most of the day and then I warmed up this evening. However I am starting to feel a little weak and shaky. I am sure it is detox. The desire to eat is one of the strongest I have ever felt, I will not cave! However it is so tempting to just grab up the box of the kids crackers and jam them in my mouth. I just need to chew something!!!!!! I think I will get over it.