March 26, 2008

Master Cleanse: Day Two

10:00a.m. I had a headache last night. Right behind my eyes which I don't usually get. I had my tea last night and went to bed. Had another cup of herbal laxative tea this morning and came to work. It's working, lol.

I have my gallon of lemonade to drink today, and that's it. It's harder to make yourself drink a gallon of water than you'd think, even when it's spread out over the course of a day. I know I have to keep drinking it because it's the only thing going into my body, but my tummy gets full after drinking too much. I did it all yesterday, so I think I'll be ok for today.

I don't feel any different yet, no stomach cramping or light-headedness. I don't feel hungry yet, but it's still early in the day so we'll see how that goes. I'm going to see In The Heights tonight, so it will be interesting to see how well the evening goes. I'm hoping I don't get another headache. Does anyone know if you normally get headaches from not eating food? Or is that something I should take notice of and remember?

3:00p.m. If the purpose of this cleanse is to make you feel smaller, it certainly does. Sitting next to people who are eating lunch and being happy and going through the motions of normal social interactions with each other and not being able to eat makes you feel invisible, and out of place. Skinnier? Not yet. Smaller? Yup.

Will post later on when I get home this evening. Here's hoping no one risks their lives by sitting me down at a table with pasta all around me. God willing....

March 25, 2008

Master Cleanse: Day One

So it's been awhile since I've posted, but that's mostly only because nothing has been going on. No new hockey news, went to a couple of tournaments, did alright there. Brian's doing well, family is doing well. Working at Broadway.com now, after leaving HRC due to some fundamental disagreements with the direction of the Campaign. I support transgendered people, HRC doesn't. So there's your life update.

Here's where I get pretty honest.

I have body issues. Weight issues.

I've started the Master Cleanse (also called the Lemonade Diet, though it's not actually a diet) before my hockey season starts to clean out my body and get into better shape. The fact that hockey season is on its way isn't the only reason I want to do this though. I eat stuff that's reeeeeeally unhealthy for me. Fast food lots of times during the week, soda every day, food way past 8:00 (Oprah says it's a no-no), etc. To be able to break all of the unhealthy eating habits that I've fallen into over the past few years, to completely clean out all of the built-up toxins and preservatives in my system, and to teach my stomach that it doesn't need a mountain of food to satisfy me, I'm going to do this cleanse. Here's what it involves.

For 10-14 days, no food. So really it's a fast, and not a diet, to get technical. Each day, I have to drink a gallon of liquid containing maple syrup, fresh squeezed lemon juice, water, and cayenne pepper. One cup of herbal tea in the morning and one at night to keep things moving out of your body. And that's it. Which seems crazy, when I type it out.

Last night before bed, I drank the herbal tea, and had another cup this morning when I woke up. I made my lemonade fresh last night, which they encourage you to do, and took the gallon with me to work. I think I put too much cayenne pepper in though, because Jesus Christ this stuff is spicy. It's weird thinking that I'm only going to be drinking this stuff for the next 10 days. It's only 10 in the morning now, so I'm not feeling hungry yet. I can't even imagine how I'm going to feel in 10 days or so.

People who do this cleanse reported feeling less dense inside, a little lighter and much healthier, with more energy and a heightened hunger for healthy foods. It's easy to think that I'd be starving after 10 days on a liquid diet, but people who have done it say that the hunger goes away after 2 or 3 days, and the lemonade fills you up. I hope that happens fast, because I get pretty hungry. I'm Italian and from New Jersey. That means I love food. And eating.

10:30a.m. Not hungry yet. I'll post again tonight to let you know how the day went.

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11:30p.m. How do people do this? Are you insane? I just went to see Crybaby and I had to sit with Brian and his aunt at Sophia's (cute Italian restaurant, 46th St) while they ate delicious pasta on either side of me. Brian had amazing (looking) tortellini and I had nothing. I hate him. It's not his fault. I'm going to have my cup of herbal laxative tea and go to sleep. Post in the morning.