Reflections: Laurs

Hello faithful readers. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for following along with us on our Journey to Cleansed. Now that I've had a bit of time to think about my experience with Cleanse #2, I have some reflections to share.

Overall, this was a very different experience from Cleanse #1. First of all, the novelty of life sans food had worn off. Second, I already knew I could make it 10 days without eating since I had done it before, which weakened my motivation a bit. And for whatever reason, I felt more of a pull to go out this time around, which is difficult for me when I'm in Cleanse mode. As a result, I would stay home and have a low-key night, sometimes growing a little stir crazy.

Another difference was that I had more energy this time around. I was SO tired on the first Cleanse and although I was a little weak this time around, I felt much stronger overall. And my spaciness wasn't as bad either. I wonder if any of this is tied to the fact that the salt water wasn't having as dramatic an effect on me this time. Sometimes it would do it's thing and other days, my bathroom and I kept our distance.

On balance, this Cleanse was about as challenging as my first one since it was physically easier and emotionally more challenging. As much as I love the idea of cleaning out my system and engaging in a "time out," I think 6 months was too soon after my first Cleanse to launch into another one. Mickey, who will add his thoughts soon, came up with the theory that Wintertime might be more difficult since our bodies instinctively want to store weight yet we're forcing them to do the opposite. Could be. Maybe this is why I was craving chicken and meatballs even though I'm normally a vegetarian? At one point, I actually had a vision of myself biting into a chicken leg and ripping off the meat. Damn!

Am I glad I did another Cleanse? Yes. Was returning to the world of food everything I'd dreamed it would be? Hell ya, it was (my first rye cracker tasted as good as a snickers bar!). Will I do the Cleanse again 6 months from now? Probably not but I may do another one the following summer. We'll see...

After my last cleanse, I successfully gave up candy (with the exception of dark chocolate) and regular coffee (still drinking those decaf soy oles--yum!). I also became more conscious to avoid white, processed bread, rice, etc. This time I'm not ready to give up something else, but I am going to try to cook more at home. I'm not sure I need to make any big changes, but it's always nice to be reminded how delicious food can be and how we don't need as much of it as we tend to eat (at least I don't).

With that, I leave you with my final reflection. A Master Cleanse Poem:

Life get busy, pants get tight
Too much wine on weekday nights
Overdue to make amends
Time to rock the Master Cleanse

Finally we pick a day
To launch the Cleanse. It’s on. Hooray!
Shopping never was so easy
And then we start and things get queasy

Lemons, syrup, cayenne pepper
Senna tea? Oh yes you better.
Wake up to a salt water flush
We hit that bathroom in a rush

One day, two day, three day, four
How much longer, how much more?
Dinner invites get declined
Our friends all think we've lost our minds

Spacey brains and early nights
Mickers isn’t as up tight
As Laurs who hardly leaves her home
Restricting friendships to the phone

Five days, six days, seven, eight
We start to notice we've lost weight!
The end is coming, food is near
Dreams of tacos, cake and beer

Nine days, ten days, juice then soup
Back to normal food and p**p
Eating really is da bomb
So long MickMaster Cleanse.com!