Mohonk

We are at our favorite place today. We left at 3:45am today and arrived for breakfast at 8:30. We decided to sneak off. I didn't even tell my Mom.

Hi Mom!! I'm sending you a post card!

For breakfast, I had a veggie omelette, french toast, eggs benedict with tomato, fresh pineapple and blackberries, toasted pecans, sausage and bacon. I shared with Filip, who ate alot! He was a hungry boy.

Filip is staying very occupied. He played with tree blocks and watched a bird in the conservatory room. He checked out a couple of fireplaces. He's also playing with a sparkly ball that I bought him in the gift shop. He's enjoying exploring the mansion.

I'm going to write some postcards today, catch up on some reading, maybe we'll go ice skating. I know JR wants to see the greenhouse.

Oh yeah this is funny. Filip saw the jar of crispy rice cakes and just HAD to have one. He had no idea that they taste like nothing. I guess to a two-year-old it looks like a big cookie. Well, now he knows. He kind of touched it with his tongue, and moved on.

Ham and other vices

Before JR had even finished his cleanse, he brought home this huge ham from Cracker Barrel. It was a really good price, and we could freeze it for later, and my Mom would want some, yada yada yada.
I love ham, but I try not to eat too much. Pork is probably the unhealthiest meat a person could possibly eat (except maybe crabs). My impression is that pigs eat anything, and require tons of vaccinations in order to be suitable food for humans. Perhaps I'm wrong, I haven't read anything about it. I still eat it every once in a while, since I don't really have a solid basis to object to it, and I like it.
So we had ham, pancakes and eggs for breakfast. I cut up the leftover ham for lunch. For dinner, I'm using the ham hauck (spelling) to make a bean soup. We have more ham I have to cook within 5 days. I also froze 3 more packages of it.
JR loves this ham so much. I try not to express my reservations about it. There's no use in taking away the joy he gets from eating food he likes.

I'm also trying to stay away from refined sugars. I get plenty of sweets with our maple syrup, honey, and molassas. So every time I have something refined, (basically every time I visit my Mom's) I try to go 3 days before having something else. Stephanie A. made that suggestion of having sweets just 2 times a week. It sounds like a reasonable limit, so I'm trying to adopt it.

JR tends to bring home the sweets. When he was on his cleanse, he brought me home 2 doughnuts. I think I spaced eating them about 2 days apart. Not bad. He also brought home this pecan/caramel fudge. I have not touched it. I'm not supposed to, until Thursday. Maybe I won't touch it at all, and give it as a gift to someone.

I don't know why he was buying all this greedy stuff, during the time he was not going to eat any of it.

I'm having such a hard time enjoying foods that the majority of the population eat without so much as a thought of what they're putting into their bodies. I could not enjoy my breakfast, because I was thinking about the refined flour in the pancakes, the vaccinations in the meat, how I used Mrs. Butterworths instead of real syrup.

The fact is, I have improved my eating habits drastically since I got married. I grew up on foods that do little for my health besides give me calories to burn. Anything good I do now is an improvement from before. I do alot of good things now. I eat sprouts that I grow myself, I make sprouted wheat bread, I drink apple cider vinegar every day, and many more positive things. So if I eat 'normal' food, I really need to just enjoy it. Stressing over it, is worse for my health than eating something bad.

So I sat down with a cup of coffee to eat with my eggs and pancakes (I skipped my own portion of the ham). JR saw me drinking it and says:

"The caffeine in coffee inhibits your body's ability to absorb minerals, so don't bother taking vitamins this morning".

Day 7 A Hungry Man is an Angry Man

JR completed his last cleanse day yesterday. Now he get's to ease back into eating food.
I noticed some good results in him while he was on the cleanse. I know you won't believe that this is possible, but he seemed more calm and relaxed this week. He no longer got moody when he was hungry. His patience level was higher too.
He started working out this week as well. Within a day or so, there was noticeable muscle definition. He looks so manly and strong! He just takes my breath away, but I digress.
His eyes look younger, and well rested.
As an added bonus, I could actually squeeze the blackheads out that were on his back! They used to be there as permanent fixtures, just teasing me to try to squeeze them out. When I tried before, they would bury themselves deeper in as I squeezed, mocking my vigilence at removing all foreign particles from his skin. Now, they're gone. What an accomplishment!

I think his plan is to be on juice today and tomorrow. Tuesday, he'll introduce vegetable broth, and Wednesday he'll begin eating normally.

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa

The cheap seats have a 'two for one' deal every tuesday night. So, we decided to take Filip to this movie.

I liked this movie much better than the first one. The plot is weak, but the charactors were an improvement from the last one. Basically, it's a bunch of dumb story developments to deliver hilarious pop-cult gags.

If you take the plot seriously, you'll be like "this is just a poor man's lion king" or "didn't I see this 10 times before?". So just view it like you're being entertained by the likes of Bernie Mac, Ben Stiller, Jada Pinkett Smith, Cedric the Entertainer, Alec Baldwin, and that guy from 'Friends', in animal suits. It will make you laugh.

Day 5 - Two for one

I noticed something else from the cleanse. My face always feels tight and dry after I wash it. For the past two nights, I didn't even feel like I needed lotion. It's also noticeably softer.

I was concerned about Filip maybe getting toxins from nursing while I'm on the cleanse. However, it appears he's getting the detox affect as well. His diapers have been really stinky, which means he's passing more bad stuff. He has had bags under his eye since he was born. I noticed that they have gone down. Also, his little stye has shrunk. I don't know if they're permanently gone, but it is worth noting.

JR seems to be doing well on the cleanse. His eyes look younger.

Day 4 - See ya

Today I decided to introduce foods back in my diet. In just those 3 days, I did notice good changes in my system:

My lymph nodes are back to normal.
My root canal tooth does not bother me.
I have gone 4 days without caffeine without so much as a headache.
I lost interest in desserts.
My colon is completely cleaned out!

I know I would have gotten even better results if I stayed on longer. I just got concerned about how it affected my milk. My thinking is that if toxins got released in my milk from this, then the things that help detox did as well.
The real reason I stopped was that I got past the minimum amount of days to be on this, I got pretty much the results I was after, and I was hungry.

Today, my slow introduction to food started out well. I added orange juice to my mix for breakfast, and made dandilion broth.
Then, I went to Jeannie's house. I ate a piece of bread with my broth, and finished off Filip's hot dog. I figured it would be okay if I chewed really well.

Do not do this.
You must slooowwwyy introduce food. Basically, it's like the 2nd phase of the cleanse. Add orange juice the first day. The 2nd day you can add vegetable broth. The 3rd day you can eat vegetables. After that you can eat normal.

JR is continuing on this cleanse. I will continue to update the results he gets.

Before you decide this is something for yourself, I think it would be a good idea to read the book "Master Cleanser" By Stanley Burroughs

I did not do this. I think if I did, I would have had more determination to stick with it. It's good to be knowledgeable about the benefits when you're doing something difficult. It's also good to have support of people who understand the whole detox thing.

So, I'm not recommending the cleanse itself, because that is a personal decision. If you do it though, read the book, and make sure you talk to people who understand the natural health perspective. Also, where they say you should talk to a health care practictioner, make sure it's a natural doctor. My opinion is that Medical doctors go to a completely different school that cannot be reconciled with 'alternative' health.

Day 3 - It's working

This is supposed to be the hardest day.
This morning I had hot flashes after my salt water flush. I also had trouble regulating my temperature. Flu-like symptoms like that are common, because that's the way your body gets rid of things that impair your health.
After I took a hot bath, and a nap this morning, I felt much better.

I can totally see how it helps you break bad eating habits. It's like a re-set for your tastebuds. This morning, I drank a glass of water, and the water tasted sweet to me.
I read that molassas can be a substitute for maple syrup for diabetics. So I used that as an excuse to have some myself. I took 3 tsp of it, and it tasted like candy. I also could tell the difference between regular lemons and organic lemons by taste.

It seems like the afternoons are much better than the mornings for me. So I believe the hardest part of the cleanse is over. Yay! Now I just have to decide how much longer I want to keep this up. If I get good results tomorrow, I might start introducing other juice and vegetable broth by the weekend.

Day 2 - Not so bad

JR joined me on the cleanse today. We were both very tired. That is to be expected for the first few days, because it takes alot of energy for your body to purge toxins. We both took a nap this afternoon, after we had slept in later than usual.

I was so hungry this morning. Then I figured out that I should be sipping on the lemonade all day long. Before, I was waiting until I was hungry, and drinking lemonade as my meal. So now, I have my McDonalds cup I keep sipping out of, and I feel much better.

*next par. is gross*
Oh yeah, if you do this cleanse, don't pass gas. Go to the bathroom, because you never know for sure. Other than that, it really shouldn't mess up your routine (or your pants, haha).

From now on, if I have something gross to share, I'll warn you before the paragraph with this:*gross*

Now that I'm not eating, my standard for what a greedy meal would be has changed. If you gave me a salad with oil and vinegar, with a bowl of dandilion broth, I would be in heaven right now. I would probably top it off if a piece of whole grain bread and butter. I can't even imagine what food I'd imagine before the cleanse, but I can tell you it sure wouldn't include salad and dandilion.

So now, that I reformed my cravings, can I stop now?
JR would say no.

Master Cleanse - Day 1

I drank the Senna tea last night. It did not affect me as strongly as it usually affects me. I used to drink it whenever I felt bad about what I ate that day.

This morning, my quart of salt water was not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I left about 2 oz. behind though. I drank it quickly, and was beginning to feel like I could throw up because of that.

The lemonade tastes good, because I love all 3 ingredients. I'm surprised at how well it fills me up. I was feeling starving at the meeting, like I could eat 3 hamburgers. I drank my 6 oz cup of lemonade when I got back into the car, and my hunger was gone.

I'm learning how much comfort I gain from eating food. The lemonade cures the hunger. So any impulse I have to eat is strictly to feel good. I keep telling myself that I'm not hungry, and I can find another way to feel comforted. So, when I got home, I took a 2 hr nap.

JR ate a turkey burger for lunch. It smelled good, but I didn't mind not eating. Filip came in smelling like 7 layer dip. I don't really care. I'll just drink my lemonade.

The Master Cleanse

I'm starting the Master Cleanse tonight. You can google that or "Lemonade Diet" and get all the details how to do it.

For ten days I will do the following:
Drink a quart of salted water first thing in the morning.
Drink a home-made lemonade recipe every time I feel hungry
Drink Senna leaf tea every night

The reasons I want to do this is mainly for the detoxification effects. Here are symptoms I have right now, that I think the cleanse will improve:

My skin breaks out often
I noticed some enlarged lymph nodes on my neck
My tooth that I am postponing a root canal on is aching more
Some dark patches of skin on my stomach
I crave alot of sugar
I need caffeine daily
I have been having more frequent anxiety attacks

So starting tomorrow, I'll be completely on liquids for 10 days. I will update regularly on how well it is going.