Post-MC Day 2

This morning was fantastic!!! I was planning to stick to OJ, soup, and maybe some fruit and yogurt today. However I've been feeling so good and my digestive system is working very efficiently;) so far so I don't see a problem with small amounts of other foods. I had half a pancake (with leftover organic maple syrup of course), a hardboiled egg and glass of diluted OJ this morning! WOOHOOO!! Food tastes great! Weighed myself this morning, half expecting to have gained a small amount since I began eating yesterday... but instead lost another 1.5 lbs! :) That's 11.5 lbs now. I've moved up 3 notches on my belt that I just bought a few weeks ago... which is great (!) but I don't purchase clothes often and was hoping to be able to use this one for awhile. Good thing I kept a couple pairs of jeans from a few years ago. Last night we wached a movie so I had a few pieces of popcorn and one Reece Peanut Butter cup (I know I know! But come on!!!! Haven't eaten in 10 days!!!). I have to tell you that popcorn has never tasted so amazing. Not only is it nice to be able to eat again, but food actually tastes better than it did before. My tastebuds seem more alert. It's wonderful:)

MC Day 10... sort of.

Well, the day didn't begin as per usual... nor continue as per planned. 6:15am: I wake up to feel pretty weak. Haven't even gotten out of bed and I feel shakey. My first thought, "I knew I should have made myself drink more water yesterday. Arrrg!". I'm terrible when it comes to drinking water. It doesn't taste like anything! Hard to force. However, saltwater is even harder... 6:45am: Up for the day. Can walk to the kitchen and no further b/c I start to black out. Ok. The obvious decision has been made to cut this cleanse short. I wanted to finish, sucky as it is, but don't think it's wise. Screwed up yesterday and am paying for it today. 6:46am: Head straight to the fridge and grab an a-m-a-z-i-n-g glass of orange juice. Mmmmmmmmmmmm! ...followed up by a glass of water. Time to re-hydrate and re-energize! A very exciting day to be done unexpectedly!! Here's my schedule for the following days: Today will technically be Day 1 of Post-cleanse. It will consist of orange juice, water, and if that goes down well I may be able to treat myself to some vegetable soup tonight for super! Yea:) :) :) :) :) I've been eyeing some leftover borscht in the fridge that I made for Kev and the kids earlier this week. Can't WAIT to endulge! Well, it won't so much be "endulging" as it will be "cautiously sipping and chewing just a little bit to ensure good digestion". That's okay though. Also, two doses of acidophilus per day, for the next 3 months. Basically, it is good bacteria which is commonly found in yogurt, but much more concentrated. It aids in digestion and helps to rebuild my digestive system, which has been completely flushed. Day 2 of PMC: OJ for breakfast, vegetable soup for lunch. If that goes well I may include some soft fruit and a small taste of yogurt. Day 3 of PMC: Raw Fruit, vegetables and yogurt. I'm dying to bite into a snowpea and have been this whole time. I could snack on those delicious green pea pods all day long:) One note on the yogurt: It's important to get a quality yogurt which actually contains a decent amount of active bacteria. My daily dose of Dairyland (oh so yummy and affordable) will not cut it I'm afraid. Activia is a good one. But a friend recommended one even better. I hadn't heard of the name (escapes me at this moment) but doubt our local grocery hub in Canal Flats will carry it. I'll also start taking psyllium husks for today, for a few days. It gives the intestine a final "sweep" when expanded in water or juice. Day 4 of PMC: Introducing grains and other dairy. The key during this post-cleanse period is to take it easy, so as not to get bunged-up; and chew very well - more than you usually would. As you may remember from Bio class, our saliva has some fantastic enzymes which aid in digestion. Very important! Day 5 of PMC: Keep with the current program, slowly adding more complex foods, one by one. In a couple of days I'll add some fish to introduce the meat category. By week two my system should be running normally again!

Licorice Root

I've noticed this past week that so many health teas have licorice. Why licorice? I looked it up. There are many good reasons!!! Licorice is VERY good for you (even in candy, but not as much;)). Here's a few facts: 1. Some varieties of licorice root are fifty times sweeter than sugar 2. Glycyrrhizic acid is extracted from the root and used as a flavoring in food, tobacco, alcohol, and cosmetics 3. It has proven useful in the treatment of coughs, where it serves a mild expectorant, and of sore throats, where its soothing properties bring relief 4. It increases the production of protective mucus in the stomach, and may reduce the acid secretion, making it a useful treatment of inflammatory stomach conditions 5. Licorice Root has been used as a laxative; to adjust blood sugar, reduce pain from ulcer and arthritis 6. Chewing liquorice root has been most helpful in giving up smoking as it gives the hands something to do and has the shape/texture of a cigarette 7. It contains vitamin E, B-complex, biotin, niacin, pantothenic acid, lecithin, manganese and other trace elements 8. Licorice root has gained a reputation for strengthening the body during times of stress. Since the 14th century, Licorice has been used to soothe coughs, colds and bronchitis 9. Licorice helps treat and relieve the pains that accompany certain types of ulcers 10. Licorice also has anti-inflammatory properties and may therefore help relieve the discomforts that accompany arthritic conditions

MC Day 9

The end is near!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Today went pretty much like yesterday. But just to humour us all, I'll recap it in standard format:) 6:04am: Woke up without an alarm and completely refreshed! I wanted to sleep, perhaps by habit, and had another 45 minutes available to sleep, but couldn't. I was officially awake. Very unusual. And almost amusing. 6:10am: Not that sleep matters anyway. Atalie is awake too and I jump up to console her back to sleep so she doesn't wake her brother with her whimpering noises. 6:17am: Not that consoling matters either. Aiden is now awake. I retrieve a bottle for him and some clothes and diaper for Atalie. My turn, to take a shower. Weigh 1lb less than yesterday. Total of 10lbs now. 8:30am: Saltwater torpedo time. Somehow I have perfected this sludge chugging technique well enough that I finished it in under the usual 10 minute time. I'm not sure if that's an accomplishment or not. Still as disgusting as ever! 8:45am: Aaack! I have to run to the bathroom already???! Well here comes a bit of stubbornness again... I've decided that I'm tired of running to the bathroom 10 times in less than an hour. I'm going to hold it. Daring. Perhaps stupid. But I don't care. I'm going outside to feed the dog so I may as well clean up the debrit she's left strewn about while I'm out there, in an attempt to stall the need for a potty break. 9:10am: Ok. Cleaned up the yard and fed the dog. I'll go to the bathroom now. I used this "stall" technique the remainder of the morning and only ended up going 4-5 times. Yay! See? Being stubborn at the right time isn't a bad thing;) At least, I'm glad it didn't turn into a bad thing! The rest of the day is spent drinking organic herbal teas and water. I'm learning quite a bit about the ingredients in my tea too. See post above for details on licorice root!

MC Day 8

Monday morning ~ "laa laaaaa laaa la la la..." Why do I think of that song (sorry, I'll try to come up with the name) every time I read those two words together? I know! It's because I grew up listening to 107.7fm 'The River' and they insisted on PLAYING IT EVERY MONDAY MORNING!!! Best station EVER!! (hint of sarcasm) Anyway, *ahem* it begins with me trying to once again avoid the saltwater torpedo. Yes, I've decided it should be renamed. "Flush" doesn't do it justice. 7:00am: To the weigh scale. 1lb down. That makes for 9lbs since the evening previous to Day 1 of this cleanse. 9:00am: Getting down to business. Saltwater time. Drink as per usual... results as per usual, just sooner (40min after finished saltwater). A good day so far:) I've noticed less need for lemonade as much stomach shrinks and appetite lessens. This may be a good thing though b/c it seems appropriate to wind down a bit, drinking more water instead. Supper for Kev and the kids is an easy one tonight, as they've all been so far;) Chicken fingers and french fries... I know. Real healthy Kendra. What's with this health kick you're on? Feeding your family crap?! Hang on, I included fresh veggies in there too!! (my desperate attempt to gain some self-respect back..haha) Well, I wouldn't feed them anything I wouldn't eat myself and typically we eat pretty healthy. I try to use fresh veggies in every meal, whole wheat whenever possible and usually cook from scratch. That being said, I also enjoy a good pizza (often bought frozen but prefer making them from scratch if I have the ingredients and energy), chicken fingers with fries, mennonite sausage with perogies and of course, a little Kraft Dinner on occassion (ya, I know that one's bad). I like to think that healthy food 90% of the time makes up for the not-so-healthy food the other 10%. Well, all in moderation right? A small revelation I had this evening, which really is not one that's new to anybody, came when Kev suggested, or rather declared, that I am stubborn. He expressed that he couldn't see why on earth I would stick to something that I am obviously not fully enjoying - drinking horrible saltwater every morning?? - drooling over each dinner as I prepare it?? - not being able to enjoy a delicious birthday meal with our friends this coming weekend?? Why not pick a different type of cleanse? My quick answer was, "Because it's worth it in the end". But I really had to think about that one because it seemed there was more to it than that. Why am I doing this? I admitted that yes, I am stubborn. But I hope not with everything. I make an effort to be pretty open-minded when it comes to hearing others' opinions and considering alternative options. I was prepared, from the beginning, to stick with the cleanse that I chose, so I researched my options closely. I came to the conclusion that yes, I am being stubborn in sticking with this cleanse. Stubborn b/c it's not easy. I figure that anything worth doing takes some amount of stubbornness, otherwise you'd never accomplish anything worthwhile! And there's nothing like a good sense of accomplishment! I chose this cleanse b/c it seemed appropriate for me and I'm sticking with it through the difficult moments b/c I see no solid reason to duck out. In other words, I'd like a sense of accomplishment once in awhile dangit!! So there's my small revelation. We've all heard it a million times, ..."nothing comes easy that's worth having". It holds true now too:) Two days to go.

MC Day 7

8:00am: Get up to realize that it is Sunday and if I want to leave for church at 9:20 I'm not going to have time to do the flush. Oops - should have compensated for this by getting up earlier. However I am honestly relieved that I'm off the hook for the day and think that it's probably not a bad thing to give my body a break. The rest of the day is spent drinking some lemonade, only about 1L, and water and tea. No laxative tonight. I feel it's unecessary all the time. I don't want my digestive system to become dependant on it. Not much else to report really. Feeling great today, again! No weight loss. Infact, these last couple days I'm 0.5 - 1.5 lbs more than when I stopped losing. I read that when you lose weight during a fast/cleanse, the first pounds drop rapidly b/c your body feeds off of dead cells and things unwanted... after that weight loss declines somewhat. That's a nutshell anyway;)