Cleanse: Day 2*

People do the cleanse all different ways, some choosing to do the salt water flush just two or three times throughout the entire cleanse, others doing it every day. As I am doing just ten days (the bare minimum to help make a difference in your body) I am going to do the flush daily.

So here is my daily routine:

Wake up an hour before I really want to, and chug 1 quart of warm/hot water with 2.5 teaspoons of kosher salt stirred in. The salt cannot be iodized, and while most sources recommend just two teaspoons, I've found that I need closer to three. Then I go back to sleep for an hour, laying on my right side. (The first time I did this in March, I ignored the suggestion to lay on my right side after drinking the water, but have found it to actually speed the process along.) I wake up, and, ummm... use the restroom. (A tip for drinking hot, really salty water: I pretend it's chicken broth and think about celery and carrots and chicken noodle soup the entire time I chug it- you're supposed to get the full quart down in about 3-4 minutes.)

Then I make my lemonade. My recipe:

1 qt. water
4 oz. lemon juice
4 oz. maple syrup (grade b)
1/8 tsp. ground cayenne pepper

This is only a half recipe, as I have never been able to drink the whole 2 qts. of lemonade that the original Master Cleanse calls for. (If you make the full recipe, it's 2 qts. water, 7oz. lemon juice, 7oz. maple syrup, and 1/4 tsp. ground cayenne)

Throughout the day when I feel hungry I'll slam a glass of lemonade, followed by a glass of water. I'm always surprised by how it fills me up, and that I'm never hungry. The most difficult thing about the cleanse is reminding yourself that just because you want food doesn't mean you're hungry. It's the urge to chew solid food that I have to fight with the most. However it is rewarding, in a gross way. Once you've goon a few days without eating solid food, but there are solids coming out of you, you know you're making progress and cleaning something on the inside. Ew, I know but hey, everybody poops.

Lastly, right before bed I drink a cup of Smooth Move tea, which has to be steeped for 15 minutes. It's caffeine free, and I like the taste so it's nice to have right when I crawl into bed. If you can only find the Chocolate-flavored Smooth Move, get it anyways. I was very leery of chocolate-flavored laxative tea, but it's good; I enjoy it.

Total Weight Loss: 3 lbs.
Estimated Weight Loss: 15 lbs. (In March I lost 10 lbs. in 5 days, so we'll see what 10 days does to me).

So that's that. Just finished my iPhone software update!!!!!

loving Apple,
amk

"Have you ever thought just maybe,
You belong with me?"
-Taylor Swift