The one week cleanse, detox, body overhaul…. whatever you want to call it is complete.
You can see the outline of the experiment here.
You can check out the end of the April meditation experiment here.
Day 1, 5/6/12:
Day 1 went pretty well. All in all no real complaints. To be honest, it was completely easy. I actually did not even finish the drink. Took a few sips throughout the day (tastes like spicy lemonade by the way). I noticed I got a few hunger pains around noon and again about 7PM. Definitely typical times that I eat in a normal day. Makes me think that I have trained my body to eat at those times. Maybe it was expecting some fuel. Energy was pretty good, no headaches, and no caffeine… “lifes blood that fuels me.”
Day 2-3, 5/7 & 5/8/12:
Son of a b#@&* ! A whole new story these two days. Pretty sure I had a headache for 48 straight hours. Seems like it wanted to tease me. Right when I thought it would go away, I swear to GOD I could hear it say
“Tricked you sucka! I’m baaaaaack.”
Energy wasn’t to bad. I tried to get in some light body weight workouts. This did not go so well. I definitely could feel the lack of calories. Energy and strength were just not there. Definitely not the time to get in a Crossfit workout or any big lifts. Best advice would just be to walk, light body movement. Maybe even just rest and enjoy the week the best you can.
Still no real hunger pains. I did notice I thought about food a lot. “What am I going to eat when I am done with this thing.” Hahaha.
Best part so far is not preparing meals. Not that it ever took me really long ( I always cook in bulk twice a week, sun/wed for about an hour) but still was nice to not do it. No dishes either…. MAJOR plus.
Day 4-5, 5/9 & 5/10/12:
Headaches gone and have not gone to caffeine nor have I used any over the counter medicine for headaches. I’ve noticed that I am getting a better nights sleep. This might have something to do with not having to digest while sleeping.
I have only lost about 2 pounds but I am not a big dude to begin with so this is not a surprise. Stomach is super flat and I feel lighter on my feet. Again, due to not having to digest food all day. A typical meal usually takes about 7 hours to digest… so this makes sense to me. Tried a light lifting session and run but again the energy levels were just not there. Cut it short about the 30 minute mark. Felt good to be active though.
Day 6, 5/11/12:
Volunteered at habitat for humanity today from 8am-4pm. I could definitely feel the effects of the cleanse today. Working on a house in the sun was probably not the best idea.
Think Will Ferrel in Anchor Man when he drinks milk in the sun….
Pretty much had a headache, fatigue, and just felt down right terrible as all get-up. This lasted most of the day. I ended up breaking the fast about 2PM today. I felt like this was a good time to do so due to the way I was feeling and the physical activity I was participating in for the day. This actually was a nice pick me up to finish out the days work.
I’m a little disappointed I did not pull off the full 7 days but all in all it was good experiment.
The Wrap-up
All in all I enjoyed the experiment. I never had a problem with hunger nor the desire to eat. I felt like that was the easy part. Dealing with the headaches, fatigue, lack of exercise, and satisfaction of drinking my best friend Caffeine was the real hard part. I’m pretty sure at one point I woke up in the middle of the night, drove to Starbucks and just sat out front and wept….. just kidding (or am I?).
I lost about three pounds total on the cleanse and a little bit of body fat. No real surprise as I am already a little guy and fairly lean.
The best part was how light on my feet I felt. It was like there was a bounce in my step. Most likely due to not having to digest food all day long.
What I learned
1. Eat slower it gave me a new-found appreciation for food. Instead of trying to engulf meals I now anticipate eating them much slower. Savoring bites and allowing myself to fully chew so that it is much easier for my body to digest. I also plan on single tasking this. Instead of eating while writing, watching a game, or doing what ever else my heart desires I instead will just be eating… that’s it.
2. Pay more attention to what foods work for me While on the cleanse it allowed me to think about food…. a lot! But in a good way. It made me realize that maybe some of the foods, even ones I consider healthy, that I am consuming might not work well for me. I spent some time reading about autoimmune disease and digestive health.
I am a big believer in taking care of your digestive system.
Foods like eggs, nuts, nightshades (bell peppers, tomatoes, and eggplant), can sometimes upset the digestive system and cause inflammatory problems through-out the body. Combined with my over consumption of caffeine, lack of sleep, and use of NSAID’s (ibuprofen, advil, motrin, etc…) for headaches I was doing a pretty good job screwing up my intestinal flora or healthy gut bacteria which is necessary to keep disease, depression, and a host of other things at bay.
No, I will not be giving them up forever. Just taking them out for a while and re-introducing them very slowly to see how my body reacts to them. I’ll be starting with the veggies, then nuts, then eggs. I should be able to find a level of each to take in each day so that my energy stays high and my body feels good.
3. Skipping a few meals here and there might be a good idea I plan on writing my own post about intermittent fasting (actually already in the que ready to go out) but that link should give you guys the jist. After my last meal on friday nights (9PM) I plan on fasting until saturday 9PM. This will give my digestive system a full 24 hours to relax and chill out a bit. Not worrying about food all day means more time for PLAY!
From this cleansing experiment I know that my body will totally be fine not eating for 24 hours. I will not loose any muscle mass or strength. And chances are I will be a little rejuvenated and lighter on my feet for the next few days following. Plus, I won’t have to worry about having meals ready or doing the damn dishes. SWEETNESS! Pretty excited to see how it goes.
All in all the experiment was a success. Looking forward to the next one.
Live limitless,
Justin