Day 21

It's over! Holy crap I can't believe its already done with... I must say, I was getting pretty tired of the diet! I don't mind taking supplements but dangit I was tired of vegetables! Tomorrow I will try not to binge and undo all the good that's been done but no promises...

I will post my concluding comments tomorrow, I am way too tired tonight, but I just wanted to share how excited I am that this is over and how glad I am that I did it. If nothing else, I weighed in tonight at 198.6 meaning I lost 17.8 pounds in 21 days by just changing my diet - no excercise. I know you're supposed to do light exercise and walk during the cleanse I just really didn't have time. I can only imagine the difference if I had! I am hoping to go mountain biking a couple times a week and get in better shape.

By the way, for those of you that know me, I haven't been under 200lbs since I had the portion of my thigh removed. I went into the ER weighing around 195 and came out at 218. They said it was just water weight from the saline but I can't imagine they put that much saline in me... Anyway, I've worked out since then and have not been able to lose the weight. So I'm pretty excited to be under 200 again and would like to get down to my target weight of 175 but we'll see about that.

Anyway, just wanted to make a "day 21" post and let you all know that I finished!

Day 18

I am so glad this diet is almost over. I really want other food and have been craving it pretty badly. Laura was a bit of a punk and was talking about how she wanted a nice juicy burger... Not cool, honey! Anyway, today is Saturday, day 18 of 21 and I'm looking forward to its completion. Today I've actually felt pretty crummy. I've been pretty tired, a little irritable and (for those of you who don't like to hear about poop - I'm sorry) had diarrhea on top of it. I just feel exhausted. I have read a ton of other people's experiences with the cleanse and they talk about how much energy they had; well I was really looking forward to that and it has yet to happen. Maybe I'm not eating enough vegetables, I dunno... On top of the cleanse we are looking for a house so the added stress of that is wearing at me as well, I'm sure my adrenals aren't too happy with me right now.

I was going to make a decent meal today but just had things going on all day and once I had the ingredients I just really needed to get out and get away from the apartment for a bit. We drove around and looked at houses; found one that really stood out to us and we hope the owner will call us back soon so we can go do a walk-through. I guess the real meal will have to wait till tomorrow.

Anyway, day 18: good riddance.

Day 17

No news is good news, right? I guess I haven't posted because I don't really have anything new to report. I figured I should post something tonight just because it's been a while since my last one.

Tonight I found out I really like wild rice. It has intimidated me to the point I haven't tried it until now. I mixed it 50/50 with brown rice, cooked it like normal and it was fantastic! Something they would do in Mexico a lot with our rice was add a banana or avocado to the rice. I know that kindof sounds gross but it was really good. I added a banana to my brown rice the other night and Laura looked at me wierd, tried a bite and added one to hers too. Anyway, I had a fresh pineapple all cut up so I figured I would try adding it to my rice and it was surprisingly really good as well. Just a thought.

Tomorrow I think I am going to make either Jambalaya or a vegetable soup... We'll see what I have time for.

If anybody has any questions please feel free to post a comment, I'll try my best to respond.

Day 13

So Monday was day 13 and I am sure glad I can have protein (besides in my shake) now. Laura made a great roasted chicken tonight with steamed vegetables and it was pretty darn fantastic! I was on the phone tonight with my Mom and she asked me about why I haven't commented on bowel movements. Well, the answer is pretty simple: I don't really like talking about my or anybody else's poop. She asked me to do it anyway so here it is. I have not been constipated or had diarrhea, my stool has been soft and moist and plentiful. One thing I've noticed is that the quantity is much greater than before. So there you have it Mom, any more you need to know about my poop? ;-)

Felt pretty good today, not too tired. Had a big exam this morning at school that I hope went alright, I should find out tomorrow hopefully. Anyway, everything seems to be going well with the cleanse. And Mom, you have 5lbs of whey protein en route to your house for when you do the cleanse...

Day 11

I can now eat meat! Woohoo! I was pretty darn excited this morning when I woke up, knowing that I can eat chicken and fish again. We had a chicken stir fry for dinner tonight and I thought it was pretty fantastic. I also went for a bike ride today with a friend. I am wondering if he doesn't have a life insurance policy on me because I think he tried to kill me. I'm quite out of shape and it was way out of my league. Along with that my blood sugar levels plummeted as soon as I started riding - my eyesight went crazy (like everything was under water) and I knew I wasn't very coordinated at the time. Needless to say, I had to walk the bike a lot. I don't know how much it has to do with this cleanse and me overexerting myself but I probably shouldn't have gone so big with the first workout in a while especially when I'm on a cleanse where I'm probably not getting the protein I need to be doing physical work/exercise. Oh well, I didn't die. I did feel like a wuss that I had to walk the bike so often though. It actually gave me quite the boost of motivation to get in better shape because that was just ridiculous.

Anyway, today went just fine, nothing really new to report beyond me eating meat! I still am a little dissapointed that I've only lost 6 or so pounds but I'll deal with that.

Oh, and I'm halfway done! Good times...

Day 10

Today was day 10; do you know what that means? Tomorrow I get MEAT!!! If you can't tell I am quite excited. Today wasn't bad with food cravings or anything but I know I'm not really eating what I should. I am eating a lot of fruits and not many veggies. Tonight I felt a little guilty because I had canned (oops) lentil soup and sweet potato fries. The fries are awesome! Seriously saved my cravings for real food yesterday and today. I don't know if I really recommend following the recipe I linked to because it's for 5 potatoes and like 1 cup of salt which just seemed way overkill to me. I cut up 2 sweet potatoes and added seasonings like I wanted (which was a lot less than the recipe called for) and they are fantastic. I added some cajun seasoning to have that cayenne pepper kick. You're only supposed to have a max of 1/2 of a sweet potato/day so this batch will be spread out over 4 or more days so I don't go over my max.

Anyway, today was fine. In all honesty I feel just like I did before I started, just hungrier and maybe a little more tired. Hopefully we see some decent benefits. I think I've lost a couple pounds, but not much. I should be working out some but I just don't feel like I have time to, my days are planned out for me from time time I wake up till I go back to bed... Oh well.

Sweet Potato Fries (Weeks One, two & three)
Mix ingredients together and store in an airtight container for up to 6 months. USE IN MODERATION. Maximum intake (1 small sweet potato a day)
• 1 cup sea salt
• 1/4 cup black pepper
• 1/4 cup garlic powder
• Olive Oil, for tossing
• 5 sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1/4-inch long slices, then 1/4-wide inch strips, using a crinkle cut knife
• 1 tablespoon seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Line a sheet tray with parchment paper. In a large bowl toss sweet potatoes with just enough oil to coat. Sprinkle with House Seasoning and paprika. Spread sweet potatoes in single layer on prepared baking sheet, being sure not to overcrowd. Bake until sweet potatoes are tender and golden brown, turning occasionally, about 20 minutes. Let cool 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

Day 8

Have I mentioned I like meat? Laura made tacos tonight with ground turkey and it smelled so good. I don't even really like ground turkey (quite flavorless) but the enticing aroma of meat was fantastic - too bad I couldn't eat any! Oh well, 2 more days and then I can partake.

Not much to report today, same old schtick. I had leftover soup from last night for dinner - I really like it and will most likely make it again before this ordeal is over with. Didn't really notice anything worth mentioning today, don't feel different, didn't do anything different. Today was my first day on the Green Food pills but other than that no changes. I guess that's a good thing, right?