Master Cleanse Reprise - 'Not' Wasted Time

Today marks the second day of this round of the Master Cleanse. It is going to be a bit of a struggle - not because I am having a hard time sticking to the fast, but because we have a busy day scheduled. Though it is better to consume the lemonade within ten minutes of squeezing the lemons, I have prepared four servings worth of lemon juice, maple syrup, and cayenne pepper - no water added yet - to take with me to our various appointments. I will add the mix to a bottle of water when I am ready to drink it. I am not worried about hunger. When I am keeping myself busy, I don't usually feel hunger pangs. As planned, I skipped my daily serving of VIDACELL and will continue to do so for the duration of the cleanse.
I checked my tongue this morning - already turning white. This indicates that there are toxins present that need to be purged. Even though I am careful with what I eat and have already done the cleanse twice before, I am still exposed to toxins. Really, this just provides rationalization that doing the cleanse periodically is the right thing to do and I am not wasting my time - hence today's song tie-in, Eagles' Wasted Time.

Yesterday, as a quasi-birthday present to myself, I bought myself a new pair of sneakers. The last pair I had (well, still have until the new ones are fully broken in) was not a very nice pair of sneakers. I had gotten them for about $15 and they were worth every penny...you definitely get what you pay for. Part of my problem is that my feet are what are affected most by my disorder (I still don't believe MS is the answer, but...). Buying cheap shoes is not really a great idea. Honestly, cheap shoes tend to be a bad idea for everyone considering how much we ask of our feet on a daily basis.
Up until recently, I was really interested in getting a pair of Vibram's FiveFingers shoes. The FiveFingers shoes mimic being barefoot but protect your feet from rocks, broken glass, and other foreign objects. As you might expect, the FiveFingers shoes have separate pockets for each toe - just like a glove for the feet. I was a bit concerned that this would be more aggravating to the pins and needles sensation that my feet are constantly feeling. I found a local store that sells them so I was able to try them on. There are several styles of the FiveFingers to choose from. The pair that I wanted - one that would have been suitable for daily, normal wear - just gave me issues in trying to put them on. Getting all of my toes into the right pockets was just not possible. My toes - and probably yours - are just so used to being crammed into ill-fitting shoes (any shoe is ill-fitting when you realize that our feet are not designed to wear them). I spent about 15 minutes just trying to make them fit. Not one to give up on a good idea too easily, I tried on a different pair of the FiveFingers and had no problem getting them on. The second pair, however, was not at all suited for cold weather as the one thing that made them easy to get on was that they didn't fully enclose my feet. They were more like a sandal or slipper. Sure, they would protect the soles of my feet, but not the tops. As well, due to their unique design, wearing socks with the FiveFingers is out of the question. Mind you, I don't mind not wearing socks - I actually prefer it - but sometimes you just need that extra warmth.
Though I decided to pass on the FiveFingers, I am still considering them for warmer weather.
The other style of shoes that I wanted to check out is made by Skechers. These are the Shape-Ups. Shape-Ups have a different style sole that provide a workout for your legs just by walking in them. Yeah, I know...walking is already a great exercise and I try to do it as often as possible. My rational behind getting the Shape-Ups is that I can maximize the benefit that I get when I am able to walk - even if it is around the grocery store. Well, I haven't been able to find any local store that stocks the Shape-Ups. As with the FiveFingers, I could order them online. My problem with doing so is that I really want to try them on to get the feel of them before buying. It would be one thing if I were looking for a pair to replace the ones that I already had, but buying a new style of shoe over the internet just doesn't suit me.
What I came home with yesterday is made by (or for) Dr. Scholl's. They are from their Personal Trainer line. Similar to Shape-Ups, the soles are different than the average shoe and are designed to more fully engage the leg muscles while walking. I found a pair that I actually liked (I am not too picky about the appearance of my shoes, but some are just plain ugly) and tried them on. While the box was simply labeled as size 12, the shoes in the box turned out to be 12W. My feet aren't particularly wide, but these fit really well. Had I seen 12W on the box, I wouldn't even have tried them on. Hopefully these shoes will continue to be comfortable as I wear them for longer periods of time. My last pair would actually start to hurt if I wore them even for reasonable periods of time.