Revisit, Refocus, Renew, and Recovery

Here I am, revisiting the blog after another year of blog-silence. This is due to the fact that I am refocusing on my eating habits because I need to renew my health recovery. (See how I came up with the title of this post? :-) )

If you aren't familiar with my story, let me recap my last 9 years for you. You are certainly invited to go back and read any/all of my previous posts, but let me save you some time for now...

In 2007, I began to experience some numbness in my right foot. Over the course of the next several months, that numbness expanded up my leg, into my waist, and then down my left leg. Additionally, the numbness grew in intensity to where I couldn't even walk without support from a cane and no more than 15 minutes at a time. Due to my lack of mobility and prednisone, I gained about 150 pounds to where I weighed 350+. Fun? I think not! I was prescribed Rebif for - what I was diagnosed with - Multiple Sclerosis.

Fast forward to October, 2008...

Using Rebif wasn't helping me at all. The side effects were making my life worse. It was killing me! (Sure, I may be exaggerating, but...)
At this point, I was introduced to a product called VIDACELL. After reading about it, I decided to give it a decent trial of three months. It only took two weeks to make a difference! I was more able to walk, climb stairs, and more...
In addition to VIDACELL, I changed my diet. I started to follow the plan as described in The Maker's Diet by Jordan Rubin. Also, I went through several cycles of The Master Cleanse. (All of my experiences with these phases are detailed in previous posts on this blog. If you want more details, contact me or check out the other posts - I'm more than happy to answer any questions.)

Long story, short: While I didn't experience complete recovery, I was able to improve my life.

Fast forward to January, 2011...

Certainly not an immediate improvement, but it was at this point in my life that I decided to try to go back to work. From childhood, I had a desire to be on the radio. I figured that pursuing this dream just made sense. My mobility wasn't perfect, so a job that required me to be on my feet didn't make a lot of sense. Also, my endurance wasn't all that strong... I figured that sitting at a microphone for 4-5 hours at a time just made sense for a job! So, I attended the Connecticut School of Broadcasting to pursue that dream. Things turned out pretty well!

Until May, 2012, when I experienced a stroke... Recovery from that was a lot of FUN! (sarcasm, maybe?)

Fast forward to today (well, maybe 3-4 months ago...)

Now, I'm experiencing the flare-up of the numbness. It has expanded into both arms and hands. My left hand is less numb than my right hand. In addition to the numbness, I will sometimes experience what I refer to as a 'buzz.' Basically, I blackout for a couple of seconds - up to a minute. Both the duration and the intensity of the buzz varies. Sometimes, I simply just lose the ability to focus my thoughts. Other times, I really do blackout - hence, the lack of ability to drive.

Are you still with me?

So today, I have decided to be more focused on my diet and activity. I am going back to a modified Maker's Diet. Basically, a low-carb Maker's Diet. I am also looking more deeply into the benefits of various spices and foods - like turmeric, ginger, bone broth, and all things coconut.

I'm hoping that my Journey to Wellness sees as much - or more! - success as I previously had and that you'll join me on this journey, too.

Time Flies When...

OK, I am aware of the irony. I am writing a post entitled "Time Flies When..." on the first day after we set the clocks ahead one hour (well, at least in most of America) thanks to daylight savings time. However, as it has been several months since I last updated this blog (7 months to the day) the concept of time flying just seems to be a fitting title. (Song: "Time" - Pink Floyd)

As of the last post, I was producing two internet radio shows. Well, due to several factors, I am no longer.

As well, I was working as an intern for one of Hartford's radio stations, The Rock 106.9 WCCC. Well, I am still with WCCC, but in a different capacity. I am now officially employed! I am only part time (about 10-15 hours per week), but part of my duties include being the board operator on Friday mornings from 6-10 am during the 'Imus in the Morning' show. I have to coordinate the satellite feed with the local commercial spots as well as read the news, weather, and traffic on WCCC's AM station, WCCC AM 1290 Beethoven Radio.

Also in the last post, I mentioned that we were in pre-production of ConnecTV, the first television show produced entirely by graduates of the Connecticut School of Broadcasting. We now have four shows completed and airing on a regular basis over several cable access outlets across Connecticut. The show can also be seen on the internet at our Vimeo channel.

Time definitely flies...

Today, I renewed my commitment to The Maker's Diet. While I have been mostly following the guidelines of the diet, I haven't always been terribly strict. Well, I went back to phase one. I was really happy with the results of my first attempt to follow the Maker's Diet and I am hoping to to further improve  my health by returning to the basics.

My day started with a push ups workout. I have been following the program detailed on hundredpushups.com for the last couple of weeks. I have been pretty happy with the results so far.
I followed the workout with my daily dose of VIDACELL. This would be the only food that, while truly natural, might not truly qualify for the Maker's Diet guidelines. The benefits far outweigh what might be consequences for breaking the 'rules.'
Breakfast consisted of a 3 egg omelet made with free range eggs, raw cheese, and organic salsa. I also supplemented with Vitamin D.
After suitable time for digestion, I used a free pass to go to the YMCA and get another workout. This time, I spent 35 minutes on the elliptical machine. According to the calorie counter, I burned almost 400 calories. I also spent some time doing some resistance exercise - mostly to complement the push ups, I concentrated on back exercises.
Upon returning home, my wife and daughters were just leaving for a walk in the amazing weather, so I put the leash on Ginger and joined them!
The rest of my daily food consumption consisted of plain yogurt and a homemade lentil soup with lots of veggies.

A-Z Challenge - 'Q'

Today's topic was a no-brainer - quinoa! Quinoa - pronounced keen-wah - is an amazingly versatile food. It is loaded with nutrients - 8g protein, 39g carbohydrate (5g of which is fiber), and 4g fat in a one cup serving.

Quinoa is a relatively recent discovery for me on my journey to wellness. It is one of the recommended additions to The Maker's Diet during phase three and I really hadn't even heard of it prior to reading the book. Looking back in this blog, I have made 5 previous mentions of quinoa and, rather than repeat writing about my discovery process in this post, I will simply direct you to those entries:

• Went away (from blogging) for a while, but now I am back. - 05/11/10
• Quinoa for breakfast - 05/12/10
• Convenient? - 05/25/10
• Bread - If... - 08/11/10
• Incense and Peppermint - 08/12/10

 Mind you, 3 of these five posts have little to do with quinoa...

A-Z Challenge - 'N'

Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats is the topic for today.
Yes, that is a really long title for a book - but it is a really big book! Sally Fallon, the author, is the president and co-founder of the Weston A. Price Foundation - a nonprofit, tax-exempt nutrition education foundation. Both the foundation and the book shine a light on the benefits of proper, traditional nutrition and the drawbacks of the highly processed - supposedly healthy - foods that we are now inundated with.

The back cover of the book says it best:
"Recalling the culinary customs of our ancestors, and looking ahead to a future of robust good health for young and old, Nourishing Traditions offers modern families a fascinating guide to wise food choices and proper preparation techniques. Sally Fallon unites the wisdom of the ancients with the latest independent and accurate scientific research in over 700 delicious recipes that will please both exacting gourmets and busy parents."

This book has been a wonderful tool on my journey to wellness. In his book, The Maker's Diet, Jordan Rubin references Nourishing Traditions frequently. After reading Rubin's book, I immediately checked Nourishing Traditions out from the library and have since purchased the Kindle version of it that I use on the Kindle for PC (a free download from amazon.com).

A-Z Challenge - 'M'

One of the first steps on my journey to wellness was when I started following The Maker's Diet, so that is my topic for today.The Maker's Diet is based strictly on the foods eaten in the Old Testament. By following this diet, Jordan Rubin, the author of the book cured himself of Crohn's Disease. Crohn's Disease is "a chronic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that causes inflammation of the digestive tract, also known as the gastrointestinal (GI) tract." (Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America) It is generally an incurable condition, though Jordan Rubin has proved that to be wrong.

As with any change of lifestyle, The Maker's Diet is not the easiest diet to follow at first - especially if you are accustomed to the standard American diet.

A-Z Challenge - 'E'

Nope, vitamin E is not the topic of the day. Instead, I am choosing Ezekiel 4:9 Bread as my topic. One of the giant steps on my journey to wellness was when I began to follow The Maker's Diet which recommends limiting the intake of bread. When eating bread, however, the author suggests using an Ezekiel-type bread - meaning a bread made from sprouted grains.
Ezekiel Bread gets its name from the biblical passage: "Take also unto thee wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentils, and millet, and spelt, and put them in one vessel, and make bread of it..." Food For Life, Inc. says: "We discovered when these six grains and legumes are sprouted and combined, an amazing thing happens. A complete protein is created that closely parallels the protein found in milk and eggs. In fact, the protein quality is so high, that it is 84.3% as efficient as the highest recognized source of protein, containing all 9 essential amino acids. There are 18 amino acids present in this unique bread – from all vegetable sources – naturally balanced in nature.
Ezekiel 4:9® Bread, made from freshly sprouted organically grown grains, is naturally flavorful and bursting with nutrients. Rich in protein, vitamins, minerals and natural fiber with no added fat. Try it served warm to release its exceptionally rich nutty flavor."
One of the major problems with the Standard American Diet is the inclusion of bleached white flour. Whole wheat flour isn't much better, either. Sprouted grains are really what we should be using. I recommend reading any or all of the following books:

• Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats 
• Sproutman's Kitchen Garden Cookbook: 250 flourless, Dairyless, Low Temperature, Low Fat, Low Salt, Living Food Vegetarian Recipes
• The Maker's Diet

Breakfast in America

It has been a while since I have posted anything, but sometimes life just demands more time.  This year has seen a lot of snow in Connecticut and I have been doing quite a bit of shoveling.  Because Rae is working nights, I try to get the driveway shoveled before she comes home in the morning so that she has a place to park.

One of the things that I have been trying to do for the last couple of months is to get some exercise every morning prior to breakfast.  With my heart-rate monitor, I have been fairly consistent incorporating Dr. Mercola's Peak 8 philosophy at least a couple of times per week.  On the other days, I have simply been utilizing my Wii Fit Plus along with some dumbbells.  On days when I have had to shovel I considered that as my exercise for the day.  Of course, I took a break from exercise in order to let my body recover.  For the last couple of days, though, I have been somewhat out of commission.  I seem to have a pinched nerve in my back - or something similar - that is causing pain every time that I turn my head or lift my left arm.  While it isn't a significant pain, it is enough that I don't want to aggravate it by exercising.  Today, it is feeling much better so I will likely get back into the swing of things tomorrow - just in time for the next predicted snow storm!

Today's post is named for Supertramp's song (and album), Breakfast in America.  I chose this title because I wanted to talk about my new, favorite breakfast!
For quite a while now, I have been reading quite a bit from Mercola.com - a website that focuses on holistic health.  Dr. Mercola and other regular contributors talk about ways to maintain and recover a healthy state through proper nutrition and exercise.  Rather than promoting a carnivorous, omnivorous, or vegetarian diet, Dr. Mercola thinks that each of us will fall in to one of three categories.  We, as individuals, will either be a protein type, carbohydrate type, or a mixed type.  As such, some of us will thrive on an Atkin's-type diet while others will thrive on a primarily vegetarian diet and others will do better on a blended diet.  Essentially, he encourages us to take clues from our bodies to determine what suit us best.  To interpret those clues, he provides a questionnaire.  For more information, visit HERE.  According to my results, I am a Mixed Type - somewhat of a surprise to me.  Given my thorough enjoyment of eating meat and my previous success with following the Atkin's Diet, I fully expected to land in the Protein Type category.  As a Mixed Type, it is recommended to consume proteins along with vegetables and carbohydrates.

Breakfast is definitely one of my favorite meals.  I can eat eggs prepared just about any way and be happy!  About the only thing I am a bit leery of is eating eggs raw.  Unfortunately, the more that things are cooked, the less beneficial they are from a nutrition aspect.  To compromise, I decided to cook my eggs in a way that would allow me to eat them but still be somewhat closer to raw - poached!  As a kid, I always loved poached eggs over toast, so it only made sense for me to revisit this.  As such, my new (or, at least renewed), favorite breakfast is two poached free range eggs on one slice of toasted Ezekiel bread.  While this is not a lot of food, it really does satisfy me and makes a great start to my day.

New Year's 'Revolution'

Yup, that's right.  I said Revolution instead of resolution.  Of course, the song I am referring to is Revolution from The Beatles, but that isn't currently available through amazon.com, so I linked to the cover version by Stone Temple Pilots.

Personally, I am not a big fan of New Year's resolutions.  They don't tend to be kept for very long periods of time.  Resolutions are too often made and forgotten before even a week into the new year.  Instead, I would rather start a revolution.  Revolutions keep coming back.

In this case, I am going back to the basics for several things that I began this year.  I began 2010 with a whole new eating plan.  The Maker's Diet became my diet.  Throughout the year, I read more and more information regarding the principles of The Maker's Diet and I am more convinced than ever that it was the right choice for me.  In addition to the research, I am definitely feeling better because of the diet.  Removing processed, packaged food from my diet has been great.  Food just tastes better!  I am spending more time in the kitchen, but the rewards are worth the effort.  Sure, I haven't been perfect in following the diet and it took the better part of the year to improve my food choices, but progress has been made.  My New Year's revolution regarding The Maker's Diet involves starting with phase 1 all over again.  This time, having better food sources than I had the first time around, I am hoping for even better results!

During the year, I also embarked on The Master Cleanse.  This was an absolutely amazing experience.  The master cleanse essentially 'resets' the body.  It helps purge the body of all toxins and waste.  Thanks to the purge, the body is able to focus on healing.  I am going to start off the new year with another session with the master cleanse.  Because I was unable to get to the grocery store to buy some lemons, I won't be able to start drinking the lemonade on the first day of the year, but I will be able to start the ease-in phase in preparation for the actual cleanse.  Phase 1 of the Maker's Diet will begin after I finish the master cleanse.  Additionally, I plan to revisit the master cleanse at least two more times throughout the year.

Like 2010, I intend to strive towards a symptom free life.  I will continue to use my daily serving of VIDACELL except during my master cleanse sessions.  Since beginning (almost) daily VIDACELL use in October of 2008, I have experienced some major improvements in health and mobility.  To my daily regimen, I intend to add daily consumption of kefir that I make myself from raw whole milk.  Kefir is a relatively new addition to my foods.  It is similar to yogurt, but considerably easier to make.  It is one of the foods that is recommended on all phases of The Maker's Diet.  While I had the raw milk for my first foray into phase 1, I did not have kefir.  Sure, I could have purchased some from the grocery store, but the only varieties I could find were pasteurized and low-fat - some even had additives like fructose and other artificial ingredients.  Now that I have the ability to make my own, I am hoping for even better results.

Physically, I intend to be more regular with fitness activities.  I plan to start my day with some sort of physical activity.  During the warmer months, this might consist of taking Ginger for a walk.  One thing that I am planning on incorporating at least a couple of times per week is Dr. Mercola's PEAK 8 program.

So, with that - my plan for a revolution - I say good bye to 2010 - a relatively good year - and hello to 2011.  I can only hope that my progress is as good this coming year as it was over this past year.

Wouldn't It Be Nice...

OK, I will shamelessly admit that I lifted the title of this post from a fictional blog mentioned on a TV show last night.  I was watching Chase and one of the characters posted to her blog named for her mother's love of The Beach Boys.  Given my own desire to name my posts with titles or lyrics from songs, I couldn't resist.  So, I thank both The Beach Boys and Chase on NBC for the inspiration.

The song, 'Wouldn't It Be Nice' seems to be the perfect choice for this blog.

Wouldn't it be nice if:

• We could all be disease-free!
• We could all be out of debt.
• We could all have access to truly healthy food.
• We could all have the ideal home life.
• We could all live in a world without hatred and war.
• ...  fill in the blank with your own hopes and desires ...

Certainly, I am working towards at least a few of the ideals in the above list.  My most recent step on my journey to wellness is to attempt to make my own kefir. Kefir is a fermented milk product - though I have learned that it can be made from other things as well - that is similar to yogurt.  One of the primary differences is that the milk does not have to be heated at all in order to become kefir.  Yogurt, though the milk only needs to be heated briefly and incubated at 110 deg. F for a period, does require the milk to be 'cooked.'  Cooking anything can have the downside of killing off the beneficial bacteria and enzymes present in the food.

The Maker's Diet recommends kefir as one of the food choices.  Unfortunately, all of the kefir that is available from nearby stores is made from low-fat, pasteurized milk and has several undesirable additives - namely sugar - so I have yet to add it to my diet.  A couple of weeks ago, I went to It's Only Natural with the intent to purchase some kefir starter so that I could make my own from the raw milk that I get from Deerfield Farm.  Unfortunately, they only had one variety of starter 'grains' and the instructions required that the milk be heated.  Not being sure if this brand of kefir starter would work without heating the milk, I opted to pass.

Fortunately, I was able to find a brand of kefir starter online that does work without heating the milk.  My order arrived yesterday!  The Milk Kefir Grains from Cultures for Health LLC come in dehydrated form and need to be revitalized over the course of 5-7 days before they will start producing kefir.  I started the process this morning, so I will hopefully be able to enjoy some kefir next week.

During my failed quest for kefir starter at It's Only Natural, I did pick up a jar of coconut oil.  While I have been strictly using olive oil or butter for cooking, I have been reading more and more about the benefits of coconut oil.  While olive oil is great, it is not truly suited for high heat cooking.  I am not opposed to butter, but the benefits of coconut oil are too great to be ignored.  I have had a couple of opportunities to cook with coconut oil, but it is far too early to notice any results.  I will keep you posted.

Here Comes the Rain Again.

I am not sure why, but my motivation to write a new entry has been at an all time low since last week.  It isn't because I have nothing to say - in fact, I have quite a bit to update - I just haven't really felt like writing...

I ended my first bout with The Master Cleanse on Sunday, 10 days ago.  It was a bit more abrupt on an ending than I was planning on, but the timing was right.  My tongue was not completely pink, but other factors just made it the right time for me to revert to a normal diet.

One thing that I was looking forward to eating once I went off the cleanse was my version of miso soup.  I have since made the soup four times and each time it just got better!  For the first attempt, I simply sliced some celery, carrots, and green cabbage (thinly) and added them to the vegetable broth while it heated up.  After it reached the desired temperature, I removed the soup from the heat and added the miso.  It was pretty good, though I am sure that the fact that I hadn't eaten anything for more than two weeks other than the lemonade had something to do with my perception of the taste.
The second attempt found me adding some diced onion to the complement of vegetables.  I also lightly sauteed the veggies in some butter prior to adding the broth.  I started by melting the butter in a sauce pan - just enough to coat the bottom of the pan.  I then added the onion and cooked them until they just turned translucent.  After that, I added the carrots and celery and sauteed the mix for a little longer before adding the cabbage.  Before the cabbage started to wilt, I added the broth and brought the soup up to the desired temperature.  I did not allow it to boil.  Again, I removed the soup from the heat and added the miso.  Oh My Goodness!  What an amazing improvement!  The first attempt was good but the second attempt was excellent!  I am not sure if the addition of the onions accounted for the improvement or if it was the fact that I sauteed the veggies first.  Whatever it was, it was worth it.
My daughter saw (smelled) me making the soup and wanted to try it.  The 'food critic' loved it!

My intent to begin with phase one of The Maker's Diet fell a little short, however.  I am still sticking to The Maker's Diet, but I have been eating some foods that should not be consumed until phases 2 and 3.  Overall, though, my food choices have improved.  As well, thanks to the cleanse, I am definitely more satisfied with smaller quantities of food.  Eating due to true hunger vs. eating on impulse or because society dictates three 'square' meals was also something learned by the cleanse.  We simply do not need to eat the quantities of food that we have grown accustomed to eating!  As a simple comparison; the equivalent of one regular McDonald's hamburger and small order of  should be enough food to satisfy hunger.  (Of course, the nutritional content of that meal is suspect, but the quantity is what I am trying to illustrate.)  Instead, we favor the Quarter Pounder or the Big Mac and a large order of fries.

In a previous post, Mom Always Said..., I talked about three things that mom really did always say about eating.  Of these things, I am really focused on implementing two of them - taking smaller bites and chewing each one more thoroughly - as I was when this whole thing began.  Because I am already eating smaller portions, I am not too concerned with leaving some on my plate.  These rules are things that I constantly have to remind myself of.  It is far too easy to revert to swallowing large, partially chewed bites.  When I enjoy a meal, my tendency is to eat quickly.  Rather than savoring each bite, I tend to stuff myself.  Really, it just makes more sense to chew slowly and truly enjoy the food.

Today, I started to precede each meal with a small serving of plain, whole milk yogurt.  Well, any meal that isn't primarily consisting of yogurt, that is.  I figure that regularly supplementing with the probiotics found in the yogurt prior to eating would do wonders for my digestive system without spending any money on other supplements. 

As it is Wednesday, I found myself alone at home all day.  Weather prevented me from any outdoor activity - hence the title and the song reference, Here Comes the Rain Again, Eurythmics.  Instead of getting outside - except to walk Ginger - I got some exercise on the Wii Fit Plus.  Today also marked the first day that I have weighed myself since ending the cleanse.  As expected, my weight loss was considerably less dramatic.  Since ending the cleanse, I have only lost half of a pound.  However, this 0.5 pound weight loss puts me at exactly 76 pounds lost year to date.  Not bad for a 10 month total!
After my workout, I sat down and watched The Future Of Food.  I had started watching it a few weeks ago, but didn't have the opportunity to finish it.  If you are unfamiliar with it, the movie/documentary is focused on genetically modified food and Monsanto.  I highly recommend watching this one.  In fact, I have made it easy for you (at least for as long as it is available to watch online).  I have it posted right here for you!  Please, take a look.  (When I watched it, I found it ironic that one of the sponsors of the movie was Lean Cuisine...um, really?  A movie about genetically modified food sponsored by a company that sells processed food?)

Living In The Past

In a moment of spontaneity yesterday, we found ourselves heading off to visit the CT Renaissance Fair for a second time this year (See: I Won't Back Down to read about our first trip to the fair this year).  A family friend called us and asked if we would like to accompany them to the fair.  After a short deliberation, we decided to go along.  It turned out to be a great day!  Of course, the song here is Jethro Tull's, Living In The Past as an homage to the Renaissance Faire's celebration of history.

It was a bit of a challenge for the master cleanse, however.  The previous night, I had taken a full, 4 capsule dose of senna and I had done the salt water flush about 60 minutes prior to the call.  I was not really in a position to be too far away from a bathroom!  Fortunately, it didn't take too long for the flush to do its work.  I didn't have time to prepare any lemonade other than my morning glass, though.  As such, I didn't have any to take with me to the fair.  I ended up buying a bottle of water at the fair, but that was all that I consumed while we were there.
While at the fair, we got a chance to see another performance of two of our favorites, Dextre Tripp and Jayna Lee.  Over the last 10 years, we have seen both of them perform several times at the NY Renaissance Faire and Jayna at the CT fair both last year and this year.  This was the first time that we got to see them perform together!  Jayna had a show at 1:00 PM with Dextre assisting and Dextre had one at 2:30 PM with Jayna assisting.  I also had the privilege of assisting Dextre with his act!

After the fair, we headed home and I was able to resume the cleanse without a hitch.

Today marks my 12th day on the cleanse.  My tongue is still white, so it appears that my body is not yet ready for me to resume my normal diet.  I was running low on everything so I made yet another trip to the grocery store for supplies.  I opted for Trader Joe's in order to get some grade B maple syrup.  They also have a great deal on organic lemons and their cayenne pepper is non-irradiated, so it really was my best option.  I mentioned in a previous post that they offer two varieties of grade B syrup but were sold out of one of them last week.  This time, they had both in stock so I opted for the 32 oz. choice.  While I am sure that I will be ready to shift to a normal diet soon, I bought two bottles.  I fully intend to follow the master cleanse again within the next few months, so my plan is to be better prepared for it.  Rather than shell out a considerable amount of money just prior and during my next cleanse, I will build up a stock of the maple syrup over time so that I will have enough before I begin.  Of course, I will still need to buy the lemons as I go.
En route home from Trader Joe's, I stopped at The Vitamin Shoppe to pick up an alternative to my herbal laxative.  While the senna is working fine, I wanted to boost the benefits of the cleanse.  In his book, Tom Woloshyn talks about doing a parasite cleanse as an adjunct to the master cleanse.  While I have no evidence that I have a parasite problem, there is also no evidence that I am parasite-free.  Either way, it really can't hurt to take the extra step.  Three herbs that have anti-parasite properties are black walnut, clove, and wormwood.  Some effect the eggs of the parasites, while the others effect the adult parasites so it is best to use them together.  I was hoping to find the individual herbs, but the only one the store had in stock was black walnut.  They did have a single product that included all three, however.  It also includes senna so I can use this in place of the senna that I was using.  This is designed as a 7 day cleanse, so now that I have more lemons, maple syrup, and cayenne pepper I may just continue the master cleanse for the same 7 days - bringing my count to 19 days.  The other option - depending on the appearance of my tongue - would be to continue for three more days and then ease in to phase one of The Maker's Diet over the remaining 4 days.  I'll see how things go...

My current weight loss total for the duration of the cleanse stands at 13 pounds.

I Am Still Not Tempted.

I can't believe that it took me until Day 10 of the master cleanse to make a musical reference to Squeeze.  I have been talking about squeezing lemons and temptation for over a week now and I am only just making the connection to the song, Tempted.

I haven't posted any progress reports for the last few days for a couple of reasons: one) my daughter discovered a new puzzle game and she has been monopolizing the PC, and two) there really hasn't been anything new to report.  I haven't had another weigh in since my last report and really haven't had any issues with sticking to the cleanse.  The temptation to eat really hasn't been a problem.

Ten days is the recommended minimum for following the cleanse.  Evidence indicates that it takes at least that long for the body to realize any benefits.  There has not been any upper limit established for the duration of the cleanse.  When I started, I wasn't sure how long I would continue on the cleanse but planned to go for at least the full 10 days and play it by 'tongue' to determine whether to continue longer.  The tongue is the prime indicator that you are ready to move on to a regular diet.  During the cleanse, the tongue will turn white.  When it returns to a normal, pink color, your body is ready.  This doesn't mean that you need to end the cleanse, just that you can.
My tongue is still white so, I will following the cleanse for at least another day.


Running low on lemons again, I made a trip to the grocery store to buy more.  I would have needed more even if I were to end the cleanse today.  One thing that is really important to note is that when you end the cleanse, you really need to ease back in to eating solid food. When I went to the store, I also picked up a few things to use during my 'ease out' phase.

My plan is to start over with Phase One of The Maker's Diet after the cleanse.  It seems a perfect 're-start' for me.  Granted, I never strayed away from the Maker's Diet, but it never hurts to go back to the basics once in a while.

Along with the lemons, I bought some onions and green bell peppers.  When I got home from the store, I immediately set to making a vegetable stock in preparation for the end of the cleanse.  Taking inspiration from a recipe that I found on AllRecipes.com for the 'World's Greatest Vegetable Broth,' I chopped the onion, green peppers, and some carrots into a glass baking dish, tossed the vegetables with some olive oil, and roasted them for 45 minutes.  While they were roasting, I chopped some celery and garlic which I put into a stock pot with a gallon of filtered water.  When the vegetables were sufficiently roasted, I removed them from the oven and added them to the stock pot which I set to boil and then simmer until it reduced.  The recipe recommends a 50% reduction, but I allowed it to go longer creating a more concentrated stock as opposed to a broth.
I plan to use this stock for at least the first few days after the cleanse in various recipes.  It fits in well with recommendations from both Tom Woloshyn's book, The Complete Master Cleanse, and Jordan Rubin's book, The Maker's Diet.

Life In The Fast Lane

In my second entry yesterday, Less Is More, I mentioned that my modification to the salt water flush made it ineffective.  This morning, I followed the recommendations and used 2 tsp. sea salt in 1 quart of water.  Let me tell you, it really was life in the fast lane!  I really don't want to be too graphic, but within 90 minutes I was in the bathroom.  In and of itself it was not a terribly enjoyable experience, but the end result (no pun intended - OK, maybe it is intended) is that I already feel considerably better!  I am sure that this is partially the psychological effect from knowing that something is working correctly.  By the way, the song choice should be obvious, Life In The Fast Lane, Eagles - from the Hotel California album.

Over the course of the day yesterday, I was able to get 6 full servings of the lemonade in.  Today, I am off to a much better start.  It is only 11:00 AM at the time that I write this and I have already consumed 4 servings.  I plan to taper off a bit as the day progresses so that I end up with 8-10 glasses of lemonade by the time that I go to sleep.

This morning, I added one more resource to my research on the Master Cleanse.  The Complete Master Cleanse: A Step-by-Step Guide to Maximizing the Benefits of The Lemonade Diet by Tom Woloshyn is a much more comprehensive description of the cleanse than anything I have read thus far.  Mind you, I have not actually read the original book by Stanley Burroughs.  All of my research has been from websites and magazine articles up until today.  The good news is that all of the articles I have read agree on the fundamental points of the cleanse.  In the case of Tom Woloshyn's book, he delves a lot deeper into the hows and whys of the process.  I don't agree with him on all of his points - for instance, he is a proponent of the vegetarian diet - I am grateful for this additional insight on the cleanse.

At this point in Day 2 - yes, early in the day and having only just begun the overall process - I am truly considering extending beyond the 10 days.  As I said when I began using VIDACELL a couple of years ago, there is enough damage done to my body that it will not be corrected 'overnight.'  Woloshyn's book provides a marker to look for that will tell you that your body is ready to revert to a 'normal' diet.  I will likely continue the cleanse until I see that marker.  After that, I will slowly ease back into The Maker's Diet - grass-fed meats, raw milk, raw honey, sprouted grains, etc..  Technically, the cleanse does not truly break The Maker's Diet, it just really limits the 'foods' being consumed.