No Solid Food for 10 Straight Days

Yep, you heard it right. A lot of friends raised their eyebrows when they heard about the master cleanse Jeff and I were going to do.

Are you crazy? The look on their faces would show.

Jeff did this twice in the past. His friend Terry Givens introduced him to this type of cleanse. Jeff said he lost 15-17 lbs doing it the first time so I said, what the heck.

He actually wanted to do 5 days instead of the whole 10 days this time, but my big mouth said We should go 10 days. From January 26 - February 4. Just awesome.

Essentially we won't be eating anything except a combination of lemon juice, organic maple syrup, and cayenne pepper.

If you truly know me, you know I'm not into diets or anything similar. So if I magically make it out alive, then.. it's magic. Hahaha

So first, let me show you the ingredients needed for the mixture. I wasn't able to get a decent measuring cup so I improvised.

Daily mixture:

Water - almost 4 liters
Lemon juice - 1 1/4 cup or 320 ml

Organic Grade B maple syrup - 1 1/4 cup or 320 ml
Cayenne pepper - 1 teaspoon

There's also the salt flush (that everyone who tried probably hates)

1 tablespoon of sea salt with 1 liter of warm water

Before the cleanse:
You should actually ease into the cleanse, meaning just eat veggies before the actual liquid diet. But we didn't do this. Instead, I ate everything I wanted... even until 12 midnight. Hahaha

Day 1.

Anxious/excited.

Prepared my salt flush before preparing today's drink. The salt water wasn't hard to chug in - yet - since it was the first time.

20 minutes after, I had to run to the bathroom and literally stayed there for 30 minutes.

I didn't feel hungry during the daytime. Instead I felt bloated drinking all of the juice plus water. The mixture also tasted kinda sweet and I wasn't actually able to drink all of it.

Since I had cough, I felt a little headache near the sinus area.

When my siblings ate dinner, I just smelled the newly cooked rice and I was good.

I wasn't able to sleep because of too much sugar - I suppose.

Day 2.

Woke up feeling better than the night before, still in amazement that I didn't eat anything solid yesterday.

Headaches came and went. Met up with Jeff in the afternoon for a meeting then headed to Ayala to stock up on more supplies.

I thought that walking by Sbarro and smelling their pizza would drive me crazy, but I was fine. Still not hungry because of the mixture.

Tummy grumbled around 9 in the evening, debated with myself whether or not I should take a bite of the fish they ate (Didn't eat btw) so I drank water and tried my best to sleep.

Day 3.

Woke up dreaming I was eating fast food and realized I shouldn't be doing that because of the cleanse.

Day 3 was the worst so far.

Salt flush was the usual but headaches grew worse. I began vomitting  because I couldn't take the taste of the mixture anymore. Since I didn't have a fridge, the acid from the lemons fermented faster and had a taste of old vinegar.

Then, I began seeing spots. SPOTS. Was I going blind? I was actually on the verge of giving up. I couldn't work like this.

I stopped drinking the mixture for a few hours scared that if I drink another cup, I'd vomit it all again.

In the afternoon, I decided to give it one more try. I added ice to the mixture. Tasted better, thank goodness.

Day 4.

Felt so much better than yesterday. Woke up earlier than usual, full of energy.

Didn't see any spots today. No more vomiting as well. Headache wast that bad - it feels like Day 1.

But hunger pains are starting to creep in. Even if the guide said otherwise, today was my hungriest day. My tummy was growling from around 3 pm to 7. I just drank a lot of water and mixture.

My sibs had chicken and potatoes for dinner. I was so tempted....

Day 5.

HEAD ACHES.

Jeff and I met at his condo around 1 pm to discuss a few more work strategies. Around 2:30 we took a jeepney to Ayala to get more supplies for the cleanse.

The whole time, the right part of my head was throbbing that even my right eye turned red. I wore sunglasses to get the glare out of the way but nothing happened. I tried to walk straight with all my might and luckily didn't pass out.

The headaches lasted until the evening.

Day 6.

I was concerned that I won't be able to finish my mixture because I had a lot of activities in line today.

A few headaches came, but not as much as yesterday. Jeff and I went to the waxing salon and I had a huge laugh hearing Jeff groaning with pain getting his chest hair waxed.

In the evening, I went out with a few friends. Props to me for the self-control. I was just drinking my juice while they were having full meals for dinner. Weee!

Day 7.

Disgusted with the taste of lemon. I have been drinking the same thing for seven days straight and I'm getting tired. Bleaaacccchhhh. Keep your head together, 3 days more.

I have also been most sensitive this day - yelled at a saleslady and a few others.

Starved bitch coming through! Make way!

Day 8.

Instead of passing out liquids, I noticed a few solid particles. Probably those trapped in my bowels long before. My, these salt flushes really flush out everything!

I noticed a pattern. I feel great in the morning upon waking up - around 11 am my headaches begin - they leave around 4 pm - then I'm totally refreshed at night time. I even stay up late because of the energy I feel. Weird pattern, huh?

Headaches had become a part of me. Hated the taste of lemonade. 2 more days.

Day 9.

Almost there - but not quite yet. I feel lighter and more agile today. I feel my tummy's shrinking too. I'm not hungry, but I'm terribly bored with what I'm drinking for the past 9 days. I was very tempted to lick the grilled pork my siblings were eating just for taste, but of course didn't do it.

My brain wasn't working properly too. I had trouble stringing a single sentence. What to do?? With all the deadlines coming up.. :(

Day 10.

Finally!!! I'm here. I never thought I could go 10 days without solid food. It's true, your mind is so powerful you can accomplish even the hardest tasks. I don't know if I lost significant weight though. Oh well, if not then at least my insides got cleaned.

I've been looking at a lot of food pictures, carefully examining what I wanted to eat after this. Unfortunately, I couldn't dig in right away tomorrow. The cleanse needs at least 2 days of easing out.



After the cleanse:
Day 11 - Real orange juice
Day 12 - Introduction of fruits and veggies
Day 13 - back to normal eating

My thanks

To Jeff Oxford, for introducing the cleanse and for being my financial sponsor.

To my parents who were supportive and motivated me daily

To my siblings who didn't tease me with food

To my friends who kept me on track.

Will I do it again next year?

I'm not sure yet, but it's possible!