Day 9 - cleansing and detox

Yesterday was an eventful day: without having to fight off feeling sleepy and needing my usual afternoon nap, I didn't nap at all! This may seem small to most people but for me it's almost cataclysmic (but in a good way). 

This feeling of sleepiness in the afternoons has made my life miserable. It's adversely affected me at school and at work. Truly, when I have afforded myself the luxury of taking a nap, I've slept so soundly and deeply that it's what I've imagined is the kind of sleep that most people get at night.

I've had people suggest that all I have to do is resist my afternoon nap, save all that sleepiness for the nighttime, and viola! The simple solution to all my sleep problems. Well... no, doesn't work that way. They could be the same people that suggest that I drink non-fat milk and thus solve my problems with lactose-intolerance. Nope again. But I digress... 

As for yesterday's 'no need for a nap' afternoon, I hope that it eventually becomes my new daily routine. Time will tell, but if it's just easier for me to stay awake and alert throughout a typical day, that will be such a huge victory. Now I don't expect any of this to change my personality such as remake me into a dynamic, gregarious extrovert, but if I can just act and feel more alive and energized to do the things I like to do, what a plus that would be! 

I also learned yesterday that some people on this program go back down to 1 meal replacement shake per typical day after they reach their weight-loss goals sometime after their first 30-day 'cleansing and detoxing' whereas others prefer to stay on the 2 shakes and 1 meal regimen for a longer period of time. I may stay with 2 shakes per day for at least a month longer. I'll see how I feel and look.

Day 8 - cleansing and detox

Alright, I survived my first cleanse day from 2 days ago and even went out for lunch with family and relatives yesterday (not as a reward or anything, but it had been planned before my cleansing and detox began). And yet today I felt compelled to measure my abdominal area - it was 1/2 to 1-inch less than before, depending on how much I did or didn't hold in my stomach for my 'Before' measurement. That seems about right; I don't feel like I've lost a great deal of weight, but my stomach does seem a little less hefty nonetheless. 

I have a pair of pants that I haven't worn for years that I'm aiming to fit into: it's marked as being 32-inches around the waist, although from what I learned on my first day, my waist may well measure several inches more and still fit into what's labeled.

The important thing to me is that I have no spare tire hanging over the front, and ultimately, wouldn't it be fantastic to actually have washboard abdominals? I've never had those.

For exercise, I've been doing like I've been doing for over a year: 30 minutes on the stationary bike, which is just my road bike propped up on an exercise stand. 

As I gain energy, I may do more - not just on the bike but other forms of exercise as well. 

Day 7 - FIRST CLEANSE DAY!

It wasn't so bad, actually. 

There were only a couple of times I had to fight off the thought that I was feeling hungry, so it wasn't an entire day spent thinking about food. Once was in the morning before I knew what to expect since it was my first 'cleanse' day, and then later in the evening after I had consumed my last nutritive drink. 

I got the expected headache like I did on my first day of this program, but it wasn't nearly as bad. Still, I would recommend doing cleanse days on weekends or when one can spend the day at home, not so much because of the headache but to more easily follow the instructions of what to consume when. 

Plus, have I mentioned using a water filter system like Brita? I hate to think that people are consuming so much purified water out of plastic bottles. Please use a system that filters tap water instead of adding to the mountains of plastic being manufactured for bottled water. Yet I do wonder if the plastic water filters themselves are recyclable. I'll have to look into what to do with the spent ones of those.

Overall, it was a day where I had frequent nutritive drinks and some supplements spread out every couple of hours or so. Which ended my first week on this 30-Day cleanse and detox regimen I am on... just over three more weeks to go! 

Keep in mind that this is just the 30-Day cleanse part of a system; I intend to continue with meal replacement shakes twice a day from now on. Which will allow me to eat regular, though smart, meals once every day. I should be able to deal with that.

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My first week on this cleanse and detox coincidentally ended the same day, pending signatures, as the NFL referee lockout. Good thing I got my thoughts about it off my chest yesterday. Now, as anybody who has been following this knows, we all have to cut a little slack to the regular refs as they get back into the groove of officiating games. Remember, they didn't get a preseason so it will take awhile for them to get back up to speed. 

I sure hope they've been staying sharp somehow by reading the rule book and making special note of any changes for this season. They'll be operating under a microscope - but even from the very first game they officiate, I can't imagine them being as bad and incompetent as the replacement refs were. I would also like to mention that the replacement refs were individuals so shouldn't all be considered at the same level of ability; some were better than others, so let's not be derisive of all of them.

Day 6 - cleansing and detox

Yesterday's 'shake' day was fine; not much to talk about there. 

I wrote to my cleanse coach (nothing formal in that designation - he's helping to guide me through this process) and let him know that I'm still hovering around the original 4 or so pounds that I lost initially. He responded that I'm still way ahead of the curve and that I should really start 'releasing' the weight after my first cleanse day. Which is today. I'll report on how it goes tomorrow. 

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Funny how I decided at some point to not comment after each 49ers game like I've been doing for a few seasons now while I'm doing this cleansing, yet a couple of posts ago I decided to write about the dreams I had the night before... how silly is that? 

I still don't plan on posting my thoughts on the 49ers (bad loss to the Vikings, ahem) after each game (woefully ineffective) for these 4 weeks while I'm doing this cleansing, but I can't ignore what's going on in football in general:

"What the h*ll's going on out here?" (to quote the great Vince Lombardi). 

These replacement refs should now be making everyone appreciate how good the regular refs are. The regular refs have the experience to know the rule book, know how to stick to their own guns rather than let the players and coaches influence their calls, maintain flow, and for the most part, MAKE THE RIGHT CALLS! Allowing for the occasional gaff, of course; at least they used to make only a few over several games instead of several of them per game, if not every quarter. 

Some sports commentators were stating before Monday Night's game that none of these bad calls had directly cost a team a game. Wasn't it enough knowing that it could and probably would happen, instead of saying "it hasn't happened yet?" Well, now it has!

Speaking of that particular play, I've seen 'simultaneous possession' types of plays before, where two players are wrestling over the ball. Usually it looks like each has about 50 percent possession. In those cases, yes, the offense is to be awarded possession, sort of like in baseball how 'tie goes to the runner.' But what about cases such as on Monday Night's where one player has something like 80 percent or more of the ball? The Green Bay defender was hugging the ball whereas the Seattle player merely managed to be touching the ball. But nowhere having possession of it. So the refs award the ball to the offense? Is that all it takes - for the offensive player just to touch the ball with his hand? Ridiculous. 

It occurred to me also that the first ref to run over and signal touchdown may have been supremely confused about which team was even on offense for that play. Perhaps he thought that Green Bay threw the ball, and when he saw that a Packer had caught it, signaled touchdown. Possible? I wouldn't doubt it. 

Also considering that the NFL owners are for the most part all billionaires, sure, giving the regular refs a lucrative salary may seem exorbitant, but the owners have been willing to pay their players hundreds of thousands and millions of dollars to put a great product on the field. Why not be willing to pay generously for the integrity of the game? 

Let me guess: these billionaire NFL owners are lousy tippers. 

Day 5 - cleansing and detox

Another day in what is becoming pretty routine. Fortunately the shakes taste really good, like protein powders I used to drink such as MET-Rx. Very tasty - I could drink 10 times as much, just as I would enjoy eating 10 times the amount of the company's snack foods than I am allowed... but of course that would defeat the purpose. 

Tomorrow is my first 'cleanse' day, which will be NO solid food from a regular meal. According to the instructions, I'll get to eat some chewable tablets and a special sort of energy chocolate. But besides those, just liquids. It's supposed to really clean out my system, hence the name. I'll do 4 of those this month; I hope my body is ready and primed for it.

Otherwise, these shake days I've gotten pretty accustomed to. Like I mentioned above, routine. My mealtimes are simpler now, and I even feel that going out for the occasional restaurant meal will be manageable. Maybe every two or three weeks ought to be okay. 

In fact, the day after tomorrow I am going to meet some family and relatives at a Japanese restaurant. I'll just have some salmon over rice instead of a bento box that includes tempura. Maybe some sushi though - I'll try not to go crazy. 

In any case, I'll be more careful than usual. 

Day 4 - cleansing and detox

Not much to report today. Yesterday after writing my post, I did kind of cheat on my regular food meal. Although I had salmon, brown basmati rice, and vegetables, I ate maybe two servings! I have no idea how many calories that added up to; I'm hoping it didn't go too high. 

So to augment what I've just written, I'm going to describe the series of dreams I had last night. Hey, it's MY blog, "I can do what I want!" (said in a Cartman from South Park voice.)

I don't always remember my dreams. If I had to guess, I'd say on average I'll remember several per month, usually within days of each other.

I can recall three parts from last night: The first took place in the local shopping center/large strip mall, Park 'N Shop. Although I was in the building (the store spaces ran into each other), I found myself in an enclosed quasi-wilderness. There were some bleachers. 

As I was walking along, I noticed there was a grizzly bear wandering behind me. I started to run, but knew I couldn't outrun it nor hide, so I ran but without a desperate panic. I did glance over at it and even though it noticed me, it chose to leave me alone and ran past me. Over the course of this dream, whenever I saw it, it continued to leave me alone. Now, I wasn't completely at ease and calm - deep down I was absolutely heart-pounding terrified! Yet I felt somehow positive with a whatever happens, happens attitude. 

The second of last night's several dreams also took place at Park 'N Shop, but this time I was outside in the parking lot area. But it wasn't all parking lot as it is in real life - there was an outdoor plaza where people could sit and mingle. I was sitting out there with family and/or friends (I don't remember who). What I remember is I was being questioned by Nancy Grace about which stores were part of Park 'N Shop years ago. It felt like I was being interrogated for some reason.

She asked where the fountains used to be, and I couldn't say. All I could tell her was I remembered a shoe store, my favorite place to get shoes when I was a kid, Watkins Bootery.

The last dream I remember from last night took place in another part of town. I was meeting with two of my cousins and their late mother/my late aunt at a restaurant for breakfast. We were seated outside at a table under an umbrella; it was warm and the sun was worth shielding ourselves from. It took awhile for me to decide what I wanted to eat. I was about to order some hash browns and french fries when I woke up. Yes, I was dreaming about eating! Love the potatoes.

Besides that though, it was nice seeing my aunt again. I didn't even grow up seeing her all that often, but I remember her always being in a pleasant mood. It was a pleasant outing. 

Of course, this is what I am able to describe - these dreams had other details and impressions, feelings that I can't quite put into words. Hmmm... a grizzly bear and being questioned by Nancy Grace. In case you're wondering, the grizzly was more frightening.

Day 3 - cleansing and detox

This cleansing isn't easy, but it's manageable. It's simple enough to follow, but the thing is, as I mentioned before: I like to eat. I LOVE to eat! I long to attack an all-you-can-eat buffet, for breakfast, for lunch and for dinner. But that's always been the case. Maybe just two buffet meals in a day. How about once a week for one mass consumption meal? 

I don't eat the most, and I certainly don't eat the fastest, but I like to savor every bite. I like the feeling of chewing food. That's why it's so helpful that this system has great tasting shakes and snacks yet also allows for one meal of 'real' food per day. But I'm still longing to 'pig out.'

I have to wonder though... if I did let myself loose now, how much I would be able to eat anyway... maybe my appetite is slowly shrinking. Maybe not.

Out of curiosity, I weighed myself this morning though I doubt it has that much meaning - it's only been three days. It was first thing in the morning before what I'm sure are the body's fluctuations of a typical day. Still, I'm down four or five pounds from my starting day. Of course I'm consuming a lot less. The real test will come at the end of the 30 days. How will I feel? How will I look? The mirror seems to show the same big gut. I've read that these products help eliminate the fat that directly surrounds the body's organs, not just what shows.

Referring back to yesterday's post, last night I didn't sleep for six hours straight as I did the night before. Time will tell for my energy levels and sleep patterns.