Day 2

I'm currently in Day 2 of the Lemon Detox Diet. Basically, I'm not eating food, but drinking a mixture of water, lemon or lime juice, maple syrup, and cayenne pepper. This drink is supposed to pull the toxins out of your body, and then I am taking steps to flush the toxins out each morning.

Think what you will, but after Day 1 I'm kind of excited. I am NOT one to skip a meal, or really refuse myself any food. I don't think that's a bad trait, but lately I'm getting a little out of control with letting food be more than just food for me. You know, "whew, the boys are in bed, what can I eat?" or, "hey, nobody finished off this ice cream, I'd better eat it during naptime, and a little more tonight!". Not that it's not okay to eat ice cream, I'm just getting a little bit out of control. And I'm not running as much as I want to be. Anyway, after making it through Day 1, I can hardly believe it.

I'm also using this as a renewing time with God. Jesus fasted in the desert for 40 days. (Which I won't be doing). But there's something to be said for the time I spend thinking about food. Just yesterday alone I spent almost 16 hours warding off all thoughts of eating. Yikes. I know I get grumpy and irritable when I'm hungry, and I'd like to use this time to get myself under control - think before I get frustrated with the boys, etc.

Also, ever since I heard about detox diets I've been terribly curious about whether they work. Is it all just a gimmick? Do people really feel better? Is there a noticeable difference after they're done? Is skin clearer? Are chronic pains gone? One person even said their eyes changed color! We'll see.

I woke up feeling great. Not hungry, not achy, just nervous about the saltwater flush. It tastes horrible, and I wasn’t sure what would happen after I drank it. I ended up using the bathroom on and off for 2 ½ hours, but it wasn’t uncomfortable or anything. I did wake up at 4:50am because I was so uneasy about the flush, but I had a great No-Kid time of prayer and reading Abiding In Christ.

My tongue is getting fuzzier and I had a low-grade headache for most of the day. I’m pretty sure I functioned normally though. It was harder to maintain patience with the boys today. As I was putting them to bed and trying to think back on where I go wrong when we have tough days I realized I hadn’t done a lot of meditating on Scripture like I did yesterday. Note to self: remember to do that tomorrow! It really seemed to help when I did.

The only other diet I’ve ever done was South Beach and I remember being soooo irritable because everywhere I looked were things I wanted to eat, but I had to eat this…salad or egg or salad or egg or…salad. On this one there aren’t any options. Like, “mmm, that cookie looks yummy…no” or “I’d like to eat that green bean…no to that too” and “that liver smells divine…no”. No matter what the food, I can’t eat it now. So although I’d like to eat, it’s not as big of a deal. I’m just realizing how much I eat, just throw something in my mouth to be doing it, or because I’m making lunch and it’s there. I must say though, I was reading the boys The Story About Ping before bed tonight, which takes place in China. And I started daydreaming just a little bit about Chinese food…I loooove Chinese food. Especially the super-healthy breaded and fried chicken and pork dishes. Especially sweet and sour chicken. Especially. And egg rolls.

We went to Costco today with my Grandma and the samples were kind of, for lack of better words, insanely tempting. I’m thinking particularly about a turkey/swiss sandwich-y thing on beautiful multi-grain artisan bread. Daniel didn’t like his and I contemplated snatching it, but I didn’t.

Toward evening my headache started getting a little stronger, and I’m noticing various aches and pains – specifically in my back and neck, but a vague pain everywhere. So I think I’m going to go to bed. Most of my reading has attested to Day 3 being the most difficult - we shall see!