thoughts on the master cleanse and other food-related matters

i'm doing the master cleanse. today was day 7. i have to confess, i've cheated a little most days, having from 1-5 bites of solid food. not disciplined, i know. i don't feel good about that.

still, i was hungry, and i really missed having different mouth-feels and tastes. i cheated with chicken, chocolate, and cheese. (wow, that sentence has a lot of alliteration!)

this is my second time on the master cleanse. the first was at least 5 years ago.

i did well at lara and mat's wedding reception yesterday, especially sitting next to clarita, who was really enjoying her food. the salad looked good, and clarita said the stuffing for the macaroni shells was delicious.

sometimes i wish i could eat mindlessly. just whatever and whenever and however much i want. i mean, i COULD do that, but there are consequences if i do: weight gain and feeling yucky. so mostly i stick to simple organic foods. yogurt and a variety of fruit and nuts for breakfast, salad at lunch, meat or grain and veggies for dinner. no caffeine, no alcohol, no sugar.

and no pasta, bread, cake, or anything with wheat in it, because of my food sensitivities. i have other sensitivities (yeast, cherries, snapper, peas, amaranth, kidney beans), but wheat is the worst. if you don't believe me, try going a month without wheat. no sandwiches. no gravy. nothing breaded, so no fried chicken or fried okra. no quesadillas. no burritos. no croutons. no pasta. no biscuits or rolls right out of the oven. no cookies. no pizza. it sucks! sob!

it's not like i loved or craved wheat before. i have never been a big bread eater. wheat was just present in the background, a quiet but ubiquitous food in the standard american diet.

pasta is a good carrier for sauces and parmesan, which i love. so either i substitute spaghetti squash or cook pasta made of grains other than wheat. it doesn't have the same texture, though. wheat, especially white flour, really doesn't do much for anyone, and more and more people are finding they are sensitive to it. but it has a great texture that transforms many other foods and elevates them.

it's tough to go without solid food and only drink that lemonade drink for 10 days. it's like, hmm, what am i going to eat today? oh, i know! filtered water with fresh squeezed organic lemon juice, maple syrup, and a dash of cayenne! oh yum!

yet it really can quell hunger pangs for an hour or two.

i bought sweet limes and organic lemons, and a couple of times i made the lemonade with grapefruit. just craving variety.

i think about food a lot while being (mostly) detached from consuming it. because i am not shopping or cooking or cleaning up, i have a LOT more time.

in fact, that is the best thing about the master cleanse. if i ever need to be working a lot on something, i can just go on the master cleanse to create more time.

i'm not even going to mention laxative tea or salt water flushes. i would NEVER do those things if not part of this cleanse. i haven't done them regularly because i don't like being tied to the potty and i don't like intestinal cramps. i've done them enough to know that i'm flushing toxins out of my system, and that's good enough for me.

okay, i know this is a gripy post, but that's how i'm feeling right now. grrrr! i'm counting the days until it's over. wednesday is my last fast day. then i can start slowly with orange juice, vegetable broth, and then soup. that is going to feel so great! i'm so looking forward to that nourishment.