Ah, poop

Day 4-5 is less than fun for me. Oh, I was all cocky at the beginning - "maybe because I tend to eat pretty cleanly, this is easy peasy". What was I thinking, tempting fate that way. Last night around dinner time, and all through the night, and all day today, my body has experienced a deep cleansing. An emptying. It's not pretty, and it hurts my belly. AND I'm peeing like a mo-fo. Seriously hard to get any work done today, constantly heading to the loo. Those little herbal pills and drops contain laxatives and diuretics. I read somewhere that it's not a great idea to have both happening at the same time. Hmmm. I see why. So I humbly state that this is not a walk in the park. My mild headache continues to hover in the background. Apparently it won't last long, this slightly aggressive and really unpleasant cleansing - the promise is that by day 5 or 6, you feel strong and refreshed and clear and alive. Well, today, day 5, I want to leave work and climb into bed. AND last night and today I've had my first cravings - cheeseburger, fries and a chocolate bar are at the top of my list. I'm eating well, but I rebel against being told what I can and can't do in ANY area of my life, so my little rebel, and my loud need-for-variety voice are both yelling at me. Give up. This is silly. You feel sick, let it go, just go back to eating normally. You love pleasure and deliciousness and yummy food adventures. Give up on this silly quinoa/nuts/rice/veg starvation diet. oooh, and how I want to listen to this voice.

BUT.

Instead, I had a big lunch of brown rice and chicken and onions and spinach cooked in coconut milk. Divine and delicious. And I had a plum, instead of the chocolate bar I want. And now, mid-afternoon, to soothe the grumbling in my stomach, I'm having broccoli soup (no cream or milk). And for dinner I will pop my pills and eat a quinoa/tomatoes/cilantro/oil&lemon salad and my apple with almond butter.

AND

I will survive. No, more than that, I will triumph. Likely my belly will be settled tomorrow. And I will continue to enjoy the feeling of not being bloated, feeling light, feeling solid and firm inside, with a clear and calm mind.

And at the end, I'll have had 12 days of super-clean, everything-from-scratch eating, had a little clean-out of my liver, kidneys and digestive tract, and likely lost about 10 pounds. I didn't weigh myself before this (I don't own a scale) but this seems to be the norm when people do this. Almost all water-weight, I'm sure. And I'll have likely broken some of the bad winter/studying habits I'd developed regarding chocolate bars and convenience eating.  All very very good things. I need to keep repeating them to myself when the cravings and discomfort start SHOUTING MY NAME!!