Oh, back to the Topic of the Day...
The most I've ever lost at once was 16 pounds. In 11 days. But that was when I sick a few years ago - it happened while I was down in DC working on
Children of Eden at Ford's Theatre. Those were some rough(!) days, but I never missed a show! However...
I did "diet" a couple of years ago, and managed to take off 20 pounds, and those pounds have stayed off. Yeah! Since then I've been trying to lose another 10-15 in stages. Well...
A few weeks ago, I could tell that my body was telling me that I needed to REALLY try to lose the next block of weight. My back was acting up, my energy levels were weird, and I just did not feel "right". And when I stepped on the scale, I was quite surprised to see that I had put on 5-7 pounds in a relatively short time. I knew I had to something "drastic" in order to get things jump-started. If I just tip-toed into the process, it was not going to stick. So, after talking with a couple of people and reading a lot of stuff on the internet, I decided to do something "drastic". Last Monday I started "The Master Cleanse". It's that "Lemonade Cleanse" that's been around for years. So, for the past ten days, I've been living off of nothing but a mixture of lemon juice, grade B maple syrup, cayenne pepper and water - and extra water as needed throughout the day. Once I got past the first three days, it was actually sort of "easy", and I seem to be one of those rare people who had no real adverse affects during the cleanse - no colds, no weird skin breakouts, no real drops in energy. And once I got past the fifth day, it really just fascinated me. I mean, even though I had had no solid for five days at that point, well, there was... well... -You can read about that part elsewhere on the web.
Today is my first day off the Cleanse/Diet, and I'm starting to introduce solid food back into my body. So far, so good. -It's just lots of orange juice today.
As for the amount of weight I lost: 17 pounds. I know most of it was water weight, and I know that some of it will come back on pretty fast, but at least I truly know now that I can control my dietary intake. And after having read some "uncomfortable" stories of people who broke the fast/cleanse/diet too fast, well, I still have to be very careful and picky with what I eat over the next couple of days.
It truly was a "neat" 10 days of control. It also allowed me to think about and plan my eating for the next couple of weeks. Yes, I do have a few culinary splurges planned - small ones - but I also have a healthier mindset right now. I even have my gym regime lined up for next week. My jeans are definitely much looser right now, and my shirts are draping much nicer too - and I want to keep it that way!
The Master Cleanse is certainly not for everyone, and I am not endorsing it for anyone. However, it did seem to work for me, and I had thought about it for a while. You really do have to be mentally prepared for it before you start. Since I had had no work lined up last week except for a brief audition session, it made it each easier for me to avoid any temptations that I may have come across on my lunch breaks. And since the "lemonade" is best when it's fresh, I was able to prepare it as needed throughout the day.
*One very funny "side-effect"... Boy, did I have to cut down on my viewing of the Food Network! All those "Good Eats", "Diners, Dives and Drive-Ins", and Iron Chef competitions really did start to make my salivary glands go into overdrive at times.
