Day 1

Today is the first day of the cleanse! I am not yet hiding under my desk, scarfing candy bars and drinking pots of coffee! SUCCESS.

I started the day out with a mug of hot water and lemon juice. Richie brewed coffee for himself and I had a pang of craving for it when I caught the scent, but it wasn't terrible.

I made my juice this morning, which was kind of a pain in the ass, because I had to bring the juicer in my bedroom, so as to not wake Matt. I could have made this ahead of time, but I heard that the effectiveness/health benefits of carrot juice wear off as the juice becomes less fresh. The juice itself was very good, though a little spicy, even for my ginger-loving palate. If I do this juice again, and I probably will, I'll want to use a little less ginger (maybe a half inch piece), and prep the grapefruit the night before (or do a bunch at once and refrigerate it).

When I got to work, I was feeling a little slow. I didn't get enough sleep last night, because I stayed up late reading an article on Virginia Woolf and lexicography. Between that and no coffee, getting back into the swing of work is a little difficult today. I'm drinking a lot of water, but not really noticing any increased energy.

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I had my juice at 8am, and when I wasn't hungry by 10am, I was feeling pretty proud of myself. Then I got up to walk around some and expending just that small amount of energy (and probably thinking about not being hungry) made me a bit hungry. I held off until 10:45, then had some mint pea hummus with some carrots. That helped a little. Right now, at 11:45, I'm starting to get some hunger growls. I want to hold off until 12:30 to eat lunch, which I think is doable.

One of the biggest red flags I'm noticing right now is how much I want to snack. I started getting those cravings right around the time I ate the hummus. I thought that would help, but this really drives home for me how bad my snacking problem at work is. I don't want anything in particular, I just want to eat something. Definitely something to be aware of.

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I had lunch at 12:30, and it was surprisingly filling. In fact, I almost didn't finish it, because my jaw got tired of chewing all those julienned radish pieces. It was good, though next time I think I'll add more cranberries. It's 3:10 right now, and I actually did have a little spurt of energy! Not sure if that's to be attributed to the veggies or sheer adrenaline. I am still feeling really exhausted, as though I need a nap, and I'm starting to get a headache. Nothing awful, just that mild sort of ache behind the eyes that comes from a lack of sleep (and probably a lack of caffeine as well). Feeling mildly hungry, but it's hardly a blip on the radar.

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Afternoon brought declines in mood and energy. My pea hummus had turned a bit bitter (note to self: less lemon juice next time). By 5, I felt really worn out, but I forced myself to go to the grocery store to get some kale and butternut squash. Whole Foods didn't have butternut squash, so I went to Rouses (who had ONE. WHERE IS THE WINTER SQUASH?). By the time I left, I was feeling disoriented, annoyed, and sleepy. I came home and got on the scale to see I've lost 3 pounds since yesterday. I know all of this is water weight and I'll probably have some of it back by tomorrow morning, but it was still nice to see some de-bloating. Cooking the butternut squash/sweet potato/apple soup right now. I noticed myself getting a little down earlier, feeling grumpy about my diet food dinner. I actually started fantasizing about pizza and breadstick and had to turn off a Little Caesar's commercial on the radio (despite not ever desiring their pizza otherwise). I reminded myself that this soup is something I'd make any night of the week and totally enjoy it.  I think it's getting to me that I haven't felt FULL all day, but I need to teach myself/re-learn that full doesn't need to be "stuffed." I also need to change the amount of food I need to make myself feel full.

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Soup notes: Next time, roast all vegetables before adding to soup. Needs a fair amount of pepper, no cinnamon (too sweet). Fuji apples are too sweet. Do not attempt to finish the soup with sherry vinegar. Needs less water or a longer cooking time. Overall, not awful, but could have been better. Would be good with tahini added in.

I feel better than I did even an hour ago (when I did the above bit). I'm still tired and I'll probably go to bed earlier than I normally would, but I'm in a better mood. I notice I don't feel like doing anything else tonight, including prepping tomorrow's food (which I may just do in the morning). I think I'm going to go shower and treat myself to a little mini-spa (i.e., I'm going to give myself a mani/pedi and slap on my Queen Helene Mint Julep face mask.)

I probably won't go into this great of detail every single day (I'm boring myself at this point!), but I wanted to track how I felt today, so I can mark any progress or decline. (I just had to google "word meaning a loss of progress." How do people function on so few calories regularly? I feel vapid!)