Funny Cats

Awesome WRC Moment!

I can has Job now!

Well, my first day is tomorrow morning bright and early at 9:30 a.m. at Visions Electronics! I'm pretty darn stoked at this point! Let you know how it goes.

In finishing the cleanse news... I REALLY like Orange juice much better than the stuff we've been having.

Day 10 - Final Day

So Pamela and I have made it to day 10. Only 5 more glasses of the lemon juice concoction and then onto orange juice for two days followed by raw fruit and salad for a day before being allowed things like Pita's, Burgers, Milk! I'm so excited!

However I worked out again this morning and haven't felt hungry for a few days. Still not sleeping fantastic we'll see if that gets better when I get back into solid foods.

Point of interest - the longer the mix sits the hotter the cayenne becomes. Last night I went over to a buddies so I pre-mixed some lemonade and threw it in a water bottle. When it came to drinking it 3 hours later I felt like the cayenne was going to burrow out the back of my head! It's unavoidable, but something to prepare yourself for if you do this.

Final Results as of this morning for inches and weight lost...

Weight: 14 pounds

Waist: 5 inches

Hips: 3 inches

Chest: 3.5 inches

Legs: 3 inches

Butt: 3 inches

So it definitely works as a reduction cleanse.

Overall it's been a good experience, although one I won't be doing again for quite some time... :)

Pamela and I have been doing Menu Planning for the last week or so, drooling over foods we want, and trying to find a way of reducing our monthly food costs, eat out less often, and have healthy variety in our home. The idea is to try and get almost 2 weeks worth of menu planning done and that way shopping is less random :)

In order to track our health as well Pamela and I are going to continue to track our weight after the cleanse, and as of tomorrow are starting a 3 day regimen to come back onto solid foods. This means that tomorrow and the next day we will be drinking several glasses of Pure orange juice. The third day we will have the OJ for breakfast, raw fruit for lunch, and raw fruit OR salad for supper (we're assuming not covered in ranch) Now if at any point our body rejects this we are supposed to go back on the cleanse for a few days... we would not be pleased!

So in the end it's been a neat experience, never thought I could do a liquid diet for this long, but there it is. I feel like I've become more aware of my body, I feel better, and I'm really jazzed about this as a kick off to a healthier lifestyle. What truly prompted this for me was wake-boarding this summer. I just felt like it should have been easier, but with the shape I was in it just couldn't be. I just don't want unhealthiness to get in the way of things that I want to do.

In other news...

Still no word from visions.

Spore is the coolest game on the whole dang planet.

I need to get Leopard for my mac!

Day 8, t-2 days... so long as my tongue cooperates...

Well day 8 twas a good day. Played for worship in church today and then went with a buddy of mine to see Wall-e in the cheap seats. I do love that show.

As far as the cleanse goes I did not take the flush this morning as both Pamela and myself had to be out of the house by 7:30 this morning and didn't relish the idea of getting up at 5:15 to down a litre of salt water and spend those wee' hours of the morning on the toilet. I did however have 3 movements on my own so sufficient elimination is happening.

I've been getting hungry more often today, I'm not sure if it's just being busier or if it's the change in schedule.

I am really hoping my tongue will be clear by day 10 because I'm so ready to be done.

I'm sad that day 10 is the church's mens group bbq which I'll be doing music at, but not able to partake in.

I'm only losing about a pound a day now which means that my body is starting to equalize.

I'm craving Pita Pit, and a Taco Salad from the cheescake Cafe!

Day 7

Well, it's approximately 3 days until we can start to come off of the cleanse, which in and of itself is a 5 day process starting with Orange Juice, Veggie Broth, and a few other things in order to keep a person from shocking their system to bad.

That being said I'm feeling really good for day 7 and so if we end up having to go over 10 days due to our tongues not clearing up or our desire to continue to cleanse as a way of reducing weight. However having lost over 10 pounds now and 4 inches to my waist I can say that I'm feeling quite good and my desire for real sustenance again may just outweigh my desire to lose more weight. I suppose what's really become clear to me is a)how much unreasonable food I do eat, and b)how little the body actually needs to sustain itself. IT seems to me that I can eat quite reservedly and still be getting myself the equivalent of nutrition 12 tablespoons of lemon juice and Maple Syrup.

Still have that burn in the back of my throat a little bit but it's not so severe now, still losing a lot of waste when I do the flush in the morning, and it feels as though my stomach has shrunk substantially as I am having a hard time downing the litre of salt water in the morning now.

My parents are coming over today and so it may be the first time that Pamela and I are exposed to a temptation to break the fast, but given where we are at, even if we wanted to quit we should probably do a slow ease back into food for fear of shocking our systems to badly.

It's been good, but at this point I do'nt feel like I ever want to do it again! But after seeing all the benefits I'd be willing to give it another go I think. They say that at the beginning of the cleanse that you should pump yourself up for it, and being mentally prepared for this is definitely the key to success!

Day 6

Well over half way to minimum and we're doing allright.

I'm feeling tired today even though I slept for about 10 hours, hunger isn't really an issue though Haven't felt any all of yesterday or today. The burning in my throat has gone away which is good. I was a little sick to my stomach this morning, and downing the litre of salt water flush was quite difficult to get down and keep down, but I'm feeling much better now.

Mentally I'm getting pretty sick of the flush, there was nothing I wanted more than to make some waffles this morning or to go out for a Taco Salad with some friends, or figure out what kind of nuts this guy on '24' was eating b/c they looked tasty. It's making me wonder if I'm going to go beyond day 10 (and or tongue being uncoated) for the sake of reduction or not. At this point I almost just feel like I want to be done.

In conjunction with that feeling of just wanting to be done though I have been cooped up in this house for a few days by myself and that is really starting to wear on me. I'm definitely a level 10 extrovert and so having Pamela gone during the days and not being able to do anything more exciting than organize my iTunes and fold my socks has me feeling quite stir crazy. Hopefully this weekend will bring and opportunity to get out and do something.

Will be calling into Visions again today to see if they have my first day figured out yet, and no response from the Mines recruitment centre after two messages.

Day 5 of the master cleanse

This morning I'm at 9 pounds lost, 2.5 inches from my waist, 3 inches from hips, 2 inches of chest and 2 inches of legs. So as far as a reduction cleanse I'm believing in this.

I did Tae-Bo again today which got me sweating, probably one of the most amazing things is that I have more than enough energy to work out, despite the fact that neither Pamela nor I have been sleeping well the last few nights. We're not sure if it's a result of the cleanse but we've both had dreams and nightmares.

Yesterday I was noticing that for about half of the day I had a burning deep in my throat. Now I've never had heart burn, but I would describe this as 'adams-apple' burn or just above. Also this morning even though I drank 8 litres of water yesterday I was definitely not peeing pale this morning. I have no doubt that I'm ditching toxins like mad... which is good b/c my last two jobs involved Asbestos and McDonalds food...

Still waiting for a reply from Visions, Dropped off the stuff and the hiring manager wasn't there so I'm going to call in today and see where things are at.

Pamela and i came to the conclusion that the Master Cleanse is definitely an 'anti-social' cleanse. But that's only because it seems that most of the social events that we participate in involve food. Whether it's watching a movie with popcorn, sneaking jujubes into the theatre, going out for coffee and desert or playing board games. 

I'm not gonna lie but I'm craving foods like crazy, but it's not for hunger, but rather I miss the texture of food, the social aspects of food, the taste of food. So we've decided that we NEED to have a Steak at the Keg when we're done this with the stuffed potato and baseball sirloin with the three cheese sauce. We also NEED to have Pita Pit, and a taco salad from Cheescake. I've been craving greek but Pamela's not into that, and a friend was bugging me about how she went for a Sushi lunch. :(

So day 5 marks the halfway point for the minimum amount of days that you can do the cleanse. However if on day 10 you find that your tongue is still coated then you should continue. As well I'm torn because between this and tae-bo I'm on a good road to my goal weight and so I'm debating whether I should stay on it until I've reached that weight, which at the current rate will not take up to the maximum 40 days... We'll see how we're feeling. I think that we'll both have to quit at the same time or it may become to difficult for one to stay on it...

Day 4

Woke up this morning feeling pretty good. Had an 'elimination' before even taking the salt water cleanse but after that was feeling pretty clean. Still sore from my workout yesterday so I'm holding off on doing another one, although with the job not officially started yet I'm bouncing off the walls in the apartment. Says that me that I've definitely got enough energy!

The lemonade blend isn't tasting as bad anymore, but it still gives me a bit of a head rush. I tend to get 'hungry' about every 2 hours now which is perfect as that's the space between when I'm supposed to drink.

I'm realizing that I didn't have a very specific goal when I started this aside from 'general' health. But more and more I'm feeling like this should be a pretty good start to a healthier lifestyle for me. I'm realizing now that I'm not eating how much I snack! Whether it's actual things like jelly bellies we've got in the house, or making crackers and cheese I find myself standing up to go and grab them when I sit down to watch a movie with Pamela or sitting at the computer. I never felt like I snacked that much but now I'm aware and instituting some rules in my life to keep that from getting out of control!

Today I am spending my time cleaning up the house, playing with the new iTunes, seeing what a chip does to a Smart Diesel, and waiting for a phone call as to when my first day of work is.

Real Life Stuff

I am currently a conditional Hire at Visions Electronics in Lethbridge! Conditional meaning that there still running the credit and background check on me. I should be getting a call in a day or two to figure out when I'll be working my first shift and start training! Exciting.

This works really well if Pamela gets Pratt & Witney b/c it'll mean that we both have 'career-esque' jobs that give us a good reason to stick around lethbridge and community that we've formed here.

Exciting things about visions for me:
Discounts on Electronics
Full Commission Sales
Do'nt have to work sunday's until 11:30
8 minute walk to work.

Day 3

Well Day three of the cleanse and feeling good. Didn't sleep well last night, and i'm definitely feeling that my toungue is coated (this is one area where toxins can leave the body and be gotten rid of) The theory goes that you stay on this cleanse until your toungue is nice and pink again which happens anywhere between 10 and 40 days unless your a 3 times a day mcdonalds person... :)

This morning I opted to do a two litre salt water flush just to make sure I was cleaned out good and could really see if I was still having 'eliminations' If it runs clear for a few days it appears to mean that something isn't quite working right. Anyway two litres meant that for the next two hours I couldn't be farther than 20 feet from the bathroom b/c it definitely sneaks up on yah!

This morning I also did a 45 minute Tae-Bo workout. I wasn't sure what to expect given that it's been three days since I've had solid food, but it was no problem! Got through the workout and am feeling great!

The master cleanse is also a reduction cleanse, by giving the body what it needs and feeding it with the lemon juice cleanser it (in theory) can go and break down stubborn fat stores and b/c the body does not go into 'starvation' mode it also begins to eat away at fat stores. I'm definitely not a tiny guy and so this is one thing I am very excited about the master cleanse. So far I've gone from 262 pounds to 256. I'm curious to know if this rate of loss will continue, decline or accelerate. Some website I've read say that the cleanse can help you lose weight at a rate of 2 pounds per day, but that after the cleanse if you resume your old diet and lifestyle you will gain back 1/2 of that quickly and the other 1/2 over time.

In other Drew's Life News. I applied for two jobs yesterday, one with Milestone Mazda Subaru to be their lot attendant, and the other at Visions Electronics. I'm not actually sure, but I think that I've been conditionally hired at Visions, I have to bring back over 150 pages of paperwork and personality tests to them today and they need to run a credit/police check on me. But it should be pretty good if I can get it. It's 3 or 4 blocks from my house so I can walk to work, it's straight commission but that's never bothered me in the past, and we're coming up on Nov. Dec. which is when electronics stores do 50-60% of their yearly gross. Meaning that if I put in the time Theres lots of dough to be made.

So for those that care, another day in the life of Drew~

Oh, and this...

Day two...
Woke up feeling pretty good this morning, did the salt water flush which worked w/in the 1.5 hours it's supposed to.

Around 11:00 (we had the day off so slept in) we had our first shot of the lemonade, and it was quite pleasant this morning. I'm not sure if I'm getting used to the Cayenne or what it is but it didn't simultaneously it the top of my head and the bottom of my stomach!

Not feeling hungry after drinking lemonade, but usually about 2 or 2.5 hours after.

In other news, both Pamela and I have our motorcycles up for sale on Kijiji now... sniff* We are just not in a place where we can continue to support them w/o it being a stress. Also having ridden now for 3 and 2 years respectively we would like newer bikes and so we'll use whatever we can get from them to put into savings for the next big thing.

KIJIJI LINKS:
http://lethbridge.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehicles-motorcycles-1986-ZX1000R-Ninja-W0QQAdIdZ73052791
and
http://lethbridge.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehicles-motorcycles-1986-GS750ES-Suzuki-Street-Bike-W0QQAdIdZ73047058

Well, started the MASTER cleanse...

So today my wife Pamela and I started on the Master cleanse.

If your unfamiliar with what it is it's essentially a fast where the only thing you consume is a lemonade blend. 10 oz. of purified water, 2 tbsp of pure squeezed lemon juice, 2 tbsp of Dark organic maple syrup, and for spice 1/10th of a tsp. of cayenne pepper.
The quick and the dirty of what this mix does is: The lemon acts as a cleanser. It cleans everything from your kidneys to your liver to joints and even helps heal scars and old injuries. The Dark Organic Maple Syrup gives the body an available and easily used source of energy. It's ease of digestion means that the body doesn't have to use energy to digest it, but rather can use all the energy gained from the syrup to cleanse the body. The Cayenne pepper gives the drink a little kick, and at the same time helps the digestive system to continue functioning, this is important because the body needs a place to put and dispose of the toxins it cleans out. The water is well... water it's the oil for the body, does yah good!

DAY 1:
Well we started today off with the salt water flush which is designed to aid in the cleansing of the body. That was allright although salt water never does taste fantastic. It certainly did its job though, within about 30 minutes things were flowing quite nicely...

Around noon we juiced our first lemons (with our Magic Bullet) and added in our syrup and cayenne and took our first taste... SPICY WHEW! Also discovered their is a reason Aunt Jemima's has SO much sugar in it... straight up syrup is sweet... but definitely not in the sugar sense.

But as I write this we've put down three glasses of the mixture and have been impressed. I don't feel hungry so much as I almost miss the routine of food. 12:00 and 6:00 came and went without anything happening at all.

So things are going good for the first day. 9 more minimum, 39 more maximum!