Day 7

5:00am. My alarm goes off, and before I can hit snooze, my bowels are perking up. There is no rest for the cleansing. (I would suggest doing this cleanse when you can have some leeway in the morning hours. I have to leave for work by 8, so it makes this rougher than I would like.) I make my now normal morning pit stop and head to the SWF, which had extra salt, and managed to drink all of it over a half hour while I juiced the lemons. There was even more pulp from the lemons, which were much larger than the original organics, but the taste was much fresher. They were clearly less tart, though. I managed to get out of the house and to work at a reasonable time, which was a nice surprise. I still had to watch myself on the train, but it could have been worse. I could definitely feel the difference in taking a full dose of extra-salt SWF, too. I felt less bloated and my system was thoroughly flushed by 11:00.

The day went all right, until about 2:00 when I felt hungry for the first time since the first day. It was something I felt in control of, but it was surely hunger. I don’t know if the day of lime juice or the pulp had put enough in my system to make my stomach wake up, but it was a definite change. I tried to not over-juice myself, but feel and appreciate the hunger for what it was. Make friends with it almost. I knew that in the past even the slightest pangs of hunger would have me running to the fridge, and I didn’t want that again. I didn’t want to be scared of it, so when I did feel hunger I sat with it a while before taking a drink. It went away almost immediately.

I also was extremely tired, it was the first time I’ve craved a coffee. This, I feel, has little to do with the amount of energy I had due to the cleanse. It has much more to do with the 6 or fewer hours of sleep I got. About coffee, though, I was surprised at how little difference the lack of my morning cup made. I felt freed from caffeine, which I typically loved with abandon. I always look for energy jolts, and was drinking even more coffee than usual before I started the cleanse. Though I was tired, I functioned pretty well, and knowing how I felt before, I don’t think I was funtioning less well. I still love coffee, the taste, the ritual, everything, but I didn’t want to go back on a daily dose. If I need something hot in the AM, it’s caffeine free tea. Save coffee for the times when I really get to enjoy it (e.g. not at work, at my desk, while it grows cold).

I also noticed that my nose was running a bit. Not like it does during a cold, but a little clear mucus, very thin. It’s nothing that bothered me, I hardly noticed it, but I thought I’d look it up, see if it was on the detox symptoms list—I found a good article here: < http://www.healthrecipes.com/fast21.htm >. I also felt my leg muscles tightening all day. While I attributed that to running around to find lemons and lugging 15 lbs of them back home, it is listed as a symptom…who knows. I do know that it made me want to go to the gym and work out the kinks.

I decided to got for a short workout and to stretch out my muscles. I spent only 20 mins on the elliptical, and then just stretched on the fancy stretch equipment. It felt great to move again, though I did notice a bit of a change in my energy level. I never work out very hard, and I went even easier on myself this time, barely breaking a sweat. By the time I left, though, I felt rejuvenated. I hadn’t worked out since I started the cleanse, but I normally do 5+ days a week. I would encourage lighter workouts for those used to it, but if someone doesn’t usually work out, during the cleanse is not the time to start. I would fear bouts of light-headedness coming on too quick and possible injury. If you want to start exercising, start after you are back on solid foods.

After returning I drank just water for a while, and then went to take a swig of the lemonade, but it had fermented! I could have gotten drunk off it, it was so far gone. My stomach immediately bubbled and gurgled at the hit of the juice, so I put it down and called it a day. Tea and off to bed.

Total lbs lost: 5