Ahhh, welcome to Scottsdale, Arizona. I must say, stepping out of the airport with my jacket in hand, instead of on my back, was a charm. And what was even better was putting it away, not to be warn again for a long, long time.
Day Ten
I stayed up last night until around 2:30a working on my blog post and a few other things. Keep in mind, 2:30am MST is 4:30am EST. So I was totally exhausted when I finally hit the sack. I planned to get up at 9am but like usual (or at least recently) I wake up before my alarm even gets the chance (I don’t want to give him the satisfaction!). I roll out of my new bed, and head to my new kitchen, grab a glass I’ve never seen before, and make the same horrid drink I’ve made every day now for a week! Nah, I’m just kidding. I actually don’t mind the salt water flush all that much at all. Well, I don’t mind the taste anyways.
Today’s ratio, two heaping teaspoons, just like yesterday. Holy crap does it ever work! Today is the first time that I really believe I had the flush that I’d read about before I started cleansing. The first movement is big and unbelievably still very dark. How can I still be pooping out excrement? You’d think my system would be clean by now!
Amzi is very prepared, including an electric juicer. Woot woot!
My friend who I’m staying with, Amzi, is psuedo doing the cleanse as well. She got three days into it, then had some serious dizzy spells. So she has been eating a lot of veggies, and drinking the lemonade elixir as well. She is well prepared for me. Big, fat, juicy Arizona lemons, an electric juicer, cayenne, maple syrup, laxative tea, the whole kit’n’kaboodle! (or is it kitten kaboodle?) Her process is a bit different than mine. She creates the juice for the whole day and refrigerates it.
I spend the first part of the day getting settled into the place, and wrapping up some loose ends. I’m starting to get a little nervous about the weight I’ve lost. I started the cleanse at around 172-174 lbs, and now I’m down to 159 lbs. And I don’t have a lot of weight to give. My jeans are a little loose, and all the nice fitting shirts I own I am suddenly drowning in! I’m looking forward to putting an end to this weight-loss.
As the morning wears on I get ahold of my close friend, and business colleague Jean-Guy Francoeur. Him and I do a video case study call over skype talking about some of his recent business successes (you can view that marketing case study at jeffmcleod.ca). His wife has been following my blog closely and is convinced of The Master Cleanse. She has decided to start, and so today is her first day of the ease-in. Good luck Kerri!
Jeff McLeod and Amzi Marsh doing a little hiking! Holy crap Arizona is B-E-A-utiful
As the afternoon rolls around Amzi and I pack up some lemonade for the road and head towards Squaw Point. This is the tallest mountain in Phoenix/Scottsdale, not Camelback. This is the first real exercise I have done since I started the cleanse over a week ago. For this reason, and because of the weight-loss I’m a little nervous. Once we arrive at the base of the trail I step out of the car to find it a balmy 22 degrees out! (73 Farenheit). I peel off my t-shirt to get a bit of a tan (probably looked like I had a white T on underneath) and for the chance to absorb some Vitamin D.
We hike up and up and up for about 90 mins or so. I feel great! No exhaustion, no aches or pains. I feel like a million bones. The higher we get the more incredible the view. I guess I never really realized that Toronto’s sky is not very clear. Or maybe the sky here is just extraordinarily clear. Probably a bit of both.
That's me, about halfway up the mountain, staring off to the city!
On the way back down the mountain Amzi starts telling me about all the great meals and foods I just have to have while I’m here. Then on the drive home she drives us past her favorite restaurants. All I can think is, just one more week, that’s it. Just one more week.
Even down in Arizona I’m still freezing. I took a long, long bath that really helped a lot. I think that means that the number of baths I’ve taken while on the cleanse now exceeds the number of baths I’d taken lifetime before I started.
How do I feel?
I continue to be amazed at how little sleep I am requiring. I used to fight for every last wink I could get. But now I’m waking up early, and not feeling the urge to sleep during the day. What a nice feeling. My tongue is beginning to taste less horrible, which is a good sign in my books.
I’ve heard that a lot of people quit on day seven. I don’t know why that is. Today didn’t screw with me too much psychologically, aside from feeling dangerously skinny (you can see my rib cage when I’m not wearing a shirt). I do notice that my food cravings have taken a markedly difference form. I am craving lots of fresh foods. I still want things like pasta, but not store bought, it’s gotta be fresh. And salads! They seems so incredible to me!
My outlook going forward?
I think that when I get back to eating again, it will really devour a lot of my time. But I think that’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make. I’m getting to the point where I feel like I’m ready to be done the cleanse now.
Question of the day
This goes out to anyone who has ever done any fasts or cleanses: What has you experience been with physical activity while on a restricted diet?
