The 3-day cleanse

Last night I was at my nieces' birthday party.  While there my sister-in-law gave Sammy a piece of cheese bread that she didn't want to finish herself.  She told me that she just had to have a little bite but knew she shouldn't eat the rest.  I had no problem with Sammy eating it.  My sister-in-law is a lifetime WW member so I just figured that she was tracking her points and didn't want to go over.  I was impressed with her willingness to have just one bite and then give it away.

When I questioned her she told me that she was on a 3-day cleanse.  I remember reading some research on these cleanses once a couple of years ago but frankly didn't retain much of the information.  The idea intrigued me last night.

You see I have had a rough week.  I didn't track on Saturday but decided that it was okay and I would just count that as my day off and assume that I used all of my weekly points.  I came to terms with it and was happy with it. On Sunday I started the day tracking and eating well but went over my points by the end of the day.  Monday was the same thing.  I started tracking and ate very well almost all day but by evening I threw in the towel and ate anything I felt like.  Now that I am retracing my steps I think that "rough week" is putting it mildly.  I have had a terrible week.  Tuesday was the birthday party.  I ate well all day, went to the party armed with knowledge and a plan.  I didn't go nuts but I went over points.

Since the week had been so rough......I mean terrible, a cleanse sounded like what I needed.  I've never considered one before.  Even the research I had done a couple of years ago was research for my job, I wasn't considering it.  I questioned my sister-in-law at length.  Are you hungry?  Have you done this before? What do you do when you are done with the cleanse?  How much have you lost?  How much will you lose? Doesn't the weight just come right back after you go back to eating normally again?  Why are you doing it?  What are you eating?  How much?  Are there snacks?  Where did you find it?  I needed to know everything if I was going to try this thing.

I went home with the full intent to look up a 3-day cleanse on the internet, find one I liked and go for it.  If I could do it for 3 days then it would give me the focus and motivation to get back on plan and I will be down 5 pounds in the meantime.  Really, how could I lose?  It was obvious that I needed to try this.

After everyone went to bed I went to the computer.  I searched "3-day cleanse."  Wow, there is no shortage in websites that tell you about 3-day cleanses!  After reading several websites I knew that I wasn't looking for any of these.  I didn't want to drink any protein drinks or magic juices.  I didn't want to eat nothing but fruit for 3 days.  I didn't want to have to go to special stores to get the ingredients to get through the 3 days and I didn't want to spend money on books or powders.

Now that I got all of those guidelines out of the way I decided that I needed to narrow my search or I would be up all night searching for my perfect cleanse.  I added the word "diet" to my search and found even more choices.  These choices were a little closer to what I had in mind.  Some of them were still quite interesting though.

I narrowed it down to 2 choices.  I even made the websites favorites on my computer so I could reference them later.  Then I found comments and forums from real people who tried these cleanses and diets.  That took one of them straight out of the running.  Many of the comments said how awful the recipes tasted, how awful they felt before, during and after and how they lost no weight.  Why would I do that to myself?

That left one choice.  I looked at the menu carefully and imagined myself eating this for the next 3 days.  I got bored and hungry just looking at the menu......toast, tuna, 1 ounce of cheese......I don't even like grapefruits.....that would be fun to choke down.

Why was I considering this?  Because of the pros.  The pros must be listed on these billions of websites.  Yes, they were.  Look at that! The biggest pro was what I was looking for.  It gives the motivation to get back on track with your healthy lifestyle.  That's why I wanted to do this but I figured while I was looking I might want to read the cons too.  The cons list was not nearly as nice.  I could damage my body, set myself up for yo-yo dieting and more.  This was the last thing that I needed to start in my life. I've worked too hard to make this a lifestyle and NOT a diet.  Why would I start yo-yo dieting now?!

After wasting an hour on the computer when I could have been sleeping I realized that I was not at all interested in a 3-day cleanse or diet or whatever you want to call it. (There were debates on what was a cleanse and what was a diet too.)  What I was interested in doing is what has worked for me all along.  I kicked myself in the butt, tracked every bite today, stuck to my points and feel great.

Dare I say that after just one day, I have the motivation to "start" my healthy lifestyle.

'Til next time,
Corinna

"So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God. Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, so that they may be saved." -1 Corinthians 10:31-33