Finally, after numerous delaying tactics, I am starting my nutritional cleanse today, Monday February 18th 2013. I will be updating this page throughout the week documenting my experience.......
Day 1
Up at 5am this morning for work so tried to view the time saved by only having to mix shakes as a bonus!
Vegetable of choice was originally purple kale, but I was quite hungry and ate all I had so moved onto purple sprouting broccoli.
I find eating vegetables like this warm absolutely fine, just with sea salt and black pepper. The difficulty I have is that I often have to eat them cold throughout the day due to my schedule...not so nice!
Energy was pretty good all day, had a 40 minute walk in the sun in the afternoon - that helped I think. Then also played 5 a side football for 40 mins in the evening. Was old my eyes looked glazed, but I managed to perform OK
First day was fine overall. I was actually expecting some caffeine withdrawal as I have been drinking a lot of coffee recently.
Deviations to the standard protocol: I had BCAAs throughout the day, had a extra shake after football, took 2 x Phosphatidyl Serine Caps after football (help reduce cortisol) and applied 8 pumps of topical magnesium before bed, which I do almost every night to help sleep.
Weight - 90.5kg
Day 2
Slept well but felt quite tired first thing and a feeling that my patience was going to be limited today.....
We know that the day that is likely to be the hardest is Day 2. I didn't feel too bad but was pretty tired, had a flickering eyelid (which I get from tiredness or stress) and my brain certainly wasnt working as normal! At times I had slight difficulty getting my words out, it was as if there was a delay between what my brain was saying and what was actually coming out of my mouth.
Still managed a 12 hour working day and only felt hungry a couple of times. I was eating raw broccoli throughout the day, then had steamed cauliflower when I got home
I did a 1 hour weight training session at 4pm and felt significantly better afterwards. I did 16 sets of 3 reps, with 3 minute rests, so as not to produce much lactic acid.
Deviations today were BCAAs throughout the day, during and post-training, then 10 pumps of topical magnesium before bed
Weight - 90kg
Day 3
Good sleep again, woke up feeling pretty sharp and much more clear-headed than yesterday. Have back to back sessions 630-1130 thins morning so had my drinks and supplements lined up ready!
After that was off to London in the car, munching on raw tenderstem broccoli all the way.
Energy was generally pretty good today although did have a lull in the afternoon where I felt I could have slept given the opportunity. No chance for exercise today unfortunately, which definitely helps. Can really feel today I have shrunk/lost weight/lost bodyfat and stomach feels very calm and settled. Nice feeling and makes it worthwhile, despite missing out on a Steak this afternoon!
Left London at 630, took 3 hours to get home. Mental function must have declined in that time as managed to take the wrong exit off the M40....not even snacking on tenderstem on the journey again could prevent that!
Deviations to standars protocol: BCAAs througout the day, 10 pumps of topical magnesium before bed
Weight - 89.3kg
Day 4
8.5 hrs sleep with only a couple of brief baby-related interruptions and feeling spritely this morning! Roasted and griddled peppers are the 'vegetable du jour' which in my opinion is probably the easiest and most pleasant to eat for a whole day, and a nice way to sail through the halfway mark!
Energy and mood very good today, though a lull again mid-afternoon whilst driving where I felt like I would have benefitted from a sleep.
No opportunity for training again today which is a shame and I think really helps the process - will train Friday and Saturday.
Had first real hour of 'down-time' this evening, just watching TV for an hour. I remember on a previous cleanse I found these times quite hard because I felt I wanted to eat something, probably out of habit and boredom and it seemed like every programme and advert was food related! No such problems this time; was just thinking to myself that I would probably just eat nuts or have another meal absent-mindedly normally....which is not necessary! So, absent-minded eating is a habit I am going to try and not get back into.
Changes from standard protocol: BCAAs throughout the day, 10 pumps of topical magnesium before bed, 2 phosphatidyl serine capsules in the evening
Weight 89
Day 5
Terrible night's sleep! Awake for 3 hours: baby crying, then whirring mind, then got hungry! Read on and off for 2 hours then had to go downstairs, have another Estrogenomics shake and 4 more pumps of magnesium before could go back to sleep.
This meant pretty low energy and short patience on Friday morning (sorry clients!) though I felt progressively better as the day went on. In fact all afternoon and evening my energy was high and steady. Been thinking a lot about food today and looking forward to first meal but at the same time not wanting food right at this minute. Feel like am in a pattern now that I could just maintain as long as necessary and am not particularly concerned about not being able to eat normally over the weekend. In fact, am considering waiting until Monday evening for my first meal. It should be Monday morning, but I start work early so would rather wait until I have more time to prepare and enjoy my ribeye steak!
Vegetable today was griddled courgettes....9 of them! They were a revelation and I will recommend everybody uses them is their cleanse. They taste great and were really satisfying. Also feel like my sense of taste has become hightened which I remember happened with previous cleanses but I did not notice until afterwards.
I hour weights session this afternoon. Strength, endurance and focus better than in same session last Friday
Changes from normal protocol: extra Estrogenomics shake in the night, another after training, BCAAs throughout day, 10 pumps magnesium before bed
Weight ? Forgot to measure!
Day 6
Woke up feeling good after a particularly restful nights sleep.
Had my fibre and Yang RLA before heading off for a 30 minutes weight session at 7am before starting work. Strength good throughout.
Felt really good all day: energy high, concentration and mood all good. This is an improvement compared to usual as I'm often pretty physically and mentally fatigued after my 5 1/2 day working week. So much so that I did 3 hours admin on the computer in the evening...not the most exciting Saturday night but not as if we could go out for a meal or anything anyway!
Have decided am definitely waiting until Monday early evening for first meal - will continue my cleanse Monday morning and early afternoon. Want to take the opportunity to buy some really good quality ingredients, prepare them and take my time eating and enjoying. Ribeye steak, quinoa and berries or cherries are on the shopping list!
Changes to standard protocol: 10 pumps of magnesium before bed
Weight 88.3
Day 7
Sundays are often like recovery days for me as feel tired from the week. So much so it often feels like an effort to do anything active or social! Today was a nice surprise in that woke up refreshed and with good energy.
Started with a couple of hours working on the computer. Surprisingly wasn't too bothered by the aroma of sausages emanating from our kitchen!
We then went off for a family get together involving a roast dinner...this wasn't as hard as I expected but I did 'cheat' slightly in that I had about 4 different kinds of vegetables!
Deviations from standard protocol: 10 pumps of magnesium before bed, 4 x phosphatidyl serine capsules in the evening
Weight ? Wasn't at work so couldn't measure - will do in the morning
Day 8
Final weight: 87.4, meaning a 3.1kg loss.
I made the decision on to into 'cleanse overtime' today: I could have finished late on Sunday evening and had a meal or had breakfast this morning. However, I wanted to savour and enjoy my first meal, which to me means having time to prepare and enjoy eating it. I needed to leave the house at 530 for work this morning and had back to back appointments through until mid-afternoon so decided to continue the cleanse regime until then.
This may have been a bit of a mistake! I didn't cook my veg (red cabbage) properly, so spent the day munching on half-cooked, cold read cabbage...not good! By mid-afternoon I felt slightly nauseous and had low blood sugar.
The other mistake was then going food shopping for my first meal. After emptying the shelves in Waitrose I came out with a wing-rib joint of beef. Realising my error when I got home (the beef would take 2 hours to cook) I quickly prepared some buffalo burgers and poached eggs.
After eating both of my meals I felt
My verdict
Physically I am pleased with the results: I have lost 3kg and know all I shouldnt have lost any muscle mass due to the amount of BCAAs I've been taking. I feel lighter, tighter and back to 'normal' for me.
Notes to self for next cleanse:
Train/Exercise Daily
Try to nap in the afternoons
Want to try and have a couple of massages
Start/Finish time is key
Take full advantage the next week
Include Courgettes
