Day Nine

JEFFREY MARX

1:03am - It's not living in New York that can make a person crazy. It's the people who live here. Today, one of my best friends, Eric, and I decided that everyone is crazy. That makes me feel better. Do crazy people know they are going crazy? I don't think so. I am safe. I finally took a giant crap and feel better. For dinner, I had veggie pizza on a whole wheat crust (no cheese) and a ton of water. Veggies are my new favorite food. They tasted sooo good. Like there was a party in my tummy!



5:32pm - Great energy today. I feel on track, digestively speaking. I would expand more, but will keep my section on the cleanse blog on topic. Congrats to Beth and Brian who are about to be on Day 10! I'm working out of the office this week, so maybe I'll update and maybe I won't. Peace!

5:34pm - One last thing... The Cleanse hasn't been about the food for me. I think it means different things to different people. So, to say 'I effectively ended the cleanse the second you started eating all that stupid food' doesn't really have bearing on what I learned (and am trying to live) from The Cleanse. I can't wait to watch 'Prison Break' tonight!

BETA FIPPEL

10:50am - For the past couple of days, I've woken up with some pretty wicked heartburn. I guess that's to be expected when one is consuming so much citric acid, right? I'm hoping that now that I'm back to hand-squeezing the lemons, thereby basically eliminating the pulp, I can get rid of the 'burn. I'm not sure if the addition of pulp is what's been causing it. We'll see. I know you're on the edge of your seat right now, so I'll let you know first thing tomorrow. Also, my sense of smell is definitely heightened. Which isn't a good thing in New York. Especially at Union Square. Is it just me or does every other square foot in Union Square smell like vomit??

1:50pm - I just got a raise! I think it's the Cleanse.

BRIAN KENNEDY

9:01am - As Beta posted last night, I think these last two days of the cleanse are going to be pretty easy. At this point it's all routine. The salt water flushes are no biggie, I can handle being around food and just appreciating it for the smell, and I've even lost interest in examining my poop. I really do feel great, like I have a whole new attitude on life. And soon, I hope to be dressing like this

11:38am - Okay, I know I just posted that I have grown tired of looking at my poop… but then something exciting happened! As per usual, liquid was flowing out of my very tired a-hole, when all of the sudden, I felt something solid squeeze past. Glory, glory, it was a tini tiny turdlette! I was pretty excited. Granted, it was no bigger than a rasinette, but still, this is the first time my butt has passed something solid since Day Two. I'm not really sure what it could be since I haven't eaten anything in over 200 hours. My only thought is that perhaps it's the accumulation of 8 days worth of lemon and lime pulp. Whatever it is, I'll take it!

7:50pm - As good as I feel, I would be lying if I didn't say that I am very much looking forward for this cleanse to be over. Although I am not at all hungry, I am still missing food. A lot. One of the most important things that this cleanse has revealed to me, is how codependent my mood is on food. I can't tell you how many time I was bored/stressed/irritated at work this last week and found myself saying, "God, if I could just run across the street to the deli and get a snack like I usually do, I would feel SO MUCH BETTER right now." But instead of doing so, I had to push though whatever emotion was bothering me, or wait until it passed. I'd like to think that post-cleanse I will be able to continue to face my moodiness without resorting to food, but honestly, I just don't see that happening. Hopefully, the least I can do is make a conscious effort to change what types of foods I am using to comfort myself with. One of my favorite things to snack on is raw nuts. (Am I the only one who giggled at that?) But recently, pre-cleanse, I started sliding down that slippery junk food slope. Cool Ranch Doritos, cookies, muffins, scones, Reese's Pieces, Peanut M&M's, Chipwiches!. I am hoping that the completion of this cleanse will at least help me to curb such naughty cravings. The nuts are probably okay to stay. But on top of that I'd like to try and add a lot more fruits and veggies. Mmmm, my mouth is starting to water just thinking about it!

On a related codependency note, I can't believe that I have gone 9 days without any alcohol! Seriously, when do I get my first sobriety chip? I can't remember that last time that I abstained from liquor for this long. It had to have been before I started drinking. So that would be... 4th grade? (J/K I didn't start drinking until college. Settle down you prudes!) But seriously, I am an alcoholic. Sadly, it didn't take the cleanse to teach me that. I already knew.