Well here I am, back again to do another fall cleanse.  I dropped off the previous blog but let me assure you that I did indeed complete the 21-day cleanse.  In the end it was quite rough and I ended up losing a bit too much weight.  I didn't weigh myself throughout the cleanse but did check in at Lifetime the day after I finished and I was surprised with the outcome - don't recall the specific numbers though.

This time around I am using supplements from Whole Foods in place of the Beachbody ones, and I will not be making myself crazy with some of the elements that made the experience less fun last time around.  I will drink bottled water, for example, instead of lugging around gallons of distilled.  Also, I'm not going to worry about the fancier preparations, but eat mostly the designated foods less prepared.  This will result in a less tasty experience I am sure, but there will be fewer dishes to clean and a lower tab at Whole Foods!

Realizing how many rituals center around food and drink.  Saw Next to Normal at Drury Lane tonight, and missed my pre-show gin gimlet at the lobby bar.  Now, under normal circumstances I could make a different choice and still have a drink.  But with this Reset and the only water thing, it's kinda nuts.  Interesting that the thing I miss most is beverages; coffee, Diet Coke, and beer.  Tomorrow I will throw all caution to the wind and add herbal tea.
The Reset success of the day was Cashew-Zuchinni Soup, which I made in the Vitamix and which was very tasty.  It is one of the several recipes so far that I bet I'll keep making after the Reset is complete.

Going strong.  MWF are the easiest days.  Started with a massage at the chiropractor's office, then an adjustment.   Going to see a show at the Paramount tonight, so the tradition of meeting for dinner and a beer at Ballydoyle is scraped.   It really is a challenge to drink a gallon of water a day.  Plus the distilled water with added minerals tastes even worse than regular water.  Maybe after this I'll go back to regular water and it'll taste like pop to me and I'll keep drinking lots of it.

This is turning out to be super-cool AND a major pain in the a$$ at the very same time.  On one hand, the food is good, I am not hungry, and I know that I am doing something good for myself.  On the other hand, it takes a LOT of work and preparation.  The kitchen is a total mess at all times, although luckily Schu is a good sport about helping clean up the mess.  Did I mention that I am using an essential oil detox spray to help my attitude as well.  :) 

The Salt Cave is down, the Salt Cave is down!  What unwelcome news.  The plan was to meet Laurie at the Salt Cave for the first of three visits while on this Reset.  But, this one was nixed due to technical difficulties.  Still, we were impromptu and met for a while at the Naperville Riverwalk, where I brought my Nori Rolls and lentil salad, and sipped my salty water.   Such determination.
The good news for day #4 is that my legs are back to normal.  What a strange experience with the pain and all.  Last time I did a 3-day juice cleanse, I was smacked with a horrible headache the second day, which I attributed to caffeine detox.  This time, no headache but the legs instead.  Perhaps my body chose a different means this time around.

Ouch!  My legs hurt!  Seriously, I awoke in the middle of the night to serious pain running down both legs.  It remained with me all night and throughout the day.  I went online and searched and sure enough, found that sore legs are common during cleanses.  Most sources said that it's not likely to last more than a day or two.  I hope not!

Came home this evening in no mood to spend an hour in the kitchen preparing Asian salad and Nori rolls.  Pretty much a seaweed feast.  After eating I ran over to Lifetime and sat in the steam room for a while.  My legs still hurt.  And, did I mention I'm drinking a gallon of water a day?

Today was not too bad as far as the food was concerned.  Long stretch between lunch and dinner was rough, but I managed.  Also, I'm thankful not to be experiencing any headaches - especially in light of the fact that I spent the last week on a cruise drinking coffee, diet coke, and booze all day.

Sadly, there was a mass shooting this morning in Washington, but I followed up on my plan to avoid the awful news of the world on all the news channels, like I normally would.  All day I was receiving the text alerts about what was happening.  But on the way home I listened to Spa instead.  Tomorrow I will check in on it once just so I can be informed, but will not follow all the breaking developments.  It is also the first day of school so I'll be managing how to balance all the meals on a day when I am away from home from 715a-930p.

Started off this morning with a myHealthScore assessment at Lifetime Fitness, where I earned a perfect score, thank you very much.  The figure is derived from lifestyle factors (non-smoker, etc), measurements (waist-hip ratio, body fat %age, blood pressure, resting heart rate), and a blood test for cholesterol and glucose levels.

Had a lymphatic drainage massage at Massage Envy this afternoon.  Very, ahem, intimate.  Yowsa.  But good to get that lymph flowing and cleansing.

Lots of time spent in the kitchen, after blowing a huge wad at both Whole Foods and Trader Joe's last night.  Craziness ahead includes seaweed, tempeh, and millet.