Day 4

And the lull starts now(151 and holding)...which is always the hard part for most people.  Not seeing those pounds come off on the scale but this is where I tell you to "Stay The Course!"  The next few days are always tough because it seems like nothing is working and you're not eating for no good reason but you are.  You are now flushing out junk that likes to hide in your internal organs, releasing calcium deposits in your joints (which helps with arthritis) and you're even tackling some allergies.  I wish I had tape measured during this process because as a reader you must understand that the waistline is now forming, belly fat is now slimming down and thighs are losing the jiggle, so like any good trainer will tell you, it's all about the inches baby!  So for myself, during this rough period, I always buy a pair of pants I can't fit into quite rightly and go from there.  About a week ago, I went to Rock and Republic's warehouse sale determined to find a pantsuit and not just an ordinary one...a very sexy one.  Now their sizes aren't giving unless you're getting stretch pants or stretch jeans and with my hips and thighs, alot of the regular clothes in my normal size are out because this is european sizes...damn them skinny minnies!!!!  Under the fantastic groupons for this event (I bought 2 $50 certificates and got an extra $100 to spend), I did find a beautiful deep gray suit with baby blue pent stripes, blazer costing only $30 and the pants were $20, I almost walked away but the suit for $50 was yelling at me "EVEN THOUGH I DON'T FIT YET, YOU'RE NOT GOING TO FIND ME AT THIS PRICE AND QUALITY ANYWHERE."  I'll talk more about the sale later but I couldn't get the pants over my thighs (try as I may) even though it was a size 10 (and no, they didn't have size 12...I guess the europeans/skinny LA'ers don't go to a size 12) but I knew I was getting ready for the cleanse and that I'd be at my perfect fighting weight soon for good so I risked a small bit just to see if my discipline would pay off.  After not being able to get it over my thighs, I can now tell you that after 4 days on the cleanse they slip on over my hips but don't come close to buttoning yet and the thigh area is tight but I got them on.  Yipee!  So either measure yourself during this tough period or get you a pair of sexy, one size smaller pants to keep you focused so that every time you think you're not doing anything, slip them on and see where they go to keep motivation at hand.

Before you start your cleanse, the night before take an herbal laxative tea...do not deviate from this process because the laxative tea helps you go to the bathroom consistently during this cleanse which is a must because the toxins would stay in your body otherwise and could kill you.  So please, please, please read up on the material and don't skip the laxative tea.  Now, this laxative tea is taken every evening during your cleanse before bed and in the morning if you can't do the salt water flush, but I recommend the salt water flush if you have a few hours at home and are near a toilet because it's an all natural colonic that cleans you from your throat on out.  I prefer the tea pictured because after years of trying the herbal lax tea in the blue box first, I would get stomach spasms which aren't fun.  You may be the other way around so check which tea flows with your body better.  I usually get the tea at Whole Foods Market for about $5-$6, check around, you may find it cheaper and I get sea salt from Whole Foods to Trader Joe's to Home Goods pending on when I need it from $3-$5, but make sure it's sea salt please..no morton's here.  Now, as a trick, let me tell you that on the first evening, this lax tea usually takes about 12 hours (give or take a few pending on your eating habits) so you can usually sleep all night.  The next night you looking at about 9 hours or so and by the 3rd-4th night for me, it usually gets to working in about 6 hours.  So a few years ago I decided to experiment with the process and it didn't change anything but my sleep for me.  By the day it gets down to only 6 hours (usually the 3rd/4th), the next night since I now know it'll be less than 6 hours, I take it 6 hours or so before bed time.  This way I go before bed and sleep through the night without interruption except for the number 1 kind which doesn't wake me up from my much needed sleep.  I count down the hours as I go along pending on how quickly the tea works and by the end, it's 2 hours before bedtime without a hitch.  Now the book says it should be the last thing in the evening and if it doesn't bother you by all means don't switch it but if it does, consider the game plan above and try it because it didn't change any results or bodily functions for me.


                                                                                                                                                                       Sea Salt Water Flush:
You mix 2tsp of sea salt with a quart of water (4, 8oz cups) and drink up.  Now a FB friend (John, I think) told me he was told he could add lemons/limes with his salt water and after all these years of doing the salt water flush, no one ever told me....bbbbbbooooooooooo!  I think it tastes soooooooo much better with a small lime squeezed into it...kinda like a watered down margarita which I'll take any day over some plain old salt water so see if that helps you sip or knock back this interesting concoction.  It doesn't change the effect of the flush so have at it.