Finally, I did it. Today is the 11th day since I started my fast. I survived 10 full days of The Master Cleanse. During all that time, I have not eating any solid food and I've been on a 660kCal diet. The recipe I used was 180 mL of fresh lemon juice, 180 mL of maple syrup and about 0.75 teaspoon of cayenne pepper. I top the mix with water to make about 2 liters of lemonade. This would be my daily supply.
The first 3 days were the hardest. I had very mild headaches, joint discomfort and I would be very sleepy by 8 or 9 o'clock at night. I guess it feels like quitting an addiction, the body feels there is something missing. Those days were the hardest, yet, not bad at all. Starting the fourth day until today, I feel great. I feel normal. I have energy to work and function normally. My hunger is easily suppressed by a cup a the drink. I don't even think I need food. Yes, now and then I will crave a hot soup or maybe look forward to a roast beef, but I don't feel the temptation so irresistible. This fast makes me think about how overrated food is. If I can survive 10 days with no dysfunction with 660kCal per day, then how much intake do I really need? I must admit I was cold the whole week and my fingers were frozen.
This morning was the moment of truth, I weighed myself and I lost 7 lbs in 10 days. Last night, I measured and I did lose some inches. I did the salt-water flush again. I still had solid waste - scary... After 10 days of not eating, where does it come from? For that, I am really tempted to stay on the cleanse, should I? should I not?
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Thursday, February 17, 2011
The Master Cleanse - Day 4
Time flies, I have survived 4 days of the Master Cleanse. It is not that bad at all. I get a bit of headache and I miss food as a side effect because my brain is so used to food. Not eating does feel weird, like something is missing. However, the hunger itself is not bad at all. Other than falling asleep early, I can function normally.
This morning, I weighed myself. As expected, I lost 3 lbs after 3 full days of fasting. I have done South Beach Diet before and the first phase is also about detox. I could easily lose 1lb per day for the first few days. After reviewing many testimonials on YouTube, I would say people on the Master Cleanse average a 0.8lbs lost per day of the fast.
Coincidentally, my friends are doing the BP Cleanse. Their cleanse only lasts 3 days. They started one day after me and they are already done! I now understand why the Master Cleanse insists on a minimum of 10 days. Today is my 4th day, I actually don't feel that my digestive system is completely emptied. I tried the salt water flush on the second day, it went well. Last night, I tried the recommended laxative tea "Smooth Move". I'm very disappointed as it had no effect on me! Tomorrow morning, I will do the salt water flush again.
It is now 10pm. I'm actually quite awake. For the first 3 nights, I would be very sleepy by this time. I wonder if my energy level is improving.
This morning, I weighed myself. As expected, I lost 3 lbs after 3 full days of fasting. I have done South Beach Diet before and the first phase is also about detox. I could easily lose 1lb per day for the first few days. After reviewing many testimonials on YouTube, I would say people on the Master Cleanse average a 0.8lbs lost per day of the fast.
Coincidentally, my friends are doing the BP Cleanse. Their cleanse only lasts 3 days. They started one day after me and they are already done! I now understand why the Master Cleanse insists on a minimum of 10 days. Today is my 4th day, I actually don't feel that my digestive system is completely emptied. I tried the salt water flush on the second day, it went well. Last night, I tried the recommended laxative tea "Smooth Move". I'm very disappointed as it had no effect on me! Tomorrow morning, I will do the salt water flush again.
It is now 10pm. I'm actually quite awake. For the first 3 nights, I would be very sleepy by this time. I wonder if my energy level is improving.
Friday, January 28, 2011
The Master Cleanse
It is good to blog. I just reviewed this blog and remembered about my last few times doing the South Beach Diet. I used to do it every year during Spring time. Then, I stopped in 2009 and 2010. It is just too hard to stay on track when living and eating with other people.
This year is a big year for weddings. I have 3-5 to attend. I also have a Mexico (sun and beach) trip lined up. Obviously, I have good incentives to get back in shape. This year, I want to try something new to me: The Master Cleanse.
I found out about The Master Cleanse from the status of a facebook friend. I think it's well known and popular here in the USA. My friends back home have no clue of what it is (just like me!). It must be popular practice if Whole Foods has a whole section dedicated to it!
I really believe in detoxifying. With all the process food we eat, I sometimes feel gross. This time, dear husband (DH) and our friend T said they will join me in the Master Cleanse. Yay! It will make it more fun. We will weigh-in, measure, and take before and after pictures. I haven't decided on an action plan, but I will post it when I draw it down. Stay tuned!
This year is a big year for weddings. I have 3-5 to attend. I also have a Mexico (sun and beach) trip lined up. Obviously, I have good incentives to get back in shape. This year, I want to try something new to me: The Master Cleanse.
I found out about The Master Cleanse from the status of a facebook friend. I think it's well known and popular here in the USA. My friends back home have no clue of what it is (just like me!). It must be popular practice if Whole Foods has a whole section dedicated to it!
I really believe in detoxifying. With all the process food we eat, I sometimes feel gross. This time, dear husband (DH) and our friend T said they will join me in the Master Cleanse. Yay! It will make it more fun. We will weigh-in, measure, and take before and after pictures. I haven't decided on an action plan, but I will post it when I draw it down. Stay tuned!
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Three Easy Chicken Wings Recipes
Prepare the chicken wings the previous night. Clean them: remove the last bits of feather, rub with salt, rinse, and strain. Below are instructions for three different flavours.
Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings 椒鹽雞翼
Sprinkle enough of salt and pepper premix (椒鹽粉) and toss to cover all of the wings. I use the Knorr brand. The instructions say to use 1 pouch of seasoning for 2 pounds of meat and season for 30 minutes. In an effort to cut down on salt, I use much less, maybe half of a package and I season overnight in the fridge.
Fermented Tofu Chicken Wings 南乳雞翼
Use fermented tofu to flavour the wings. Make sure you use tofu that was fermented with red yeast rice (紅豆腐乳/南乳). Toss the wings to ensure it’s all covered by the tofu paste, about 3-4 cubes per pound. Let it sit overnight in the fridge.
Char Siu Chicken Wings 叉燒雞翼
Use char siu marinate sauce (叉燒醬) or char siu season mix (叉燒粉) to marinate and season. I actually like to mix both. I use Lee Kum Kee’s char siu sauce and Noh’s char siu seasoning dissolved in a bit of water. Add hoisin sauce if desired. Let it marinate overnight in the fridge.
The next day, you can simply barbecue, bake, pan-fry or deep-fry the wings.
Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings 椒鹽雞翼
Sprinkle enough of salt and pepper premix (椒鹽粉) and toss to cover all of the wings. I use the Knorr brand. The instructions say to use 1 pouch of seasoning for 2 pounds of meat and season for 30 minutes. In an effort to cut down on salt, I use much less, maybe half of a package and I season overnight in the fridge.
Fermented Tofu Chicken Wings 南乳雞翼
Use fermented tofu to flavour the wings. Make sure you use tofu that was fermented with red yeast rice (紅豆腐乳/南乳). Toss the wings to ensure it’s all covered by the tofu paste, about 3-4 cubes per pound. Let it sit overnight in the fridge.
Char Siu Chicken Wings 叉燒雞翼
Use char siu marinate sauce (叉燒醬) or char siu season mix (叉燒粉) to marinate and season. I actually like to mix both. I use Lee Kum Kee’s char siu sauce and Noh’s char siu seasoning dissolved in a bit of water. Add hoisin sauce if desired. Let it marinate overnight in the fridge.
The next day, you can simply barbecue, bake, pan-fry or deep-fry the wings.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Zerona
On Monday, I was bored, so I turned the TV on hoping to get some entertainment. I caught The Drs show, a daily talk show hosted by physicians, who answer medical related questions.
That day, one of the topic addressed was about weight loss. A woman contacted them to ask about a way to lose the 40lbs she gained after giving birth to her 3 children. She said she tried everything from exercising to dieting, without success, which lead her to get professional help. I expected the doctors to analyze her lifestyle and diet and then to pinpoint her wrongs. I also thought they would develop a program for her to follow, including a daily routine with a new diet. It wasn't the case.
The doctors of the show introduced her to Zerona. Zerona is a noninvasive liposuction. That's right, it is a non-surgical liposuction alternative!!! It's a 6 treatments of 40-min to be performed in 2 weeks. It is painfree and you can lose up to 9 inches (at the waist)!!!! Now doesn't that sound too good to be true?
Zerona uses low-level cold laser to force fat cells to release their contents into the intercellular space. Then, they are eliminated by lymphatic drain like other toxin . That's literally shrinking the fat cells. To my understanding, this technology has been in used for years with traditional liposuction to ease the suction of fat. They recently found out that used alone, the excess is drained by the body and it also provides remarkable results. Controlled study shows that the average result for this two-week treatment is 3.5", in some cases, it can be as much as 9". The lady from The Drs show lost 4" at her waist. (Click here for picture and sypnosis of the show.) Now, who wouldn't like that? The only disadvantage of this treatment over traditional liposuction is that fat cells are reduced rather than removed. Hence, the patient is required to change his/her lifestyle and eating habits or else, the fat cell will grow back.
My opinion on this? Well, it seems great technology, but I don't think it should not be advertise by doctors. The treatment is fairly new, so new that I can't find deeper information, but the technology behind it has been in used for years. It seems fairly safe since it is low-level laser, but it doesn't have decades of history to prove it doesn't have long-term side-effects. It is affordable, the treatment is priced at about $3600 for the 6 sessions. Would you try it?
That day, one of the topic addressed was about weight loss. A woman contacted them to ask about a way to lose the 40lbs she gained after giving birth to her 3 children. She said she tried everything from exercising to dieting, without success, which lead her to get professional help. I expected the doctors to analyze her lifestyle and diet and then to pinpoint her wrongs. I also thought they would develop a program for her to follow, including a daily routine with a new diet. It wasn't the case.
The doctors of the show introduced her to Zerona. Zerona is a noninvasive liposuction. That's right, it is a non-surgical liposuction alternative!!! It's a 6 treatments of 40-min to be performed in 2 weeks. It is painfree and you can lose up to 9 inches (at the waist)!!!! Now doesn't that sound too good to be true?
Zerona uses low-level cold laser to force fat cells to release their contents into the intercellular space. Then, they are eliminated by lymphatic drain like other toxin . That's literally shrinking the fat cells. To my understanding, this technology has been in used for years with traditional liposuction to ease the suction of fat. They recently found out that used alone, the excess is drained by the body and it also provides remarkable results. Controlled study shows that the average result for this two-week treatment is 3.5", in some cases, it can be as much as 9". The lady from The Drs show lost 4" at her waist. (Click here for picture and sypnosis of the show.) Now, who wouldn't like that? The only disadvantage of this treatment over traditional liposuction is that fat cells are reduced rather than removed. Hence, the patient is required to change his/her lifestyle and eating habits or else, the fat cell will grow back.
My opinion on this? Well, it seems great technology, but I don't think it should not be advertise by doctors. The treatment is fairly new, so new that I can't find deeper information, but the technology behind it has been in used for years. It seems fairly safe since it is low-level laser, but it doesn't have decades of history to prove it doesn't have long-term side-effects. It is affordable, the treatment is priced at about $3600 for the 6 sessions. Would you try it?
Wednesday, August 05, 2009
Free!
Bare Escentuals is giving away free samples of Bare Minerals! I just put in a order. It's a 10-day supply of their new, breakthrough bareMinerals MATTE SPF 15 Foundation and it comes with a mini brush. Shipping is only $1!
Problem Solving Guideline for Couples
*Courtesy of my friends*
1.Identify who owns the problem.
2. If only one party owns the problem, others can give polite and respectful opinions, but the owner of the issue has the final say on how to deal with the problem.
3. If more than one party owns the problem,
3.1. Both parties must come to an agreement before picking a solution for the problem.
3.2. Before discussing the problem, ask if the other party is ready to talk about it. If not, schedule an appointment with each other to do so. Avoid discussing the issue when either one is not ready (e.g. driving, in bad mood, tired, busy).
3.3. During discussion, both parties should avoid negative emotion fueled arguments. If such occasion cannot be avoided, either party can leave the place where discussion is held to give each other a time-out.
4. During discussion, avoid:
4.1. Negative discussion in front of kids and other family members
4.2. Voice raising
4.3. History digging
4.4. Relating to parents or relatives
- Merlinda & Wallace
1.Identify who owns the problem.
2. If only one party owns the problem, others can give polite and respectful opinions, but the owner of the issue has the final say on how to deal with the problem.
3. If more than one party owns the problem,
3.1. Both parties must come to an agreement before picking a solution for the problem.
3.2. Before discussing the problem, ask if the other party is ready to talk about it. If not, schedule an appointment with each other to do so. Avoid discussing the issue when either one is not ready (e.g. driving, in bad mood, tired, busy).
3.3. During discussion, both parties should avoid negative emotion fueled arguments. If such occasion cannot be avoided, either party can leave the place where discussion is held to give each other a time-out.
4. During discussion, avoid:
4.1. Negative discussion in front of kids and other family members
4.2. Voice raising
4.3. History digging
4.4. Relating to parents or relatives
- Merlinda & Wallace
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Timeshare Presentation
Exactly a year ago, DH and I went on a "free" trip to Honolulu, HI which was a "gift" from a timeshare presentation. Click here for the related blog posting. Last week, we got a letter inviting us to a presentation... from the same timeshare with the same gift!!! Of course we jumped on it and made an appointment.
This timeshare company is called RCI. Their deals are the best we've seen so far. We were actually tempted to buy last time, but they didn't have resorts at places we care for (San Jose and Hong Kong) and plus, money is always better in my pocket than in theirs. So we went early this afternoon, to see if anything changed. With the real estate market crash, I was curious about how it would affect prices.
We let the presenter know that we attended the presentation before. He asked why we didn't buy last time and I gave him two good reasons: it wasn't within our budget and they didn't have resorts in the cities we cared for. This time, they now have *one* location in Hong Kong. The company keeps on growing and acquiring new locations. Then, he asked how much it was 2 years ago, we answered it was in the $8000 figure and we were here to see if price would have dropped. He answered that big hotels don't care about real estates crisis, they will always keep their prices high. (Despite I don't agree on that one, since airfare and hotel prices have dropped significantly, I didn't want to waste too much of his or our time.) So, this presenter was convinced we wouldn't buy and said that if we didn't buy last time, we wouldn't buy this time because prices has gone up. Their cheapest package is now around $9300 for 21,000 points with $254 in annual maintance fees and $189 of transaction fees for each week you exchange (this fee would be $160 if done online). After saying many things to convince us it is a good deal, we answered that times are hard and it is not within our budget, we like our money close to us in this kind of market. Then he says that "software engineers have the easiest job in the Bay Area and [you] can always find another job [in case of a lay off]". We stayed quiet. Then he pulled out his daughter's picture and tell us why we would want to waste his time because this is how he makes money to raise her. We stayed quiet. If you know me, you probably know I have lots of opinions. I think is it just fair for us to shop around and it is unwise to make impulsive purchases, but we stayed quiet. I tried to keep an open mind and see if they dropped their prices, I wouldn't say we intentionally go there for the free trip, because we didn't look for it, they invited us! The presenter already labelled us. He was frustrated and said he'll make sure we'll be on the do not call list. We walked out with two coupons: one for a free trip to Honolulu, HI (2 nights plus air) and another one is a 2-night stay at one of the 5-6 location choices (we'll probably pick Lake Tahoe or Reno).
This timeshare company is called RCI. Their deals are the best we've seen so far. We were actually tempted to buy last time, but they didn't have resorts at places we care for (San Jose and Hong Kong) and plus, money is always better in my pocket than in theirs. So we went early this afternoon, to see if anything changed. With the real estate market crash, I was curious about how it would affect prices.
We let the presenter know that we attended the presentation before. He asked why we didn't buy last time and I gave him two good reasons: it wasn't within our budget and they didn't have resorts in the cities we cared for. This time, they now have *one* location in Hong Kong. The company keeps on growing and acquiring new locations. Then, he asked how much it was 2 years ago, we answered it was in the $8000 figure and we were here to see if price would have dropped. He answered that big hotels don't care about real estates crisis, they will always keep their prices high. (Despite I don't agree on that one, since airfare and hotel prices have dropped significantly, I didn't want to waste too much of his or our time.) So, this presenter was convinced we wouldn't buy and said that if we didn't buy last time, we wouldn't buy this time because prices has gone up. Their cheapest package is now around $9300 for 21,000 points with $254 in annual maintance fees and $189 of transaction fees for each week you exchange (this fee would be $160 if done online). After saying many things to convince us it is a good deal, we answered that times are hard and it is not within our budget, we like our money close to us in this kind of market. Then he says that "software engineers have the easiest job in the Bay Area and [you] can always find another job [in case of a lay off]". We stayed quiet. Then he pulled out his daughter's picture and tell us why we would want to waste his time because this is how he makes money to raise her. We stayed quiet. If you know me, you probably know I have lots of opinions. I think is it just fair for us to shop around and it is unwise to make impulsive purchases, but we stayed quiet. I tried to keep an open mind and see if they dropped their prices, I wouldn't say we intentionally go there for the free trip, because we didn't look for it, they invited us! The presenter already labelled us. He was frustrated and said he'll make sure we'll be on the do not call list. We walked out with two coupons: one for a free trip to Honolulu, HI (2 nights plus air) and another one is a 2-night stay at one of the 5-6 location choices (we'll probably pick Lake Tahoe or Reno).
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