Shelly's Master Cleanse success! and The First Supper

I have officially completed my Master Cleanser and I feel terrific! Day 9 was not my friend, I was very moody and felt like I was unable to move because I didn't have the energy and I just wanted to walk into the kitchen and quit. Day 10 I made myself leave the house with family in tow and went shopping. We even took Will to a restaurant he likes and my parents came to meet us for lunch as I sat drinking my lemonade while everyone else ate. It was ok though, because I knew the end was near and I would complete my goal. All in all I lost about 8 lbs and I have a huge burst of energy today. I feel clear headed and refreshed. My husband isn't so happy about the weight loss and would have demanded I stop today. I am 5'9" and weighed in at 116.4 this morning. I usually hang around 124 comfortably. I am so excited about eating this week, I have no doubts my weight will increase rather shortly.

Today I went grocery shopping to create my first meal, which I was technically supposed to eat tomorrow, but once I started making the soup (recipe below) I couldn't help but eat some of the broth for dinner. I snuck in a few vegetables too. I hope my digestion can handle it (fingers crossed).

The recipe I found on Epicurious.com via Bon Appetite and it is by far the best Vegetable soup I have ever had. Granted, I haven't eaten in 10 days and most anything would have tasted amazing, but my husband concurs and my son liked the broth and carrots, although he's not so into kale. The vegetables are all roasted and give it the most delicious flavor. It's a great winter soup. I doubled the recipe to freeze half, and switched the Great Northern Beans to my all time favorite Cannellini, but otherwise I followed the directions below exactly as written. I also roasted the seeds from the butternut squash separately as a tasty topping for the soup or later snack.

Thanks to you all for your support these past couple weeks! I am so happy that I accomplished my Detox goal!

White Bean, Kale and Roasted Vegetable Soup

(photo by: Carrie Lloyd) Many dark, leafy greens, like kale, contain calcium. The beans have it, too. Yield: Makes 6 servings Ingredients: Nonstick vegetable oil spray 3 medium carrots, peeled, quartered lengthwise 2 large tomatoes, quartered 1 large onion, cut into 8 wedges 1/2 small butternut squash, peeled, seeded, cut lengthwise into 1/2-inch-thick wedges 6 garlic cloves, unpeeled 1 tablespoon olive oil 6 cups (or more) canned vegetable broth 4 cups finely chopped kale 3 large fresh thyme sprigs 1 bay leaf 1 15-ounce can Great Northern beans, drained Preheat oven to 400°F. Spray rimmed baking sheet with oil spray. Arrange carrots, tomatoes, onion, squash and garlic on sheet. Drizzle with oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss to coat. Bake until vegetables are brown and tender, stirring occasionally, about 45 minutes. Transfer carrots and squash to work surface. Cut into 1/2-inch pieces; set aside. Peel garlic cloves; place in processor. Add tomatoes and onion; puree until almost smooth. Pour 1/2 cup broth onto baking sheet; scrape up any browned bits. Transfer broth and vegetable puree to large pot. Add 5 1/2 cups broth, kale, thyme and bay leaf to pot; bring to boil. Reduce heat; simmer uncovered until kale is tender, about 30 minutes. Add beans and reserved carrots and squash to soup. Simmer 8 minutes to blend flavors, adding more broth to thin soup if necessary. Season with salt and pepper. Discard thyme sprigs and bay leaf. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. Bring to simmer before serving.) Per serving: calories, 191; total fat, 4 g; saturated fat, 0.5 g; cholesterol, 0 Nutritional analysis provided by Self

Shelly's cleanse day 9

Day 9 can bite me. I seriously don't know how I will continue tomorrow, but I will find the strength. This is harder than giving birth (though I had a pretty easy delivery).

Shelly's cleanse days 4-8

Right about now I could eat any and everything I see in my kitchen. A word to the wise, do not go to Whole Foods while on a cleanse or fast of any kind! I had to buy more lemons two days ago and there were so many good smells lurking on every isle. Even the olive oil dipping station had my attention. I am mostly craving breads and cheesy goods...a pizza would be heaven. But, I haven't had a single thing to eat and I plan to stick this thing out. I'm really not hungry, just fantasizing about eating. I've had a couple of days of headaches and find those are the days I skipped the SWF. I have gotten use to it. I hate to drink the salt water, but feel so much better after all those toxins are released. I also still feel pretty tired most of the time. I've napped almost every day. I've had a hard time drinking six full glasses each day and some days only drinking four. I'm sure I've lost some energy as a result.

I learned a little tidbit online last night that said the fuzzy, white coating on your tongue (gross I know) will turn pink again when your body is through detoxing. Mine turned whiteish on Day 2 and it's from toxins and yeast being released. I have a tongue scraper, but it's literally like shag carpeting in my mouth. If it's still white on Day 10, what do I do? So many people continue this diet for 14, 20, and up to 40 days. I don't think it's recommended for first-timers though. The more you do the cleanse the quicker your body responds in the future and I have no doubts that I will do this cleanse at least once a year, possibly twice. I have lost about 5 or lbs. . . nothing crazy. I had a rotary scale and bought a digital one mid-cleanse so I'm not sure exactly. The book says some people can lose up to two lbs. a day.

The next two days will be tough for sure. Even the two days following (the ease out days) are pretty tough as I'm only supposed to drink fresh orange juice on days 11 and 12 to get my system ready for digestion again and homemade veggie broth on day 13. I think I'm going to skip the second day of OJ and move to the soup with some fresh fruit.

Onward and upward! I'll check in again when I complete my challenge!