So for the most part I kept it to myself other than Sarah and those that I had to tell when they were curious as to what was going on, but I must say that though at first glance it may seem that I gave into peer pressure, I didn't. Bryan, who I work with, was the first one to use Blessed Herbs and after sharing his experience with various guys in the office a handful of others did it as well. I talked to Bryan about it a month or so ago and after discussing with Sarah decided to order some Blessed Herbs and do it myself.
Blessed Herbs has both a full Internal Cleanse as well as what is called the Colon Cleanse, but it does more and is more than just your normal colon cleanse (dont worry, there aren't any pictures). Basically, Blessed Herbs operates from the foundation that our bodies are our most important possession. We do A LOT to make sure that we look good and at least from the outside, appear healthy to others. However, we really don't do much to take care of our insides, rather we just assume that nature is doing it's job. Well unfortunately, as you hear over and over and over again on various news shows from research, the foods that we typically eat do not align with the organic, natural, raw, fruits and veggies, little or no animal protein, recommendations from the medical professionals. In fact, it isn't to say that it is anyone's fault, nor is there anyway to find out, but I truly believe that my cancer developed as a result of the foods that I ate my whole life, stress in my life, and just my body being a little out of whack.
Back to Blessed Herbs. Especially when eating any processed foods, unnatural sodium, etc. not all of those foods can be easily digested. Therefore, overtime a plaque builds up on the inside of your intestinal walls. The cleanse materials bind with the plaque to strip it from the walls of the intestines. There is also a digestive stimulant that you take to increase regularity and stimulate the various organs that are involved in the digestive process (liver, gallbladder, etc.) to get those organs to work a bit harder and rid the body of toxins held within the organs. I wanted to do it, not only for the standard processed foods and animal protein that the body struggles to digest, but also knowing the amount of toxins that made their way into my body that I just really wanted to make another effort to wring out my body of the "yuck."
Some of the benefits of the cleanse are increased energy levels, increased metabolism (since your intestines can now do what they are supposed to rather than fighting through the plaque), and just an overall feeling of "betterness." I have definitely felt more energized and don't get the "I just want to lay on the couch and do nothing" feelings, I feel more alert, I've noticed the last 2 days riding to work that my body must be somewhat more efficient because I'm not getting winded, and a side benefit are the pounds and even inches that came off. From when I started to the end there has been a 7.5-8 lb swing in my weight (now at 171 and closer to my goal weight), and about a notch and a half off my belt. Others who have done it have kept off the weight and inches, and I'm even hoping that it helps me to get down to that 157-162 range I'm targeting since oxygen increases the burning of fat and now my body should be able to get more of that oxygen due to the plague it no longer has.
The way the cleanse works is you first ramp down your food intake. 75% on day 1, 50% on day 2, 25% on day 3. Then you are on a liquid only fast for 3-10 days depending on what you choose (majority of people do 5 days). During the liquid only fast you can drink water, organic apple juice, and filtered vegetable broth made from potato, carrot, celery, and onion. Although that seems impossible, you also drink a shake which is a mix of apple juice and the toxin absorber every 3 hours. This really helps since you always have something in your body and the toxin absorber is very fibrous and expands.
Afterward you pick back up by eating an apple for breakfast, small salad for lunch, and a small dinner of salad or veggies, brown rice, and some protein like tofu. It has definitely decreased my portion size which is great since I've wanted to work on portion control. Apple for breakfast is just fine for me these days. Normally by 11 I'm watching the clock wondering when it is lunch, and its 1245 and my stomach isn't telling me anything. I'm now in more of a routine of drinking 6-8 glasses of water/tea a day and don't have the feeling of wanting to eat just because (granted I just finished this past weekend).
All in all I've been happy with it thus far and it will hopefully help Sarah as we continue to focus on healthy eating. Last night we made lettuce wraps with brown rice, crumbled tilapia, tomato, and avocado for dinner. We had some veggie crisp chips on the side. Perfecto!
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