Hungry

Day 4 was pretty standard. Felt fine during the day and no real issues. 6 glasses of lemonade.

Day 5 was good for most of the day but I started feeling pretty anxious about the weekend and feeling like I wanted to eat. I started feeling pretty frustrated about the whole thing in the evening, but I drank some more and calmed down. 6 glasses of lemonade.

Today, Day 6 has been hard. I’ve wanted to eat all day and contemplated just one little bite a number of times. I got really sleepy mid-day (probably from lack of energy and trying to keep up with a two year old) and passed out for a bit. Tonight, my stomach kind of started to hurt a bit. It feels like stomach cramps. 5 days was my original goal, extending to 7 if I felt fine. I could probably do 10, but at this point I feel like 7 is enough. Not sure I would gain much more, plus I might lose my sanity. More than anything I wanted to see if I could do it. Not eating for 7 days is an interesting adventure. Tomorrow is not going to be easy, but one day left.

What cleanse?

Woke up this morning again feeling great. I found out that I’m actually supposed to warm the salt water in the morning, and that made it MUCH easier to drink. Still feels odd to chug that much water.

Had 6 glasses of lemonade today. Some of them I look forward to, others I feel like I HAVE to. I don’t know how I’d drink any more than 6, as it already feels like a lot.

Went to lunch with a bunch of co-workers at Buca di Beppo today, which was an interesting experience. The food all smelled so good. Oddly enough (for a vegan) the thing that looked the best was the chicken parmigiana! I drank a few glasses of water and just chatted, and it wasn’t as difficult as I had thought it would be. Then back at work, there was a bunch of food sitting out in the kitchen that smelled great too. I keep thinking about what I’m going to eat when I come off this cleanse. A veggie burger and fries sounds excellent.

The hardest time of day seems to be at night. I feel kind of hungry right now, but I’ll probably just drink the tea and head to bed. Overall I’m surprised with how good I feel at this point. It’s good because I feel like I can definitely pull off 7 days.

Lemonade Overload - Day 2

I woke up today feeling great. A LOT less hungry than I expected to feel. I was nervous about the salt water flush this morning…two teaspoons of sea salt in one quart of water. I chugged it, but getting down a quart of water quickly is not a fun task. The taste isn’t even that bad, it’s just the amount of water. Blah.

Felt great most of the day, only a little hungry once around mid-day. A glass of the drink made it go away. I had 6 in total today, with my last one at 8:30pm. That’s perfect as it leaves enough time before the tea at night.

My sense of smell seems heightened, and everything smells good. Tara just made a rice cracker with a bunch of peanut butter on it and it looked goooooood.

Day 2….easier than I expected. And on we go.

Master Cleanse Day 1

After downing my first glass of the “lemonade” at 8am this morning, I was off and running. I took all of the ingredients with me to work, except…I forgot the lemons. I realized this when I went to go make my second drink. An auspicious start indeed.

I had to quickly run to Whole Foods where I grabbed 5 lemons, and I headed back. I drank 3 other glasses of the drink at work. It only takes a couple of minutes to make the concoction, but I feel kind of goofy doing it. I had 1 more this evening. So 5 in total. I’m supposed to drink at least 6 a day, but I’m thinking of just drinking the tea and heading to bed, and planning better so I get the requisite number of glasses tomorrow.

I feel kind of dizzy tonight and anxious because I would like some food. It’s easier to not eat when you are sick because you don’t feel like it. It’s an odd feeling to WANT to eat, but not be able to. A quick trip to Taco Bell sounds nice. I have a feeling Day 2 isn’t going to be any easier.

My Top Bands of 2011!

As told by last.fm…

This has been an interesting year in music for me. I feel like my tastes have shifted and broadened a bit, what with listening to a lot more dubstep (thanks Skrillex) and the occasional Taylor Swift. Emarosa, my top band of 2010, didn’t even make the top 10 this year….partly because they kicked out lead singer Jonny Craig, who rejoined Dance Gavin Dance this year. DGD was my top band of 2011! Their album, Downtown Battle Mountain II, was amazing and I still love to listen to it all the way through on repeat. The most interesting band of 2011 for me, was actually my #2 most listened to band….Sleeping with Sirens. What makes this interesting was that all of those 640+ listens happened over the last 6 weeks of 2011! I love their two albums and am excited to see what they put out this next year. I’m also glad to see Bowling for Soup stayed in my Top 10 this year, since I loved their new album, and since Jaret ribbed me a bit for not even making Top 20 last year!

missing classes and new studios

25 down. 35 to go. 5 behind.

I went to the Wednesday 6:30p class and had a pretty strong class….the heat at our studio can be overwhelming at times though! We were flying to California the next afternoon, so I had wanted to get to the 5:30am class…..but that didn’t happen. So I missed class on Thursday AND on Friday since we were setting up all day for my Dad’s surprise 50th Birthday Party!

On Saturday, I used fitfindr to find the closest Bikram studio to me. There are quite a few studios in downtown San Francisco, but I decided on Bikram Yoga Castro. I drove there for the 4p class, and I loved the area. The studio is probably the smallest I have ever practiced in. There were only 9 people in the class….candles lit around the studio….light meditation music in the background….just an overall cool (and different) vibe. The whole class was very different. The owner/instructor, LaMott Atkins, teaches a pretty quiet class. A lot of his dialogue is very simple and focuses on breathing in and out of the postures. He doesn’t speak the normal Bikram dialogue, which was a bit refreshing, and a lot of the class was pretty silent. This actually made for a tougher class, because you really had to have focus going in and out of the postures.

It’s nice visiting new studios and seeing how the practice is a little bit different!

never again

23 down. 37 to go. 3 behind.

I went to 8:15p class on Monday and Tuesday so I could spend a bit more time at home after work and prior to class. These late night classes are hard because I don’t eat dinner until after 10p and it gets really late fast. The Monday class felt like it was at midnight….

On Tuesday, I got in the room pretty early and did my pre-stretches and then laid down. When I got up at the start of class, guess who was next to me….remember this guy? Mr. I Don’t Respect Personal Space. I was already aggravated. Little did I know it would get worse. The guy wipes himself from head to toe in between EVERY posture in the standing series, with a large towel. I almost asked the teacher to have him stop. It’s so distracting. During Dandayamana-Bibhaktapada-Janushirasana I noticed as my head was on my knee that he was actually gripping my mat as he stretched forward. I felt like I was about to lose it. I had already decided my next move. During the second set, I looked for him to do it again, and he did. I reached back and YANKED the mat away from him and folded it over. After the posture was over, I unfolded it, stared straightforward, and breathed. On the floor, he HAD to put his hand on my mat as he stretched out into full locust. During spine twist, when he placed his hand behind him, he stretched back and placed his hand directly on my mat. I should note, our mats were NOT that close, so there was absolutely no need for this….and considering the last time he did this (and my obvious annoyance) I took it as him doing this on purpose.

Again, I know I shouldn’t let him or these antics distract my focus, but he does….if he ever sets down next to me again, I will just pick up my towel and move elsewhere. One of the most frustrating 90 minutes ever.

recovery and then a double

21 down. 39 to go.

I finished my class on Wednesday night at 9:45p, had not eaten, had not seen much of Rosslyn or Tara that day (they were already asleep) and was frustrated….during class, I figured out in my head that during the length of the challenge, I would be missing over 4 whole days of Rosslyn’s life by just being at yoga. With how quickly she is growing, that’s a lot of time! I think Camel Pose must have thrown me into an emotional breakdown! ha….

So I took Thursday and Friday off. My best friend came in town (on Thursday night) from Atlanta to visit us for the weekend and I needed a break. I was really contemplating just letting go of the challenge, as it just felt like I should for a lot of reasons. Though, I’m sure a lot of people doing the challenge feel the same way at one point or another….

On a grey and dreary Saturday afternoon, I went to the 4pm class and had a decent class. The muscles feel nice and rested after 2 days off! I headed straight to Sonic after class for a Cherry Limeade and Tater Tots….a perfect compliment to yoga!

On Saturday, Tara went to the 8am class, and then Becky and I went to the 10am class. Class was not as packed as it had been most of the other days….Again, I felt pretty good (though Camel has been a struggle) and felt sort of back on track. Went home and showered and ate lunch and then went on a long walk with Tara, Rosslyn and Becky along the Katy Trail. I had decided I could make the 4pm class and get back one of my missed classes today. I’m glad I felt the motivation, because I had been lacking it! Made it to class, and they were surprised to see me again so soon. This class was a MAJOR struggle….mainly because I was just tired very early on. I got to class 15 minutes before class and was stuck on the third row with not much space around me! Bummer! I actually don’t remember a lot from the class, because I just wanted to get out of there quickly! I was exhausted at the end, but glad that I got in a double….

So the challenge is still on…..I am planning to adjust my schedule a bit and go to some morning classes so that I can spend more time with Rosslyn and Tara when they are awake after work!

I’d love another day off today….but I have class a 6:30p.