The Lemon Cleanse Post 6

Before,, I hate this picture and there are more just like it.

     Do you ever look at pictures of yourself and wonder what happened. Some of the pictures of my in my chef cloths leave me feeling fat and uncomfortable. I love food, and I love to eat food. My life is all about food. I am constantly working on new recipes and tasting new foods. I discovered a couple of years ago that I had better make some changes or I would be in trouble. For me it was hard because food is such an important part of my life. My excuse was I have to eat,  I am a Chef. 

        I guess the big change came when I was able to see what I really looked like. More importantly  when I was able to be honest with myself and really fess up to being over weight and out of shape.  I had been using cooking as a crutch for my lack of self control.  I am not  an exercise person, but I do understand the value of it the the more I do it the more value I can see in doing something on a regular basis.  I really admire those totally dedicated persons who work so hard to look like I want to look, but so far have not been willing to pay the price, so I thought.  

      I had convinced myself that it was hard and useless, and no matter how hard I worked out I wouldn't get the results I wanted.  Wrong.  I have found that our bodies are amazing when we treat them right.  Not to say I adore working out, but I have found a great satisfaction from working out.  The secret to to find what you like and be consistent.  

     Ok, enough about working out. What I want to talk about is cleansing the body. It is as important as working out, especially in todays chemical filled world. Our bodies need to have a occasional oil change so to speak. I am talking about a good cleanse that will remove the toxins from the body and leave us feeling stronger and healthier, and the bonus is our bodies will respond better to exercise and eating the right foods, when it has a frequent cleanse.  

     Think of all the foods we eat, and all the garbage that is in the processed foods. Our bodies are toxic, and even if we are eating well, we live in a toxic environment. We know that to get optimal performance out of our cars, we need to change the oil on a regular basis. If we don't, the cars performance is compromised. Our bodies work the same way. We compromise the performance when we don't take the time to change the oil, cleanse.  

    Over the years I have done several, but this year was the best one I have found yet. It was doable and I really enjoyed the experience. My manager told me about it and I thought at the time no way. It sounded terrible. He said that he and his wife to it 2 to 3 times a year and they like it.  

     A couple months passed and I was feeling like I needed something of a cleanse after the holiday season. So I set out to the health food store to see what I could find.  he clerk recommended the same cleanse my Manager used. So it being lemon season I decided to do it myself.  I have to say I loved it.  Really,  I loved it.  I felt great every day and lost 14 lbs. and I felt like my oil had been changed.  What a great feeling. You have to be prepared mentally for any cleanse and especially when you go without food for an extended period of time.  

         You are wondering what did I do. I did the Lemon Juice, Cayenne Pepper, Maple Syrup Cleanse.  You can google it and read more about it, but it is basically drinking a mixture of 2-3 Tbls. lemon juice, 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper (more if you can handle it), and 2-3 Tbls. maple syrup, all mixed in 8-10oz water, all day long for as many days as you can do it.  It was amazing. I was not hungry at all,  did I mention that no food is allowed at all.  I enjoyed it and never felt hungry or tired or left out.  I did it for 10 days, that includes the couple days after you finish the cleanse when you slowly add foods back in. I loved the spicy lemonade and look forward to the next oil change.

       Being healthy is all about discipline and self control.  What I like about a good cleanse is that is helps with self control. I decided that if I can go without food that long I can do anything. The problem in today's world we want instant results,  and with our bodies, that is not going to happen. We fail to realize that after years of abuse it just might take some time for our bodies to get back into shape. A cleanse is a great place to jump start our determination to be healthier. I strongly recommend that if you are a coach potato, get up and start doing something. Tomorrow just might be to late. Enjoy your next oil change. It will put life back into your engine.  

After the cleanse. This is better.  It is amazing what a little self control will do.