The "Cleanse" Is Over

Well... That was an interesting experience.
I have never bee supportive of actual cleanses and it was suggested that I "just give it a try before being so concrete in my opinions" - so here I am.
I am NOT recommending the "cleanse" I did to anyone. In fact I am still in doubt of the value of any cleanse or kick-start diet. But I have arrived at some interesting places along the way.

Having that sort of control over an aspect of your life is scary and (sadly) exhillerating in a way. I have a much more experiential understanding of anorexic behaviours. To be able to have such control over something is a weird experience. I do have a somewhat addicitive personality but fortunately for me my enjoyment of food is stronger.

In a short term aspect I can see how a 4-day crash diet like this can work wonders for some while it could potentially be disasterous for others. I am also trying to figure out who might benefit most from something like this...
If you are like I was at the beginning - within my healthy BMI range (not saying that BMI is the be all end all measure for health but it's something that most of us are familiar with) the effects of this crash will likely be minimal. This kick-start allegedly was based on something called 18in4 (lose 18 pounds in 4 days). I think that "promise" is not even a possibility for me based on my starting weight, but I am wondering if it would work for someone who is in the overweight spectrum of the BMI scale. BUT it is a VERY UNHEALTHY way to lose weight. Crash-dieting is NEVER good. Again I AM NOT RECOMMENDING THIS DIET! I'm just typing and thinking as I journal/blog my experience. A sidenote about 18in4 - the person who wrote it is CRAZY! He's SELLING the plan but has no legitimate experience or training. He is not a Dr, a dietician or anything remotely related. He's an average guy who's fought the weight-battle all his life. Scary on his part - selling something like that - I'm wondering how long it will be before someone serves him a lawsuit for charging people for an uneducated crash diet plan...
But I digress.
Strangely enough I'm glad I gave it a try. I'm amazed I feel as well as I do. But it WAS only 4 days. I'm really looking forward to eating normally again and I have re-gained my motivation to get back on track because following this crash-diet has shown me that I CAN do it.

I am excited to have reached my first weightloss goal and am scared that, because I lost the last few pounds in such an unhealthy manner, it's all going to come right back FAST. I am going to continue updating my blog as I go.

Thanks for sharing in my experience and reading this.

STARTING WEIGHT THURSDAY MAY 7 2009 = 151.0 pounds
ENDING WEIGHT MONDAY MAY 11 2009 = 146.5 pounds