Re: Day 18 of 40. First cleanse ever. Am having a hard time for the first time in 18 days, don't want to give up.

Yeah the enthusiasm thing is pretty catchy when folks around you see your transformation. One of the things a girlfriend noticed was how smooth and silky my skin felt. When I first began this cleansing journey I went at it full force including all the other cleanses ( liver,parasite, colon etc) plus a breakneck gym schedule at least five days a week. Also eating a pristine diet. In a 2-3 month period that transformation was so radical that I would walk by casual acquaintances and they would not recognize me. A number of my friends also got excited and started cleansing. There is no better tool to teach or share info in a meaninful way than walking the walk and teaching/sharing by example.

Besides the physical thing a very exciting aspect for me is the mental aspect. There is no specific way this can be described other that each individual will follow their own procelvities. For me I am a pragmatic realist so it was a great time for self observation which was not only on a physical level but also intellectually. Many with religious/spiritual leanings  will put a spiritual/religious spin on the experience.

Use that enthusiasm constructively and get yourself a juicer. Start investigating the other cleanses. The one point I want to really emphasize is that the real make or break of any benefits you reap from the cleanse is not so much the cleanse but what you do after. The MC is the "easy" part where you don't hafta think and everything is all worked out for you. This is why I emphazise not to make a big deal out of ANY of it. The part that will take your effort and daily decision making comes after the fast. If  you go back to your old habits all benefits will disapear pretty quickly and more so if weightloss is part of your goal. All forms of fasting slow the metabolism and if you are not very judicious about what you eat and get some form of regular exercise happening to bring the metabolism back up, the weight will come back gangbusters and you'll put on even more weight than you lost in a really short time. Start researching balanced nutrition and if not already join a gym or aerobics class. Just anything that will get your heart rate up so you'll bring the metabolism back up to speed. It can take as long as 6 to 8 weeks to get it back up and this is particularly more crucial in the longer fasts.