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.

Oh dear, what have I started?

The main difference for me between cleanses 1 and 2 was that in cleanse 1, I did nothing but think about the fact that I wasn't eating, fretting about food, breaking every step down into its minutiae. As a result, it felt like an ordeal.

This time, I simply settled back and let it happen. Didn't count the days so much, didn't think about food, and didn't lick anything. As a result, it's been a lot easier. I'm now on Day 13. My tongue is almost pink, except for a couple of smaller blobs. I'll probably give it another two days, then think about winding down. But I'm not hungry, or impatient, or anything else. I keep getting little aches or throbbings, or rashes, or whatever. That's part of the deal.

Last night, eight friends came over for a five-course cooked meal that smelled delicious. I sat with them, drinking my lemonade and it didn't faze me one bit. Yet everyone was worried about me, thinking I was killing myself, urging me to start eating, but admitting I looked and sounded very different to the old me.

It's about discipline and resisting peer pressure and the worst callings of your food addiction.