lemonade...

on the recommendation of one of my best friends, out here on holiday from the usa, I started a detox/fast today, commonly known as the "mastercleanse" or "lemonade diet". for the duration of the fast (minimum 10 days) you get to drink lemon juice mixed with maple syrup, water and a dash of cayenne pepper along with a laxative tea drink in the evening followed by a salt water flush (!) in the morning to get the old bowels moving. and thats pretty much it.

i have put off doing this twice already due to not being able to find the requisite grade b maple syrup in this country - excuses, excuses - but now i have decided to shut the $@#*! up and just do it. i can only get a "canada medium no 1" maple syrup and that will have to do until my buddy gets back to los angeles and ships me some of the real deal grade b. i am at my little piece of paradise: 'the krakshack' on the tyolomnqa river (just pronounce it 'chalumna' if you can't do the xhosa tongue clicks :) for two and a half weeks, most of that time alone so i can settle into the fast routine as easily as possible.

and today i am seriously considering only starting tomorrow. strewth! this is going to be as difficult as letting go of cigarettes. well, hopefully not. anyway, i will be mixing up my first batch of "our lemonade" (as the master cleanser author stanley burroughs calls it) and off we go. the salt water flush is a little intimidating though, not sure how i can get through it - two liters of any liquid first thing in the morning is difficult, never mind luke warm salty water?!

all this is kind of a fiftieth birthday present to myself. hopefully i will shed some weight, pause and rethink my diet, attitudes to food and nutrition and generally get healthier and hopefully feel a whole lot better. starting weight 112 kilos. got shat out big time by the doctor doing my annual pilot licence medical for being overweight with high blood pressure etc...painful, but he's totally right.

and so, mastercleanse day 1, who knows what happen next...

mre
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