Hey Kim!

I can sympathize with you...just came off of a weekend of visiting the family and eating poorly. :( This was partially my own doing. I could have taken my raw diet along with me, but I chose not to. Mostly for experimental purposes. This is the first time in about 3 weeks that I've let myself eat like this, and it made me physically ill. I learned my lesson!!

Things I've done to cope with social gatherings and the food...(1) Eat before you go. Salad, fruit, whatever diet you choose, fill yourself up on your healthy food. Then when you are out, pick at your husbands plate or order something small - salad, soup, baked potato. (2) Make up a few Master-Cleanse cocktails to drink on the way to the gathering or on the way home - this helps keep me in the mindset of what I'm supposed to be doing. (3) If you can get away with it, make yourself a salad - or whatever - to take along with you. I've been to several family picnics this summer where I've made a salad and put it in our cooler to take along. If I found that the food at the picnic was inadequate, I had my salad to eat.

HTH,
Tiffany

hi kim, i am on day 8 of my first fast, and i just encountered this the other night. i am lucky that my lifestyle doesn't put me into that position very often right now, and my family is supportive, and proud of me.
on saturday night, i went to a birthday party for my two-year-old grandson. my stepdaughter being the fantastic cook that she is, went all out. i warned her ahead of time that i wouldn't be eating because of the fast, and that was fine with her. so when it came time to eat, i just sort of removed myself from the center of things. went to the bathroom a couple times, helped clean up the kitchen. only one person that didn't know i was fasting noticed that i wasn't eating. she asked if i wasn't going to get something to eat, and my stepdaughter piped in, that i was doing a special fast for my health. i told her that indeed i was fasting, doing a cleanse and that i felt wonderful. then it was dropped. but it was uncomfortable when everyone looked at me for an answer.

p.s. a side note, to all those "stepmonsters" out there, there is hope. my stepdaughter and i used to not get along very well, and now we are the best of friends, so hang in there!

Hi Kim. I know how important the weight loss aspect of the cleanse can be. Along with many other benefits I received from cleansing I have lost 40 lbs and kept it off. Maybe my experience will help you...here are some of the things I did to change:

1. I found something that is healthy that I like and I eat a lot of it. For me, strangely enough, it turned out to be any kind of leafy salad (spinach, romaine lettuce, etc.). I eat it with all kinds of different dressings and toppings (including fish and chicken) and I love it. It is good for me and I can eat a pretty good portion of it without putting weight on.

2. I have learned that I can "splurge" a bit with the food as long as I drink lots of water. I have given up any other drink (except for natural juices). When I eat out, I order what I like and have it with water with lemon. I have learned to realize when my body is full and stop eating, and I end up taking food home or sharing with my wife. But most important is LOTS of water...

3. I don't eat late at night. As a rule, I don't eat anything of substance past 6:00 pm. If I absolutely have to have a snack, I usually eat dry Grapenuts. They are crunchy and have substance and make me feel like I am really eating something even though it's not really much.

4. When I am out or eating with friends and family, I eat the "good stuff" but control the portions. I also drink lots of water while doing so. Depending on the time of day, I may even eat a lot. I try to walk or jog it off (or even work in the yard) later in the evening. I exercise at night after a large meal and I find that it burns off by the morning.

5. I weigh myself at the same time in the morning every couple days. In this way I can gauge how what I am eating is affecting my body. For me, the time to weigh myself is in the morning (when on the cleanse I weigh after "flushing"). If I'm up a few pounds, I know to take it easy for a couple days and I do.

6. Find your motivation! The desire to run and play and have a long life with my wife and kids is enough for me. Figure out what does it for you and run with it!

Ok, enough of my babbling. I hope 1 or all of these things will help you. When I was on my 33 day cleanse I did extensive reading on health and diet (while my family ate dinner!) and it really motivated me. When I got off of the cleanse I had my break planned and was able to continue losing weight for a couple days after it was over. Then I just made the effort to maintain. Good luck and happy cleansing!

Jason