A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step

It's finally here!! The UPS man dropped off my cleanse package this afternoon, so tomorrow, I will start a new two month cleanse! (I know I'm weird, not many people get this excited about detoxing!)

You see, just a month and a half ago, I found out that I have intestinal parasites (I know, TMI!!). Since then, I have been following a strict cleanse diet for parasites and candida. I spent two full weeks researching what natural alternatives there were for me to get rid of the aliens, and while I don't think I have candida overgrowth, I learned that it often goes hand in hand with parasites, so I figure I'd try to kill two birds with one stone... just in case!

Everyone thinks I'm crazy for following this strict diet -- it was as if I were diabetic, had celiac, was lactose-intolerant, and on the Atkins diet... plus more rules like no mushrooms, no preservatives, etc. I've been taking oil of oregano, clove oil, eating lots of pumpkin seeds (yummy!), grapefruit seed extract (it's ridiculously bitter and gross!), raw garlic, and drinking raw, unfiltered apple cider vinegar (with the "mother"). Eating out has been extremely difficult, often resulting in my ordering a grilled chicken salad with no dressing... blech! Plus, I have been getting acupuncture on a weekly basis to help fight the battle, in addition to improving my circulation and other good stuff.

I felt great the first few weeks on the cleanse, but then I sprained my ankle while playing tennis. I've been a little down because I'm so used to being active all the time and now I couldn't even go grocery shopping while on my crutches. It kinda sucks to be eating all this protein and not be able to exercise, and I've noticed definitely muscle atrophy. Oy vey!!

So last week, I decided that if I'm putting myself through this difficult diet, I better get the results I want so that I won't have to go through it again. Let's kill those little monsters inside of me once and for all!

I spent countless hours researching cleansing products and finally settled on Dr. Natura's Colonix and Toxinout programs. Tomorrow, I will start Colonix for the first month, and then add Toxinout during the second month. I'll continue to follow my diet and document my food log here, along with all the fun details of my bowel movements. (I will hereby refer to them as BM.) I'm documenting it all for a few reasons:

- I found it immensely helpful to read others' reactions and wished that I could find more details, so I hope this will help others too
- I want to share all the information that I've learned over the last few weeks
- I hope this will help me stay accountable and on track -- especially through the holidays!

So let's take this journey together, and if you're also cleansing, I'd love to hear your thoughts, advice, and will try to answer any questions you may have!

Happy detoxing!!