The last supper by Heather Ledeboer
By Heather Ledeboer | Category: Pursuing God, Sawyer's Story, The Journey of Motherhood
Hooray!! Tonight was the last meal of our 10 day cleanse, we made it!! Below are some photos of how things have looked in our house the last few nights (we cook something for our kids – here it is spaghetti, and we make ourselves a heaping salad).
As promised here is my report and thoughts on "The Perfect Cleanse":
-Overall it was not nearly as hard as I thought it would be. Although the amount of food we ate at each sitting was small (i.e. one serving of grapes) we were eating something every few hours. Because of that we really were not hungry (expect for a few times that I was running errands in town and forgot to bring my fruit along to eat).
-We didn’t have a ton of energy (likely because our caloric intake was so small) however we felt we had enough energy to do what we needed (we just didn’t feel like doing anything seriously strenuous).
-Trent had a headache for the first two days or so (I didn’t) and we read that this can be due to your body working on getting the extra toxins out of your system (guess that means I was toxin free-hee hee;)!
-Bathroom visits were reasonable:).
-Trent lost about 10 pounds and I lost about 5 (we are not totally sure because we didn’t get our scale until a few days into the cleanse).
-We both drank way more water than we normally do (which is good) and found that we didn’t really miss drinking juice, milk, etc.
-We feel that after the cleanse we are more likely to continue drinking more water (and choose it above other drinks). We also feel that we have gotten more into the habit of buying vegetables than we were in the past (we went to the store several times over the last 10 days to get more veggies and things). I think we will continue to incorporate more vegetables (we already ate lots of fruit) in the future. We want to try continuing the habit of eating smaller meals more frequently. I plan to now add some exercise into my routine and hopefully I can check in with a positive report in a few days that I have kept to my goal in this area. I don’t plan on giving up my nighttime chocolate chip cookie however (warm from the toaster oven), if I am going to loose weight it is is going to have to be done despite my evening cookie:)!
Today after church we bought some fireworks and also swung by Old Navy where I bought a pair of shorts and a t shirt that fit me to celebrate being done with the cleanse. These shorts are about 4-5 sizes bigger than my pre-pregnancy wardrobe but hey, I am making progress and it was only 7 weeks ago that I was giving birth so I will try not to expect miracles.
A few of you have told me that you are going to do the cleanse as well. If you do, I hope you will let me know how it goes for you–good luck!
Above: Hunter and Ashlyn’s dinner
Above: Trent and Heather’s dinner (minus the Salmon we also enjoyed)
How you can pray: I would like to continue to get as healthy (weight wise) as possible before we (Lord willing) get pregnant again.
What I am thankful for: A supportive and loving husband (I love you honey, thanks for doing the cleanse with me–too bad you had to lose twice as much weight as me;).
You are doing great! I eat very healthy normally (all organic, lots raw, all from scratch, etc), but did splurge a bit with my first pregnancy. It took me 16 months to get back to my pre-pregnancy size (size 10) from a size 20 (GASP!!) after giving birth. 46 pounds lost. Now pregnant again! Do intend to be a lot more careful this time!
Eating more veggies has got to be helpful in that regard. My latest favorite is romaine lettuce. I came across a really great website the other day with very encouraging podcasts, I wish I had known about this earlier: http://www.losingweightafterbaby.com maybe you’ll find it helpful too. 
Hope you have a great week.
[Reply]
Thanks for the link about the cleanse. Been wanting to do it not so much for weight loss but to get back on track with eating fruits and salads more. You will get those pounds off! Stay strong!
Thanks for helping me get back on track with my faith! Since, I came the other day I have really been trying to open my heart back up to God. I know he is waiting on me. Took your words about faith and loss and belief to open my heart back up to what my mind knew!
THANKS!
[Reply]
I’m really into doing cleanses.
My husband always loses more weight than me too. But I’m always the one that gets the headaches for a few days.
My problem is I eat too much too often.
I would probably eat all of that pasta and all of that salad. I eat more than my husband.
Which wasn’t a problem before. I’ve been skinny my whole life until I had my third baby. I not only didn’t lose the weight, I piled some more on.
My husband snapped a picture of me a few day ago. I couldn’t believe how big I look.
It’s time for me to do a major cleanse and start exercising regularly.
Good luck with the cleanse and I hope you lose all your pregnancy weight and get pregnant again.
[Reply]
I gave birth almost 12 months ago and I’m still four sizes above pre-pregnancy so I’d say you’re doing FANTASTIC! Really glad the cleanse went well because I think you heard that Selena and I are subjecting ourselves to it starting next Sunday *LOL* The hardest thing for me is going to be no lattes. I think it’s the sweetest thing in the world that your husband did it with you! I’ll be praying for continued health and readiness for new life.
[Reply]
You make me really want to do a cleanse, but I’ve not yet looked into it (attribute that to many kids zapping what good memory I used to have). I will have to wait until I’m done breastfeeding I’m sure. I know I’ve heard of people cleansing at the same time, but it has to be done extrememly carefully and I doubt it’s even recommended. I sure HOPE that I can get the rest of this weight off before I’m done nursing though! AHHHHHHH. I believe in child led weaning, always wanted to nurse for 2 years but I’ve gotten pregnant before then and they wean. I can’t live with these last 9 lbs for another year and a half, no!
I’m glad you both made it through! Yeah, guys always seem to drop weight faster, it’s not fair! I’m glad you got a couple pieces of clothing that fit, you deserve it. Eventhough they are huge to youand you won’t wear them long, it probably makes you feel a little better being in regular clothes, it did for me. =)
You’re doing just great.
[Reply]
So glad you went to Old Navy! Forget about the size and just keep going =) Your report on the cleanse reminded me of a fast my husband and I did a few years ago (3weeks)- before 3 babes in a row. We were blessed in so many ways. . . prayers & hugs
[Reply]
It is wonderful that you husband did it with you. My husband is supposed to eat more fiber in his diet due to doctors orders. He has to have 3 or more grams. He misses his potato and buttermilk bread badly.
I am hoping to get him more into some sort of cleanse. The difficult thing is how expensive it is to eat healthy and have fresh food in the house. I heard that when you shop, you should purchase food from the perimeter of the store. The thinking is that most of the processed foods are in the center. Sounds reasonable but it is hard to do with two toddlers.
Blessings to you as you both try to become more healthy.
Jennifer
[Reply]