November 11, 2011 | 1:56 am

Day Four of the Cleanse: do it yourself

Posted by Tamara Shayne Kagel

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So after yesterday’s debacle, I wasn’t sure what to do about finishing out this cleanse.  Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t completely go off of it because I didn’t want to immediately start inhaling caffeine and foods that could be hard to digest.  And I do often eat without thinking about it so I liked the awareness it was calling to my eating habits and we all ingest lots of things that we know aren’t good for us.  I figured I could finish out the week trying to adhere to these principles but I also wasn’t going to get anywhere near an ultimate smoothie – just the idea of it makes me nauseous. 

This morning, even though I had probably only had a few ounces of soup and some OJ last night, I felt completely transferred.  I was still weak and tired with a mild headache but compared to the state I was in last night, I can’t believe I even tried to work when I was like that.  I decided I would just get smoothies and soup that actually tasted good for my meals today and that I would eat what was necessary to be functional.  Then, I’d still be off all of the processed chemical food-stuffs I normally eat, I’d still be off caffeine and diet coke, and even my normal snacks, but I also wouldn’t be in debilitating pain wishing I could die.

I went to Planet Raw which is a raw vegan restaurant in Santa Monica and got a Maca smoothie for breakfast.  It was heavenly.  If you think that raw food doesn’t taste good, this place will change your mind.  Trust me, this is coming from someone who apparently would rather starve herself than eat something that didn’t taste good.  This restaurant is incredible and will make the most die hard meat and potatoes person a fan.  But because they’re so dedicated to using organic non-processed vegan foods, I’d still sort of be cleansing my system of these “toxins” but eating something that tasted good and had enough calories to keep me going.  I had the rest of my miso soup from last night for lunch and went to Planet Raw again to grab a vanilla protein shake for dinner and even threw in an organic orange – my first solid food in days. 

After my morning shake, I felt so incredible I went to a yoga class.  Right away I noticed I was definitely light-headed every time we stood up after bending over and would lose my balance randomly.  I took it easy but was sort of annoyed that this whole thing was causing my yoga practice to suffer.  The only reason I did the yoga teacher training in the first place was to deepen my practice.  The only reason I did the cleanse is because yogis had convinced me I would feel better and bring more awareness into my life and would have the most amazing practice of my life.  Instead, I wasn’t able to practice for the last three days and then when I finally got to class this morning, my practice was suffering.  Plus I had to listen to my mother use her I told you so voice to ask me what toxins?  What are these people talking about? What are you cleansing? like I had joined a cult. 

The cleanse for all the yogis ends formally tomorrow.  I think I’m going to continue to try to eat raw vegan for one more day and then go back happily to ordering soy lattes and wine and even processed fro yo when the occasion calls for it.  My yoga teacher training meets at 7pm and I assume I’ll have to listen to everyone talk about how transformative it was and how they felt the “toxins” leaving their body.  I still have on more day on this thing so maybe euphoria will come to me tomorrow.  In the meantime, I’m going to dream about the Starbucks I’m going to have on Saturday… 

Tamara Shayne Kagel is a writer living in Santa Monica, CA. To find out more about her, visit www.tamarashaynekagel.com and follow her on twitter @tamaraskagel. © Copyright 2011.