Eating

I am eating again. It’s not necessarily a good thing.

I’ve been eating real human foods for the past week, but it’s really been more than eating. It’s more like uncontrollable eating. For some reason, after resetting my digestive system, all I want to do is eat. Food tastes so much better than I remembered, so now I want to eat it all. It’s really weird.

New eating habits aside, I think the Master Cleanse went very well. I started sleeping better at some point during the cleanse and generally needed less sleep. I rarely felt tired, even though I was consuming vastly fewer calories than normal. My digestive system actually felt pretty damn good. I’ll probably do it again sometime, but with moderation. I really like flavors besides cayenne, maple, lemon and salt.

With my renewed love of eating, I actually tried century eggs this week. They are interesting. Hailun had her mother mail some from NYC Chinatown, since I had been asking about them. The first thing you notice when these some out of the all-Taiwanese box, is that the shells have a speckled greenish pall. They apparently were not green before being cured. This does not comfort me. Hailun then proceeds to take a sharp knife and crack one open, instantly filling the kitchen with an acrid smell. The first one dribbles green goo all over the counter before Hailun declares that it must be a bad one. How does an already rotten egg go bad?

The second egg is more successful, giving up its shell in solid form. The outer surface is a deep brown color spotted with the most delicate white fractal patterns. It’s like snow on dark wood. Cutting the egg in half reveals the yolk, army green and creamy, hidden inside the shiny and gelatinous coke-colored egg “white”. Once two eggs are cut into sixths, we proceed to the tasting. Hailun has prepared the traditional vinegar-based dipping sauces in accordance with her mother’s directions, but I have to try one plain first. The “white” has the texture of a hard boiled egg white, and actually has a similar flavor, very mild. The yolk on the other hand, is like biting into brie without the goodness of flavor. The sharp smell of the eggs, not just from the “bad” one, is obviously emanating from the yolks. They taste strongly of metal and earthy rot. Adding the dipping sauce just attempts to mask the flavor with the tartness of vinegar. Although Hailun comments how long it’s been since she had these, neither of us finish an entire egg. Traditional or not, even the native Chinese don’t always like the century egg. Now at least I can say that I’ve tried one, even if I prefer my eggs fresh and soft boiled.

So, now that I’m eating solid foods again, I am up for food suggestions and adventures of all types.

The real deal on the Master Cleanse

It's been eight days since I ate anything. I'm not hungry.

The Master Cleanse is going pretty well. I'm vaguely surprised that I have this much willpower, but part of it could be stubbornness, after all, how else am i going to use the maple syrup and lemons I've already bought. I'm looking forward actually eating things and variety, but there have been some positive benefits. For one, perhaps for the first time since I left Olin, I'm actually sleeping through the night and finding that 6 hours of sleep is plenty. Second, most days I seem to have lots of energy. It's really quite lovely.

If you're considering doing it, I would say read more about it, then make your decision. Some advice:

• It limits your ability to be social. You can't really go to the bar, grab a bite to eat, or travel very far. Keep that in mind when planning.
• I imagine it's hard to do while living with someone. I have very little edible food in the house, but a roommate would be less fond of this arrangement.
• Don't do the cleanse during the winter; the cost of lemons would kill you.
• You should probably come up with a good way to explain what you're doing in advance. My coworkers still don't get my explanations.
• You need to own a juicer.
• Buying maple syrup in bulk is a good idea. I will probably have consumed 9 cups by the time I quit.
• Your ability to chug will be tested with the salt water flush. I hope you were a college champion of beer drinking.
• Be prepared for some or all of the following negative side effects: feeling cold all the time, a perpetual sore throat, feeling like your mouth is fuzzy, craving food, craving smells, itchy skin and/or a desire to read lot of recipes.

It doesn't sound like a lot of fun, but I think it might be good for me in the end.