Cravings

Yes, it is only day 3 of round 3 and it feels as if it could be day 25. Although I had solid foods this weekend, because I started my cleanse on March 2nd, I have mostly been drinking smoothies for the past week. Goodness, do I miss the crispy crunch of dry cereal! To me, cereal could have been considered a food group of its own. There are plenty of vegan cereals out there, so when I am done with the cleanse I have many options; however I am not just going vegan but I am trying to treat my body better and eat better foods.
I haven't had cereal with dairy milk since early January and had been eating cereal with soy or plain oatmeal with wild blueberries tossed in (frozen as they are not in season.) And even though oatmeal didn't have a 'crunch' like cereal, I am missing that too.
I have also found that when I am very hungry a smoothie does not initially satisfy my hunger. Because I drink the smoothies slowly my stomach does not immediately get the feeling of fullness as it would if I chowed down on a bowl of cereal. Smoothies do satisfy my hunger after I have finished one & I suppose that is all that matters.
I have been perusing tons of vegan blogs and found out that Oprah did a vegan cleanse this past year.
 http://www.oprah.com/food/The-21-Day-Cleanse-Oprahs-Blog-1
Although she did not have smoothies (only vegan foods) she seemed to be having some of the same issues that I am having - feelings of withdrawl and cravings to eat things that we know we shouldn't. The majority of my cravings have been for things that are crunchy - that I can chew. However, cheese is the only animal product that I am having difficulty with. Before I was vegan I thought about cheese a lot - I love cheese! And now, I feel like it is on my brain even more. I am hoping that at the end of my 21 days those cravings will have passed.