Paddler Spotlight - Tina and David!

Hometown?
Tina: Sunnyvale, CA
David: I was born in Nakhon Sawan, Thailand. I moved to the U.S. before I turned 1, and pretty much grew up in the San Fernando and Santa Clarita valleys. My first job was ride operator at Magic Mountain.

Birthday?
Tina: 10/24
David: 11/20. This year I turn 27, just like last year, and the year before, and so on

Favorite Food(s)?
Tina: Lots! I enjoy everything from simple taiwanese breakfast food, hawaiian fried rice with an egg on top, french baguettes, cake and ice cream to any italian food in Italy, fresh hamachi sashimi, filet mignon, fresh (still moving) steamed crab, dark chocolate and fancy restaurant tasting menus.
David: Thai food (make it spicy!!!), sushi, Korean bbq

How long have you been paddling for?
Tina: Summer 2004, all with the Space Dragons
David: Dragon boats since the beginning of 2008. I did a little kayaking in 2005.

Why do you paddle?
Tina: I can't seem to stop. I love being on the water and enjoying the outdoors.
David: It is a regimented way for me to get and stay in shape. It also motivates me to stay active off the water so that I can make my best possible contribution to the team and for my own health.

Are you a better Paddler when you are Happy or Angry?
Tina: Happy cause it's much easier to focus. The best races are the ones I don't remember paddling, only crossing the finishing line.
David: I'm in a zone when I'm paddling...you could almost call it emotionless. None of my problems get in the boat with me. Of course, I'm always happy to be around the team. This team won't let you remain angry or sad for long.

Favorite or notable Space Dragon moment(s)?
Tina: Flag catching in Portland last year, Gasping for air after paddling with the SD women's team during my first summer, Circle of love after LB races, and All the ski trips to Mammoth
David: - '08 San Francisco Men's Huli...the terrified look on Lil' Lui's face was priceless.
- One of our paddlers puking during practice.
- Making Comp 1A at Big LB as part of SD Red...definitely makes one feel better about all the hard work put into practice and conditioning!
- Joe and Yonnie's surprise celebration.
- These are just a few notable moments! Being on this team means that there have been many, and there will be many more to come!

How do you prepare yourself for a Race?
Tina: I try to get some sleep and then eat lightly until I'm done racing.
David: I taper off my workout starting about 1 1/2 weeks prior to a tournament. I'll start carb-loading about 48 hours prior, which doesn't mean "pig out" on pasta! Finally, I try to get plenty of sleep each night of the tournament and plenty of rest between races, running the race sequence in my head over and over again.

Any hobbies, activities, interests outside of paddling?
Tina: Traveling! So many places to see, so little time. In the next few years I hope to make it to New Zealand, the Narrows hike in Zion, Vietnam, Japan, Santa Fe NM, Arches national park, and England/Ireland/Scotland
David: Among my favorites, I love hiking, mountain biking, snowboarding, visiting places of local historical interest, listening to and making electronic music, and, as you all very well know, PHOTOGRAPHY! I was taking Jeet Kune Do (Bruce Lee's martial arts concepts) from one of his original students at IMB Academy in Torrance, but have moved too far away from that school to make that feasible now. I also love tennis, but it's been hard finding people to play with or places to play for the past few years. :(

Any advice for new Paddlers?
Tina: It's frustrating at first but it gets easier. And don't worry, some of the vets need naps after practice too.
David: I won't sugarcoat it: You're gonna hurt for a couple days the first few times you come. But stick with it...the pain will lessen, your endurance will build, your muscles will grow, your torso will shrink, and the rewards of being a part of this team are plentiful and very satisfying!

Paddling-wise, any particular goals for yourself or the team?
Tina: Longer, faster, harder?
David: I can be stronger, and I can work out off the water harder. I will push myself harder than last year. As humans, we should always strive for personal growth, and make each year better than the last. As Coach Em always says, "You get out of it what you put into it."

If you could change one thing about the Team, what would it be?
Tina: I wish that we all lived closer to each other and the practice site. Wouldn't it be cool to take a long lunch from work to paddle? :-)
David: I would make our female paddlers uglier, this way I could concentrate 100% on paddling. Then again, that's one of the incentives of paddling on this team: HOT WOMEN! Shucks, I don't know...

Favorite part about being a Space Dragon?
Tina: The team attitude, we work hard and we love competition but we also take care of each other and have fun off the water.
David: This is not just a team, it's a family! It never ceases to amaze me how much this team loves each other and takes care of its own. It would break my heart to not be a Space Dragon someday.

You have a single brother or sister. What Space Dragon would you consider hooking them up with?
Tina: Luckily my bro's not single so I don't have to answer!
David: Joanne. I love flying China Airlines because their female crews are always so beautiful, and pretty darn hot in those uniforms. Joanne would fit right in. Now I need to find a brother. Any volunteers?

Most interesting character you've met through the team?
Tina: Gio (our caller from a few years ago) and her attitude when she got all fired up in a race and Janice cause she can go from [almost] flashing the mens team to super nurse without missing a beat
David: This has got be Devant, but with Galen a close second. Both guys are very interesting, funny, and outgoing, if not a little peculiar.

Any interesting facts about yourself - or secrets that you want to divulge?
Tina: Secrets with you guys? ha!
David: I'm a big, big NASCAR fan. The "Asian Redneck" my friends and colleagues have often called me. I prefer to own Japanese, German, or Italian engineering as my own personal vehicles, but when it comes to auto racing, I'm all about American horsepower. Go Jimmie Johnson (#48)!

Who got you into Space dragons/Dragonboating?
Tina: I saw that there was a dragonboat team at work and thought it would be fun to try. I was going to try the sailing club but I missed the intro class.
David: A friend had told me about dragon boating in mid-2007. I looked up the sport and thought it was interesting. In January 2008, I looked up teams on the Internet and decided to join Space Dragons. They had a cool team color, an awesome logo, an air of friendliness about them, and was the team of Northrup Grumman. I worked on Grumman F-14 Tomcats for 6 years in the Navy. I still hesitated, but a couple of weeks later I met Grace through this same friend, and she convinced me to join right away. Not only did Space Dragons become my beloved dragon boat team and family, but Grace also went on to become one of my dearest friends.

Is Galen a hottie?
Tina: Of Course!
David: So much so, that if I were single, I would not have him around me to increase my own chances at hooking up with someone.

Mammoth Trip!!

What do you get when you have 40 Space Ripples (SD + RE), 3-4 nights in a mansion, 46" of fresh snow and lots of love??!!

absolute mayhem, laughter, space ripple love and fun times.



The photos speak for itself, so I'll just post some highlights:

• Sardines (reverse hide-and-go-seek, 2 people hide and everyone hides with them once they're found) with 40 people in the dark. Surprisingly the house was big enough that we had some REALLY good hiding spots!! Best part was the "false alarm" while Aaron and I were hiding. Somehow people started hiding in the closet together, only to find out at the end that we weren't there!!
• Finishing all the liquor in the house...and I mean AAALLLL!!
• Running out of Jackie's delicious pasta sauce on Friday night - man you were all so hungry!!!
• Fitting 9 people in the 3rd floor 4-6 person hot tub. Jeremy opening the 2nd floor door to get beer - only to see a waterfall of water from the hot tub overflow above. And when everyone got out of the hot tub - the water level shrank 1.5 feet.
• Sledding behind the house and creating ramps for jumps - and using human shields to prevent us from crashing into the house. We had a couple close calls!
  
• Fitting 5 people in the master bath jacuzzi
• Massage chains everywhere!
• All the love and fun
  

And I'd like to give special thanks to those that helped w/ the organizing!

• Emily for taking care of the finances while I was in London
• Emily, Jimmy and Charlie for helping with the Costco run and driving up the food
• Tran/Robert for buying the market foods
• Brad for helping me organize on the RE side
• Mayana, Tran, Jackie, Sondra, Galen, Kat, Lewis, Aaron, Conroy, Jane, Michael P and a whole bunch of others that helped cook all that wonderful yummy food and cleaned and took down the trash!
  
• And to everyone for being safe and having a blast!!

See you all next year for Mammoth 2010 =)

Space Ripple Love,
Janet

Loss in the Community

SD Family,

By now many of you have heard of the unfortunate news involving two of our fellow dragon boaters in Northern California. Please keep Austin and his family in your hearts and prayers. We offer our deepest, deepest condolences for the loss of Austin.

A memorial fund has been established in honor of Austin and for his wife Cat, as she and all of his family and friends go through these most difficult times: http://jchan.com/austin/

SD Calendar....February

You wanted it, you demanded it, yep it's the return of the SD calendar and, yes, we are still taking money for it.


Here at Space Dragons Headquarters, we are all about equal rights and equal opportunities for all. We turn a blind eye, be it someone's ethnicity, gender, sexual preference, hairiness...

We believe Mr February, that's right we said MISTER FEBRUARY, is one sexy Mo-Fo

AJ Chan

Mr. February 2009

Mr. February: A.J. Chan
DOB: July 3rd
Likes: Snow Bunnies, sleeping, LA Kings, muffins, BK breakfasts, leftovers, food, eating, and spending alone time with Jessica Rabbit and video game vixen Lara Croft in mind.
Dislikes: Making audiences and actors on stage laugh with his “raise the dead” type sneezes, friends “pants-ing” him in public, narcoleptic occurrences at the most inconvenient times, and fear of being violated by aliens…sexually.

Here is Mr. February's, A.J. Chan's, take on Dragon Boating:
“When you aren’t doing it, it looks so nice and serene. But when you’re doing it…it (expletive) sucks!!!”

We may have overheard A.J. say these wise words:
“It is important to breathe during a race. When I focus on my (lead) strokes, I paddle hard and I breeeeeaaaathe. When I race, I am an animal….under control!!”

Yes ladies, to answer the question burning in your mind, this manly man, besides being constantly mistaken as Janet's other half, a voracious appetite, and difficulties in seeing green flags against a green backdrop, AJ Chan is SINGLE and is AVAILABLE.

If you would like to meet Mr. February - Come to a Space Dragon practice near you!

(actual document has been uploaded to: http://rapidshare.com/files/199965319/Mr__February_Final.rtf)

Coaches Spotlight - Emily and Joe!!

Hometown?
Emily: Los Angeles, CA. I remember in college, people were amazed that I actually lived in LA city because pretty much everyone who says they're from "LA" is from a suburb.
Joe: Born in Montebello, Ca... raised in Huntington Beach

Birthday?
Emily: 12/1
Joe: 1/11

Favorite Food(s)?
Emily: Mushrooms. Yakitori. Ramen. Artichoke. Popcorn. Fruit
Joe: Meat - steak, prime rib, ribs… also enjoy Mexican food a lot.

How long have you been paddling for?
Emily: Since 2003. I started paddling in Seattle, then paddled some in Boston, before I finally settled in LA in 2004. I feel like because of that, I have been lucky to have learned several different techniques from the beginning and experienced different coaching styles.
Joe: Since we were originally called "Water Dragons"... Pearl, how long ago was that???

Why do you paddle?
Emily: Lots of reasons. It helps me unwind, and it's a great competitive outlet. I like the routine of having something to do on the weekends. But, it's the fact that our team is such a family that really makes me look forward to it every week.
Joe: Started out enjoying a different kind of workout (rather than the typical treadmill, stationary bike, weights, etc)... now enjoy watching everyone suff- err… I mean build their endurance, watching the team get better each year and seeing how individuals make great strides in improving their personal health!!!

Are you a better Paddler when you are Happy or Angry?
Emily: Angry for sure. Anger -> Aggression -> Kick the water's ass. I'm ultra competitive, so I'll just imagine I'm racing against my nemesis and that motivates me to push harder.
Joe: How about we just say "I'm happy I didn't have a heart attack at the end of a race!!!"

Favorite or notable Space Dragon moment(s)?
Emily: Too many...
- John's P-speech in Big LB last year
- Making it into Divison 1A in Big LB last year
- Seeing little ice balls of hail on the boats in practice one morning
- Geo screaming "who's f-ing old now?!" to a college team we beat in Vegas
- Joe and Wade and their emotional moments
- Feeling the mens boat slowly tip over in SF last year, and subsequently getting to watch a race from the chase boat
By no means are these the best, just a selection of the many fond memories I have of being on this team. =)

Joe: There's a lot of moments - here's just a few:

* Vegas, half the team was wasted BEFORE the tournament - this started the policy of "Joe Says No" (or was that Ceez asking the infamous question, "can we full around before a tournament???")!!!
* I'll just say 2007 Long Beach was a great moment (Editorial note - TEAR!)

* Pearl (steering at the time) flat out would NOT follow my directions and everybody needed to go to the restroom - what the hell was up with that???!!! That practice led to SD/LARD throwing Yonnie and I a "Congratulations, surprise marriage party" - Thank You!!!

How do you prepare yourself for a Race?
Emily: Rest a lot the week before, eat healthy and drink lots of water. The night before I try to sleep early (though usually I can't sleep since I'm so excited!). I really like our mental drills because they help me focus. Once I sit in the boat, I'm all business.
Joe: Anything I can do to keep from having a heart attack in a race.

Any hobbies, activities, interests outside of paddling?
Emily: Again, too many. I love pretty much anything outdoors, especially backpacking and camping road trips.
Joe: Working out (when I can), movies, used to play taiko (Japanese drums) - hope to go back one day.

Any advice for new Paddlers?
Emily: Stick with it. We've all been there, through the days of soreness and the awkward motions. Practice is really early on Sat/Sun morning, but it's totally worth it.
Joe: Prepare to suff- err…(darn, there's that word again - sorry), I mean have fun, enjoy the camaraderie - the workouts can be a little tough but the coaches will do the best they can to help you, plus you have the whole boat encouraging you to "hang-in there".

Paddling-wise, any particular goals for yourself or the team?
Emily: For myself - I have started working out at the gym instead of just relying on regular practice. My "reach" goal is to be good enough to make it on the Premier Mixed boat on Team USA for the World Championship race in Prague this year, though my more realistic goal is to make it on the Womens crew. For the team - I still can't believe we made it to Division 1A in Big LB AND Comp A in SF last year. I am so so so proud of our mixed crews. So, my goal for this year is for our Mens/Womens/Masters boats to represent as well!
Joe: To bring out the absolute best from the team and put on the line… and win or lose, they still know how to have a good time - the SD way!!!

If you could change one thing about the Team, what would it be?
Emily: Easy. Practice would never start before 9am. =).
Joe: Maybe we could try and leave the "fist of fury" home!!!

Favorite part about being a Space Dragon?
Emily: I love that we have so much fun both on and off the water. I can think of no better way to end Big LB every year than by hanging out at the beach until we get kicked out.
Joe: Just enjoy watching how this team has grown (in and outside the boat)… plus we have the BEST LOGO out there!!!

You have a single brother or sister. What Space Dragon would you consider hooking them up with?
Emily: The two sexiest Space Dragons - Tran and Galen!
Joe: Sister's married… brother, single, but won't hook-up with someone who gets up that early to go workout - sorry ladies.

Most interesting character you've met through the team?
Emily: Devant. He's always so upbeat, positive and enthusiastic, and I love the hair style!!
Joe: The Poi Pounders (Ceez, Deej and whoever else they brought) they brought a whole new personality when they joined the team.
My initial reaction - "God help us"… to "Thank God we have them on our team" ;-)


Who got you into Space dragons/Dragonboating?
Emily: In college, one of my friends, Andy So, was telling me that he joined a dragon boat team in NYC (Metro Athletic Dragons). I was really into Lion Dance at the time, so dragon boat sounded like a similar way to stay connected w/ my Chinese culture. When I interned at Microsoft in Seattle, an email was sent out to the intern distribution saying they were putting together a corporate team, coached by some folks from Hot Sake. I joined that and had a great time. Then I saw dragon boats practicing outside my window on the Charles River in Boston and ended up paddling w/ an MIT team, coached by paddlers from the Dragon Boat Club of Boston. By then I figured out that everywhere must have dragon boat teams, so I Google searched "NGST dragon boat" before I even moved out here and out popped Pearl's email address. I started paddling w/ Space Dragons before I even started working at Northrop.
Joe: An acquaintance from TRW… got a call in the middle of the day, asked if I would be interested in paddling for tournament in Long Beach… and the rest is history.

Is Galen a hottie?
Emily: Galen is a ketchup bottle
Joe: pass…

Pool practice footage

Great turnout at both Saturday Pool practice & Sunday practice!

Saturday Pool practice was definitely interesting.
Lots of static water & a bumpy ride, coupled with lots of different types of paddles being used on each boat, proved to pose an interesting environment and challenge - but through it, we can still film great paddling technique examples as well as lot of opportunities for improvement - great job to everyone for showing up, and thanks to the association for making the venue available to us.

Some footage from Wade & Brian's cameras have been posted and is available for your viewing.
Click here. Watch in HD!

Happy Hour and Practice

Ever seen Secret or heard dueling Pianos?

Well now is your chance - to check out a place that sorta does it. Space Dragons will be at Saint Rocke THIS Friday 2/13. Enjoy 1/2 off apps, $3 drafts, $5 wines, and $7 martinis. 5:30-???.


Unfortunately, there will not be any dueling pianos that night, BUT never fear there will be live music featuring Michael Myrdal (whomever he is) and whatever Galen happens to be singing at that time...

Free Street Parking or you can pay the valet behind Saint Rocke $5 or find some parking across the streeet in back of Hermosa Salon for free.  Do NOT park in the CVS lot.

Hungover from an awesome HH and not sure what to do? We've got the perfect cure for you...


PRACTICE!


That's right this Saturday(2/14) ONLY,
a SPECIAL practice will be held in a PRIVATE facility made just for us,
Starting at 0745 to 1000AM we have the place reserved by us

2507 Loma St
South El Monte CA


Come check out the new digs and see yourself paddle in all of your glory - just remember to bring your WAIVER, normal workout materials(paddle, pfd - if you need it, dryfit or similar), warm change of clothes, towel, and a refreshing beverage for you and me.

No practice this weekend

Due to weather/water conditions, practice is cancelled this weekend.
Enjoy the weekend off, get your personal workouts in!

Next practice will be Saturday 2/14, 8-10 @ the South El Monte Training Center.
Info here.

Time for some Powder...

Well it's time for our annual Space Dragon Mammoth trip, this year is even better with the added participation of the bestest sister team ever - Ripple Effect.

Just a few friendly reminders before we go:

1. Bring snow chains or AWD/4WD with snow tires - Drive slow and safe...

2. National Wear Red Day is Friday, February 6 - so wear something red in support of awareness towards Women's heart disease

3. Make sure your clothes fit correctly - probably nsfw

4. Have a Safe and Fun time

5. Most importantly...

JOE SAYS YES!

&

as always Ceez would like to remind us to ...

"Use protection!"

* also slightly nsfw but make sure you have sound*

Video Footage

2/14/08, 8-10 am
First-ever Space Dragons' practice @ South El Monte Dragon Boat Training Facility
2507 Loma Street, South El Monte
Carpool is encouraged!

Will be a fantastic opportunity to watch yourself on video & receive feedback to hone your technique!

Things to bring:
Normal practice gear (no PFD required)
Warm clothes/change of clothes (pool is outdoors)
Water/drink of choice - no water available at facility
Towel

Also - reminder that over 20 videos of Space Dragons practice (from Sept 2008) are available online and in HD! Check yourselves out!
Click here.

Paddler Spotlight! Lisa and Lewis

Hometown?
Lisa: SF
Lewis: Memphis, TN

Birthday?

Lisa: 5/1

Lewis: 3/2

Favorite Food(s)?
Lisa: pasta
Lewis: Lasagna, noodles, meat (fried or grilled, but anything else is ok), beer

How long have you been paddling for?
Lisa: almost 8 years.
Lewis: 2 years?

Why do you paddle?
Lisa: Mainly for the people. Couldn't stay on a team if it didn't have an awesome group of people. I also love the competition and the sportsmanship within the dragonboat community as a whole.
Lewis: It's a nice break from school and lab. People are cool and fun to hang out with.

Are you a better Paddler when you are Happy or Angry?
Lisa: better paddler overall when i'm happy and i think a stronger one when i'm angry. it helps me vent.
Lewis: Happy? Don't know if I've ever paddled angry...

Favorite or notable Space Dragon moment(s)?
Lisa: When AJ steered us to the flag in Portland without knowing where it really was.
Lewis: Tipping over in the SF Bay, my newbie friend puking over the side of the boat during practice

How do you prepare yourself for a Race?
Lisa: Having one drink the night before... and eating pasta.
Lewis: Eat, Drink, Be Merry

Any hobbies, activities, interests outside of paddling?
Lisa: volleyball, biking to the beach, and traveling to new places.
Lewis: School, Lab, Science, Snowboarding, Biking, Brewing, Eating

Any advice for new Paddlers?
Lisa: don't take criticism personally.
Lewis: Hurts like hell when you start, but it gets easier/better with practice

Paddling-wise, any particular goals for yourself or the team?
Lisa: Make it to the top someday (i.e. Worlds or Olympics, if that ever happens!)
Lewis: *Shrug* Have fun, get faster

If you could change one thing about the Team, what would it be?
Lisa: we need more younger guys.
Lewis: More variety in after practice eatery selection

Favorite part about being a Space Dragon?
Lisa: being able to wear the royal blue jersey.
Lewis: Eating, Drinking, Being Merry

You have a single brother or sister. What Space Dragon would you consider hooking them up with?
Lisa: Galen, I think he's the most desperate. =P
Lewis: Galen, he's always crying about being single and me not introducing him to people. That should shut him up.

Most interesting character you've met through the team?
Lisa: Devant, he gives off a very open minded free spirit vibe. He's always rockin a smile, down for anything, and always singing!
Lewis: Jim...don't know anyone else who's won a WSOP event

Any interesting facts about yourself - or secrets that you want to divulge?
Lisa: One major pet peeve is when people, ESPECIALLY dboaters, refer to paddling as "rowing". Lewis: I dunno, you first

Who got you into Space dragons/Dragonboating?
Lisa: I got into dragon boat through my high school teacher. I had originally wanted to do crew but never got a chance to. I still want to do that one day.
Lewis: Galen

Finally, the most important question of all....Is Galen a hottie?
Lisa: I will come back to this one.
Lewis: umm...is this question really necessary?

Anyone up for a light jog?

May 17th Kathleen will be running the Bay to Breakers race in San Francisco and wanted to give a shout out to any Space Dragons who might be interested.  The race starts near the Embarcadero and goes only a measly 7.46 miles across the peninsula to the ocean. There's one (small-teeny-tiny) hill, and then it's a slight downward grade all the way to the end. You can run or walk; be sober (or not); dress normally, in costume, or nothing at all (it's unfortunate that the hot people don't normally take this option!).  Registration is still open, but it fills up pretty fast (www.baytobreakers.com)  

This is one of the craziest experiences that Kathleen has ever had! From the flinging of tortillas at the start of the race, to the Smurfs that gather midway through the race at the big mushroom, to the salmon that start at the opposite end of the race and run "upstream".  

Contact Kathleen if you're interested, it's really a fun weekend!!

Ohh and Congrats to Wade for whomping on his marathon, Lisa for destroying her half, Pearl for crushing the 10K, and Christine for dominating the 10K.  A great way to celebrate "Men's Valentine's Day"

It's Cleansing Time - The Final Results

Spring is almost here but more importantly Tempe is almost here.

As such, it is time to clean our homes and our bodies...so to speak. Recently, Pearl and I did a cleanse - okay, Pearl did and I failed after 6 days due to family reasons - and we both got inundated with a lot of questions so I figure why not post about it and our experiences. So for the rest of the weak (haha get it?) I will blog about ways to detoxify your body.

This is NOT a requirement of Space Dragons but something fun and different to do that may or may not improve your health. I highly recommend starting after Superbowl Sunday(and Mammoth if you are going) but well in advance of Tempe - When one goes detoxing , it's hard to motivate yourself to workout (more so than usual) though the Princess went to ALL of the SD practices while on the plan...Did you when you weren't?

The idea behind it, is that we put all these processed foods into our bodies every day and it takes a lot of effort for our kidneys and liver to clean our bodies from the possible toxins that we maybe putting in. By doing a cleanse, one eats helthier food - or no food that will give the kidneys and liver a break so that these organs can clean the rest of our bodies (blood other organs etc.) rather than keeping up with what we put in. Theoretically, this means you end up with more energy, feel more lively, and other general health benefits by the end of it. Even if it is heebyjeeby science, if you believe it, the placebo affect will surely work somewhat...Note these cleanses, though they are diets, are NOT intended to loose weight. All the weight you lose is a side effect of the cleanse and most likely you will gain it back. That said, the numbers on the scale are pretty impressive and maybe you will strive harder not to gain it back by better dietary choices

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So the Final Result? 

During the cleanse,  both of us missed chewing and thought a lot about food that we will hit up when we finished.  In fact the last 2 nights that I was on the cleanse, I had a hard time sleeping because I would just lie in bed drooling over what I was gonna stuff in my mouth.   The first thing I had?   A doughnut and it was darn good!   I followed that up... with another doughnut.   # pieces of fried chicken, some mac salad, etc.  So as you can see, I had good intentions but I ultimately failed in changing my bad nutritional habits.  Essentially, that is the goal, to achieve lifestyle changes that affect your body into a healthier, leaner you.

Between Pearl and I, we dropped together 10 lbs of recordable weight...but remember all of that weight will likely be gained back - esp if you follow that up with the Galen diet plan.  The interesting thing that we both noticed is that food tastes a lot better and that we sometimes miss the lemonade.  

Was it worth it?  Not so much for Pearl, since she doesn't think she needs to shock/jolt her system into healthiness.  I, on the other hand, thought it was great since it was more of a mental challenge than anything else to me.  I think I would love to see if I will be able to conquer the challenge fully instead of wussing out 60% of the way in.  Ultimately, the decision is up to you whether or not you would want to cleanse.  But I would recommend that what ever you choose,  go full throtle and enjoy life.