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Sunday, March 2, 2014

The 21-Day Sugar Detox - Recap

So, I survived.

I am an emotional eater. That means I suffer from thoughts such as, "How sad, that donut in my stomach is all alone; let's give it two more friends and a pizza party," and, "If I were a caveman and this box of chocolates dropped in my lap, what would I do? Eat the whole thing, because I have no idea what chocolate is...it might run away, and I'll have lost my chance."

While I am a fan of flowing, never-ending prose, I've summarized the highlights of the last 21 days into three lists.

The Pros -
1. I am sleeping so much better, and waking up refreshed. Even on the weekends, I don't feel the need to sleep in--although today, while I was ready to go at 5:30, I did stay in bed until almost 7:00.
2. The urge to snack every thirty minutes is gone. It has been since the beginning.
3. Almost immediately from the start, I dropped a lot of the bloating troubles I've had. (See Con #2)
4. I've learned some foods I am sensitive to. I am pretty sure removing gluten, grains and legumes helped a lot. (Again, see Con #2.)
5. Three weeks without alcohol, except for the 1 oz. I had to celebrate our move, has made me a very cheap date.
6. My palate has changed significantly. Sweet potatoes and carrots taste like candy. The thought of a donut makes my taste buds retreat in fear.
7. I didn't have bad acne before, but my skin looks a little better.
8. I cooked a lot!

The Cons-
1. I've had to start eating meat again. I am doing it as ethically as I can short of hunting it myself.
2. I've learned some foods that I am sensitive too. Not good news. I had hoped it was the increase in nuts/seeds I was consuming, but it is more likely dairy--which is allowed in full-fat forms without specified portions on the 21DSD Level 2. I ate way too much cheese.
3. In the beginning, any physical activity (eg., walking up the stairs, moving an entire apartment) had me exhausted. This went away, but more aggressive physical activity
4. The entire detox, Aaron would tell me occasionally that my "color was off." My smartass retort was, "Maybe it's finally ON." But no, it was really off.
5. Because of my moral objection to eating meat, I spent a lot of money on food to make sure it was as humane and sustainable as possible. (This included finding out the name of a cheese maker and yes, that her goats all had names; buying pastured eggs from the most local farms I could find at Whole Foods; massive amounts of Googling and talking to butchers about the conditions the meat was raised in, etc. etc.)

The Mehs -Not good, not bad just things
1. Three weeks is not enough time to tell if this has an effect on my endurance.
2. My net loss weight is zero, due to Con #2.
3. Ketosis breath. Blech. Not really a con, since it signifies good things, but it does mean I brush my teeth more to get the taste out of my mouth.
4. I'm thirsty all the time. When I do wake up in the middle of the night, it's to get water, or to pee because I've had so much water.


I cringe at the word "detox." While it may be, for lack of a better word, a "detox," I think it's more than that. This is a lifestyle change. This is my default, go-to way of eating. Donuts and pizza are the rare exceptions rather than the rule. Processed soy products, frozen dinners, packaged foods, wheat-based dinners, grain-centric meals are not my ideal way of eating--it never was. But the addiction to those foods is gone.

Would I do it again? Heck yes. WILL I do it again? Most likely, but since I do plan on this being the majority of my diet from now on, it will be more as a hard reset when I get off-track.

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