Feb 24, 2014

21 Day Sugar Detox - {Brief} Week 1 Recap

Warning: This post is raw (unedited) and without pictures. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you come back tomorrow. There will be pictures tomorrow, swearsies.

It's been 7 whole days since I started the 21 Day Sugar Detox last Monday! I seriously can't believe it. I don't think I've ever stuck to something new dietary related (besides that time I chose to become a vegetarian) for more than a few days. I wanted to give you a day by day recap on here today for Day 1 of Jen's 7 Posts in 7 Days challenge!

The Sunday before I began, I bought the book and started flipping through. As I read the first few chapters, I realized I should have taken at least a few days to prep, not one, but my hard-headed self wanted to start the next day, so I did. The book helps you determine which level and modifications you might use. As this is my first time, I chose Level 1; since I eat fish, but not meat, and workout fairly regularly, I chose both the Energy and Pescetarian/Vegetarian modifications. Things got a little tricky here because the book provides a very detailed meal plan for each level -- but only for meat eaters. Since I had a few modifications to account for and was beginning to feel overwhelmed, I decided to find a bunch of recipes I wanted to try and go from there. I would eat what I felt like my body needed; if I didn't need any starchy carbs that day, I wouldn't eat a cup of sweet potato.

The next day (the first day of the detox) I made myself breakfast and went grocery shopping. As someone who buys a lot of fruits and veggies every week, I was shocked at the bill. Way more than normal. But I told myself it was okay, I bought a lot of things this week that would last for multiple weeks including real butter, a large jar of almond butter, and many cans of coconut milk.

Day 1 was stressful because I had to make every single meal from scratch (the detox allows for very minimal processed foods). But it ended up being worth it because I didn't have to cook at all the next day -- leftovers! I got into a better groove with cooking as the week progressed. Pretty much every meal I made would yield leftovers for at least one other meal. Some recipes, like the book's broccoli herb egg muffins that I made on Monday, lasted me all week long. I enjoyed trying new recipes from both the book and online. So many seasoned Paleo bloggers have done the detox and concocted their own "21DSD Approved" recipes.

Days 1-2 were rough. I decided to cut back to one cup of coffee in the morning at the start of the detox so that mixed with the lack of my usual sugar and carbs made for a very tired girl with a very foggy brain. With some extra naps I made it, though!

Days 3-4 have been my best so far. I had so much energy both days! When it dawned on me that cauliflower crust pizza was 21DSD approved, I ran to the grocery store to get some cheese and was so excited to make it for dinner. Pizza is my favorite food ever so this was a fun little way to cheat without actually cheating.

Day 5 was almost as good as days 3-4, but I started to lose some of that energy. The excitement of starting the detox began to fade. But I kept on trucking and had a great day! By this point, I was starting to get a little more sleep than usual. I've never had a problem falling asleep (counting my blessings, believe me...my husband is the opposite) but I am such a light sleeper and wake up at least once or twice every night. I wasn't doing that anymore!

Days 6-7 got a little worse. I was exhausted and the temptations of the weekend were tempting me. My husband and I love going out for drinks and to eat, or ordering a pizza and binge watching shows on the weekend. This weekend was the first that we didn't and it was weird. But! My husband got pizza and I didn't have a single bite. In fact, I haven't cheated on this detox at all yet. Woohoo!

Okay well in order to stick to this 7x7 challenge, this post is going up before I fall asleep on my keyboard. Definitely no perfectionism here tonight, y'all.

Have you ever done a dietary detox of some sort? Fun? Awful? Tell me your stories!

4 comments:

  1. I was actually up the other night looking at this diet. Hemming and Hawing. Can I? Should I? Too much? What about tea and coffee and Zzzzzzzzzzz I passed out. I look at these things in the middle of the night. I don't know if I am ready to take the plunge, but I am TOTALLY ready to read up on how you fare!
    :)

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    1. I'll keep you updated! I cut back on my caffeine intake as well and doing both simultaneously have left me feeling tired on and off throughout. I hear your energy levels start to pick up around this time, though, and I hope that's true! (Believe me though, I'm counting down the days until I can have a sandwich and a cookie!)

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  2. I am SO proud of you for sticking to this for a solid week! I find that after a few days in a row I'm able to stay strong provided I avoid overwhelming myself with temptations (sometimes if there is extra food in the break room at work I throw it out so nobody can have it and I don't have to look at it). If there was a pizza in my condo, I would have eaten some and "started over." GREAT job staying strong! <3

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    1. Thank you!!!! <3 It's been an interesting journey for sure. And good for you for getting rid of temptations like that! I did the same at the start of this detox and I'm convinced it's made things easier!

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