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The 21-Day Sugar Detox Recap, Day 1

I know I said I wasn’t going to blog this every day, and I may not, but I’ll at least start chronicling my little adventure and see if there’s enough interest to keep going.

So I started The 21-Day Sugar Detox yesterday.

are-you-in

As I explained, this is about two things for me: losing a few stubborn pounds that I can’t seem to budge and resetting my eating habits which have gotten out of control lately.

I have an obsessive personality and I’m a compulsive eater. Once I start, it’s hard for me to stop. I can wipe out a bag of chips in a single sitting. If I have one piece of pizza, I’m going to have four. Cookies? Forgetaboutit. I can’t leave them alone. Going gluten-free helped some, but I eventually found plenty of replacement foods for my old favorites.

I’ve been told by doctors that I probably have Candida, which is an overgrowth of yeast in the gut that is fed by sugar. Simple carbs turn into sugar, so between my carbs and my sugar, I’m a dream host for that nasty little beasty.

I’m also pretty much an all-or-nothing sorta girl, so “cutting back” has never worked for me. I will cut back for a time but I always end up going overboard again. I really want to break the cycle, and I know that means retraining my habits and my taste buds.

I don’t know what will happen when this 21 days is over, but I definitely do not want to go back to eating the way I’ve been eating for the past few months to a year. Or really, ever. I’d like to move into a modified paleo type of lifestyle after this. But we’ll see.

I’ll need to learn a new way of eating and cooking if it’s really going to stick. That’s what I’m hoping this 21-day challenge will do.

A few people have asked if I’m going to use any artificial sweeteners.

No, no, no, no no!!! I don’t touch that nasty stuff. This program is based on a real food lifestyle. The author is paleo. So this isn’t as much about sugar as it is about eating an overall healthier diet. The focus on sugar is because sugar is addictive, and it is at the root of most of the diseases of modern civilization. If I can get myself off of sugar, everything else should fall into place. Or at least, I hope.

Day One Recap

So day one went pretty well. (I feel like I should have photos of each of my meals . . . or something. Oh well.)

I’m fortunate in that I’m pretty plain jane about my food, and I don’t mind repetition in my diet. If I find one or two breakfasts and lunches that work, I can sustain myself on those for a few weeks.

As for what I’ve eaten so far . . .

For breakfast, that’s gonna be eggs. Omelets with whatever veggies I have on hand, or fried eggs are good too. I miss my Udi’s gluten-free toast, but I can deal. On the days I have more time, I’ll cook up some sausage or bacon to go with. And hopefully I can branch out and try a few of the breakfast recipes in the Sugar Detox cookbooks. I’ve already had her pumpkin pancakes and they’re wonderful.

Gluten Free & Paleo Pumpkin Pancake Recipe

Lunch is fairly easy too. This time of year, I’m all about the salads. I have a couple homemade salad dressing recipes that I love, and I buy those big boxes of organic salad greens. I fill up my bistro bowl (a product sample from Fiesta Dinnerware that I ADORE for a lunch-size salad) with greens, drown them in dressing, and then top with some type of protein. Sometimes that’s just tuna straight out of the can, and my new recent find was the baked turkey breast at Costco. I can slice it myself and I feel like I’m eating the real deal, not deli meat. I hope it doesn’t have any taboo ingredients (I didn’t read the packaging), but I feel like it’s pretty straight forward. I had that on my salad both today and yesterday. I don’t need a lot of veggies to get me excited. I’m fine with mixed greens and some meat on top. It’s all about the salad dressing, really. Lemon Vinaigrette is my fave.

lemon-vinaigrette-recipe

Dinner is a bit more of a challenge, but I do have some good recipes in my arsenal, and I’ll be taking advantage of some of the ones in the Sugar Detox books as well as Diane’s other book, Practical Paleo, which I already own.

Snacks are the most difficult. I like my snacks. And before dinner, I’m used to having a glass of wine and crackers and cheese or chips. Last night we sliced up fresh tomatoes from the CSA, mozzarella I’d bought over the weekend, and drizzled them with homemade balsamic vinegar and olive oil. That was fairly satisfying. My husband’s doing this with me, and he has traded his beer after work for a seltzer with lime. I just drink water. Like I said, I’m a plain jane. And fortunately I enjoy water.

Dinner is a bit more tricky. Being already gluten-free makes it somewhat easier though. I’m used to serving potatoes or rice with almost every meal, so I’m going to have to get creative there. Last night we had Jessie’s salmon with a sour cream sauce (once again, SO SO glad dairy is allowed on the first two levels of The 21-Day Sugar Detox.) And I roasted broccoli and cauliflower alongside it in the same baking pan.

Tonight I plan to make tacos for the fam. Paul and I will take ours on a lettuce wrap. Again, cheese and sour cream are allowed, for now. Happy day!

Related: Level 3 is gonna stink!

Level 3 is when they take away our dairy and legumes. But that’s just one week. I can do anything for one week, right?

I also started a Pinterest Board for 21-Day Sugar Detox Friendly Recipes so I have one place to save the recipes I discover. When I start to feel like I’m in a rut, I can go there and find some “pinspiration.”

Follow Jo-Lynne Shane’s board 21-Day Sugar Detox Recipes & Resources on Pinterest.

Right now I’m not having what I would describe as any cravings. I feel somewhat mellow, but I’m not dragging. I just made myself a cup of coffee as a mid-afternoon pick-me-up. Oh, and I treated myself to a pedicure.

I’m sure I’m still in the honeymoon period. I know it’s going to get harder. The next couple of days should be interesting. Stay tuned!!!

Join The Conversation

11 Responses

  1. Thanks for the link to my yummy salmon!

    No one is going to take away my dairy. But when I did 7, I did absolutely no sugar for a week – no honey, no maple syrup, no artificial sweeteners. The hardest thing for me was drinking my coffee without sweetener! But it was amazing how well I felt, even after a few days. Diet Coke is still a problem for me, and I know cutting it out also helped with my mood and cravings. I was amazed at how much easier it was for me to only eat when I was hungry when there were not sugar cravings. It was really interesting. I’ve been trying to cut back carbs and sugars right now, too, since (I like to blame birth control) I managed to gain back all the weight I lost after Joshua was born and up until this winter.

    If you can eat it, I made this summer squash soup yesterday, and it’s delicious: https://www.chattavore.com/2014/08/11/summer-squash-soup/

    1. That looks good! I think it’s legal. 🙂 And we get a lot of squash/zucchini from our CSA and my kids don’t care for it roasted, so this is a good way to use it up! I was going to try my hand at a gluten-free zucchini bread for the blog, but now that’s on hold for a while. 🙂

  2. I hope you’ll blog each day of your 21 Days, although I realize that’s a tall order. I’m so interested to see how you feel during and after. I’ve looked at this SO many times and chicken out each and every time. I’ll be cheering you on from the sidelines!

  3. Thanks for sharing your journey with this! I’m exactly like you with my eating habits, and I know a reset would be really good for me. But I’m scared to try it! I will be following along to see how you like it 🙂

  4. I actually wish you would write about each day! I would love to hear how each day goes…triumphs and trials. 🙂

  5. Wow…this is just what I needed…I’m in a real funk! Please continue to share your journey ’cause I plan to join you! I just had this discussion with my Chiropractor yesterday — I’m all or nothing as well, so the baby steps don’t work for me. I relate to you on so many ways, from the heel problems to the compulsive eating, so please keep sharing; feels great to know it’s not just me!

  6. Thanks so much for sharing your 21 day sugar detox. I will be looking forward to all you can share about this journey as I am very interested in trying it.

  7. OMG…I think you could sign my name to this post as everything you said sounds exactly like me. I love to eat and if it’s there, I will eat it. I LOVE my sweets and I just don’t know if I could give them up? I would so love to try the detox just to see if I would “feel” better all round but I don’t know if I can discipline myself to eating healthy and without sweets everyday. I am very interested in following your journey and cheering you on and seeing how strict you have to be every day. Thanks for taking time to post and share your journey as I know it will be time consuming but in the end, you may be the inspiration that some of us need!

  8. We have similar struggles with food! We’re going on vacation, and then school starts, and I need to figure something out. I would love to hear your thoughts on the detox, so blog away on it! In all your free time, that is. 😉

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