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THE 21-DAY SUGAR DETOX Day 6 Recap

Today is day 7. It’s hard to believe I haven’t even completed a week of my 21-Day Sugar Detox. (If you’re interested, this is the program I’m following, and that’s an affiliate link.)

I really did pick the right time to do it. There’s not much going on in my life at the moment to derail me — no travel, no social functions, no plans of any sort. Just plowing through the last few weeks of summer, babying my finicky feet, and trying to get the kids ready to go back to school.

Yesterday was pretty uneventful. I think the main thing of note is that 5:00 rolled around and I never once thought about my nightly cocktail. I realized it later on. A neighbor even stopped by, and we both just had water while we sat on the deck to chat, and I didn’t think much about it.

I still worry about what will happen when the 21 days is over. I know I need to take it one day at a time and decide how I want to proceed when I get there. I am terrified of falling back into old habits. My mother would tell me, “Don’t borrow trouble.” And I know that’s good advice. So I’m trying not to think to much about that.

Yesterday was Sunday and Day 6. I woke up at 6:30 feeling chipper, and I had lost another pound. And this morning, another. I am starting to be concerned — not concerned, really. I’m thrilled, but I know I need to stop losing so fast. I guess I need to eat more? Weird. I feel like I’m eating plenty.

So for breakfast yesterday, I whipped up some bacon & cheese egg cups for breakfast. I had saved cooked bacon from the collard greens I made the night before, thinking that would be great to throw in an egg dish. I’m glad I did because I was in a rush before church and didn’t have much time to cook. I had a hankering for quiche, but there wasn’t time for that to cook so I put it into muffin cups instead. They were delish. (Sorry, no photos!)

At church, the Communion plate was passed, and I had already thought about this. The 21-Day Detox book says even a TASTE of sugar can derail you in this program, but I didn’t feel right not taking Communion so I had my gluten-free wafer and a the thimbleful of wine. I was more focused on worship than what it tasted like at the time, but I certainly don’t feel like it caused any ill effects, and in retrospect, it did taste good, lol.

For lunch, I came home and made a taco salad with leftover taco meat from dinner a few nights ago.

homemade nachos

The kids ate nachos — the same meat but over tortilla chips with all the toppings that I enjoyed. Usually avocados bother me, but we were all out of sour cream, so I grabbed some Wholly Guacamole to garnish my salad, and it was DELISH and it did NOT bother my tummy. YAY! I think I recall in the past that this product doesn’t bother me. I don’t know why. But yay.

We hung out at home all afternoon, and around 6:30 I realized I hadn’t eaten dinner. Again, this is weird for me. Usually I’m looking forward to dinner, especially on Sundays when we tend to do a snack dinner (my favorite kind!) I was going to go my usual route and have cheese and crackers for dinner (Mary’s Gone Crackers — they are legal for this program) but then I thought, no, I really should have something more nourishing first.

WHAT?

Yes, I thought that. And I DID. I heated up some leftover chicken “tortilla” soup from earlier in the week.

I’m learning the key to this program is having A LOT of leftovers around for when you need a quick meal.

That was good, but it didn’t fill me up so I got my cheese and crackers and a seltzer and hunkered down on the couch to watch TV with the family.

I didn’t feel the desire to over eat, as I typically might when snacking on cheese and crackers. I think it’s because I wasn’t drinking wine with it. I hate to keep coming back to wine, but it definitely has a way of making me want to eat more. I think it’s the play between the flavors. I’m like that with coffee and dessert too. As long as I can go back and forth with dessert and coffee, I will keep eating. If I just have dessert without coffee, the sweetness gets overwhelming after only a little bit, so I’m more likely to stop. Same with wine and cheese. Without the back and forth between the flavors, I am ready to stop eating after a while because the flavor of the cheese and crackers gets old. It’s interesting. Or I think so. Most of you are probably already skimming, or think I’m nuts. Probably both!

Anyway, so that’s about it for yesterday. I went to bed late, after falling asleep watching TV (we are watching the John Adams series from HBO – it’s free for Amazon Prime members. And it’s fascinating!)

I slept well, woke up around 4AM because I was cold, pulled the covers back up and slept somewhat fitfully until I woke at 6:00 for the day. I also have a headache behind my right eye – and I felt that when I woke at 4AM. Not sure what’s going on there.

So that’s my update! I always think I’m not going to have much to say and then I end up with a book. Sorry! That’s just how I roll.

It’s 7:30AM as I publish this, and I’m not hungry yet, but I’m not shaky yet either so I’m going to go heat up some leftover bacon & cheese egg muffins before I get to that point.

Those of you following along, I’d love to get your thoughts. Are you considering doing this? If so, what’s holding you back? I definitely recommend choosing your timing wisely. It would be super hard if I’d had social events to attend during the first week. But now I am going strong and feel like I can handle it. Which is a good thing because we made plans to go to the beach for the day later this week. I need to start thinking ahead about what to pack and what I’ll eat.

Should I keep posting these? Or are they getting old? I could post updates less frequently, or keep my updates on my Facebook page. But I’m happy to share my daily diary if there’s interest.

Join The Conversation

31 Responses

  1. I love your daily updates! I am definitely considering doing this program but I am forcing everyone to eat everything in our pantry. Because if we don’t all eat this way (within reason) I will fail. So I am cleaning out the pantry, frig & freezer and plan to start the 1st or second week in September. I’ve got my hubs on board for the most part but he takes sandwiches every day for lunch so if bread isn’t allowed he’ll be cheating on that part.

    1. Yep, no bread. 🙁 My husband isn’t loving it. He keeps saying, “I’m fine with no sugar… but I just want to have xyz.” LOL! I’m like, Hun, BREAD IS SUGAR. TORTILLA CHIIPS ARE SUGAR. BEER IS SUGAR. LOL. I think people think “no sugar” and they think “no sweets” – which, yes, definitely is an improvement. But carbs turn to sugar and sugar is added to so many things. So going completely off sugar is pretty limiting. That said, just being aware and cutting back has to be helpful. I really wanted to cut off the sugar cravings, so I needed to go all in.

      1. I’m the same I need to cut it all out to be able to limit myself better. I will probably be the only one following the plan as closely as possible with the kids and hubs following along as much as they can without giving up their sandwiches for lunch. The kids would like different stuff though but that’s really the only easy option for hubs.

  2. You may have already posted this, but is there a book or website that you follow to guide you? Also, what was your sugar intake prior to starting? I enjoy the updates, probably because I am considering trying this but I need to see what others success and experiences are first. I am glad it seems to be going so well for you!

  3. I’m totally reading so keep the updates coming bc I’m totally curious. I am still on the fence about doing the 24-day challenge or doing this and SOON. I am going to start SOMETHING next week, still deciding what.

  4. I have a gluten problem- and sugar doesn’t work well with me. For over a week now I have been gluten/sugar free. I did it last summer for over 6 months, but over the winter, starting eating bad again. Going sugar free makes me feel SO much better! Love reading your updates. 🙂

    1. That’s awesome! I’m definitely afraid of starting to eat poorly again this winter – January-March is usually when I pack on the pounds. I will have to be reeeeeally careful this year!

  5. I agree – I enjoy reading the daily updates! I’m currently following a healthy eating plan as well, so it’s encouraging to see how you’re doing with yours!

  6. I find this interesting! But the headache behind your eye bothers me. I do hope it is not the beginning of a cluster headache.

    1. I took one advil and it seems to be going away. It’s not severe. I do get that from time to time, but I thought it was usually from alcohol, weird that it’s happening after 6 days on this detox. I’m sure it’s part of the die off or something?

  7. Yes please keep posting updates! You are inspiring me to try this program. Like you posted a while back, I too have gained a few extra pounds this summer, am feeling sluggish & my clothes don’t fit. Glad to see you are having good results so far!!

    1. Holly, do it. Even if for a week. I am feeling so good right now I am tempted to start living the way I want to live when it’s over, which is fairly similar but with occasional indulgences. I am forcing myself to see it through because I know it’s too soon to start making exceptions. I need to make it more of a habit first. But really, I am SO happy I did it, and my clothes already feel much better.

  8. Yes! Keep the updates coming. Thanks for sharing your experiences…I am doing this program once the kids are back to school – after Labor Day. On a side note…I was told to avoid Advil because it contains gluten!

      1. I just looked it up…gluten/wheat derivitive is in the Advil Liqui-gels, but NOT the gel caps or other tablets. Gluten is also in the Advil Migraine medication. Sorry….hope you were using the right form. :(.

  9. I’m following a similar program to yours (its a Whole30 program) where I don’t eat dairy, grains, sugars or legumes for 30 days. Great experience too. Keep up the great work and temptations 🙂

    Quick comment, I saw the Balsamic Glazed Cauliflower “Wings.” in your post. Like you, I can`t have the honey right now because of the sugar content so I am going to try it by replacing the honey with Apple Juice concentrate (without sugar). They looked really good and I thought I`d try them without the honey (and will be replacing the soy sauce with Coconut Aminos). They looked fantastic!! thanks for sharing!

  10. I love the updates too Jo-Lynne! Its the daily how-to that stumps me… and how you are giving up your wine! lol thats my big hindrance to doing the whole program. I dont think I’d have too difficult a time giving up sugar & gluten & carbs – but wine?? lol

    1. Girl. Trust me. That is by FAR the hardest thing I’ve given up. Truly the only thing I miss. Here’s the thing. Red wine is a valid part of a Paleo/Primal diet. I have every intention of enjoying a glass or two most days when I’m done with this. But I felt like to truly break the sugar cravings and turn from a sugar burner into a fat burner and all that, I had to “do it right”. But you could just follow a primal diet and enjoy your wine and never look back. For me, I felt I needed to do it this way.

  11. Please do keep the updates coming. I too have a terrible tendency to binge eat and am so curious to see how you are doing and coping with any cravings. I started doing the odd day eating just fruit&raw veg then a balanced dinner. It’s amazing how much better I feel that I don’t understand why I then crave the junk that makes me feel sluggish followed by a junk food hangover! The fact that you have so quickly shifted those stubborn pounds is super and a real motivation to follow suit, even if I don’t follow it to a T 🙂

    1. According to what I’m reading, you still crave the junk because you are addicted to it. That’s what this program is designed to do – break the cravings so you don’t even want the junk anymore. I already feel like that is happening. I am starting to “eat to live” not “live to eat” and I’m hoping it sticks!

  12. I am enjoying your posts! Even though it hurts every time you say “no wine” I am interested in trying this. We have a Vegas vacation coming in a few weeks and hubby and I have agreed to start something when we get back. Can’t wait to hear how you make out. Thanks for sharing!

  13. Keep ’em coming. I’m following with interest and am considering this too. I REALLY hope/wish my husband would join me. We both are trying to eat better, but he suffers with the carb addiction. Not sure if I can get him on board. I think I would try the Level 2 like you as I think giving up cheese would be far more difficult than giving up my Pinot!! 😉

  14. Keep Updating please!!!! I am considering this and it helps to see what you are eating . My hardest time would be” Sunday night pizza night” . I have a recipe for pizza crust made out of cream cheese, mozzarella and eggs that I would have to use. Love pizza!!!! Love your blog! The things you say , remind me of things I am thinking and would like to say. 😀

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