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The 21-Day Sugar Detox Starts NOW

are-you-in

I’ve been telling you how I feel pretty crappy these days. I’ve gained weight, my clothes aren’t fitting, and I generally feel sluggish and bloated all the time.

There’s no mystery here. I’m eating too much, and too much of what I’m eating is junk. Add to that, I’m not exercising as rigorously as I was before, and we have a recipe for disaster. Oh, did I mention? I seem to be going through some, ahem, hormonal changes. I’m only 42, people! I am not ready for this!!!

I have three trips planned this fall — two are to tropical locations that require a swimsuit — and there are all the holiday festivities looming. I want to feel good about myself. I want to get this runaway train under control.

It’s a vicious cycle. I wake up in the mornings renewed and refreshed and determined to eat well and get back on track, and then by 5:00 I’m ready for a cocktail and a snack. I continue to snack the whole time I’m making dinner, and then I sit down to dinner and the train has already derailed so I just go for broke and enjoy it . . . too much of it. And then I go to bed feeling like crap, and I wake up and do it all over again.

This has to stop. I need a reset.

I’ve thought about cleanses and juice fasts, but I’m the kind of person that needs FOOD. I need to CHEW. I know I wouldn’t last 24 hours on a juice fast.

I’ve talked before about going Paleo, but I never seem to pull the trigger and go for it whole hog. (Pun very much intended, thankyouverymuch!)

Then over the weekend, a friend mention the Whole30 program. I’ve heard of it, I’ve seen my friends doing it, I’ve liked their photos in Instagram and always thought it looked like a healthy way to eat. But I didn’t think I had in me to give up all sugar and dairy and carbs and . . . OMG . . . wine!!!

But when she put the idea in my head, and I decided to look into it and see what it’s really all about. I poked around on the website and started reading the Whole30 Rules.

  • Do not consume added sugar of any kind, real or artificial.
  • Do not eat grains.
  • Do not eat legumes. No peanut butter, either.
  • Do not eat dairy.
  • Do not consume carrageenan, MSG or sulfites.
  • Do not try to re-create baked goods, junk foods, or treats* with “approved” ingredients.

Right about the time I was thinking, no way, I’m out, I got to this part:

Don’t you dare tell us this is hard. Beating cancer is hard. Birthing a baby is hard. Losing a parent is hard. Drinking your coffee black. Is. Not. Hard. You’ve done harder things than this, and you have no excuse not to complete the program as written. It’s only thirty days, and it’s for the most important health cause on earth – the only physical body you will ever have in this lifetime.

And that’s when I started to get determined.

I did the gluten thing once. If I can do that, I can do this. It’s only 30 days.

I threw it out on my Facebook page to see what the reaction would be, and DeAnn asked if I’d looked into The 21-Day Sugar Detox. I had not, so I clicked through.

21 Day Sugar Detox

The 21-Day Sugar Detox is a comprehensive program designed to help break the hold sugar and carbs have on you, and at first I didn’t think that’s what I want right now. I want to focus more on eating healthy and the good things I CAN have rather than what I CAN’T have. But as I looked into the program further, I realized that it is based on the Paleo diet, just like Whole30, but it’s 21 days rather than 30. (Yes, I know that I can decide how long to do each program, but there’s a certain mental game you play with yourself when you make a commitment like this, and I know I need to choose one program and do it as written if I’m going to succeed.)

I’ve been saying for a long time that sugar is my nemesis, and I know I feel better when I’m not eating so much of it. Plus, my husband has been seriously trying to reduce his sugar intake so he’s interested in doing it with me. (See 141 reasons sugar ruins your health.) I started thinking that perhaps the 21-Day Sugar Detox is exactly what I need.

Upon further investigation, the 21-Day Sugar Detox allows certain types of dairy (happy day!!) and the program is divided into three levels so they attempt to break you in gently. I like the sounds of that. AND it comes with easy-to-follow meal plans and more than 90 simple recipes.

I need this to be EASY so I went ahead and bought the Premium Package and signed up as an affiliate (links in this post are affiliate links).

Maybe it’s all hype and I could do this without purchasing anything, but I’m the kind of person who needs incentive, and money is a great motivator. If I pay $100, I’m committed. Done.

Yesterday I went to Costco and stocked up on meats and veggies and came home and cleaned out my pantry and fridge. Last night I poured over the Quickstart Guide and listened to the Day 0 audio support. Then I had my last glass of wine for 21 days.

Wahhhhh . . .

But really. I’m ready to do this. I want to feel better.

Anyone wanna join me???

Join The Conversation

11 Responses

  1. Oh gosh… I wish I could be doing this with you right now. We’re moving to our new home this weekend, so it’s not the best time, but with being in a wedding AND a trip to Italy both upcoming in November, I definitely need to do something, so I’ll be hopping on board asap. Maybe I will shoot for Monday – I should be able to grocery shop by then!

    1. Definitely choose a time that you aren’t traveling or moving or doing anything else stressful! There’s a lot to read before getting started, but I like how she has meal plans in the books.

  2. You’re going to feel incredible doing this. The Candida you might be dealing with will get back in check and the bloating will go away At least it always did for me when I went sugar free. Good luck, it’s super duper hard but totally worth it,

    Nell

  3. I’ve tried Whole30 several times, and never could finish, but I got Sanfilippo’s Practical Paleo, and have never looked back. I have a serious sweet tooth, and I’ve never been able to get rid of sugar cravings until now. I had gestational diabetes 3 times, and even though I never ‘cheated’, I fought the craving every day. (I still ate a lot of approved garbage–that was a long time ago in my real food journey). I checked out her other two books also, and I’m just sticking to the paleo recipes for the month of august, and will see what happens after that, but honestly, the books have changed my life. Good luck! 🙂

    1. Thanks! SO good to hear. I have her Practical Paleo and like it but never did make that many of the recipes. Some of them are unusual for me. But I like the ones I’ve tried, and I’m hoping the ones that come with the 21 Day Challenge have a lot more for me.

  4. While I won’t be doing this specific program, I am starting the 21 Day Fix tomorrow, so it’s pretty much the same thing. I am going through EVERYTHING you are! I’m 42, have put on 12 lbs this summer (which makes me mad because I worked SO HARD to get it off about a year ago) but it’s all due to limited exercise (I too suffer from foot problems so can’t run right now), eating poorly, just being lazy over the summer and hormonal changes. It stinks! So I’m cheering you on! We can do this!! BTW – I’ve done the whole 30 and it’s very eye opening. While I can’t live that diet for my entire life, I certainly learned how certain foods make my body feel.

    1. I still think Whole30 is probably better for me – with all my tummy issues – but going off dairy for 30 days seems daunting. I figure I will have a week off dairy and legumes with this plan, and hopefully that’s enough to help reset me. Definitely keep me posted about how you’re doing!

  5. I am in – but I will start Friday, not Wenesday. Already have things going on that I can’t rearrange. I have completed the 21 day sugar detox (January) and Whole39 (July) and although I am eating so much better, I still have fallen back into some of my junky habits. Sugar is my biggest problem, and bread – the convenience of bread! (quick meals- toast, sandwich, etc) swimsuit season is winding down, but it will be time for skinny jeans all to soon!

  6. I wanted to start and have been derailed by travel. I agree I like the levels. I just have a hard time not eating my plain no sugar added Greek yogurt as my only dairy. One thing I have done is I have made dinner every night from her two books. I have loved them all. My kids are more picky but I love them all. I am worried a little since my daughter got braces this week. She will not eat ground meet but not sure when she can start eating pieces of whole protein. So I might just make her separate food for now. I never do that but these braces are causing her major issues. I would love to jump on the 21 day sugar detox with you. I did sign up for the program. I got the books but how do you hear the audio? Looking forward to your updates.

    1. When you go to her site and log in, you should see a page that welcomes you to the program and has 4 major quadrants: eBooks, Audio & Video, Resources and Useful Guides. The Audio & Video has the daily audio recordings. I also signed up for daily emails, but I haven’t gotten one yet b/c I said I was starting today. I wonder if I can change that. Under e-Books is the Quick Start Guide which is super important. Read thru that before starting. You can also download 3 cookbooks there. I haven’t received my hard copy books yet.

  7. I just got and am reading the book called The 21 Day Tummy by Liz Vaccariello because of tummy issues that may be mixed up with my menopause symptoms (I am 50 ). So I need to figure out triggers that stir up my tummy and help it be less sensitive. I’ll be watching to see how your 21 day suger detox works for you and compare!

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