I love sugar, but it doesn't love me back...
A couple of weeks ago, I blogged about embarking on a 2-week detox diet. I was midway through the detox then and starting to see results (more energy, better sleep, more focus). I thought I would give you the rest of the story now that I’m a week post-detox!
I won’t bore you by chronicling each day of that second week. I’ll try to hit the highlights instead. Here goes:
I started the elimination diet by cutting out a whole bunch of foods — most prominently dairy, wheat, sugar, caffeine, condiments, chocolate, high glycemic fruits, and nuts. I basically got rid of the main staples of my regular diet and had to be creative about making edible and nutritious meals. I ended up eating a lot more fruits and vegetables than I usually eat. After about a week, I started slowly adding foods back to my diet.
Up until day 10 I felt really great — very energetic and with almost no cravings. On day 10, my resolve started to fade. I really wanted to eat bread that day and even considered adding gluten back a little early. A couple of my co-workers had ordered pizza and it was very tempting to walk past it without snagging a bite. But, I remembered that the doctor who wrote up this detox suggested adding the things we crave last. It took some pep talk, but I talked myself into waiting to add wheat and sugar last as originally planned.
I also felt somewhat tired in the afternoon that day but thought this was because Lucas woke up a lot during the previous night and I didn’t get much sleep (this is probably why I was also craving bread more than usual). I also wondered if the tiredness had to do with adding back dairy on day 9.
The following night I had a much more restful sleep. I actually dreamed I was eating my co-worker’s cheeze pizza. I woke up and sang the Debbie Gibson’s tune in my head, “Ahhh, only in my dreams… as real as it may seem… it was only in my dream,” lol. I didn’t really feel tired during the rest of day, so I figured the dairy probably wasn’t to blame. No more cravings this day, so I was glad I held off on gluten and sugar.
On day 12, I drank a cup of coffee! I was pretty hesitant about adding back caffeine since I had survived the headaches while weaning myself and felt pretty good without it. But being as I am from Brazil, I couldn’t imagine not having coffee again. I grew up on this stuff. Parents actually give their young kids coffee (with milk, sort of like a latte) in Brazil. I love coffee and usually drink it for the taste, not for the caffeeine. I considered making a switch to decaf but wanted to see how I would fare with the “real” stuff. I was hyped after that first cup! But, thankfully, no crash. I do want to cut down on coffee so I am now planning on having a fruit smoothie every now and then instead of having coffee every morning (and afternoon sometimes).
I added back gluten on day 13 and didn’t notice any big reaction like sluggishness or bloating. I thought my stomach hurt a little after eating bread in the morning, but wondered if I was just being paranoid. If it did bother my stomach it was a very mild reaction and didn’t last long. So I am glad to report I will not be gluten free!
I had a hard time deciding whether to add sugar on day 14 or wait until after I had survived the full 2 weeks without it. A friend of mine had her bridal shower on what was day 14 of my detox, so I decided to cut myself some slack and enjoy the goodies at her shower to finish up the detox.
I thought that, after not having sugar for 2 weeks, I would not want as much of it. I was wrong. One little bite of sugar and I wanted MORE. My sweet tooth was just as active as before and I needed to exercise some moderation just as if I had never detoxed.
Of course, I was right about sugar being the reason for my afternoon slumps. After one or two days back on sugar and I was feeling tired again. It can also be the case that having “permission” to have sugar back displaces some of the fruits/veggies (mostly fruits) I might have eaten. It’s more tempting and easier to reach for some M&Ms than it is to eat an apple. And we know the consequences of each of those seemingly small decisions.
Being sugar-free (or even very restrictive on sugar) is not sustainable for me right now. (A shout out and hats off to one of my readers, Malia M., who doesn’t eat sugar 360 days out of the year — check out her blog here. Really, Malia, how do you do it??) Being through this detox, however, and seeing how much better I felt without the white stuff, motivated me once again to reduce my sugar intake.
I looked everywhere in my house for a book I had bought and read a couple of years ago — Get the Sugar Out: 501 Simple Ways to Cut the Sugar Out of Any Diet by Ann Louise Gittleman. I couldn’t find it so I bought the Kindle version and have been reading it for extra motivation. A couple of days ago one of my friends posted a very helpful article on facebook that also strengthened my motivation. You must read it!! Here it is: article you must read.
Having said all that, I did have a couple of iced brownies today — we had a little party to watch UK beat Florida in the SEC tournament. I’m still up for sugar on special events. Moderation is the key!
Now, what to do with all those leftover brownies…
Geranium seeds 