Diets are a major trend right now. This is my experience with the 21 day sugar detox take 2
Okay, anyone who knows me and heard that I was doing a no sugar detox diet was all "Why are you doing that? You're skinny you can eat whatever you want" *eye rolling emoji* & I get it. Yes I'm small, yes I could technically eat whatever I want and it not affect me tragically, but I can tell you that eating like poop made me feel like poop and I was over it. I was getting to a point where working a full week, working out, and eating an unbalanced diet was making me feel exhausted and fatigued and not in a normal way. It felt as if a freight train was sitting on me every morning when I woke up and I never really got energy I just kept pushing myself. My skin was freaking out all the time, I was moody, and I just wasn't happy with how I felt in general. So I took it upon myself to stop eating so much dang bread (which was really really hard), no more pastries, bagels, or a cookies in the AM for breakfast (yes I'd sometimes eat cookies in the morning >.<), no more artificial sugars, no more processed foods, just no more junk! I discovered a nutritionist /blogger who had a program called the 21 day sugar detox diet and that is where my story begins.
The 21 day sugar detox is perfect for anyone who has bad carb and sugar cravings. Like all the time. I was notorious for "quote unquote" needing some sort of sugary goodness with every meal, and then I came to learn post diet that I did not. I did the diet twice, once in June and again this August. What I learned is that eating leafy greens was not so bad when you had the right recipes, I learned to love unsweetened baked goods, green apples became my best friend, and I slowly transitioned my eating habits. The ultimate test of this diet was to eat 100% Cacao at the beginning and then again at the end. My book said if it tasted like regular chocolate to you at the end and not bitter then your body eliminated a great amount of the bad stuff. I was shocked! Me the girl who can eat a whole bag of Hawaiian rolls, gummy bears, and large redvine tub within minutes if not days now thought that stuff was almost too sweet. I was proud of myself for doing it because not only did I feel better, but I noticed some major changes in my body. I had a consistent amount of energy throughout the day, I slept better, my skin though not perfect still cleared up more and was less splotchy and dull, I was happier, and not to be TMI but my bowel movements changed too in a good way, but that's all I will say LOL and I think anyone who has done some form of a cleaned up diet knows what I mean :P.
Overall the do's of this diet were simple ALL meats, seafood, and veggies. NO carbs (with the exception of certain ones like quinoa, sweet potatoes, cassava in small amounts for days you worked out), NO fruits except for green apples, green tipped bananas, grapefruit, & lemons. NO bread, pasta, pastries, etc., no beans or anything under legumes really, NO sweeteners of any kind etc. NO alcohol. I think you get the picture. The first week was by far the hardest for me, I wanted everything! Anytime I saw something that wasn't diet approved my mouth would salivate for it. I missed my bagels and pastries :( I thankfully meal prepped pretty well the first 4 days so slip ups wouldn't occur and I'd always reach for something that was diet approved. Key for anyone doing any sort of diet change! PLAN PLAN PLAN. On the 5th day I wasn't so prepared which was awful and made that day really hard. I was starving for one and then the want for all the stuff I couldn't eat was at a high. I made sure to not make that mistake the following two weeks. I planned my meals and snacks for every minute of the day and made sure to have extra food just in case because more is better in these situations. After the 3 weeks it honestly just became habit to have a mindset like this and cooking became really fun for me, something I definitely was not a fan of before haha.
In just 3 weeks I learned a lot about what my body wants and needs, what my body responds well to and does not, my cravings are at an ultimate low, and I'm very excited to see where these changes lead me overall. I made the decision to switch to a more paleo lifestyle through this diet because personally I think it's a more effective lifestyle. I have always had a sensitive digestive system and I can tell that making changes is going to be good for me. I have done extensive research in nutrition to better myself overall becauseI'm a such a petite person I would love to thicken up a little. I deserve to be healthy and feel my best self and this is something I discovered even more so in my diet. Food is a way of life for us all and finding the perfect balance in my eating is going to be a continuous journey, but the 21DSD started paving the way for me and I'm ready for the foodie adventures! :)
Thanks for reading along and as usual any questions just shoot them my way!
xo,
Shay
