photo by: rakratchada torsap
This past week wrapped up the 21 Day Sugar Detox for me and I definitely see the benefit in going a full 21 days. I was still working through junk in that second week and needed that extra time to allow my body to truly recalibrate. Thankfully, week three really was very easy. This is routine now and it doesn’t take a lot of brain power to determine ‘what am I going to eat now!’
Here are the changes I have loved:
1) Sleep. Christmas splurges had re-instituted the middle of the night wake-ups and I was none too pleased about that. Not only am I sleeping through the night, but also sleeping deeper. I feel well rested in the mornings. This is nice.
2) Weight. I did lose about 5 lbs in that first week but have actually put all of it back on. For me, this is good. I struggle to hold on to weight and I have never quite believed that taking out all grains would be a good idea for me. I had to see it for myself. Don’t we all? The thing is that it isn’t about ditching carbs, its about switching carbs so that the carbs I am taking in are much more nutrient dense. Now, instead of my body flushing all those things it sees no use in (some people store those foods instead) it is now able to replenish itself and settle in its ‘set-point’.
3) Less hungry. At the beginning I was ravenous. Kinda drove me nuts. But now, I am staying satisfied between meals longer. Why? 1) The meals are in balance so that I am eating enough fat, protein and carbs to slow that blood-sugar surge and 2) The foods are all nutrient-dense, no fillers. My body is getting the nutrition it needs and not sending out signals to eat more to fulfill x, y, or z.
4) More veggies! I love that this forced the whole family into taking our veggie consumption up another few notches. What I loved even more was seeing how easy it really was. The kids loved them and we did it without breaking the bank. Everyone says it can’t be done in Alaska – in January, no less. But, I do love a challenge.
5) More energy and more stamina. The last few days of the detox I actually had some pilates training. And, let’s be honest, I hadn’t really prepared my body physically for it. I was a little nervous. I remember watching some of the exercises being demonstrated and thinking ‘there is no way I can do that’ and voila – I did. Don’t get me wrong, I was plenty sore afterwards, but I was able to sustain through the training at a much better rate than expected.
6) Confidence. Let’s just say that life events over the last few years have left me, uh, depleted and feeling really weak in general. I now feel like I am finding the old me. I had been shirking from difficult workouts in recent years because I was really scared I couldn’t manage it. Now, I feel ready to start challenging myself and trust in my own strength again. It’s a good place to be.
I recently saw a quote saying that health is 80% food and 20% exercise. These three weeks have demonstrated that to me. I certainly didn’t always believe that, but I too am finding my way.