Oh, Happy Day! Days 1-4 of The 21 DSD

When Addie was first born, I started singing to her every night.  My favorite song to sing was, "You are my sunshine."  I would sing it to her when putting her down at night and now, she sings it to me!  In her cute and sweet little toddler voice, she will sing, "Happy day!!" over and over again.  It took me a while to figure out that she was singing the part, "You make me happy, when skies are grey..."  I assume it's normal for things to get lost in toddler translation!

She was singing our song (rather loudly) on Monday as I began my sugar detox and what an excellent reminder and way to start this cleanse!

Oh!  Happy Day!

The detox is going surprisingly well!  I am happy to report that I have not slipped at all and have survived four days completely Sugar Free!!!  I think there are a few factors that have helped in making this go smoothly but I will get to that in a minute.

There are three things that I'd like to report on while blogging about the detox.  While doing my own research, these were the factors that I found to be most informative.  I'll discuss my mood/energy from day to day, my menu, and the things that are helping with the success of the detox.

Day 1- 
Mood/Energy

As nervous as I was, the conversation that started from my last blog post gave me a huge amount of encouragement.  I highly recommend that anyone that decides to do the detox has someone or something that will hold them accountable.  For me, knowing that I had people that were now following along and wanting to know how it was going has made a huge difference.  I don't care to publicly broadcast that I broke the detox because I couldn't keep myself from eating a cookie, you know?  Also, my mom and a couple of girlfriends are regularly asking how the detox is going and that has helped, too!

Menu

It should be noted that since I am breastfeeding, my plan is slightly modified (one of the reasons that I was drawn to this particular program because I am terrified of my supply dropping).  I'm not going to lie, on Day 1, I was HUNGRY.  So, I ate three snack and three meals.  I keep reminding myself that this isn't a diet... it's a detox and hopefully a life-change.  If I'm hungry, I'm going to eat.

Breakfast- 

Coffee with half-n-half, Buffalo Chicken Egg Muffin (recipe in The 21 Day Sugar Detox ), steamed spinach, and avocado

Snack- Handful of almonds and walnuts and a few pieces of beef jerky

Lunch- Grilled chicken in coconut oil, 1/2 sweet potato with cinnamon, pecans, and a little pat of unsalted butter

*** After I napped with the kids, I woke up to some serious cravings.  This is actually when I would usually get into the jar of peanut butter.  Don't judge.***

  

Snack- Coconut milk smoothie (recipe in The 21 Day Sugar Detox )  This did help curb that sugar craving.

Dinner-

 

Grilled salmon, quinoa with Parmesan cheese (so yummy), and baked broccoli and carrots

Snack- (See, I told you that I was hungry!)-  Green apple, handful of almonds, and unsweetened almond milk

Day 2

Mood/ Energy- 

I was still feeling motivated after Day 1.  Energy was the same as any other day (I have two kids under 2... How do you think my energy is?? Ha! Ha!).  Cravings were there but not that bad.

Menu

Breakfast- Leftover buffalo chicken egg muffin, steamed spinach, and avocado

Snack- Beef jerky

Lunch- Leftover salmon, quinoa (As much as I love fresh quinoa, eating it a second day was NOT good.  I will not be doing that again!), and fresh carrots

Snack- Green apple, handful of nuts

Dinner-

Cauliflower pizza (So yummy and satisfying!)

Day 3

Mood/Energy-

Day 3 has definitely been the most challenging.  I woke up with an incredible craving for something sweet, so I put cinnamon in my coffee and that helped to quiet my little sugar monster for a while.   Joe had come in to resupply for the field, so the kids and I went with him to run errands.  It was about 11:00 and Addie was asking for something to eat since we had missed her morning snack.  I grabbed her a pack of Teddy Grahams (I know! Aren't I trying to AVOID sugar?! But, seriously, you try finding healthy, toddler-approved snacks while out and about!) and luckily, I spotted a bag of natural almonds.  I avoided temptation but I assure you that with each almond that I ate, I was wishing for one of those damned Teddy Grahams!

The entire day was pretty rough.  I felt emotional and drained (poor Joe!).  And after my nap with the kids, I felt like I was a day away from having a cold.  I stuck with the plan, though.  I knew that this would probably be one of my roughest days and I didn't want to backtrack.

Menu

Breakfast- Spinach, eggs, and bacon

Snack- A bag of almonds that I wished were Teddy Grahams

Lunch- Lettuce wraps with chicken, pecans, tomatoes, and eggs

Snack- Apples, a handful of walnuts, herbal tea with half-n-half

Dinner- Grilled chicken with jalapeños, onions, and cheese and roasted potatoes

Day 4

Mood/ Energy-

Today has been great!  For the first time in forever (dammit... now the Frozen song is in my head), I had energy to last me all day.  I felt like the sleepy fogginess that has taken over my brain since I got pregnant with Adaline finally lifted.  When the kids fell asleep at 2:00 for their naps, I didn't know what to do with myself!  I didn't feel like I was absolutely dying for a nap... which is normally my favorite time of the day.  It's nearly 10:00 p.m. now and I'm still on mommy-duty.  I'm tired but I'm not exhausted.  I'll take it!

Breakfast-

Breakfast sausage and 2 eggs

Lunch-  

Pan fried chicken and pecans toasted in  coconut oil, blue cheese, green apples, and spinach... Omg.  So yummy

Dinner-

Baked pork chops, roasted potatoes, roasted golden beets with herbs

Tips for success...

* I think that the biggest thing that has helped me get through these first few days is that I prepped for several weeks in advance.  I read the book, made a very detailed menu for the week (which I haven't completely followed but it has at least given me a guideline), and I made sure that I had food that I could actually eat in my house.

I love, love, LOVE my coffee in the morning.  I also love, love, LOVED the amount of sugar that I was putting in it.  I was putting THREE spoonfuls of sugar in my coffee in the morning (I told you that I had a sugar problem!).  When I decided that I was going to do the detox, I started cutting my sugar back every day until I wasn't adding any at all.  I knew that I didn't want to take away every single thing that I enjoyed all at once.  This tiny preparation may seem minuscule and silly but knowing that I can have my coffee in the morning and enjoy it, is kind-of a big deal.  

* I enjoy cooking and good food.  Making meals that leave me satisfied has helped me feel like I'm not really missing out.  I wanted pizza the other night... so, I made pizza.  It wasn't exactly the same but it satisfied the craving.

* Be open to try new foods!  Lately, I have felt stuck in a rut with what to cook for dinner.  This has been a great opportunity to try new things.  Luckily, most of the new things that I have tried, I have loved!  Coconut oil?  LOVE it!  Roasted beets?  Delicious!  Leftover quinoa?  Nope... not so much!  But, that's okay!  

So, today is a happy day.  I feel good and I look forward to the rest of the week and what's in store.  Wish me luck and I'll keep you posted!     

 

  

      

The 21 Day Sugar Detox

About the age of 22, I began running.  It must be noted that I have never in my life been an athletic person.  It wasn't an easy process.  I was never fast.  I was never very good.  But, with each mile that I logged and each race that I ran, I felt a huge sense of accomplishment.  When my body ached at night after a long run, I relished in the delicious soreness that enveloped my body... And I felt proud.    

The running made me realize that I didn't just want to have a healthy body, I wanted to get my mind and soul healthy, as well.  I wanted to feel true happiness and peace.  So, each new year, I made a list of (achievable) goals that I could work toward in an attempt to be better than I was the year before.

And that's what I love about new years.  It's a time for reflection.  A time to reboot and start fresh.  

I've been a mom for almost two years now and I am constantly learning and finding myself in this role.  Every time I think that I have something figured out, things completely change.  After 18 months, we had finally gotten into a smooth routine with Adaline and then our sweet Gus arrived and the dynamics of our family changed!  I would never in a million years trade our crazy, beautiful, and often chaotic life but it's not always easy.  I realize that now is the time that I want to be my very best self.  I also realize that this is probably going to be harder than ever before.  

I want my kids to be proud that I am their mom.  I want Addie and Gus to know that I did everything I could to give them a happy and healthy childhood.  And I want them to see that despite the fact that I took care of them, Joe, the dog, and the house (and whatever else comes along the way), I also took the time to take care of myself.  (Am I totally spewing crazy talk, right now?!?  I'm no Wonder Woman and it could be the lack of sleep talking but this truly is my goal!)

I'm sure that many moms can attest to the fact that when you have kids (one or a dozen), there's not a whole lot of time of "Me-time".  The needs of your kids and family usually come first and you're lucky if you have ten minutes to squeeze in a shower at 10 o'clock at night.  I don't know where the balance is or how to find it but I have plenty of goals this year to help me figure it out.  

One of these goals (because I know that ya'll don't want to hear me talk about my knitting!) is to get my family eating healthier than ever before.  This, of course, has to start with me.  I am the one that does all of the grocery shopping and I cook the majority of our meals.  I have eaten "healthy" for years... but let's be honest, I'm a Southern girl from Louisiana.  Our veggies are smothered, we go through a ton of butter, and if rice isn't in nearly every meal then it's not a real meal.  I need to relearn how to cook and what to cook (and, of course, still have my family boast that I am the best cook around!).

I recently started following Chalene Johnson on FB.  If you don't know who she is, look her up!  She is the inventor of Beachbody's PiYo.  Not only is she insanely fit but she is incredibly positive and motivating.  I could talk about her for days and how she inspires me but that's neither here nor there.  One of the posts that she made recently was about sugar.  Her post still stands out so vividly in my mind.  She said that studies show that sugar is 8 times more addictive than cocaine (if I could find her exact post, I would link it.  I promise to keep an eye out for it!).          

I remember reading this and feeling completely repulsed.  The idea of sugar being more addictive than cocaine is disgusting to me.  And then, I started looking at all of the crap that we eat in our house.  Like I said before, I have worked on eating healthy for years.  We eat a ton of salad and grilled chicken... but, I will also be the first to tell you that I am most definitely addicted to sugar.  Chocolate, wine, bread, pasta, etc. <--- Love it all.  If I were alone and it were just me, maybe I could justify it with the fact that I don't have any health problems and work out.  But, I started thinking about my kids and my husband.  I'm in charge of their diets and ultimately, their health.  Am I setting the best example for my kids?  And, am I giving them the best foundation for when they leave my house and have to make their own nutritional choices?  

I started doing more research and found The 21 Day Sugar Detox by Diane Sanfillipo.  I'm not going to give the breakdown of her diet because there is a ton of online literature about it if you are interested.  I am hoping, however, to document this little experiment (obviously depending on how much mommy time I can find).  I found that the bloggers that talked about their detox to be incredibly helpful.  I also wouldn't mind seeing my own progress and I definitely need some accountability.  21 days isn't a lifetime but Day 1 is tomorrow and I am nervous and excited and I would love a successful outcome.

I have been prepping for this for a couple of weeks now.  I definitely had to wrap my brain around the idea of cutting all sugar out of my diet and knowing that there may be actual detox symptoms.  I have read the book and followed her list of suggestions to prep.  I have a meal plan for Week One and I cleaned out the pantry.     

I don't plan on this to be easy but I am motivated and ready to see positive results that can only come from following the plan!  So, wish me luck, ya'll... I'm going to need it!