I cried yesterday. Why? maybe the total shock my body is experiencing? Or my weak constitution? Maybe both. I sat in the car and cried as I told my husband I felt like all I’d been eating during the beginning of this challenge was “sad food”.
I’ve been eating the past 5 days, but I’m not satisfied. I’m eating healthy, filling foods, but I’m left feeling empty, and like I still want more. I want cookies, soda, cupcakes. Fun foods. I want to eat them until I’m uncomfortably full. This is clearly a problem, and I know it’s the sugar speaking.
I’m aware this is part of the process, but it’s still shocking. How long have I just been pumping my body full of junk? Apparently long enough that I no longer know what it feels like to be comfortably satisfied, and not running on a pure sugar high.
The no sugar is not the hardest part of this. The hardest part, 6 days in, is retraining my brain, and teaching myself what really is full. To learn to enjoy FOOD, and not chemicals.
I’m writing this over breakfast. Avocado toast, egg muffins, and a giant glass of water. I’m quite full.
Today is Day 3 of no sugar. I’m here writing this, so clearly I’m surviving!
Here’s the recap so far….
March 1. We had just gotten back from an out of town trip, and didn’t have much in the way of groceries, which I learned was a huge mistake when trying to eat sugar free. My lunch consisted of rolled up turkey, hard boiled eggs, and some nuts. I was pretty satisfied, until my boss ordered pizza. Did you know pizza sauce has sugar?? I sure do now…
I feel I should clarify here that during this challenge I AM allowing fruit, and I am eating bread with less than 1g of sugar. The point of this month is to stop with the cookies, the soda, and the general crap I’m putting into my body.
March 2. Lunch consisted of the same as day 1, because we hadn’t done the grocery yet. At this point I had consumed roughly my body weight in water. A coworker had a box of doughnuts delivered, and just looking at them made me want to cry. Headache also kicked in. When I got home I glanced in the mirror and looked like I hadn’t slept since Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston split up. I’ve not felt that exhausted in a long time. I knew this was a side effect, but still wasn’t quite prepared. We had dinner plans last night, and with a full menu I was left with roughly 2 options for dinner that didn’t include sugar. I’m glad dinner gave me a 2nd wind, because then we went grocery shopping.
Side note: As someone who hates grocery shopping and being out in the general public, Saturday night is the absolute best time to grocery shop. We try to do this around 9 pm on Saturdays. While you’re probably thinking to yourself “What a loser!” I assure you, that I have a very active social life, and friends! Moving on…
The grocery store took us roughly 30 minutes longer than usual yesterday, as it was the first time shopping as sugar free as possible. We also spent way too much time looking up how much sugar was in random things we weren’t even buying. If you’re wondering, there’s a LOT.
March 3. I slept 11 hours last night guys… That is insane for me! I usually sleep from 11 to 6:45. I must have needed it, because even though I woke up with a headache again, I feel strangely refreshed. I’m hoping the headache goes away in the next week, but I was ready for it. I got a book in preparation for this challenge, The 21 Day Sugar Detox, and as I write this am enjoying a banana nut smoothie from the book. A+ so far!
I knew going into this monthly challenge that not every month was going to be a winner. The second month of the year turned out to be one of those months.
The challenge was to work out every single day. It went really well… for roughly 5 days. Then a sinus headache snuck up on me, and I thought that in the middle of a downward dog that my eyeballs were going to explode out of my head. Then I hurt my knee. Then I pinched a nerve in my back. Aaaand there went all the plans I had to be a gym rat. On a positive note all this random body aching did prompt me to make an appointment with my doctor. I’m not even old enough to feel like I’m falling apart!
In all fairness, I did make a real effort to at least be MORE active, even though I wasn’t “hitting the gym”. I parked really far away when I went to the store, went on long strolls, and this past weekend in Vegas I believe I logged almost 40 miles in 3 days.
Thirtyish 