Welcome to another edition of the Fit Five Friday link-up hosted by Darlene, Renee, Jenn, Zenaida, and me!
As many of you know I finished my first ever sugar detox on Halloween (of all days!). While I definitely found it to be a little challenging over the first couple of days, overall it was a really good experience. Today I want to share a few things I learned along the way.
Five Lessons from My Sugar Detox
Sugar, sugar everywhere! — When I shared my reasons for wanting to try a sugar detox, this was at the top of my list. While I consider myself to follow a fairly healthy diet, it was truly eye-opening to discover just how much added sugar was in a lot of my favorite foods. I have now become a ruthless label reader.
Importance of protein — Focusing on my protein intake especially at breakfast and lunch really helped me to keep my energy level steady throughout the day. I struggled the first couple of days with this, but as I focused more on protein-packed meals and snacks, my energy level improved significantly.
Meal planning is a must — I cannot stress enough how incredibly important meal planning is when taking on a sugar detox. When you can’t default to your usual standbys, you must learn to get creative. It was helpful to not only plan meals, but snacks as well. The added bonus was I discovered a number of new recipes that I will continue to make.
Focus on the “cans”, not the “cannots” — Going into a detox like this, mindset is everything! If you spend the whole time focusing on what you can’t eat, getting through a detox like this will be a long haul.
Tastebuds will adjust — When I started my 2-week break, one of my concerns was getting through my morning coffee. I’m not gonna lie, that first cup (or 3) definitely took some getting used to. But fast-forward to the last day of the detox, we were facing the long drive home from visiting our college boy and after having a cup of less than stellar coffee at the diner where we had breakfast, I wanted a “good coffee” before we got on the road. We swung through Dunkin and I grabbed my usual “regular” coffee and I was so surprised at just how sweet it tasted! I ended up drinking only half of it.
I’m really glad I gave this break from sugar a try! I finished the 2 weeks feeling really good and with a lot more insight into how my body responds to certain foods.
And, while I haven’t been as strict in what I consume since the detox ended (hello wine!), I am much more mindful of my daily consumption. My husband J, who was a great sport and joined me on this 14-day venture, and I have talked about doing another detox following the holidays.
Have you done a sugar detox? What did you learn? And, if not, what do you think you’d miss eating the most?
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This was interesting, thank you. My husband is looking at the sugars and carbs in things as he’s become diabetic recently (after being pre-diabetic for years). Handily the meds he’s on have also reduced his appetite and cravings for pick-me-ups. I don’t think I could reduce my sugar myself, but also know that is Not Good!
Liz Dexter recently posted…Book review – Richard Fidler and Kari Gislason – “Saga Land”
It’s good that his medication is helping. Believe me that I bet you’d find it easier to reduce your sugar than you think.
Hands-down, I know I have a sugar problem. A few years ago, I did a no-sugar-added sort of detox, but only for a week. The hardest thing for me to give up was the morning chai latte. I know there’s some caffeine in my foo-foo morning routine, but it’s honestly the sweetness of it that I look forward to every morning, LOL. You’ve had me thinking about my sugar “thing” for the past few weeks, so maybe I need to give this detox another try.
Please let me know if you decide to give another detox a try. It really is amazing how much your tastebuds can change so quickly.
I have. More than once! It always does creep back in — for me, anyway. Although for the most part I am quite careful about it.
Focusing on the cans, not the can’ts (and love that meme!) is a crucial point.
Oddly enough, I stopped sweetening my tea at a race. 9 years ago, in fact! The day before we left, I had just found out my Dad had a most likely benign brain tumor & would need brain surgery — at 86! Yeah, that’s how long all this crap has been going on.
Anyway, I wasn’t feeling well, and I felt I really needed my tea, but I’d forgotten my stevia (which is what I used to sweeten my tea at the time). And that was the exact moment I stopped sweetening it altogether!
Of course tea is not as bitter as coffee. 🙂
I’m fairly certain that some of the sugar will creep back in. I’m much more of a moderation mindset. Hopefully continuing to focus on the “cans” will help.
I’ve done a sugar detox and I’ve also done that AIP elimination diet for 6 weeks, and yes, they are both eye openers and you do feel amazing once you get through the first 4 days or so. It is a great learning process!
Definitely a great learning experience! I think everyone should try it at least once.
I have not. Not sure I could. So kudos to you.
I have sweet tooth but try not to go overboard with the sweets.
Thanks Darlene – I’m glad I gave it a try.
I did a sugar detox once, and the label reading was eye-opening, and a habit I still keep. I was crushed when the news broke on Subway bread, because it was go-to airport food, but when I thought about it I had to admit that it tasted sweet!
Given that Subway is viewed as “healthy” fast food, can you imagine the sugar content in some of the other brands :0
I have been waiting to hear how it went for you. These are the exact lessons that I try to teach my clients. Becoming more aware of sugar and how it effects my body and my weight is eye opening. Thanks for sharing
I learned so much during these 2 weeks! I think everyone should try it once.
One of your points really stands out to me- make sure you know what you’re going to eat INSTEAD of your regular (temporarily forbidden) foods is really important. If you can focus on that, it will be a lot easier.
Doing a detox like this is great because it makes you aware of just how much sugar you were eating- I’m sure it was way more than you thought!
This would have been so much harder if I had spent the whole time pining over what I couldn’t have. It really helped to plan ahead and have lots of snacks and meal options on hand – helped to make it feel a lot less restrictive.
I have not done a sugar detox. I also don’t do well with meal planning and too much advance analysis. I try to be careful, but I know that there are times of year when my sugar intake will be better than others.
I’m sure the ebb and flow on the sugar intake is probably true for a lot of us. In general, I have always found that I do better if I meal plan though sometimes it comes together better than other times.
Wow, great job. I have been cutting down sugar from my diet and its crazy to think about how much sugar I had before. It was hidden in plain sight – protein shake, peanut butter and everywhere else. I have lost 5 lbs in a couple of months by just cutting down on sugar and changing nothing else in my life.
Isn’t it amazing that just cutting down on sugar can make such a difference!
I really don’t eat a lot of sweets. Last year, after I baked Xmas cookies, I realized what an effect sugar has on the brain when I ate one and it felt like I took a drug. I immediately craved more. It’s amazing how sugar is in everything. I can’t find unsweet tea anywhere. Glad you were able to do this! i hope you’ll be able to stick to it–and as I say, everything in moderation.
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The interesting thing is I don’t typically eat a lot of sweets either. What was surprising is just how much sugar is added to things you wouldn’t typically think of as needing “added sugar”. I think I’ll be much more mindful to check for hidden sugars moving forward.
I’m glad you shared your experience from your sugar detox. It sounds like you learned a lot during your two weeks. Protein is such an important macro nutrient and one I struggle to get enough of.
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I have struggled to get enough protein too. This detox actually helped, but it’s still a work in progress.