Buckle Your Seat Belts Ladies and Gentlemen...

In preparing for my sugar detox/cleanse/freedom I found myself talking about it quite a bit, and others were interested in joining the bandwagon.

Our food processor needs to be manually held down, but I needed some nut butter, hence the earmuffs.

If you are one of those people you may be asking:

WHAT DID YOU GET YOURSELF INTO?

Well...
The idea is that you need 21-66 days (i think that was the right #) to break an addiction.  The emotional attachment is super deep for me, so I wanted as much time to ease in and get serious as possible.  That's what week 1 is all about.

I am using the format I found in "I Quit Sugar." I like her food philosophy and I like her pace. 

Day after tomorrow, Thursday, May 21st we begin week 1.

Week 1: Cut Back and Stock Up

Basically be aware of how much sugar (fructose in particular) you consume.

If you take 2 teaspoons of sugar with your coffee, try 1 this week.
If you drink diet coke, switch to coke for now.
Just ease in...

As we become intentional about what we eat we are building a new mindset.  I totally believe sugar is bad for me.  It make me fat, it messes with my emotions, my body metabolizes it like alcohol, it's a bad example for my kids, etc.  But does that stop me from eating it?
NO!  Sigh

So week 1 we can all work on eating one donut instead of two from the box at church.

Part B:
Stock your pantry and freezer

Preparing my self for success by adding probiotics, healthy fats, and raw cacao.

Now is the time to get prepared for when the SUGAR hits the fan.

Some ideas:

avocados

eggs

young coconut

almonds (preferable soaked and dehydrated)

nut butters

kombucha 

kefir water or soda

lacto-fermented sauerkraut

Week 2: Get Fat

Sugar creates an addictive cycle of hunger, fatigue and moodiness. It initially spikes blood sugar, causing us to feel energized and happy. But since it's devoid of real nutrition, blood sugar quickly plummets, leaving us tired, hungry and moody. So we reach for more sugar ... how to quit sugar in 5 days

 

Part of the solution is fat.  Fat stabilizes our system.  Though I may not be chronically hypoglycemic, I daily struggle through the craving to treat hypoglycemia type crashes.  

So add fats to your diet as much as possible.  

Spoon coconut oil into your porridge, then top it with nuts.

Just get crazy.  If it's good fat your body knows what to do with it and will not store it.  

Don't worry about that , we have other things to worry about...

Week 3: The Real Deal

 

Now we make the dive into craziness. But we have each other!

No sugar (fructose). Check labels. Be hard core.

  

I love fruit, but in the attempt to recalibrate my system I will abandon it for a few weeks.  

Absence makes the heart grow fonder, right?

I Quit Sugar, Week 3

embracing the vegetable section

For now we will:
-reduce fructose intake
-increase healthy fat consumption

Here are some things I think are worth doing as well:
-take the supplement L-glutamin
-probiotics are a MUST  (we can go into this more soon)
-drink extra water

Oh wow, I'm stoked!

Pandora's Box Must Have Been Filled with Chocolate

You know it's bad when you sing, say prayers, hug and kiss, then RUN out of the kid's bedroom to steal your 3 year old's "potty treats" in a vain attempt to satiate your sugar craving.

The day started well:
Today is our busy day.  I took Cherith in and out of her car seat 12 times, that number would be higher if her big sisters couldn't walk to soccer practice or if I didn't leave her in the car while dropping some others off at science co-op.
Busy can often lead to stress which some how activates the hand-to-mouth mechanism.
But I was prepared.

We had lunch on-the-go:
I had a plan.  I was doing pretty well.
I had a coffee with sucanat before the departure... or wait, did I??
Leaving was so hectic, it's all a blurr now. Either way, I meant to.  I have allowed myself one sweetened, frothy, hot bev a day.
My lunch was cucumbers, tomato and avocado with balsamic vinegar and some seasoning.  There were pumpkin seeds and a carrot too. AND, as insurance, when I juiced this morning I set aside enough to take along for the ride (dandelion greens, cucumbers, beets, oranges and lemon were my ace in the pocket).

I was super proud of myself:
until 3:00pm hit.

I'm not sure what I should have done better.  3:00pm rolls around and nothing felt more pressing than the need to get home and lay in bed.  But that was not a realistic hope.  So immediately the fantasy morphed into: GET SUGAR AND FAST.

Crash: Getting up the stairs to put Nissi to nap sent my head spinning into a headache that lasted for a couple hours.  As soon as the coast was clear I made (another?) coffee with frothed milk and sucanat and devoured a generous slice of the sourdough bread I made yesterday with and even more generous dallop of honey.

This may not seem so bad.  But for me there is not a reliable brakes system in place.

Have you ever gone to an ice cream shop with the fam and made the mistake of letting the baby taste your ice cream?
As soon as the kid gets tipped off to what the creamy stuff in your bowl tastes like...
 that's all your are doing the rest of the time there.
Oh and don't run out of ice cream before it's time to go.
Oh no.
If every moment is not completed with the deliciousness in their mouth anyone in ear shot will bear the consequence of you're "sharing the wealth".

Pandora's box must have been filled with chocolate.  I just realized that... I'm changing my post title

And Burn: I'll skip over some of the details of the next several hours, but now I find myself hiding taffy (potty treat) wrappers in the back side of the trash can so my kids don't bust me in the morning.

I am addicted to sugar.  I have known and fought this for years.

I don't want this for me or for my family.  My philosophy of food and life cannot coexist with this addiction.

So here's my idea. I'm going to quit sugar for 8 weeks.  That's supposed to be the time it takes to fully detox and break the addiction.

Some of my action plans are:
-Blog through the process. This will hold me accountable somewhat and give a sense of purpose.
-Prepare for success with healthy combatant foods like probiotic sauerkraut and hard boiled eggs.
-Trade my joys of sugar for the joys I was intended for (i.e. the reason to look forward to a party ought not to be the cake).
-give freedom to myself as a gift.  I plan to start May 22nd.  My birthday is exactly 8 weeks later.
-... well that's all I've got for now.