It’s official. 21 days are over. 21 days, sugar free has finally come to an end. If you haven’t heard, I’ve been doing the 21 Day Sugar Detox by Balanced Bites. And I’ve loved it!! Which is sick and weird since that meant no sugar, including fruit. And if you know me, I LOVE sweets. Like, love love love them. BUT, sweets don’t love me. Not only do I gain 6lbs from eating 1 banana, but I feel bloated, I don’t have a ton of energy, and well, I crave even more sweets. And I found all of this out from not eating sweets. I had no idea I felt like that until I took these beloved foods out.
So let’s recap. Something else to remember that I have cut out of my diet is nuts. All nuts. One day, I just woke up and decided to not eat them because I was sick of feeling like sh*t all the time and wanted to know if they were the culprit to my bloated belly and stupid acne. I’m just such an all-or-none person. I have no middle ground, no sense of moderation. Just not how I roll. So I cut out nuts, then shortly after cut out fruit and sugar.
At first, this was pretty tough. My go-to night snack is anything sweet. Whether that’s eating Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips from the bag or chocolate covered mangos from Whole Foods, I wanted it all when the sun went down. So the first 3 days were kind of annoying, then the 4th day SUCKED. I mean, REALLY sucked. I was super light headed, really really dizzy, felt like I was blacking out half the day. It just sucked. So I went home, loaded up on sweet potatoes and sweet potato chips and instantly felt better the next day. I was just super low on carbs since I hadn’t really stocked up on vegetables in the first 3 days. After that, it was easy. I even made a couple sweet desserts and didn’t even taste them, just gave them to friends instead.
What I did find was that I craved something crunchy way more than I usually do. I really wanted sweet potato chips or Tyrrell’s vegetable chips on a regular basis. I day dreamed about them a lot. And I wanted to eat beets and carrots a ton more…probably because they are sweet. I ate more meat and more fat than I usually do, fat coming mostly in the form of coconut butter. I’ve stopped craving sweets most of the time, just once in a while I’ll get that.
So here were some of the things I ate while on the diet that aren’t entirely sugar free (but are acceptable in moderation on the sugar detox)
- Sweet Potatoes (mostly post workout)
- Green Apples (I had 3 over the course of 21 days)
- Tyrrell’s vegetable chips
- Coconut Butter
- Coconut Water (1 per day, if that)
- Kombucha (1 per day, if that)
- Alcohol (ok, that’s not allowed, but if you remember, I just couldn’t say no. 5 shots of Grey Goose were consumed)
So here’s what I think after 21 days. I think it’s awesome and everyone should try it. Yes, fruit is natural. I get it. But, if you’re anything like me, life sucks because even fruit makes you gain weight and feel bloated, so you may actually benefit from removing that excess sugar. After cutting out the treats, I felt WAY better and had more energy than ever. I also felt like my hormones were more in balance because I never felt like I was going through any mood swings. I felt like I was in a good mood almost every day.
So I was going to post photo results, but then I got scared and backed out. That’s just too frightening to me even though I’ve post half naked pictures of myself in the past. My bathing suit pictures is just serious. Sorry people, I’m lame.
What I can say is that even though my goal was not to lose weight or change anything body wise, I did feel like my body changed. I felt like my stomach got smaller, I felt a bit leaner, and I honestly thought my cellulite didn’t look quite as bad. I don’t think it’s anything that any of other person would notice, but I did and that’s all that really matters to me.
This is what I think. I think EVERYONE should try it at some point. We don’t really know how much sugar affects us until it is completely stripped of our diet. I, will probably not go back to eating sugar other than a once-a-week cheat, but Laura who wasn’t as greatly affected probably won’t be quite as strict as I am. So try it out yourself. Man up. If I can cut out sugar, anyone can. ANYONE.
Stop complaining. There will be a recipe tomorrow, ok? Geez.
Would this hurt or help someone who is hypoglycemic?
Paige asked about how the 21DSD would be for hypoglycemics…
100% helps! I was absolutely in that category though not clinically diagnosed, I suffered majorly from blood sugar spikes and crashes. Most hypoglycemia is directly related to diet although some is rooted in autoimmune hormonal destruction. Removing sugar and adding fat to the diet helps get your blood sugar levels even and your appetite sated for HOURS.
Thanks so much for commenting Diane!!
Thank you so much!
Paige — it will help. I am hypoglycemic as well, and it really, really helps to even out your blood sugar. Make sure that you eat plenty of glucogenic amino acids, and no alcohol. Frequent small meals. The first few days are horrible with the headaches, fatigue, and dizziness, but after that you’ll feel a lot better.
Paige, I’m by no means an expert, but people with hypoglycemia would likely have to up the amount of carb-dense foods (i.e., sweet potatoes, plantains, etc.) they would consume. Your best bet would be to ask your doc, though!
Any “diet” that eliminates natural whole fresh food is NOT natural and therefore shouldn’t be followed . It’s plain and simple eat natural whole ingredients, stay away from sugary sweets and exercise and you will feel amazing. God created these foods for us and they all serve a purpose. How can you listen to someone who is telling you to not eat natural ingredients. Of course you need to be aware of what your putting In your body . It’s all about balance .
*highfive* on the detox!
I have experimented with my fruit intake and I definitely think having one or two servings a day is optimal for me. Without it, I felt awful and tired and couldn’t lift my own butt off the ground, let alone lift a barbell. I think everyone should experiment with what is optimal for them!
Inspired to try this! We share the same addictions nuts and sugar. Thanks for the continued inspiration.
Way to go girl!!! I know that’s a hard thing to do, since you’re like me and love your sweets (fruit included). I’ve cut sugar and coffee out of my diet a few times. Although the sugar was hard I could handle it. The coffee however, let’s just say my husband was worried he would have to look for alternative living quarters. So, I limit myself to 1 cup of iced coffee in the morning. Congrats on your detox – thanks for the info : )
Congrats on finishing! Once I finish this Whole30 I’m on (which is in 6 days) I’m dropping fruit out for a month. I’ve completely hit a wall in my weight loss, and although I don’t eat a lot of fruit, I know it must be the culprit.
Glad to hear your results! Thanks, as always, for the inspiration.
No nuts and acne. MORE INFO PLEASE. Did you have any results there? I have been debating cutting out nuts myself and occasionally cut out everything but almonds…but cashews are my last true indulgence and the very THOUGHT makes me feel immensely deprived. Yet for clear skin, I would cut out anything.
you’re in luck on the love of cashews. not sure where i read the post, possibly primal blueprint, either way, cashews aren’t so bad! actually have a higher content of the good stuff over almonds! google it!
I effing love cashews
To those suffering with acne, I have suffered for years and years and have eaten basically paleo for many years. After seeking the help of countless drs, various allergy testings and other alternative health professionals I finally found a Chinese dr who took a blood sample for molecular allergy testing. He found me highly sensations to almonds, egg whites and cashews! 3 foods I ate constantly as I’m lactose intolerant and thOught they were the healthier option. 3 weeks of not eating these foods and my skin has cleared considerably! So it’s worth investigating.
I love this site!
cashews and peanuts cause horrible cystic acne for me. as does milk and bread. peanut butter and ice cream are the worst offenders. my skin was the most clear when i avoided nuts and dairy.
You inspired me and now I’m on day 7 and I feel fantastic. Less bloat and more lean for sure. I’m working on cutting out the nuts too. I think I’ll stick to this longterm as best I can. Sugar is a little bitch. Had some sweet potato after CF yesterday and it has never tasted so divine. You’re carrot cake pudding is also keeping me going and my kids love it too! Thanks for all you do!
WAY too early in my “low carb” lifestyle to consider giving up ALL sugar – I am only just getting to the point where I am able to handle “sugar has to come from fruit only”.
But good for you!
I concur x 10.
You can still look into the 21 day sugar detox. Diane has it set-up for 3 different levels of people. It isn’t just for those people wanting to go super low-carb.
I will be starting this next week!!! Had braces put on last week so have been living off smoothies. Time to crack down and get on track. Doing level 3!
You are an inspiration. I started yesterday. 🙂