21 Day Sugar Detox

I began my paleo journey last winter after reading the book Pratical Paleo by Diane San Filippo. I saw countless positive changes in my health and have continued to live the paleo lifestyle ever since.  This summer I started hearing about the 21 Day Sugar Detox by the same author as Practical Paleo, and subsequently started doing my research on the topic. I decided on a start date  (November 5th) that was most conducive to my lifestyle and would give me the best success rate possible.

What is the 21 DSD?

Just as it sounds… It’s the process of detoxing your body from sugar. Not only does it eliminate processed sugars, but also good, natural sugars like honey and fruit, and also follows a lower carb diet. By eliminating these sweets it will train my brain to not crave them as much. Why 21 days? Apparently research shows that it takes at least 21 days to form new habits.

There are three levels in the detox depending on your current lifestyle. Level 1 includes gluten free grains and full fat dairy. Level 2 includes full fat dairy and excludes all grains. Level 3 excludes all dairy, grains, and legumes. The fruit that is exempted from the detox are green apples and green tip bananas as they taste less sweet.

I already exclude grains, legumes and dairy from my diet so I am doing Level 3.

Why do the 21DSD?

For myself, the main reasons I am doing it are to rid myself of my constant carb and sweet cravings, to help enhance my immune system, help reduce acne, stabilize my moods and increase energy.

You can get more information about the 21 DSD at balancedbites.com

In order to prepare myself for the 21 days I made a list of the things I will miss the most:

Sweet Potatoes

Gum

Stevia in my coffee

Orange juice in the morning

Not too bad, right? I think this will be alright!