21 Sugarless Days

Well. Here we are. I finished off the 21 days with a huge salad with grilled chicken and avocado.

When I started eating “paleo” cold turkey last winter I saw major differences right away. I had everything from the withdrawals in the first week (intense headaches, fatigue and sore all over),  but eventually saw weight loss, better skin, headache improvements, better immune system and even better nails. Perhaps because I saw such differences when I made those changes I thought that I would see even more improvements with the 21 Day Sugar Detox. I believe I set my hopes too high and wound up disappointed. I also believe that my stress levels were too high during the 21 days and I worked way too much so I didn’t see any differences in my sleep (my sleep patterns are way off) or acne.

However, I’d like to be positive about this. Due to the amount that I worked and the sleep that I lacked I’d like to think how much worse off I might have been if I had been eating sugar. I didn’t get sick in the height of the flu season, when many other people in my workplace (a HOSPITAL) were getting sick. Okay I might be jinxing myself now.

I did learn a lot about my diet in these 21 days. I probably don’t eat nearly enough vegetables. Yes I had a lot of salads and squash, but I could definitely do with a wider variety of vegetables and more of them. I eat a heck of a lot of eggs and bacon. But also staying positive, I eat probably 100% more vegetables than I ate this time last year.

I decided to do the detox in November because I thought there would be less temptation. But in hindsight I believe that the spring or summer might be a better time to do the 21 DSD. Much more fresh and local produce, farmer’s markets and likely cheaper as well.

In any case, It’s over now. I may try the detox again next summer or spring. It was a learning opportunity and I love experimenting with new recipes and different ingredients. The 21 Day Sugar Detox book by Diane Sanfilippo was very helpful and I made many of the recipes from the book that will now become regulars in my meal rotation.