I have completed my 21 Day Sugar Detox!! It always feels so good to accomplish a challenge!
I decided to do a 21DSD right now because I had been giving into me pregnancy sugar cravings more then I wanted to be. Between a handful of birthdays, family gatherings with many dessert options, and simple being tired which always makes me reach for sugary treats, I was partaking more then usual. I also spent much my first trimester relying on carbs to ease my nausea. I tried to stick to rice and baked potatoes, but I also ate a fair amount of Larabars, Simply Mills crackers and potato chips! One day I bought a bag of chips and ate nearly the entire at one sitting!! While I think that including these items in a well-balanced eating plan on occasion is a perfectly fine thing to do, I also know that too much of then pushes out more nutrient-dense foods. And that is not ideal, especially when you are growing a tiny human!!
So, I made to decision to give myself a little reset by taking on level 1. This also gave me the opportunity to have first hand knowledge of how expecting mamas should navigate the program, allowing me to better serve my clients. I did find that I felt better by adjusting my plate to include a few more real food carbs, this was different then how I handled it in my first non-pregnancy detox.
Because I had been eating as I described above, the first few days were tough. I had low energy, a headache and was a wee bit emotional. I realized pretty quickly I was not eating enough carbs to fuel all the things happening internally. So I made the decision to add potatoes to my very next meal and I was brought out of my funk. Before, I was able to go a couple of days with out dense carbs and be just fine. Pregnancy is much more demanding on the body and it requires more nutrients, including carbohydrates. I included at least a half a cup of dense carbs with nearly every meal, this was usually roasted or baked potato. If not that, it was brown rice or fried plantains.
Week 2 was pretty uneventful. I think I had one day where I ran out of potatoes for breakfast and lunch, because of poor planning on my part, so by the end of the day I was more worn out then usual. My hunger starting to level out…I didn’t feel this need to be eating constantly as I had before the detox. That is a good indictor that my blood sugar was not very regulated. I was also sleeping better. Thanks to baby boy and his snuggling with my bladder, I have to get up at least once a night, but I did notice that I was sleeping deeper prior to that wake-up call. I felt mentally clearer as well.
I will tell you that I had an off-plan meal on day 14. I went for sushi. Yum! While eating out is totally doable on the detox, I knew what I wanted to have from the restaurant and I ordered it as is, without making any adjustments to fit within the detox guidelines. Doing this meant that I most likely consumed some hidden sugars and had more than the allotted half cup of rice for the day. I very deliberately made the decision to eat this meal. Since moving, sushi has not been part of our normal routine as it once was. I literally think it had been over six months since we had any. Early on in pregnancy I had wanted sushi, but we never had time to make the hour trip to our trusted restaurant. Eventually the craving faded. Then it can back!! For like 3 days in a row, I was thinking about sushi at 7am!! That is kinda early to want raw fish, don’t ya think?! So that weekend, it worked out that my man and I could make the trip and get a visit in with family. Soooo, we went and enjoyed!! I took my time, savored the company and my meal. I didn’t let this meal make me feel like a failure. I didn’t think I had blown the whole detox nor did I jump headfirst into a sugary downward spiral. I simple moved on from it. I made detox approved choice at my next meal. I recognized the fact that that meal was not perfect but also, that my body was asking for it. I spent week three ignoring the huge pan of cheesecake that my mom sent home with my man. And honestly, I didn’t even want it. Yes, a bit would have been nice, but I was just fine not having any. I didn’t feel deprived.
Week three was again uneventful, I simply went about making meals that had protein, veggies, dense carbs and fat. I wasn’t even thinking out it much, I was just doing it. I had a menu for the week that included delicious meals and stuck to it. And then, the detox was done.
Now just because the detox was over, I did not sit down and enjoy all the food that had been off limits for the last 21 days. Instead, I slowly reintroduced a few foods. This is done by eating your chosen food at all 3 meals, paying attention to any physical or emotional change that occur on that day and the next. You do not try another food until the third day. The detox includes this time so that you give your body time to slowly readjust to foods and to be able to recognize if these foods are an issue for you and you should avoid them. This helps you to find your new normal!! Allowing you to find an eating plan that will nourish you while still having that special “treat” when you want to and not feeling like you were bad. Remember, it is just food…it is not good or bad. Certain foods may not make you feel your best but eating them does not make you bad!! It just makes you feel not so great.
On this round of the detox, my results were minimal. I had a more regulated appetite, thinking clearer, less emotional and sleeping better. I feel like my pregnancy weight gain also leveled out compared to the weeks leading up to the detox. Weight gain is important during pregnancy and I was in no way trying to stop it!! I was just aiming to regulate my blood sugar and get the healthy foods that the treats had replaced back into my diet to nourish me and the kid. Because sugary and processed food are nutrient void they take nutrients from the body to be able to break them down, leading to depletion…again, never a good thing, especially during pregnancy.
Are you ready to regain your control over food and feel great?? Ready to figure out which food will make you feel your best? If you answered yes, then join me for this fall! I will be offering an online Detox Coaching Group in September. I will be sharing more info on the detox later this week or you can click here to join in.