Life with a Fork

As of today, my 21 Day Sugar Detox is complete. 

I decided to jump on the bandwagon earlier this month with the official Balanced Bites 21DSD because it felt like a good time to get myself in check.  I will admit, while I’m sure it’s totally worth the money and extremely helpful, I did not buy the guide to go along with the program.  In my defense however, I have purchased Diane’s Paleo guide and attended one of her seminars in Atlanta so I don’t think I need to justify my respect for this amazing woman.

Anyways, she’s amazing.  Her blog is awesome.  But I’m getting off topic.

During the 21 Days:

The first few days were a bit difficult.  Not because my cravings were out of control or anything, but it was a bit daunting to see how many days I had left.  I generally don’t do well with the whole “you-can’t-eat-this” mentality.  It usually just increases my desire for whatever it is I can’t have.

But I kept on going.  After about 4 days of making little X’s on my note card calendar, my OCD kicked in and honestly I became a bit crazy over the simple act of crossing off the days.  If I am completely honest here (which I always am), I didn’t eat sugar for 21 days purely due to the fact that I would be so annoyed if one day didn’t get crossed off.  Oh yeah, and I was feeling better also!

Also, during the 21 days, I kicked up my weight training a notch.  I started feeling better and it was really showing in my progress at the gym.  I was lifting heavier, feeling leaner, and experiencing much more energy throughout the day.  In fact, coming from someone who has never (ever) been a morning person, I was waking up everyday around 8am without an alarm.  This is unheard of for me.

The second week was much easier.  It was becoming easy and mindless.  I would walk by the pastry shop on my way to work (there seems to be one on every corner here in Madrid) and it wouldn’t phase me one bit.  Still crossing off the little boxes on my calendar, there was no turning back at this point and I moved on to week three.

With that said, the last few days were very tough for me as I was experiencing hormonal cravings.  How did I battle this?  I went to the gym.  I went for a walk.  I did anything I could think of to get away from them and make myself feel healthy.  I might have spent the whole time at the gym thinking about chocolate, but when I finished my workout, I knew I had conquered my craving.  This, my friends, is a big milestone in my book.

Day 22:

Today I feel great.  I woke up at 8:15am and have managed to be quite productive in these morning hours preparing for my classes and just taking care of general errands around the house.  I am excited about my workout this afternoon because I took the day off from weight training yesterday.  I am loving the way my leaner body looks.  I love seeing my abs.  It might be a bit conceited, but I can’t stop staring at them.  I might not be marking off the days anymore on a little calendar, but it just feels like another normal day.  Another normal day of making better choices and prioritizing my health over a simple indulgence.  I think this is why the 21DSD is successful.  It becomes a part of normal life. 

I encourage you to take ownership of the sugar cravings that we all experience.  Sugar is the one thing that can really break your healthy lifestyle and can inhibit you from reaching your goals.  It’s addictive qualities are exactly like a drug.  I would never tell you it’s okay to smoke crack so why would I tell you it’s okay to inhale a whole chocolate bar in one sitting (been there. done that.)?  This isn’t for life.  It’s only 21 days.  But 21 days can completely change your ability to take control of your health.  You can do it!!

just tell me it wouldn't have been annoying to have a single box uncrossed.

Check out my previous posts about my 21 Day Sugar Detox:

#21DSD is a trending topic

Day 7(ish) of my sugar detox

Note: I don’t weigh myself.  I just think scales are dumb.  Numbers tend to make people crazy and I would prefer to stay sane.  But if I were the type of person to weigh myself, I can guarantee that during the 21DSD, I gained weight.  I lost fat and gained muscle.  I leaned out.  My body fat percentage is definitely lower than when I started.  But if I were the type of person to weigh myself, the higher number might discourage me from feeling as good as I do.  So I don’t weigh myself.