Detox take 2...

I do not like failure. I like even less when I have to admit it to myself and least of all when I have to share news of failure with others.

My first attempt at a sugar detox was a complete failure! There, I said it. Failed.

After talking to some friends I realized I was not alone. Kicking the sugar addition is hard to do!

The hardest part for MOST people was the morning coffee, for me it was lack of breakfast options.

It's no secret that too much sugar is bad for our health. The FDA recommends about 70g of sugar a day for men and 50g for women but many of us are exceeding this. Even this is HIGH. Dietitians and physicians recommend no more than 24g (or 6 teaspoons) a day for a healthy diet. 

I FIRST started thinking, hey I can swing this. And with no official plan (or grocery trip) I started off reading labels, EVERYTHING has sugar. Everything! 

And all of my knowledge about health and fitness points to the fact that excess sugar consumption can cause weight gain, energy slumps and even wrinkles, so its totally worth the pain and suffering for a tiny bit of time.

In round two - for the standard days; breakfast consists of eggs - scrambled, poached or hard boiled (with tons of veggies - peppers, onions, mushrooms and tomatoes) - Lunch is salads, such as tuna or poached or grilled chicken on a bed of leaves, and dinner comes in the form of protein, such as grilled fish, chicken, pork or steak, with a selection of vegetables, and if necessary a starch like quinoa or sweet potato.

 

The only snacks allowed over the three days include nuts and vegetable sticks with hummus, celery with peanut butter or sliced, or raisins and you can only drink green/herbal tea and one black coffee per day (along with lots of water that can be jazzed up with a slice of lime or lemon) and unsweetened almond or coconut milk.

I suggest BEFORE the first 3 days there is a trial period. During this trial it is essential to limit sugar as much as possible, no processed, no carbs and no more than 1/4 cup of fruit a day. One the 3 days are up, rotate to ALL IN! While sticking to the plan is not easy, the mild modification from 'cold turkey' and cutting out all sugar - including that found in fruit - for subsequent days is necessary to set people on the right path.

The Sugar Fix doesn’t allow any bread, rice, or pasta, but that is because starchy carbohydrates are a major contributor to sugar addiction. These are replaced with good carbohydrates that are full of fiber, such as vegetables, and can actually help lower blood sugar.
After the initial 10-day detox, some sugar is then re-introduced as the diet progresses to make it more manageable. Fruit in limited amounts is the first to be re-introduced. Here beginning slowly is key, begin at 1/8 cup, increasing 1/8 every 3 days until a max of 1 cup is reached. At which point 1/8 up of full fat dairy can be re-introduced, followed by 1/8 cup of complex carbs (after the full cup of dairy is reached). Processed and packaged foods should remain rarities if ever. Substitutions for sugar should become honey (localized) or stevia whenever possible and limited to 1 small item per day or week if possible.