My 21 Day Sugar Detox: Hope and Healing

I did it! 21 days without sugar. Any sugar, fruit or otherwise. This is truly a momentous day for me because I've never in my life accomplished three weeks entirely sugar free. How did I do it? This is the part where I pledge my undying love for Diane of Balanced Bites for creating the 21 Day Sugar Detox. Without this program I never would have stuck it out. No I am not a paid spokesperson...yet. I just really have a lot of gratitude for what I've experienced the last 21 days and the impact this program has had on my life. 

Back to the start and why I decided to go this route. I've been eating a Paleo diet for over a year now. Truth be told I've never been completely "low carb." I've always indulged in natural sugars, even dark chocolate (lots of dark chocolate actually.) Gasp..the horror!! Cheese and grains were easy to cut out because I have a lot of allergies and those foods made me feel gross. But sugar is my vice. Like THE vice. And life is hard people. Am I not right? I need vices. Or so I thought. The last few months have been a whirlwind. I've been dealing with some heavy stuff and throughout it I've allowed myself to slip deeper into a sugar rut. I'm not one with a lot of self control. Even though some people who know me might be scoffing at that right now thinking I'm probably one of the most self-disciplined people they know based on the fact alone that I eat a Paleo diet. BUT, and there's always a but, no matter how self-disciplined you think someone is, they have their weaknesses. Wow do I have weaknesses. Number one being sugar. 

I decided to do the 21 DSD this time around because I knew I needed to cut out all sugars and Diane offers great information and recipes that help with the transition. Here's the core of why my sugar addiction isn't working for me anymore. I've struggled with mood swings related to my mental health and hormones for all of my life. When I was younger I was incorrectly diagnosed and placed on antidepressants that made me miserable. Since then I've committed to always trying the natural solution if possible first before resorting to medicine. Thankfully the medical professionals I'm under the care of are completely supportive and accepting of this choice. What I've found in my search to better understand what happens to my body and brain is that sugar might just be the main source of my struggle and pain. It was time to find out. 

(Disclaimer: I don't disagree with anyone's choice to deal with their mental health issues through medical options and this is in no way medical advice, just my own personal experience.)

Going sugar free. Can I really do this? Three weeks ago I kicked off the detox. I felt the crumminess the first day or so. Surprisingly it seemed easier than when I first started eating Paleo. For the first few days I had higher energy but that didn't last long. Once my body went into Ketosis I was pretty puny. I expected this so I treated myself well. I cut out my kettlebell workouts and focused only on walking and yoga. 

Here's the part where I'm going to get all girlie so guys if you're easily offended by female biology you're free to check out now and I won't blame you. 

A few months ago I wrote this article on Robbwolf.com about my experience treating my PMS symptoms that were due to estrogen dominance. I've continued my experiment with my hormones throughout the detox. I basically cured my PMS through supplements recommended by Robb Wolf and have had great success with that. But before the detox, I was still struggling with some of the ups and downs between my pre-ovulation phase to the mid-luteal phase. Here's how it goes: Cycle day 1 through 14 or 15 I feel great, on top of the world. The sun is shining and the birds are chirping. I feel pretty!! Then BAM! I ovulate. I go down instantly. While I no longer feel the "coming out of my skin wanting to rip everyone's head off" sensation that PMS used to land me in, I'm still not where I want to be. 

I started the detox on day 1 of my cycle so the first two weeks were during the pre-ovulation phase which made everything seem manageable. I didn't have the extreme highs I usually experience that time of the month which was my goal in doing the detox. Hooray!! I was beginning to think I'd found the stability I've been looking for. My cravings were totally gone. Life was good.  Then...ovulation came and went and my cravings returned with a vengeance. My energy got even lower. I felt depressed and anxious. Confused as to how I'd made it through the first two weeks of the detox with flying colors only to land in the mud on the third week, I went looking for answers. And I got them! Here's some helpful information from Mark Sisson:

During menstruation, a woman’s serotonin levels are at their lowest. And because carbohydrates (via insulin) increase the availability of the premier amino acid precursor to serotonin (tryptophan), craving carbs during your period is totally natural. It probably just means that you are low in serotonin (which, according to the research, you likely are) and your body wants to make more of it.

As for whether or not this is problematic, sports science offers another clue: during the mid-luteal phase (the two weeks leading up to menstruation) when estrogen dominates, the potential for glycogen storage is maximized. What that means is that for two weeks before your period rolls around, your muscles are primed to accept and store carbohydrate as energy (rather than as fat). I wouldn’t suggest you give in to the carb cravings as they typically manifest – muffins, cakes, pizza, cookies – but this might be a better time to eat a few Primal-friendly sources of carbs. Think sweet potatoes, white potatoes, yams, squash, and various types of fruit. Oh, and high-quality dark chocolate, if that’s your thing. The fact that your cravings only surface during your period tells me that you’re in a good place, nutritionally, and that these cravings are physiologically normal and expected. Read more

After I ovulate my muscles are begging for carbs! No wonder I was so grumpy. I had not been eating any sweet potatoes on the detox but had been allowing myself the one green apple a day as prescribed in the 21 DSD manual. Apparently that wasn't enough. Now before folks start commenting that I probably wasn't getting enough fat let me reassure you that I was. I decided to add back in sweet potatoes and it made all the difference in my mood. After two days I was back to stable and my energy not only returned but it was even higher. I was able to add back in my kettlebell workouts and dance classes. 

Where do I go from here? The 21 Day Sugar Detox wasn't just three weeks sugar-free for me. It was a possibility. To see if I could find stability that I've spent an entire lifetime searching for. A possibility to show the medical community that food can heal mental health and hormone imbalance issues. I plan to slowly work some fruit back into my diet but only if it doesn't send me running for Oreos. I'll keep my carb intake a bit higher during the second half of my cycle and continue to monitor my moods. 

I found my possibility and I'm going to keep nurturing it for as long as I can. 

Spring Babies

It's the first day of spring break at my house. Which should have meant sleeping in and a lazy morning. Instead we got up early, piled everyone into the car and drove out to the burbs to buy our first baby chicks from a local hardware store! We are now the proud owners of six Barred Plymouth Rocks. This is what they look like right now:

Eventually they will look like this:

They'll spend the next few weeks in our basement garage living in a pen that my husband built out of old screens. 

He's still designing the coop and planning to build it entirely out of recycled material from the crap taking up space in our basement and possibly our old picket fence. Of course the reason we got chickens is for the eggs in a few months. There will be a party the first day someone lays. 

This is our first adventure into backyard chickens so wish us lots of luck. I grew up with chickens on my grandparents farm but I was TERRIFIED of them. Hopefully I've grown out of that. Only time will tell. Happy Spring!

21 Day Sugar Detox: Day 3

The actual group kick-off of Balanced Bites' 21 Day Sugar Detox happens April 2. The reason I started early is that I was at a breaking point with sugar and I didn't see another week gorging on dark chocolate doing me any favors. I also wanted to give myself a little room to fall off but that doesn't seem to be the case. It's day 3 and quite honestly I feel way better than I expected to. The first day I definitely felt the fog and I was tired. Day 2 was better with just my usual afternoon lull and sugar cravings. I enjoyed the allotted daily green apple with a tablespoon of nut butter. It quenched my cravings immediately.

Some things are already changing in this short amount of time. For instance my head is clear. That's a huge one and probably the main reason I started this. Focus has never been a strong point for me but I can see that shifting by the hour. I noticed how green the grass looked. Not that colors are any brighter, it's just that I'm actually paying attention. Another thing is that I'm really enjoying my meals and savoring the flavors. Meal time is becoming more of a ritual that I experience now instead of just a necessity to get food in. A really big change seems to be my energy level. I woke up with a desire to accomplish a great deal and I actually feel like I can.

I started to have some doubts about the timing. Three of my daughters have April birthdays which means some kind of treat for them that I'll have to avoid. There's also Easter which we'll be spending with family which also means there will be treats. Later in the month my grandfather is celebrating his 94th birthday. That means a weekend traveling and staying with family. That alone had me wanting to ditch the whole deal. The thing that got me through those thoughts and kept me committed is remembering when I got clean 14 years ago and still had to work in bars for my job. There were risks of relapse everywhere I looked but I got through it and I stayed clean. Taking a recovery point of view with sugar is helping me get through this detox already. 

One of the things I realized in the last couple of days is why the 21DSD is different than anything I've tried before. I've never completely eliminated sugar from every source. In the past I've tried to cut out refined sugars but still had fruit, sweet potatoes, plantains, etc. What I'm seeing now is that bananas, dates, even red apples basically have the same affect as chocolate for me. If I have those I'm going to crave refined sugar. At least for the time being. I don't know what to expect in the future but I'm looking forward to seeing what changes happen in the coming weeks!

Sugar Detox

In one week's time (hopefully sooner) I'll be completely sugar free for the first time ever in my 35 years of life. I decided to follow the lovely Balanced Bites 21 Day Sugar Detox protocol. I'm getting a little head start of the April 2 kick-off because I want to ease into it. In my year plus of eating Paleo I've never completed a successful Whole30. I've tried a couple of times but the sugar always gets me. So why do I think I'll complete the 21 DSD? I'm not sure that I will but it's in my best interest. I've spent years dealing with issues that I now realize are either in part or in whole contributed to my sugar addiction. Arriving at that realization is what's different for me this time. But then again for any of us recovering from something, it's a matter of one day at a time.

I've kicked a whole lot of substances. Most of which land people in rehab for days, weeks, or months. While I was able to get clean many years ago without treatment centers, I would gladly check myself into a facility without hesitation to ease the sugar withdrawal this go round. But that's not a reality and I need to do this for my health and wellness so it's white knuckle time. I know I deserve to be happy and sugar is probably one of the factors keeping me from finding the great inner peace I so desire. It's hard to live in a society that doesn't view sugar in the same light as heroin, but it is my heroin and I think it's others too. I try to have a little here and there and limit it. Before long it's everyday then it's a snack in between meals. That's not how I want to live anymore and it's not in line with my Paleo diet. I'm hoping to use this blog for the next few weeks as a place to journal this experience. Some of it might get personal as I know this will bring up emotional issues for me. I encourage those of you struggling with sugar addictions or just needing a reset to join me for the ride. Let's go!

January Celebrations

This month I'm celebrating anniversaries and milestones of all kinds. It was five years ago that I met a man that I knew would spend the rest of my life with me. Quickly I went from being a newly divorced mother of three very young children to being in more love than I ever imagined possible. Our journey has been one of epic proportions. I never expected that in 5 years time I would emotionally grow 35 years. No one has ever allowed me to truly be me like he does and vice versa. We've shared plenty of ups and downs like the birth of our beautiful little girl. Then just two years later the heartbreaking miscarriage that nearly ended my life. But what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right!?! It's so true. 

We've survived it all and we continue to thrive. But there have been harder times than others. Just a year ago the stresses of managing our busy lives were bringing us down. We weren't healthy or in good shape. So we took a stand and together we made a decision to take back our physical and emotional health. Eleven months ago we began this Paleo adventure and never looked back. 

This journey continually teaches me that it's not just about weight loss. Cleaning up my diet and cutting out the crap only opened up my mind to it's full potential of healing childhood trauma that was keeping me from being the person I'd always wanted to be. If you want to learn more about this I would highly recommend reading Nora Gedgaudas' book Primal Body Primal Mind. There is a mind-body connection between what we eat and how our brains and bodies function. I feel like I'm finally out of my personal prison. While I didn't come into this with huge weight loss goals, what I didn't realize is the baggage I needed to shed. Being the kind of mother and wife that my children and husband deserve because I'm free of the chains that kept me locked up is more of a gift than any number of pounds I could have lost. 

That amazing man that I met 5 years ago had the same experience on his Paleo journey. While our stories are somewhat different we both found ourselves on this path of healing not only our bodies but also our hearts. For his entire adult life he hid behind his weight. Not ever thinking he deserved to have a beautiful body. But he took the chance and what happened has been an amazing transformation. This week he's officially lost 40 pounds. In eleven months! People remark everyday how much younger he looks. What a joy it is for me to see him discovering himself in this new body that's full of energy, excitement for life, and youthful vigor. 

As we continue this primal journey to the root of ourselves we want to continue to inspire others to find their paths of love, health, and happiness. Happy New Year. Make this one count!

Left: date night two years ago   Right: date night last weekend

Left: one year ago  Right: NOW!! 40 pounds lighter

Taking Back My Family

A few weeks ago driving home on a long road trip after my step-mother's funeral, I made a life changing decision. My husband and I were taking stock of our lives and finances. Seeing where we could trim fat and looking to see where we could improve our quality of life. 

For ten months we've invested our entire selves into our health. We switched to a Paleo diet, changed our high cardio workouts to kettlebells and strength training. My children went to a gluten and dairy free diet. They still eat some grains because they live between two houses. I started cooking three meals a day. It's been the largest return on investment I've seen in my life. Our bodies changed for the good, but our health changed for the great. One daughter's asthma disappeared. Her twin sister's Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) symptoms mostly disappeared. It was like watching a butterfly emerge from her cocoon. This child who'd been trapped inside her body her entire 7 years of life could suddenly breathe. My three year old's dark circles disappeared from under her eyes and so did mine! If all this wasn't enough, my husband and I have both suffered life long anemia. His from thalassemia, mine from poor diet and eating food I was allergic to. Suddenly we weren't iron deficient any longer. One of the most remarkable changes is that all four children stopped getting sick all of the time. I can't remember the last time we had a sick doctor visit or anyone missed school. Miracle in my book. I say all of this to prove a point. We worked very hard to make our lives healthier and it paid off. But we're still missing a piece of the happy life pie.

I mentioned that my girls live in two houses. I share custody of my older three with their dad which means they're gone one weeknight and every other weekend. Then my husband and I have our toddler. That's four kids total. Three are in school and the youngest is in pre-school. The older girls' school extended their day this year because the district was trying to save money. It's been a huge challenge to our family to find time together. The older girls can't do activities on Saturdays because I typically only have them 2 weekends out of the month. That means I have to schedule their after school activities on the weekdays that they wouldn't be going to their dad's house at 5:30. With the longer school day they don't get home until almost 5pm as it is. I tried to make it work. Four activities for four kids. Plus gymnastics for the child with SPD to be counted as therapy. So that's five activities to squeeze into 3 days. For years I've been playing the soccer mom role, minus the soccer. It's exhausting and makes me grumpy. Driving kids all over town in a mad rush to be on time. Refereeing the ones who aren't participating in the activity while they fight because of boredom. Then rushing in the house to scarf down dinner and throw everyone into bed. My parents are constantly remarking on how busy we are and that I should slow down. But this is what modern American families do. We run our selves into the ground in the name of our children. Are we really doing them a favor?

Maybe my situation is more challenging due to sharing custody, but I know plenty of people who aren't divorced, have fewer children than I do and are just as stressed out. Some even more so. Just as our culture expects us to live off of wheat and sugar, it also expects us to live a life of stress and misery so we can have and do "things." When you lose someone close to you, sometimes it triggers an inventory of life. When I lost my step-mom in November that's exactly what happened to me. My memories of spending my summers with her and the simple life we had on a farm made me realize how precious my time is with my daughters. I want my family back. Even if we only have 3 hours a night after school and work to spend together, I don't want it to be in a car. When they grow up, I want their memories to be of us as a family creating special moments. Not of me yelling at them in the car because we're all worn out and tired from overdoing it. 

For the last month we've been preparing them for this. Some took it harder than others. No one was especially thrilled about it, but over time they got excited about the possibilities. We're planning on playing more games together after dinner. Everyone is playing an instrument now so we'll be working on putting together our little family band. We'll also have lots of loud music nights dancing in our socks and putting on performances for each other. In the spring, summer, and early fall we'll play outside until bedtime. The possibilities are endless. This was one of the hardest decisions I've ever made. I worried about what I was taking away from them until I realized the gift I was giving them. There's nothing primal about juggling this insane schedule for 3, 7, and 10 year olds. I see how quickly they're growing and I don't want to miss a single opportunity to shape them into happy and balanced young women. 

Hormone Imbalance Resources

The response to my article posted on Robb Wolf's website about my struggle to overcome hormonal imbalance has been unbelievable! I had no idea that so many other women were suffering from the same symptoms I've spent the last 20 years dealing with.

Because I've received so many questions, I decided to put some resources into one place for everyone. I also want to mention that you should consult with a naturopath or even have blood panels run by your doctor as mentioned in this article. One of Robb's points in the podcast where he answered my question is that you can really mess your body up if you start experimenting and it's not the right path for you. I am not a doctor or an expert!! This and my other post are strictly my own experience and I do not discount a professional's opinion. Even if your symptoms match mine, your issue could be the opposite of mine. I highly recommend that you listen to that podcast to hear all of his suggestions. There were more than what I wrote about. There's also another episode of The Paleo Solution podcast that deals with hormone imbalance and estrogen dominance.

For the sake of time I didn't have a chance to go into a lot of detail in my article about the amount of research I did. But I spent many hours mulling over everything I could find. There doesn't seem to be an easy answer or fix for estrogen dominance or hormonal imbalance of any kind. I feel fortunate that the supplement and acupuncture is working for me, so far! But the downside is that it might not work for every person with the same symptoms I have. My results were immediate so if you try any of these suggestions and don't see an immediate change that might be an indicator that something else is going on and you should have blood work done and seek out someone who can help you find answers.

Since most of the questions I've received have been regarding what supplement I'm using, here it is: Breast-D by Pure Essence Labs.





Good luck to all on your hormone journey and please keep me posted. I'd like to start a section on the blog devoted to your experiences. So write them down!!