21 day ‘sugar detox’ recap

saturday marked the official end to my ‘21-day sugar detox’

i say this with quotations because i didn’t follow the program to the t – but i followed my own protocol – so i never officially completed the offical 21-day sugar detox but i did in fact complete my own

here’s what i eliminated/avoided for 21 days

• bread, flour, grains, rice (except rice cakes for me ha ha), oatmeal, oat bran
• legumes (beans, peanuts, etc)
• sugary fruits (you could have green apples & green tipped bananas)
• sweet potato, butternut squash & pumpkin were limited to post workout
• dairy (wahhh parmesan cheeeeeseee)
• sweetened or fake food products (protein powder, peanut flour, STEVIA, anything with sugar)
• alcohol (wah)

and i think that’s pretty much it

the program focuses on LOTS of real foods, lots of healthy fats (bacon cough bacon), lots of delicious vegetables, lots of good proteins

i knew avoiding grains, legumes, etc for 21 days wouldn’t be a problem – i was/had already been following a ‘soft paleo’ diet for a few months now and i wasn’t really concerned with avoiding protein powder, etc for that long because i rarely used it anymore

my main focus for doing the program was to eliminate my addiction (YES IT WAS AN ADDICTION) to stevia.

i almost made it through the program but besides an addiction to stevia – i love rice cakes. i just can’t help myself – i have no shame in that and i find no reason to eliminate them ever – they cause no hard and it’s a freaking rice cake.

and i did find myself eating more carrots over the past 3 weeks than i ever have in my entire life

…not something i’m proud of…

besides that i did great!

i ate TONS of avocado, lots of bacon, full-fat meats, steak, lots of salmon, almond butter & coconut butter were my best friends, big fat salads that involved tessemae’s dressings, hot sauce, & marinades

for breakfast i was craving chicken & veggies, & tuna cakes

and you may be wondering what i did about my beloved coffee?

i. drank. it. black.

like straight black.

although sometimes i did stir in some coconut oil or coconut butter – but i honestly found that it was perfectly fine without it

the one slip-up i had was on mere accident – i was at a baby shower and without even thinking i had a huge plate of fresh cantaloupe – WHOOPSIES!

surprisingly the one thing i had a SERIOUS craving for the entire time was parmesan cheese

i thought about it A LOT. and so saturday night you better BELIEVE had a plate of parmesan cheese with a side of beef sliders..

stevia is the devil in my eyes – i would put that shit on ev.er.y.THANG.

if you have an addiction to fake food products or stevia i HIGHLY recommend giving this a try – it’s not easy but i assure you, you will feel amazing

i 100% think that eliminating stevia, fake foods, etc made me realize how much more real food my body needs/needed. eating real foods instead of processed foods left me feeling satisfied, eliminated my hunger woes – and i stopped thinking about food all of the time!

i don’t really think this has to do with eating a paleo-type diet – in my opinion it was just about eating real nutritious foods all of the time – and when you’re hungry!

here are some of the recipes that made this challenge totally do-able for me:

• paleo shepherds pie

• quick & easy tuna cakes 
• spaghetti squash bolognese
• 21dsd approved coconut macaroons

• single lady secret chocolate microwave treat

the list goes on and on and on – for more recipes you can find them on my paleo & 21 day sugar detox pinterest boards

so now what are my thoughts post detox?

WELL. i am going to continue drinking my coffee black and avoiding stevia at ALL costs first of all

second of all i am going to start incorporating whole grains (oatmeal & brown rice) back into my diet. i feel the best when i have them post workout. otherwise nothing else will really change! i’m going to continue eating whole, nutritious and delicious foods – of course if i’m in the mood i’ll enjoy some protein powder or peanut flour – but for the most part i feel best when i avoid those stinky foods

with that being said….

here’s what i ate for sunday breakfast

wah wahh. fitmixer pre workout, & a blueberry egg white oatbran pancake with an almond milk latte post workout.

do you have any questions?

love to love you <3

-julie