stevia free–the way to be! …for now.

so last week when i posted about the 21 day sugar detox i received a lot of great questions!

i thought this would be the perfect time to talk about why i’m doing it, what it is, how i feel, and why i would recommend it to anyone

whether we want to admit it or not – i really do believe that every person has some sort of sugar addiction

for me it was/is a 100% stevia

even though stevia is a ‘safe’ all natural sweetener – it still has the chemical effects that sugar has on a person

you don’t really believe it’s true until you actually try giving it up for a week and see how much sugar or just the sweetness of something controls your appetite, your hunger, your sleep & your body

over the past couple of months i’ve slowly eliminated grains & dairy from my diet – at first i did it as an experiment to see what it was like – i actually did the whole30 challenge for 20 days and then caved on the 21st day when i wanted a cup of hot chocolate – oh well!

when i started to take on a paleo-esque diet & tried the whole30 challenge i started to feel amazing almost immediately. mainly because the challenge forced me to focus on REAL food. no more protein powder, peanut flour, stevia, low calorie fake foods

once i eliminated fake foods i started to realize that my body need real food – i craved meat for breakfast, hearty eggs, full fat foods, & almost immediately (after the couple of days of feeling like shit because my body was in sugar withdrawal) i had increased energy, i slept like a log, and my head & brain literally felt more clarity than it had in a while

was it that simple?

i started to look at the funky ingredients that were in a lot of the things i was consuming – almond milk, mustard, different dressings & sauces and realized that even though the labels said “0” sugar – the ingredients told otherwise

the whole30 challenge left me feeling amazing – i never shared it on here because i didn’t want to feel locked down to it – i felt like ‘let me give this a try’ and see how it works

after the 20 days of stevia, fake food free – i went back to old habits – although still remaining mostly paleo (with the exception of rice cakes, peanut butter, etc) i started to reuse peanut flour, protein powder, etc – making lower calorie versions of random things – instead of having real peanut butter i would make ‘peanut spread’ – why not just have a scoop of peanut butter instead…if that’s what your body wants

once i started increasing my in-take of stevia again i found myself depending on that mid-afternoon cup of hot chocolate, the fake protein cakes at night & i immediately felt sluggish and gross

i couldn’t sleep through the night, i never felt satiated & i just didn’t feel 100%

i found the 21 day sugar detox through a balanced bites podcast and decided to give it a try

well half-way.

i decided for my own good i would give up stevia, protein powder, artificial sweetener, etc for 21 days to see how i felt and prove to myself i can live a life without fake foods

secretly i already knew it would be do-able because i made it 20 days on the whole30 challenge

well i’m officially a week in and i feel great

i honestly, 100% and i will stand by it forever – believe that eating artificial foods makes us hungrier and makes us crazy. if we just fed our bodies REAL nutritious food all of the time then we wouldn’t crave or depend on protein fluff, powder, fake peanut butter, sugary treats, etc

OF COURSE i miss my stevia & cream in my coffee in the morning – but slowly i’m beginning to appreciate the taste of a good cup of coffee

i find myself once again having amazing sleep, increased energy, i’m eating more healthy fats, lots of heart healthy delicious food & i’m satiated and sane

i would recommend giving up artificial sweetener to anyone, adding more fats into your diet and seeing how it makes you feel – start small – for a week, then 2 weeks – see how you feel – it’s amazing how if you can push past that mental challenge how you become free of the control food can have over you

i don’t feel locked down by certain meal timing because i am feeding my body with the energy & proper food intake that it needs and i definitely think being addicted to artificial sweetener has an ill effect on your body & mind

NOW i’m not saying that after the 21 days i will never use stevia again – but i do know that if i start feeling crappy again – what/where the effects are coming from

so trust me on this one – nourish your body with the foods it’s supposed to have – you will feel SO delicious in the end

for more information/details on sugar addictions, etc here are some great articles i’ve read that helped talk me into giving it up for a bit

• the dish on sugar & sweeteners – balanced bites article
• the effect of artificial sweetener on insulin secretion – published article

love to love you <3

-julie