21 Day Sugar Detox Adventures

21 Day Sugar Detox Adventures

For those of us who have grown up in colder places, November means warm blankets, hot beverages, boots, football, and eating to compensate for calories lost to shivering. Comfort food comes out of its summer hibernation, starches and breads abound, and every recipe calls for butter. Going outside requires bundling up and is not always worth the added effort, so it is much easier to sit inside. Of course, when you're sitting inside, the pantry is much closer, and you have to be sure that no one slipped poison into the fresh batch of cookies. Obviously you must taste all of them just to double check.

November in Florida is very different from November up north. The sun still warms the land to 80 degrees most days and the evenings generally don't dip below 50. You may still find yourself by the pool Thanksgiving weekend (we did!). And yet there is still the temptation to delve into warm, calorie-rich foods, because that's what you do in late fall.

I eat fairly clean to begin with, but my sugar intake is definitely over my recommended daily allowance. Even worse if I include grains and starches as sugar sources, because they are quickly converted to sugar in the body. If all my meals are at home and they are all gluten free, sugar still makes it into every meal I eat. Eating out is significantly worse; food distributors of all kinds add sugar in ways you can't begin to imagine, because it is part of what makes the food delicious and keep us wanting more. It seems like everyone I know complains of gaining 10 pounds over the holiday season, not surprising given that increased sugar consumption decreases the intake of nutrients your body needs for survival as well as contributing to weight gain, according to a 2013 CDC study. So not only are you gaining weight, but your body also isn't getting nutrients essential for health. Do you think that factor and immune suppression from stress might contribute to the increase in flu cases around the holidays?

Five of us decided that this year, our sugar cravings were not allowed to rule the holidays. No more submission to the siren calls of the gingerbread men. No more being enslaved by our food.

Dr. Frank, Laure, Kristina, Jessica and I all elected to participate in the 21 Day Sugar Detox challenge starting November 1st. Everyone selected the level of the program that was right for them, and some diets were stricter than others, but we all made it through the 21 days. And...

...We. Had. A. Blast! 

Everyone had an assigned day to make lunch, so we only each had to make lunch once during the work week and we were able to try a wide variety of different recipes! We were surprised to find how many delicious things we could make without sugar, even Pumpkin Pancakes! 

We lost a combined total of 28 pounds!

One participant said:
"My personal experience with the 21 day sugar detox was hard in the beginning but I must say it did get easier after the third day. The reason I wanted to do the detox was to decrease my dependency on sugar. Very often I would depend on a sugar snack to fulfill my cravings for a boost of energy when feeling down, tired or simply bored. I felt that by the second week of the program my cravings were gone. I also noticed that I lost about 10 pounds during the program. The easiest was to complete the program was to have a meal plan in place and during the program be surrounded with people that are going to be supportive and encouraging."

These were Laure's thoughts:

"This past November, the good Dr. Frank and I decided to dedicate 21 days to a sugar free life. When we spoke about it at the office, we were very excited that 3 other office members wanted to join us. I had half halfheartedly participated in the 21 day detox in the past, but this was the first time I fully dedicated myself to follow the program through to the end.  With the encouragement and interaction of our staff members I felt confident that we would all have success!

We all familiarized ourselves with Diane Sanfilippos' 21 Day Sugar Detox manual and cookbook and chose recipes to share with the group. I feel her manual is extremely well written; detailing “the science behind cravings, sugar crashes”, tips on what to expect during the program, meal planning and great recipes for nutritious, delicious meals appropriate for the whole family.

I expected to deal with cravings during the program and truly I did. I had to keep myself out of the kitchen, finding things to keep myself busy until they passed. One of the pearls I came away with was the concept that we were resetting our taste buds. An example is that during the program the only “sweet” foods allowed are 1 green tipped banana or 1 green apple per day. In the beginning, the apples tasted somewhat sweet/tart to me. Much more so than a golden delicious or a fuji. At the end of the program the green apple tasted so sweet and delicious and fruits such as strawberries tasted like they had been dipped in sugar! So not only was this “resetting” of the taste buds a concept, but a true reality!

During the detox I slept better, had no digestive disturbances of any kind, had little or no swelling in my joints (could sugar do that?) and lost 5 pounds. I was ecstatic about all these results and felt I learned a lot about how my body reacts to sugar, and how I needed to re-arrange my lifestyle to limit sugars for good. I will say that I have indulged here and there over the holidays and visits with family etc. but I have kept away from refined foods primarily, and have been careful to watch my quantities of fruits.

I'm happy to do this challenge again anytime I feel like I've gotten off track or someone else needs the support. Cheers to a happy, healthy, sugar free 2016! Laure Frank"

Another participant said:

"Definitely I don't enjoy sugar the way I used to before the detox. I don't put it in my coffee anymore and I don't crave it as much. My clarity is much better and I am not as sleepy as I used to be during the day. In the first few days I struggled with cravings and had headaches while my body was weaning itself off sugar, then they went away. I know I lost at least 10 pounds! I still haven't returned to eating as much sugar as I used to and I'm more conscious, especially watching out for added sugar and sodium in the regular products I buy at the grocery store. I'm also keeping my drinks to coffee and water, I completely cut out soda and I have tea infrequently. When I do, it's half sweet, half unsweet to cut down the sugar. I would do the detox again, it certainly wouldn't hurt!" 

I noticed that I did best with the detox when I supplemented with one serving per day of a gluten free, sugar free baked good like my popovers (recipe to follow soon!) or quinoa. My body is so addicted to grains that it became overwhelmed at times when I had too much fat, and needed the carbohydrates to balance it out. What that actually means is I probably should have detoxed longer, and it's a great reason for me to jump back into it. My absolute favorite part about the detox is I really was able to enjoy eating healthy fats such as avocado and coconut daily. And I was able to eat bacon more often! It was obvious that when I had a sugar craving, I needed more protein and/or fat instead and I felt significantly better and felt satisfied longer than if I would have had a sugary snack. My downfall over the holidays was being at home with family and falling into old patterns.

So why am I writing about this now, months later? It's April and we are heading into beach season. Now is an amazing time to say goodbye to bad habits, lose some weight, and start fresh for spring! If we do another detox in the next month, can we count on you to join us?

Call the office at 813-788-0496 so we can embark on this journey together!

If you have Diabetes, are pregnant or are nursing, you should not begin a diet without first consulting with your doctor. 

Any health topics that are covered should not be considered medical advice, if you have specific questions please contact your doctor or make an appointment with us.