21 Days Without Sugar? Say It Ain't So...

Last New Years, I decided to go vegan for a year. I'd done vegetarian for a year, so I figured I'd take it to the next level. Well, it didn't go very well. I lasted about two months, which, I will say, was good enough for me. I was also living in Omaha teaching ELL at Creighton, and I had almost no spending money. One thing about eating vegan (or eating well in general) that I didn't prepare for is that it's fairly expensive. So, after two months of baaaarely scraping up enough money to buy the vegan versions of things like donuts (because who's going to swear off donuts for a year...?), and not taking the time to plan ahead for cheaper options, I decided to stop eating vegan. I may have also been influenced by my March trip to Seattle, as my older sister had my whole trip planned around food, and some of it was definitely NOT vegan. Also, I think it's hard to eat as strictly as vegan requires without the strong convictions that usually come along with veganism, so I just didn't make the cut. I know another Leah who's super vegan and loves it, and I always feel I failed her some small way. Sorry, Leah! You are a stronger woman than I am.
I did manage to stay vegetarian for quite a few months after that though...(which would have lasted longer but my summer trip to California-- trip to In-N-Out Burger-- cut vegetarianism short, and who can blame me for that?).

Point being that my food resolutions/diets/crazy ideas don't always go well. There was that time I watched Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead and thought FOR SURE that I needed to do a 30-day juice cleanse. Oh, no big deal, I thought. The first few days will be rough, but then I'll love it and feel great and be so healthy that I glow. So I got about 12 hours into drinking kale/cucumber/lime juices (which, by the way, taste EXACTLY like freshly cut grass) and actually gagged each time I thought about my next "meal" (if you don't chew it, is it really a meal?). I was working two jobs and my first night at my second job happened to be Day One of my juice fast. I'd even bought a juicer. So I got off work at my first job and thought NO. I already had a caffeine headache and I felt wobbly. I didn't want to wobble too hard during my first day as a barista-in-training. So I stopped at a gas station to get something healthy... and walked out with a giant Diet Coke and a huge bag o' Flamin' Hot Cheetos.

Oops.

So when I heard about this book The 21 Day Sugar Detox, and saw a few people post about it on Facebook, I immediately dismissed it. No sugar? No way. I eat sugar constantly. Even when I was in crazy diet mode and lost 30 pounds one semester, I ate sugar. Every day. Mostly dark chocolate. I'd get a donut once in a while, but I limited it. Not to mention the sugars in most of my "healthy" meals, such as bran flakes, wheat bread, and salad dressing. But, I kept thinking about it. I kept thinking about how horrified I felt even imaging cutting out sugar (and only for 21 days!). So, I ordered the book on Amazon. I figured I could leaf through it and if it seemed too crazy, I'd send it back.

I got it, leafed through it, and felt convinced. Diane Sanfilippo not only gave instructions about how to do a 21 day sugar detox, she also gave reasons why it may be a good idea. Have a hard time sleeping at night? Have bad cramps? Have a weirdly strong attachment to/need for sugar? Have bad skin? Want those things to change? Try this.

21 days, in all honesty, isn't THAT long. I mean, the thought of 21 days without a donut is sad, but so is sleeping poorly, gaining weight, and feeling shlumpy after every meal. And that's what my fall and winter have been like so far. I've been the most stressed of my life with my first year teaching job, and I have gained about 8 pounds since moving to Des Moines. Oh, 8 pounds isn't the end of the world, but it's a lot for someone who, up til this point, had basically only seen downward motion on the scale the past four years. I gained about 7 back last year when I traveled, worked 3 jobs, and totally gave up working out in favor of sleep.

I had lost about 55 pounds, but the past year sapped my motivation, and now my number is only about 35-45 depending on the month. (Seriously, my weight fluctuates that much). So when I got on the scale on Sunday for my first weigh-in, I felt sad, but not surprised. I'd been eating badly and neglecting to work out the entire fall. I go to school, come home, collapse, and do it all over again. I have been the least motivated to work out AND eat well this fall. I can't remember a time I've felt so unmotivated. And I'm beginning to notice that not only in how my pants fit but also in how I look and feel about myself. Even if I'll never be a slender model, I want to feel healthy and fit. To be honest, I'm neither of those things right now.

So, with that lovely backstory in mind, I decided to try it.
I generally eat at least one sweet thing per meal, and that does not include all the other sugars my salty things have. So, I generally eat sugar all day long. Even when I ate very carefully, I ate sugar. My dessert would be a 100-calorie pack or something else small but still sweet. So this is going to be a challenge.

If you want an honest, probably somewhat sarcastic, self-deprecating, occasionally whiny perspective of the 21DSD, this is the place! I'll keep you posted.