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Hello and welcome back to my blog!
I quickly want to update you guys on my sugar detox and what it's been like for the past 14 days – if you haven't read my previous blog post on this, go ahead and check it out here.
Today is actually Day 17, but to be fair I slipped up during the Easter weekend, so yeah, those days don't really count. Here are the challenges, benefits and also some weird observations I have faced on my sugar-free journey so far!
I quickly want to update you guys on my sugar detox and what it's been like for the past 14 days – if you haven't read my previous blog post on this, go ahead and check it out here.
Today is actually Day 17, but to be fair I slipped up during the Easter weekend, so yeah, those days don't really count. Here are the challenges, benefits and also some weird observations I have faced on my sugar-free journey so far!
Yes, quitting sugar can be quite a challenge, especially around a food-centred family holiday such as Easter. I have to admit, I didn't quite pass the test. I gave in to the temptation of vegan dark chocolate and homemade carrot cake.
So far the challenges of my no-sugar challenge have been:
- Finding bread without any invert sugar or malt added to it (crazy!! but in the end I found some whole grain rye bread and some sunflower bread without any added sugar)
- Finding sugar-free hummus or other vegan spreads (our hummus had sugar in it but I still ate it because I couldn't resist – better just make it yourself)
- Resisting sugary Easter cakes and desserts (let me tell you, it's hard)
- Overall sugar cravings, or snack cravings for things that also contain sugar such as peanut butter (the cheap one with sugar in it) on toast, my boyfriend's homemade bounty bars, an agave-sweetened acai bowl at a local food festival, sugary snacks that were offered to me... (it's so hard to say no to a gift!)
- Social eating without being the weirdo that doesn't eat anything because the restaurant doesn't offer anything sugar-free (I ended up eating a salad)
- Vital questions such as: What to put on top of my pancake other than applesauce and cinnamon?! Or: What vegan spread without added sugar to put onto my toast other than mashed avocado and almond butter? (not both at once)
- Not drinking any alcohol or lemonade at my friend's birthday party (mostly I don't drink any alcohol on parties anyway, only a zip or two, but I love my fizzy matcha lemonade and the organic ginger lemonade from our health food store!)
Eventually, I survived the Easter weekend without a major sugar high because I stocked our pantry with homemade blueberry banana bread (just added a big handful of fresh blueberries to the batter, and I also replaced the oil with applesauce because I wanted to be super healthy) and sugar-free carrot cake that tasted super delicious (especially with vegan butter on top) and sort of like a Christmas fruitcake, but with carrots.
However, I didn't manage to say no to every single Easterly temptation around me such as dark chocolate that was gifted to me, a vegan croissant with vegan chocolate spread, or a piece of carrot cake with sugar in it. And I did notice, after eating the croissant (which I honestly only ate because I was thrilled it was vegan) with sugary peanut butter and chocolate spread on top after a full week of cutting out sugar, I felt sluggish and tired and sort of moody in the following hours. So I guess that was the sugar crash kicking in.
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| Who could say no to this beautiful moist carrot cake at Easter?! |
The Benefits
Besides those rather unpleasant accompanying symptoms of my sugar detox, I also noticed a couple of pleasant side effects:
- My skin cleared. After a few weeks of having unusual skin problems and breakouts, my skin finally got even again! Yay!
- My sleep improved! As I mentioned in my recent post on sleeplessness, I've had trouble with getting a good night's sleep for the past couple of months or even years. However, I just noticed a couple of days ago that ever since going on the sugar detox my sleep is so much deeper that I will even sleep all through the night! Usually I would wake up a couple of times, or hours before my waking time. Definitely a huge benefit!
- Logically, I have not been on a constant search for something sweet to nibble on (okay, sometimes I am, but then an apple, a handful or nuts or something savoury will satisfy my needs) because my body is slowly becoming used to go without any sweet treats.
- No PMS cramps!! I can't say for sure that the two things are related, but I did get my period a couple of days ago and although I will usually have pretty severe cramps at the begging of my period, I didn't have any this time! Nor did I feel as low as I usually do. Love it!!
So yeah, I can't really complain. I have more energy, better skin, less cravings and less cramps! Win win win, eh? (Still hard to say no to chocolate though.)
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| My favourite way to beat chocolate cravings at the moment: raisin bliss balls! |
Some Weird Observations
Last but not least, here are some interesting observations that are neither negative nor positive:
- I am craving fresh fruits and vegetables. Why?! Or is that just a coincidence? Maybe because my taste buds are adjusting, and fruits and veggies taste sweeter than before?
- For some very odd reason I have been having stomach aches in the afternoon after eating a snack (a slice of bread with avocado and cucumber) for the past three days. I often get stomach aches, but usually not that many days in a row. Could that be part of the detox, like detox headache? I have no clue.
- While my breakfast (banana-sweetened oatmeal) keeps me full longer than usual, my lunch doesn't last as long and I always need a snack in the afternoon. Usually it was the other way around. Weird.
Have you ever done a sugar detox? A sugar-free week? Let me know about your experiences and thoughts in the comments below!
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| Another current favourite of mine: banana oatmeal cooked with maca powder, shredded coconut and chopped dried apricots, topped with soy milk and frozen berries, yummm! |
♥
Maisy
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