sugarless

{found via mama glow}


yesterday peter and i started a two week cleanse. i wasn't going to post about it for a few more days because apparently today and tomorrow are when it's supposed to feel rather terrible. i'm not looking forward to it, but i am trying to stay positive - i don't want to feel terrible just because i'm *supposed* to feel terrible. i don't want to feel terrible if i don't actually feel terrible.
that placebo effect can be wicked.

anyway, the biggest thing we're eliminating is sugar. as in, all sugar. we can have meat, veggies, eggs, some nuts, coffee {otherwise i'd not be doing it}, water, and real cheese. basically. 

no carbs, no grains, no fruit, no legumes, no milk. and of course, no sugar.

and sugar has become completely ubiquitous in our society. seriously. it's in everything.

we started talking about doing this cleanse about a month ago, and so i've started paying closer attention to ingredient lists. and it's in so much. in many things it's a trace amount, but it's there. so one thing i'm looking forward to {since i have a wicked sweet tooth} is becoming more sensitive to sugar again. becoming more sensitive to sweetness. it's just like anything else - ahem, any other addiction; once your body becomes accustomed to sugar you need more of it for something to taste as sweet. and i say this because i'm 100% sure i'm addicted to sugar. 

but at the end of this cleanse i'm looking forward to really noticing how my body reacts to certain food. i'm looking forward to discovering how sweet food really is, but i'm also looking forward to really understanding how i react to other food as well.

and i want to see what happens when i exercise. part of the argument for reducing sugar is that when we exercise our bodies burn sugar first. in order to really burn fat when exercising we essentially have to burn through the sugar in our bodies first.

i think we've forgotten that food can be the best medicine. i know if i start feeling bad i don't often think it's because of something i ate. i don't often relate my sluggishness or my energy to food. sure, if i'm exercising i think about whether or not i had enough fuel {usually sugar-filled fuel}. if i just finished a cup of coffee and i get an energy boost i relate it to that, but generally speaking i don't think about my energy levels relating to the food i put in my body. 

and part of it is that people react differently to different food. there's no one dietary prescription that works for everyone.

the simplest way i've seen it broken down in a way that makes sense is from michael pollan - eat real food. mostly plants.

but that is pretty tough to do in our world. it is so tough to consistently get real food with no additives and no added sugar {or other crap like that}.  and it's tough to go grab a bite to eat with people if you have a lot of dietary restrictions. it's kind of ridiculous in a way that your diet can inhibit community. {although the community inhibitors in our society will have to be reserved for another post - there's a lot to unpack there.}

in any case... have any of you tried a cleanse like this? what have you found when you add restricted food back into your diet?

i'd love to hear what you've discovered!

xoxo



Comments

  1. I have! I also eat that way mostly it's harder while pregnant but you definitely find things taste sweeter like a carrot I never knew how sweet it could actually taste! Hope you can enjoy the journey! And it is very hard to be in community with lots of dietary restrictions

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    1. Thanks Tabitha! It's always good to know I'm not alone. Especially when all I really want right now is a donut!

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  2. Yes ma'am. Been there done that several times. I have never gone back to the way I ate initially mostly because gluten was a big player in my health problems. So I am gluten free. Each time I have eliminated sugar something new sticks. And things will taste much sweeter, sometimes to the point of making me feel nauseated. Good for you for making this journey. I wish I would have done it and implemented it with my kids when they were younger...

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    1. Thanks Tracy! I'm definitely interested to see what happens over the next few days as we add things back in. It's so tempting to add multiple things back in at once, but I made it this far for the purpose of seeing how things really affect me, so I can't go back now! It has definitely sparked a lot of conversations about what we'll eat and keep in the house going forward!

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  3. Give yourself grace... That's all I can say.
    It's a process.

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