Week Detox Recap (food)

I'm a couple days late posting this, but I did it! For the first time in my life I went without sugar (besides fruit), all grains, and all dairy. Plus any type of processed food. 7 full days baby! (You can read my mid-week post here) My husband totally makes fun of me because I act like I went a month or something. To him, a week is nothing. But to me, it was a huge accomplishment! They aren't kidding when they say sugar is the most addictive substance on the planet. I already knew that I had a major sugar addiction going into my detox. Today is day 10 and on day 8 I had a cheat meal (Mango Salad from Rumbi + sweet potato fries w/fry sauce) and a dessert (Key Lime pie). It rocked. The salad actually wasn't too much of a cheat because I still asked for them to hold the cheese and tortilla chips. I remember 4 times during the week that I had major, major cravings. Like, get me some sugar NOW or someone is gonna get hurt. The first was on day 2 right after nap time with the kids, another time on day 4 after dinner, another time I think Friday afternoon, and then on day 7, all evening. I just kept telling myself that this was to be expected, I knew it would happen, and that I just had to get past it because I would feel like complete crap after if I caved. Then I grabbed some food. I found that if I let myself get even a tiny bit hungry the sugar cravings would come out to play. Also, on Wednesday- day 3, I woke up feeling pretty crappy. Not sick, but just super tired and achy. I woke up and immediately put good food in me and it still took me a solid 2 hours to feel better. And even then, for the rest of the day I was in a funk. Definitely withdrawals, people! It was kind of exciting because I knew junk was leaving my body and excellent things were entering it. 

Anyway, I didn't have much a plan after my detox except to keep eating healthy and not getting back in to my old ways. My old ways meaning processed junky sugar every day. A treat after lunch, dessert after dinner, and a trip to waffle luv, SWIG, or smart cookie each week (or 2x a week) was very normal for me. It was getting scary. Although I must say, I am not much of a juice/soda drinker and we rarely ever have it in our house, so there's that. Also, MILK. Give me all the milk. And cereal, and lots and lots of bread (turkey sandwiches for lunch every day please). And definitely waffles and syrup for breakfast on the weekends. Oh, and a donut at some point during the week. And probably some ice cream, too. (Hey, I am just being honest, you guys!) So although my diet didn't consist of in n out burger or pizza every day, it wasn't too great. I've learned that cereal, milk, yogurt (the kind I like), breads, sauces, etc have lots and lots of sugar in them. So, needless to say, sugar was and has been the hardest for me. In fact, I still haven't had any grains and barely any dairy- just a bite of cheese and a couple sips of milk. I just don't crave it. Sugar, on the other hand, is always a craving. But it's so much easier now than when I started. In between my meals I snack on nuts and fruit. I am still eager to continue learning to cook delicious new meals. Jennas Kitchen meal guide (read more about that here) definitely got me rolling and I really loved her meal plan. Still using it, but expanding on it and mixing it up a bit. 

One cool thing about the detox is that I am down 5lbs.
So now I can say I have 35lbs to go instead of 40lbs and for some reason that feels really good. I can already tell that changing my diet has changed my milk supply for Dash. And not for the better. I mean better nutrients for him, yes. But he hasn't been sleeping well for the past 4-5 nights, and I think he is more hungry. I think my supply has taken a dip. So i'm hoping that since we started giving him real foods, along with my body getting regulated, that it will improve. Then I will start the workouts and go from there.

I guess I am going to continue on this paleo/whole 30 inspired diet along with my weekly cheat meals. I think for me it is 90 % mental attitude and 10% what you have available to you in your cupboards and in your refrigerator. Being that I have a 2.5 year old there are things that I have in my home that are off limits with this diet plan. Things like fresh tortilla dough waiting to be cooked that is so so delicious, or string cheese, or her maple and brown sugar oatmeal that she loves and eats every single morning. And her milk...just give me a drink! But, it's all good. It's just part of the journey, and it's not forever, it's just for a minute when you look at the big picture.  It will be worth it, I do know that! And why am I sharing this? Well, because it holds me accountable and keeps me motivated knowing that maybe someone out there is following and seeing if I will keep going or give up. So, yes, you can look forward to more updates! Cheers!