So I am on day 9 of my 21-Day Sugar Detox with Diane Sanfalippo over at Balanced Bites. I started mine on December 29th so for me it will be a 25-Day venture (lucky!). For the first 3-4 days I had the expected energy dip. I was on vacation so I took a few naps, worked out in the morning a couple of times, and just laid-low.
In the days following that (work days – I have an office job), I’ve noticed some patterns and have had to alter my program slightly. For 9 days, I have not had diet Coke, no sugar or fake sugar other than a teensie-weensie bit of Stevia. I have cut dairy from my diet, and starches. Allowed on Diane’s Level 3 program is a bit of fruit, so I had a couple of ½ green apples over the stretch of time.
So here’s where it gets weird. My late-morning and late-afternoon and even after-dinner energy levels were off-the-charts-BAD. Really bad. Depression & starring into space bad. Skipping workouts bad. My diet was plenty of fat (from coconut milk, coconut oil, grass-fed butter, grass-fed beef, eggs, chicken skin, olive oil) and moderate amounts of protein, with plenty of veggies. Beverages were water, seltzer, and one cup of co-co-coffee in the AM (Coffee, coconut milk, cocoa & 2 drops Stevia).
Even with the addition of the few ½ apples I had on certain days (with almond butter), I hit these walls. My husband was actually worried about me and insisted that I cook up a sweet potato and eat it. I’m pretty much a goodie-goodie, from my former life as a preacher’s kid, and don’t like to break rules. And the rules of the 21-Day Sugar Detox for Level 3 were “no sweet potatoes.” But I felt bad enough that I obeyed.
Eating about ½ cup of mashed sweet potato with grass-fed butter and cinnamon completely changed my state of mind and energy level. I wasn’t bouncing off the walls like a 3-year old on Kool-Aid or anything, but I could carry on a conversation and didn’t feel like going to bed and pulling the shades and never leaving my room. This event occurred on day 7.
On day 8, I had the same thing happen. No carbs during the day other than some cooked greens at lunch. I even had a ½ Quest Bar (also illegal on the Challenge) on my drive home, when I could barely keep the car between the lines and get home safely. Waiting in the high school parking lot for my daughter, I fell asleep. When we got home, I was relieved that my husband was on a dog-walk so I laid down on the bed and thought that maybe if I slept for 15 minutes, I’d be ready for the workout. I slept for an hour and a half and didn’t want to get up. I wasn’t hungry, I didn’t care about food or anything else. Workout postponed.
I know what you’re thinking – this girl needs to get more sleep! Nope. I am in bed by 9:00 and get up at 5:00. I sleep like a brick. The only change here is my almost-complete lack of carbs. I should also mention that I have some adrenal fatigue and Hashimoto’s hypothyroid. I’m not well-versed in what that means, but I know my doctor wants me to eat (some) carbs and has me on some supplements to help this out (Adrenal Stress-End and Adreset). I take Armor and my thyroid levels are tested about every 6 months and I’ve been stable for quite a while.
When I rose it was dinner time. I went through the motions and nuked a couple of sweet potatoes and made a salad. After I mashed the potatoes, I scooped half into a container for breakfast and ate the rest. It was probably 4-5 forks-full.
I am not exaggerating when I say that it was like flipping a switch. I went from semi-comatose to alive, feeling good, social, and energetic in the matter of minutes. It was that fast, that transformative. I ate my salad, offered my husband commentary on the 6:00 news that we were watching, and said, “Wow, now I feel guilty that we didn’t work out!” I cleaned up from dinner, did some bill paying, did some light exercise in the living room (figure-8’s & get-ups with a light kettle bell & planks), read some and went to bed.
This is a long, drawn-out story, I know. I know there has been a lot of debate over Paul Jaminet’s Safe Starches theory as outlined in his book, The Perfect Health Diet. If you don’t believe me, check out Jimmy Moore’s blog where it was hotly debated for days! In fact, we even touched on the topic during a recent episode of Low-Carb Conversations with Jimmy Moore & Friends. At first, I was among the skeptics but after the past 9 days, I may become a proponent of safe starches.
Everyone is different. If I was diabetic, this whole picture would be different and too, probably, my position. And my position is not grounded. I am paying very close attention, however, to my energy and will attempt to adjust course as needed. I’m also in the process of reading Sean Croxton’s The Dark Side of Fat Loss and just passed chapter 5 where he addresses Body Language and recommends logging your food and reactions, positive and negative for 7 days. I’m doing that.
So it’s a good news/bad news scenario: The bad news is that I have “cheated on the program. The good news is that I’m avoiding sugar, dairy and most starch. My cravings have diminished and I’m surviving without chocolate AND diet Coke (the biggie!)! I am learning more about my body and how it ticks!
Thanks for reading and if you got this far, please post a comment so I know you were here!
