What I Learned From a 7-Day Sugar Detox

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It’s no surprise that people often want to eat healthier and get back into shape in January.

The holidays are full of gatherings with family and friends, baking and treats. All the indulging we’ve given in to seems to catch up to us and we realize the damage we’ve done. We want to fix it (even though we know we will just repeat the cycle again next year!).

This year was surprisingly different for my husband and I.

After committing to eating real food, we actually went through the holiday season mostly sugar free (and if you’ve known us personally for very long, you know we both have a HUGE sweet tooth)! I say mostly sugar free because, well, you can’t really pass up your favorite Christmas cookie! Honestly, I ate no more than three cookies during the month of December. Seriously. That’s NEVER happened before!

Even though we didn’t indulge in every cookie, cake or pie that was passed around the table, we did arm ourselves with some of our own homemade healthy treats, like cinnamon banana oat muffins (which our sons also devour by the handful) and our favorite 5-minute homemade granola bars (we actually cut a square of this for dessert more often than for a snack in between meals). These treats are sweetened with bananas and/or honey rather than refined white sugar, so we could feel good about them when we needed to satisfy a sweet craving.

Regardless of eating fairly well over the holidays, I still signed up to participate in my first-ever 7-day sugar detox (hosted by my amazing health coach sister) so that I could, you know, keep the momentum going! The detox truly was a great experience, and one that I’d highly recommend if you’ve never committed to doing something like it!

What is a Sugar Detox?

Basically, the ultimate goal of the detox is to go “cold turkey” to cut out added sugars (anything with an ingredient of sugar or corn syrup is off limits, but the natural sugars of fresh fruit, unsweetened dairy, etc. are acceptable). However, there is also a “do the best you can” approach, which relieves the pressure to eat perfectly during the week. Participants were also part of a Facebook group to encourage each other during the challenge, share tips and recipes, etc. It always helps to have support!

I knew that the biggest struggle for me during the detox would be chocolate. Even one teeny tiny bite of chocolate. Even a chocolate chip. Even if it’s dark chocolate. Resist!

And guess what…I did resist! (Even though you better believe I had a few staring contests with the dark chocolate in my pantry.)

The detox ended yesterday, and I’ve learned some valuable information along the way — most importantly, that I CAN DO IT!

What I Learned

Here are some of the key things I learned during the detox:

1. Sugar addiction is a real thing! Okay, I already knew this. But it’s important to mention because in our culture, addiction to sugar is very “normal” and the dangerous effects on our bodies are highly underrated (especially for children).
2. How to read food labels: 4 grams of sugar on a package label equals one teaspoon. Ideally, to follow a healthy lifestyle, women should consume no more than 25 grams (about 6 teaspoons) of sugar per day. (Yeah, that might buy me about a handful of chocolate chips…but hey, I’ll take that!)
3. Moderation is better than perfection. Treating my body right doesn’t have to mean eliminating every granule of sugar in every single bite I ingest. It also doesn’t mean “no sweets, ever.” Simply being conscious of the amount of added sugars I’m taking in helps tremendously to manage cravings and avoid overindulging. And then, when I do have a treat, I can seriously enjoy it!
4. There are so many delicious, naturally sweet foods! There’s no denying that our bodies crave sweet flavors; we do have tastebuds for sweet! And when you severely decrease the amount of fake, refined sugars you’re accustomed to eating, you’ll find that nature’s sweets — fresh fruits, roasted veggies, sautéed onions, sweet potatoes — become even more delicious!

   See:  How to Oven Roast Vegetables

5. Preparation leads to success. Simply being prepared can make all the difference in the struggle against sugar consumption. It’s always easiest to grab a ready-to-go snack when the munchies hit throughout your busy day. Having healthy options like nuts and seeds, fresh fruit, unsweetened yogurt, or pre-cut raw veggies on hand decreases the chance of you reaching for other available (unhealthy) treats.

A sugar detox is a great way to reset your body’s cravings for sweets. Whether you go all out (cold turkey) or simply cut back on the amount of added sugars in your daily diet, you will notice a difference; and trust me, it does get easier when you stick to it beyond just a few days (that’s always the hardest part)!

Did you ever participate in a detox or cleanse? What did you learn?