Week 1 Recap: Sugar Detox

One week down on my sugar detox, 2 weeks to go! A day or two were not so fun, mostly because I didn't plan very well and ended up really hungry and too low on blood sugar. Day 3, I almost caved and ordered some Chinese food because I was SO jittery and had a massive headache. I was trying to come up with something on the food plan to order but then realized that the Chinese delivery place I go to is closed on Mondays! Saved! So instead I threw in some gluten free chicken nuggets that I had bought at Whole Foods and reheated spaghetti squash with it. The next morning, I definitely felt better and glad I didn't divert!

Honestly, I don't think I feel much different. I've lost about 6 lbs this week which is really nice but I don't notice much difference. Some people have said that they feel more alert after the first week. Or they sleep better. Or they have more energy. I wouldn't say any of that applies to me. One thing I did notice this week was I didn't have ANY diarrhea from the medicine I am on. I tend to forget to take my Metformin and if I go a few days without it, I'll get stomach issues for a couple of days while I adjust to the meds again. I took the medicine in the morning everyday with an Atkins shake and had no issses at all! Hmm, maybe it's something about certain foods and the medicine combining? I have no idea!

I did some grocery shopping at the beginning of the week to get ingredients I needed for some recipes I want to try this week. Why do smoked sausages have added sugar to them? I was looking for a keilbasa for red beans and rice I made and out of 8 different companies, they ALL had sugar in them! This includes all the natural/organic companies at Sprouts. I finally found one, Harvestland, that at least had honey as a sweetener instead of corn syrup. Why does one need to sweeten meat? I don't understand.

I made homemade ketchup in the crockpot. It's not bad! Disclaimer: if you're looking for it to taste just like ketchup, you're going to be disappointed. But I like it and I don't mind swapping it out for ketchup. I'm not such a ketchup fan that I need something that's just like it. Maybe adding in some honey would sweeten it up and make it taste more like traditional ketchup. The recipe is HERE. It's part of the 21-day sugar detox so it's gluten free, paleo, and clean. Not everything I'm eating on this detox will be though! Well, at least not paleo. They will be clean.

So here's a day-by-day recap and meals that I ate in case you ever want to try this out. It's really not that bad so far!

Day One
Breakfast: Atkins Shake and Banana
Lunch: Lundberg Brown Rice Cake, Turkey, 1/2 slice of Cheddar Cheese
Snack: Almond Butter and Green Apple
Dinner: Modified Chinese Spareribs (used the ketchup I made instead of hoisen sauce), Mashed Rutabaga, and Roasted Broccoli
Comments: Day one on any new diet or detox is never bad for me. I don't usually feel any different!

Day Two
Breakfast: Atkins Shake
Lunch: Rotisserie Chicken dipped in leftover Biaggi's tomato sauce, Rutabaga
Snack: Marinated Mozzarella Balls, Sliced Turkey, Strawberries
Dinner: Red Beans and Brown Rice, Leftover Broccoli
Dessert: Frozen Banana dipped in Dark Chocolate
Comments: That red beans and rice recipe is great! Although I did some modifications to it. I add 1/4 tsp of cayenne and switched the ham for keilbasa. I also used butter instead of lard. I didn't have any. SO yummy!

Day Three
Breakfast: Atkins Shake
Lunch: Rotisserie Chicken dipped in Ranch, Carrots, Strawberries
Snack: Almonds and Green Beans
Dinner: Almond crusted chicken nuggets, Spaghetti Squash, and Salad
Dessert: Frozen Banana
Comments: This day was hard on me. I started on a Saturday so this was Monday, my first day at school. I didn't pack enough food to get me through the day and I have a jam packed day, classes back to back from 8am-5pm. So, trying to find a time to eat something was hard. I came home with a horrible headache.

Day Four
Breakfast: Atkins Shake (I really have no problem having the same thing everyday!)
Lunch: Out for lunch at Tucano's.
Dinner: Baked Sweet Potato
Dessert: Frozen Banana
Comments: Tucano's is a great restaurant for this diet! Or if you're paleo/low carb. TONS of meat! I was stuffed! Today, I felt exhausted most of the day. Took a nap and then was craving carbs so I ate a baked sweet potato with butter for dinner. I'm not really concerned about weight loss right now, but I have lost 4.5 pounds in 4 days! Probably just water weight.

Day Five
Breakfast: Coconut Yogurt, Strawberries
Lunch: Fruit Cup from cafeteria (grapes and cheese)
Snack: Cheese and Sausage sticks
Dinner: Coconut Curry Chicken
Comments: This day wasn't as bad, though I was out all day again. I did forget to pack lunch and ended up grabbing a fruit cup at school along with a plain iced coffee but I wasn't shaky till right before I got home at about 5:00pm. Didn't really like my recipe for curry chicken though!

Day Six
Breakfast: Nothing, I slept in late
Lunch: Hamburger patty with cheese, sauteed onions and bok choy, strawberries
Dinner: Chicken Cauliflower Soup
Comments: First day I added exercise! Just 45 minutes on the elliptical at the gym. And I did really well with controlling blood sugar today!

Day Seven
Breakfast: Atkins Shake
Lunch: Leftover Chicken Soup
Dinner: Moo Goo Gai Pan
Comments: I've lost 6 lbs as of this afternoon!