Quick tangent – I just had to throw out a bag of Jackson’s Honest Chips, which made me want to cry a little bit because they are so good and I was so hungry. Dammit. Either read all the rules about what you can and cannot eat BEFORE you open the bag of chips to avoid frustration or wait until AFTER you finish eating them to check (and claim ignorance.) Such a rookie move.
So, this is week 2 of my 21 Day Sugar Detox, which I’m also doing concurrently with a Whole30. Once I’m done with the 21DSD at the end of next week, I’ll continue on through the end of January with the Whole30. In a nutshell, this means I’m following a super-strict Paleo diet with no dairy, very limited fruits, no natural sugars, no alcohol and none of the paleo-friendly store items I might normally buy (like Jackson’s Honest chips.)
Having a cold has really thrown a monkey wrench in my January plans. First, it’s put a damper on the start of my half marathon training, but that’s another blog post. Second, it’s made my sugar detox and Whole30 pretty damn dull because I haven’t really had much of an appetite and I’ve been sleeping so much. The only thing that really has sounded good to me all week is soup – and even then, I froze half of what I made because I simply could eat it all.
If you know me, you know this isn’t normal. I like eating. A lot.
But I digress, back to Week 2. Normally, after I get past the first week of the detox, it’s smooth sailing for awhile. I’ve gotten past the physical symptoms and am starting to feel really good and healthy, my workouts are improving and I start to see some effects of of the detox. Specifically, the loss of the “sugar bloat” – right around the middle of the second week, I notice I’m a little sleeker in the face and waistline. It’s not really any kind of weight loss, but it’s definitely a noticeable reduction.
Well, this Week 2 was a little different. The cold definitely evolved into something of substance – I wasn’t down for the count sick, but I was coughing up stuff, sore throat and just felt generally weak. I ended up making two kinds of soup but really didn’t have much of an appetite for much of anything. Since I prepped most of my food on Sunday/Monday and didn’t need to cook at all during the week, my days this consisted of work, workouts, eating dinner, maybe taking an hour or two to take care of the dog and the house, and then getting in bed @ 9:00 after taking some Nyquil. That didn’t really leave a lot of time for wanting a glass of wine or a gluten-free cookie.
By Sunday, I was starting to feel like I was finally getting better. I’d gotten through the second week of the detox but not feeling the positive benefits I normally do, and my workouts and runs have been a bit of a struggle. Three miles feeling like a marathon is frustrating! I definitely see the loss of the sugar bloat, probably a little more than normal due to the fact that I haven’t been eating as much.
The good news, I’m already into week 3 and having cravings for sugar again – so that means I’m on the road to recovery. Talk about a silver lining. Hopefully next week I’ll have some dramatic sugarless struggles to talk about. I do think I should get a “day off” for this coming Friday – how on earth am I going to get through this inauguration without a glass of wine? And when I say glass, I mean bottle. Ok, ok…moving on.
What I Ate
I’ve created a Pinterest board with the recipes for each week (see at the end of the blog), along with some commentary about my choices.
Breakfast:
- Coffee with almond milk and Vital Proteins collagen powder – this is something I drink all the time. The collagen powder I use (Vital Proteins) is from grass-fed cows and it’s supposed to be good for your hair and skin, supports bone and joint health and do other good stuff for your digestive and immune system. Every once in awhile, which I did this week, I make my “speciality coffee” and add some grass-fed butter, cinnamon, turmeric and then blend it all up. YUM.
- Tomato Bacon Soup – I made this last week but used it this week to fill in on a few meals before I froze it. I added an egg and some bacon garnish and it was an excellent breakfast alternative.
- Frittata – I didn’t follow a recipe, i just threw this one together. Some leftover kalua pig (the recipe that keeps on giving), onions, bell peppers, spinach and tomatoes sauteed up in the cast-iron. Cover with 6 eggs and bake at 350 for about 15 minutes and boom – breakfast for the week.
Main Meals
- Unstuffed Cabbage Roll Soup – I feel I’ve made this recipe or one very close to it because it seemed very familiar to me after i was done. I liked it because it was a crock pot recipe and since I wasn’t feeling so good, I was all about simple and easy. It doesn’t get much simpler than a crockpot soup. I did half ground beef and half turkey – sounds weird but actually comes out really good.
- Instant Pot “Rotisserie” Chicken – making a whole chicken is always another easy way to go with cooking for the week. I always brine my chicken for 24 hours (so they end up being super juicy and tender) and then I cooked it in the Instant Pot – which was fine, but I didn’t get the nice, crispy skin like when I do it in the oven. I think I’ll stick to the oven unless I’m pressed for time.
- Layered Ratatouille – Honestly, I picked this specific one because I brought fresh thyme by accident, and I was trying to find good recipes to use it in. I love ratatouille but making this with the layered presentation was a little bit of a sh*t show. I guess I didn’t have the right size dish, or I had too many vegetable slices, but I really had problems getting it all to come together. I ended up roasting some of the vegetables separately and then stirring them in at the end. It ended up tasting delicious, but I would not do this recipe again, just for the sheer pain in the ass factor.
- Roasted Chicken and Vegetable Soup – this soup is the paleo version of chicken noodle soup when you are sick…at least for me. I ate the first batch in about two days just because it always makes me feel better. I ended up making a second batch of it to freeze because I didn’t really eat much of the chicken I cooked.
Snacks and Sides
- Roasted Sweet Potato – since I’m doing the athletes modification for the 21DSD. And in case you were wondering what perfectly roasted sweet potatoes look like:
- Raw veggies – I was all about mini-cucumbers this week. And bell peppers. Cut a bunch for the week for grab and go.
- Daily Fruit – I have strangely not been good about eating all the fruit I can, but stuck at a half a grapefruit a day since I was sick (for the Vitamin C.)
Here’s my fridge – all ready for the week which means for four days I don’t have to do anything except reheat and eat. It’s the only way to really keep to any kind of eating program.
Did you set any eating goals for January or 2017? How are they going for you?
It's all about the Medals. And Bacon. 
I always love reading about people’s journey’s as they begin Whole30’s and sugar detox’s. If Whole30/Paleo eating could be considered a passion, it certainly is mine. Good luck with your whole30, you can make it! As for me, I haven’t had any specific food related goals except that I now have to make all of my own food. I’ve been experimenting with meal prep these past two weeks and boy has it been an adventure. I eat way more food than I expected. I’m sure we’ll both do great with out food endeavors! Also, I wish you the best of luck with getting over your cold!