Day 31!!!! (31 days without sugar)
Woo Hoo!
“It always seems impossible until it’s done.” ~Nelson Mandela
31 Days with no sugar seemed like a Herculean task. I’m happy to say that I completed that task and achieved my goal. I feel really great, and I’m proud of myself for sticking with it. Having you to be accountable to really helped, so thank you for being here and listening to my rambles!
What did I learn about myself this month?
I’m stronger than I give myself credit for. I was able to stay the course and not give in to temptation/cravings. (Fortunately, staying at home most of the time helped me avoid tempting treats.)
I’m perfectly happy without sugar in my life. Sure, it’s NICE to have a sweet something every so often, but it’s not necessary, and I certainly don’t need it every day.
I remembered that I can intuitively listen to see what my body needs. I answered the call to reduce sugar AND carbohydrates this month, and have mostly eaten a low(ish) carb diet. (In the whole month I only had pasta once and bread a couple of times.)
I learned that I’ve been fighting chronic inflammation for a LONG time. As in, most of my adult life. I started my menstrual period this week, and it has been unlike any other. No pain, no crabbiness, no sugar cravings, and a manageable flow. Wow. If I had known that cutting sugar would have this affect on my monthly cycle, I would have stopped decades ago.
Am I ready to have something sweet tomorrow? You betcha. But not in the way I expected. I’m looking forward to opening the stevia sweetened chocolate bar I purchased, and maybe putting some allulose in my coffee. But other than that, I’m not running out to buy a pint of Ben & Jerry’s or making cookies. I might make a batch of sugar-free pumpkin protein muffins, we’ll see what I have time for tomorrow.
How do I want to move forward?
I’m not attached to staying completely sugar free. I’m excited to have sweeter fruits again (hello bananas and mangoes!) I’m sure that at some point I’ll make some chocolate chip cookies, have a piece of someone’s birthday cake, or indulge in a cafe mocha. But even with Easter right around the corner this weekend, I’m not clamoring for a Reese’s egg or jelly beans the way I would have been last year. Those barely sound appealing to me right now. (I will be baking sourdough bread this weekend though, for sure!)
From here on out, my plan is to stay mostly off the sugar. The benefits of doing so outweigh the temporary moment of pleasure on my tongue. When I do have some sugar, I want to pay close attention to how I feel afterwards, so I can assess “how much is too much” for me, and be able to maintain a balance.
I’ll continue to explore new vegan recipes that are lower in carbohydrates. I’m finding that this way of eating agrees with me, and I’d like to stick with it for a while. I’ve had amazing energy levels this month, and I’d like to keep that up, for sure.
So again, thanks for following me on my journey.
If you’d like to do something a bit more formal with me, I’ll be leading a 5 day Spring Home Detox Retreat April 19-23. We’ll meet for 2 hours each morning to practice Ayurveda, yoga, breath work, and meditation together, and I’ll guide you through a 5 day smoothie detox diet. I’ll be making my smoothies with lower glycemic fruits and lots of greens! You may even just choose to do smoothies for breakfast and eat normally the rest of your day- it’s totally customizable and up to you. As a bonus for reading all of these emails, I’d like to offer you a $50 discount. Use the coupon code 31DAYBLOG when you sign up. Register HERE and enter the code at the check out. If you can’t make the live sessions, they are all recorded so you can do the program on your own time. If you sign up by April 10th, you can bring a friend for free, too.
I hope the rest of your spring is filled with sweetness- (not necessarily the sugary kind!)
Lots of love,
Cheryl
