Bloom, A Detox Plan

 

    Well after 11 months of eating really low carb, I was wondering how I should handle the holidays. I decided to eat what I wanted but in moderation. Actually if I eat too much carbs now I get really sick (which is interesting because I was not like that before I started this whole thing). I had treats this holiday because I did not want to feel deprived. In my opinion feeling deprived undermine long term health goals. So I enjoyed my homemade popovers but had a bigger helping of salad. Having said that over the month my starch/sugar carvings have been creeping up and up. I have been waking up in the middle of the night this past week wanting cookies (which I normally never do). So I need to detox but first I need a plan.

    I would like to acknowledge that it is NOT easy detoxing. Cravings are a strong thing and do not feel bad about your cravings.  Do not feel bad if you feel unhinged, out of control and crazy woman when you cut out sugar or bread. That first week, 11 months ago, I cut out sugar was awful with a capital A. I was soooo grumpy, could not sleep and nothing made me happy. The good new is it does get better and in time (but not right away) you even loose a lot of those cravings. Heck if I can do it (I have NO self control. As a girl I would unwrap my Christmas gifts, look at them, re-wrap them and no one was the wiser on Christmas day because I could not wait) you can do it!

    Now I could just cut everything out at once but I plan to break it up in 2 parts. First I am cutting out starches, like bread and potatoes. I am not craving them as much as I do sugar. So I will will deal with the smaller hill, so too speak, first. After a week, if my cravings are still really bad then I will wait another week before tackling sugar. Next I will then cut out all sweeteners (including most fruit). Which will be really hard for me. I do have one treat I allow myself that is 90% chocolate. When I think I am going to buckle and cave in, I take a nibble of really dark chocolate and that seems to help. After about 2 weeks of feeling really bad and grumpy, I will start to feel better. The cravings will calm down and the sun will come out!!

    So I encourage you to own your health and make changes in a way that works for you. Detoxing all at once might be best but feel free to break it down if it seems too overwhelming. I found as I succeeded in one area, I felt more confident as I moved to another. Really if I can conquer my sugar cravings, then everything else seems easy after that. Look at what you really crave. It is probably what you should NOT be eating. Everyday is a new start, a new choices. If you messed up yesterday, you can do better today. Remember a hill is climbed one step at a time, not all at once xox

Some tips to help you detox

• Drink LOTS of water. If you can handle a tsp. or two of raw cider vinegar in your water, that really helps too.
• Make sure you have nothing big happening in your life those first few days, like a Dr appointment or visitors.
• Find something non-food to pamper yourself. For me it is flowers. I buy myself fresh flowers every week.
• Go for a walk.
• Read. This seems counterproductive but reading about cooking makes me feel better (I know I am weird). Do what works for you!
• Deep breathing exercises really help. And long bubble baths too!
• Keep a journal. Write down why you are doing this, so in weak moments you can remind yourself why you started this whole thing.
• Tell your family what you are going to do. Tell them to be patient with you. Tell them you need their help. Ask them to hid their candy. Let them know you will not be cooking treats for a bit. Do not feel bad doing what you need to for you and including them in this. I made my girls make the bread for a while. I just could not do it.

You can read about my whole lifestyle change journey here !

PS if you have not, you should check out 21 day sugar detox

Comments

[Jody]

Smart! Now that the holidays are past us, Hubs and I are going back to our healthy diet again. I've been pretty good and not really overindulged, but it will still be a struggle to get back to where we want to be once again.

I love a nibble of dark chocolate too. It really does help the sweets craving.

[jackie]

Reading your blog tonight was a blessing to me as i have been considering doing a detox of some sort to start the new year. i mostly crave salty/savory foods but that old sugar bug gets me once in a while. i ate the last piece of homemade fudge tonight and plan to give the rest of the candy to my grandchildren although most candy doesn't bother me. i like all of your tips to make it a little easier. i plan to start tomorrow (Monday)!

[Marqueta]

Dear Clarice,

I hear you on the detox thing! I end up doing the same thing after every holiday, when I realize that those "treats" aren't really treats at all!

Love,

Marqueta

[Nan York]

It's an on going battle isn't it! As soon as we allow some of those things back in then we find ourselves wanting more and more of them, but to spend a lifetime not having things you want is very difficult. The best way I have found to counteract this is exercise. (no one likes to hear this)
I have done this all my life and pretty much manage my weight. I'm 73 now and working out at present in 4 classes a week. It doesn't matter what just something you enjoy. I'm doing Zuma Gold and weight lifting classes now as that is what we have here. In my past life it's been a whole list of different workouts as the plan is to keep moving as you age and never stop until something stops you! The very best to you Clarice.

[Vicki]

Great advice! I'm going to go read those posts today! I am going to allow myself to eat potatoes, rice or corn once a week! I can give up bread fairly easily. I do love veggies, but fruit also! I am going to cut back on the fruit a bit. No pasta, macaroni, noodles --I can give those up easily. I like spiced up sweet potato wedges in the oven- mix in a small Yukon gold potato fries with them so I get just a bit, but not a whole white potato! Do you eat dairy - yogurt?

[Linda]

Great post. I need to do this. I want to try the zucchini noodles.