Hi everyone!
I recently went on a 30 day sugar free diet. I wanted to see what all the fuss was about, and honestly, finding myself in the kitchen at 10pm with one spoon in the honey jar and one in the tahini, I realized that I had a problem. You see, I am an addict. This is a bitch, because when I quit one thing, it usually transfer to another. I’ve been thru it all; sex, drugs, booze and rock and roll. This time, sugar was my fix and it needed to stop.
I kept a journal during this month, and for this posts I decided to summarize it into weeks and a conclusion.
Week one a.k.a what the hell is this sh*t?
Being me, I decided to quit from one day to another. No preparation needed, I was fed up and ready to go. Or so I thought. OMG these massive headaches are killing me. First three days was no joke! I am also angry as a bee, bloated and craving sugar more than oxygen. My being is restless and I want to escape. Preferably with drugs.
Actually, the idea of drugs did not leave my mind during this first week. Life is unfair and why the f-ck am I doing this again? Some good news though, at the end of the week the bloating went down and my skin was clearly improving with less redness. A big plus was an increase of my ability to focus.
Week two a.k.a dealing with it
After staying locked up in my hive for the first week, I realized that going out to eat when being on a sugar detox is hard AF. But to be frank, it feels really good to say no to dessert! I got this!
Cravings are still present, but less intense. Headaches are gone and I feel strong in my decision to follow thru with this. It’s easier for me to get into the zone when meditating, and even though a lot of shit is going down in my life at the moment, i’m handling it with grace and ease instead of the usual panic and binge eating. My belly is looking significantly flatter and my skin is glowing. I’m also starting to contemplate where my cravings actually are coming from.. What in me is saying that I need sugar/alcohol/drugs to escape? What am I running from?
Week three a.k.a the little breakthrough
So I ate some old beans yesterday and got sick. Recovery mode is on, meaning i’m mostly sleeping and drinking water. All I want is to comfort myself with some chocolate….
Big AHA moment! I now realize that I have been using sugar to comfort myself. That’s an interesting observation and I think it will help me understand my relationship to sugar more. What am I really looking for when wanting to be comforted? How can I give myself that in a way that is not related to eating sugar?
PLEASE FEED ME! I am so hungry. Is it because I’m not feeding the bad bacteria and they are starving? Did you know that you have good bacteria and bad bacteria living in your stomach? The good ones want prebiotic fiber to eat and the bad ones.. well, they LOVE sugar.
I’m finally back from my bean mistake and feeling full of energy with a flat belly and glowing skin! This is the best I’ve looked in a really long time. I decided to celebrate this fact with some sugar free truffles. Feels like a fair way to end the first three weeks.
Week four a.k.a a new way of life
Cravings hit me again! But I stayed strong. Maybe the truffles kicked in the old habits and patterns? My skin is looking soooo nice though. If you are doing this to clear up your skin, try using colloidal silver as a toner for a while. It’s like a natural penicillin and a very good anti-bacterial. Also consider incorporating a bit of lavender or tea tree essential oil. Black cumin oil is also very good for breakout prone skin, it’s was I use to oil cleanse my face every night!
I’m a bit puzzled though, I feel like I should have lost more weight by now. Not that that is the reason why I am doing this, but I still thought it was going to make a huge difference. Maybe I wasn’t eating so much sugar to begin with?
Having a huge personal crisis, but its not related to the sugar. However, I feel pretty good about not binge eating and drowning my sorrows in food. That time of the month is also on it’s way, so of course shit is really hitting the fan right now. Big plus, not breaking out the way I usually do when this time comes around. I made some truffles to ease the pain, cause shit is real right now…
I’m feeling more centered and in tune with the planet and myself. I go to bed earlier and wake up with the sun bouncing (well almost) with energy. My cravings are visiting me every three days or so.. hmm… I think I made two round of truffles the last couple of days. I need to find the root cause of the cravings. Could it be a lack of some mineral or vitamin? Or is it emotional?
I feel more secure in trusting what I choose for myself. I’m handling crisis and problems in a pragmatic way, which was never the case for me. Even though I crave both this and that, I let the feeling come and go without acting on it. It feels so empowering.
Skin = dewy, clear, glowing and fab! I’m almost never bloated anymore, and I feel so alive and awake! I feel great, and cant believe it’s already been a month!! I made it!
The afterthoughts a.k.a I choose me:
So what have I learned? Well, for a starter, maybe it’s a good thing to cut down before quitting to avoid the headaches. I also learned that my addiction is emotional, and before incorporating sugar into my life again I need to address this past wound and heal it. So I decided to prolong this experiment for another 2 months. Why you might ask yourself (I sure did) did I take that decision? Well honestly, I feel like I still have to find a way to comfort myself and handle stress without taking to sugar or something else. I have started the road by incorporating more self-care when i’m feeling blue and I love it! It really helps me feeling enough and loved, without the need to eat or snort. This journey of self discovery and healing sure is an interesting one..
Sugar Free Coconut Cream Chocolate Truffles
- 1 cup (2.5 dl) desiccated (finely grated) coconut
- 1/2 cup (1 dl) coffee (more of you like them more coffee tasting)
- 1 can coconut cream
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup (2.5 dl) smooth peanut butter
- 1.5 cup (3.5 dl) cacao powder (or if you like them more choco)
How to make it all come together:
- Mix all the ingredients in a blender or in a bowl by hand.
- Pop it in the freezer for about 45 min to make it possible to roll into balls.
- Roll em up! If you feel like it, maybe you roll them in some grated coconut, cacao nibs or whatever else you might fancy.
- Store in the fridge or freezer.
