Extended sugar detox Week 5 (with pictures!)

   There was only a minor loss between last week and this week but a win is win:

191.4 lbs.

                                          

   One thing that I noticed is that even though the numbers didn't change very much, there is a big change in my body when I have a major sugar intake. There was a lot more bloating in my abdominal area compared to last week.

 

The menu for this week is baked chicken thighs and my usual array of veggies. The grocery store was having a sale on them so I stocked up. Snack is omelette muffins and cottage cheese sweetened with xylitol and flavored with extracts. I think I'm going to cut back on the almonds. I tend to OD on them when I put them in my cottage cheese. Exercise is walking/running to work and running group. My goal this week is to have absolutely NO SUGAR, NO CHEATING! I CAN DO THIS! It's only a few more weeks until Halloween and I want to look my best. I did it before and I can do it again.

Week 5 observations

1) Not taking my wallet on break is working out. Less impulse buying on all fronts.

2) Woke up this morning (Wednesday) at 189.8. The goal for next Tuesday is a solid 188.

3) I found new inspiration to keep going with this cleanse: my blue romper. It looks fantastic on me but I can't get it to zip up all the way in the back. So that's my goal.

4) Got refitted for a brassiere today. Went from a 36D to a 38C. I didn't have that much to begin with, how y'all just gonna melt away on me?

5) Didn't realize it until 2:30 this afternoon but I left my wallet at home. I was going to run with the group tonight but I guess I'll just be running home. It'll get done either way.

6) Thursday starts at 189.4. It's not recommended to weigh yourself everyday but I need to do it because it keeps me on track.

7) Friday starts off at 189.2. Woohoo! Steady decline.

8) Not to get too personal but I'm not pooping enough. It used to be like clockwork but something's up. I spent this past weekend drinking more aloe water than I could stand and it barely helped. I ran most of the way to work this morning and that usually does the trick but...nada.

 

Week 5 results

This week wasn't very successful. Ending at 191.8. I'm feeling really down about my results lately. I was really good this week. But I can't give up which is what i wanted to do this morning. I just have to trust the process.

Extended sugar detox Week 4 (with pictures!)

   Last week was pretty good in terms of will power. I wasn't perfect but I wasn't terrible. I had a few big meals. My biggest transgression was a late night slice of pizza when I went to the art festival but there was a lot of walking done that night. And the results prove it. I start this week off at 191.6 lbs.

   I decided to just put the most recent picture with the oldest one to because it was taking up too much room to put all of the pictures up. And look at that; I stepped my editing game up y'all! To be honest, I'm even surprised at the difference from Week 1 to now. Yay me!

 

 I had a busy weekend and didn't have a chance to cook the way I wanted to so we're back to rotisserie chicken and vegetables with omelette muffins for snacks. I'm still keeping my broccoli and cauliflower but I switched out roasted brussel sprouts for sauteed cabbage. I'm also taking the skin off of the chicken.


Week 4 observations
1) Apparently I burn more calories at a brisk walk than on my bike. I went to work on foot this morning and burned twice as many calories than when I bike. It only added an extra 15 minutes to my commute time.
2) My desire to workout is really waning. The bulk of my exercise is coming from my commute (biking). I need to find a way to motivate myself.
3) I tried on my Halloween costume and I look pretty good in it but I could still look better. This calls for more strength workouts.
4) I'm losing weight in my boobs. I bought a bikini top in my usual size 12 and I look like I'm wearing my nana's bra.
5) I had a beef patty with coco bread on Tuesday for dinner. I regret nothing.
6) Free food is my weakness :-(
7) I traveled a total of 8.6 miles on Wednesday. Walked to work in the AM and ran with the group that evening. Thursday morning I was crawling out of bed. Woke up this morning at 190.6. I'm thinking of taking Friday off because mama is TIRED.
8) This weekend I made pancake batter cupcakes with maple frosting topped with candied bacon. Why? I saw it on Instagram and wanted to be fancy. The plan was to eat one and give the rest away...didn't pan out that way. I texted and informed people about said cupcakes, I tried! lol I ended up eating 5 of them between Saturday and Sunday.
9) I got a 2 mile run in on Saturday morning thanks to some local errands I had to run.
10) Aside from the cupcakes the bulk of my eating wasn't bad for the weekend. I had food left over from the week and I also made sweet potato sliders.
11) I was going out this weekend and I tried on a blazer and a corset that are usually snug. The blazer is baggy now. Yay me! Down side is the boob part of the corset is going to need some...padding.

Week 4 results
12) Finishing this week off at 191.4. Not a dramatic loss but a loss nonetheless. See ya next week!

Extended Sugar detox Week 3 (with pictures!)

 So following last week's will power fiasco we start week 3 of the cleanse on the other side of the scale. As you can see (or maybe I'm the only one who sees it) it only takes a couple of pounds to affect my body shape. FYI: I show these pictures in my bathing suits to be brutally honest with myself and with whoever might be reading this. You can't hide from the truth when everything is stripped away.

 

 

193.8, 39" waist

  This week I've switched out the rotisserie chicken for skinless baked lemon chicken that I cooked myself as well as leaving out avocados and switching my almond snack for an extra egg white omelette muffin. Same veggies as last week because I'm lazy. I went to Trader Joe and found all of my veggies pre-cut and packaged. Woohoo! Exercise this week is biking to and from work and running group.

Week 3 observations
1) I really miss my rotisserie chicken but I know I won't take off the skin. Plus it's loaded with sodium which is probably making me retain water.
2) I need to go to sleep earlier. That keeps me from going overboard. I'm going to try to have last meal by 7 and go to sleep soon after.
3) I'm getting bored with my workout groups (minus running). I have to start doing my individual workouts again. I'm going to be making good use of my local recreational centers as it gets colder.
4) Wednesday morning woke up at 192 lbs. I've been making it a point to eat my broccoli first thing in the morning because it has the most fiber.
5) Apparently I've been measuring my waist size wrong. I've been measuring right under my navel rather than on it. My waist is 39". Woot!
6) It rained Thursday so I didn't bike to work but I got my workout in ;-).
7) Thursday I also went out to dinner with some friends and while I didn't stay away from the bread, I was very proud of myself for limiting my consumption to the 2 smallest pieces.
8) Cashews are crack. I have to stop taking my wallet with me on break. They were on sale and I bought a container and went HAM.
9) This weekend I stuck to my clean eating in the house but I also had a very eventful weekend and ate out some. Shame shame to me but I regret nothing.
10) I tried on my birthday dress which I haven't worn since May and it fits even better! Before I had to turn it around to get it zipped and suck it in a little. I was able to zip it up in the back with no trouble. Woot!
11) I tried to bike to work Monday morning but I got a flat halfway through and had to take the bus the rest of the way. I'm going to walk home to make up the difference.

Extended sugar detox Week 2 (with pictures!)

So this week we start off at 190.6. I'm not going to recap the last post so just read up on it here. The menu is pretty much the same as last week because...laziness...and tasty tasty rotisserie. Exercise was biking and an intro crossfit class on Monday, biking to and from work plus lifting on Tuesday, running group Wednesday, and biking to and from work Thursday and Friday. This is me on 9/16, 2014.

190.6 lbs, 40" waist

Here are progress pictures from last week this week (the pictures on the left are the most recent):

Week 2 Observations/Goals 

1) Weirdly, I don't think I'm eating enough. This eating plan calls for 5 servings of protein and 7 servings of vegetables a day. I think I'm averaging about 4 of each. I need to throw in some extra veggies into my lunches for some fiber.

2) I want to make a tapioca flour crust pizza this weekend. I just need to find some people to come eat it with me so I don't go overboard.

3) I'm hoping to lose 3 lbs. this week. Come on 187.6!
4) I had a hankering for a breakfast snadwich this morning. I got it but I am proud to say I didn't eat the bagel, just the inside.
5) Took pictures of myself last night and this morning. BIG difference. I flatten out during my sleep.

6) Never lift the day before you have to run. My back is killing me and I'm not going to be able to do my Thursday workout.

7) It's Thursday and I'm at 190 exactly.
8) So I injured myself and couldn't work out Thursday or Friday. My weight isn't going down as quickly as expected so next week I'm changing up the food routine. No rotisserie chicken. I think the sodium is making me retain water. Plus I haven't been removing the skin.
9) This weekend I was terrible. Like fell completely off the wagon. I went to the bacon festival and it was all downhill from there. I had my fill of delicious bacon in many forms and topped that off with ice cream and homemade pizza. Then on Sunday my friend took me to a bottomless mimosa brunch...and there was more ice cream involved (an entire pint of Ben & Jerry's Fudge Brownie). But I own my mistakes and I don't regret them. I just have to get back on the horse.

Week 2 results
Due to my poor choices, instead of losing weight I gained it. I'm finishing this week off at 193.8. I'm not discouraged though. I know that it's a matter of will power and having a goal in mind to get me back on the ball and to stay there. I'll post my progress pictures in the next update.

Extended sugar detox Week 1 (with pictures!)

   Hopefully you read my last post was about my sugar detox results. If not go here. I liked what happened in 21 days so I decided to try it again for an extended period of time. So from 9/9/14 until Halloween (my favorite time of year), I'm going to do the sugar detox again and document it weekly with pictures for my and whatever soul might be reading to see. Why? Because I want to be Storm this year and she's a bad bitch. Or health. Or whatever. This is me on September 9, 2014:

 

195.4 lbs., 40" waist

   This week's menu is pretty simple. 3-4 meals consisting of 4 ounces of store bought rotisserie chicken (or a 4 ounce homemade burger patty if I'm feeling fancy), 1 cup of vegetables, and 1/5 of an avocado with 2 of those meals. I was feeling lazy and didn't want to do my usual meat prep, which is extensive (thank my Haitian momma). The vegetables for this week consist of roasted cauliflower, roasted brussel sprouts, and blanched broccoli. Daily snacks are 1 omelette muffin, 12 almonds, and 1/2 cup of cottage cheese flavored with fruit extract/vanilla and sweetened with Splenda (spare me the Splenda rants, it be good). Exercise for the week: bootcamp on Monday, bike to and from work Tuesday, running group on Wednesday, bike to and from work Friday.

   Some of my observations on Week 1

1) Blanched broccoli is a great colon cleanser. I was out on break and had to high tail it back to the office to use the facilities. Blanched broccoli is cooked just enough that I don't feel like I'm eating shrubbery, but raw enough that I get all of the fiber benefits.

2) Starting the detox wasn't as hard as it was the last time. I like the fact that it is so regimented. It gives me less room for fudging the numbers.

3) I love weighing myself in the morning! Went to sleep at 195.4 and woke up at 192.6. (9/10/14)

4) Woke up this morning at 190.4. I feel like the weight loss this week is due mostly to an increase in fiber and no cheese to gum up the works.

5) A good run at the end of the day is a great way to stimulate your intestines.

6) Less an observation, more a goal. I'm hoping to be at 185 by next Tuesday. My goal for the duration of this cleanse is to be down to 175 by Halloween.

7) I'm a cheap date now. 2 drinks and I'm done. I went to happy hour with some friends and had 2 vodka seltzers.

8) So I was bad this weekend. Not terrible but I wasn't adhering to the serving sizes of protein I was supposed to have. Friday and Saturday I went overboard on almonds and on Sunday I biked to Mr. P's BBQ truck, got a half slab of pork ribs and ate the whole damn thing. To my surprise I still woke up this morning at 189.8. I'm glad there was a drop but I still wonder what the scale would have said if I had made better choices. (Sidenote: Mr. P's has some of the best ribs I have ever tasted. They are located at 6th & Rhode Island NW.)

9) I finally got the pieces I need for my Storm costume. I don't look bad but I could stand to lose a couple of inches around the waist. More motivation to keep going with this cleanse.

10) I need to be really diligent about my water intake. It really helps with digestion and helps me to feel more satiated with my meals. My goal is going to be 4 thermos fulls a day.

   Week 1 Results

Woke up this morning at 190.6. That's 4.8 lbs from last Tuesday morning. I'm telling you the system works! I don't know why I thought I could lose 10 lbs in 1 week but being down almost 5 lbs is alright with me! I'm going to post pictures on the Week 2 update so stay tuned.

What I learned on my sugar detox

  I know I've been away for a while but...life. So I did a 21 day sugar cleanse. The idea of the cleanse is that there is an overabundance of the naturally occurring yeast in your gut. By cutting out sugar for 21 days, you stop feeding the yeast and bring it down to normal levels. My friend told me about this cleanse a couple of years ago (she had gotten it from her primary care physician) but I was not in a mental space to do it. She is super fit and her dietary willpower is just... Anyway, I saw her mom a few weeks ago and she had lost a dramatic amount of weight and she said that it was from the cleanse so my vanity motivated me to try it :-). It was an interesting 3 weeks and I would just like to say: sugar is a hating ass bitch. Here are some of the things I learned on this cleanse:


1. Nutrition really is the most important part of fitness.
    We keep hearing it's 80% nutrition and 20% exercise. IT IS TRUE and I want to yell it from the mountain top. I've been working out on and off since college and been doing so consistently for the last 2+ years. While I feel better and more in shape than when I don't work out, I always find that I hit a plateau in terms of my weight loss that I thought was going to be impossible to overcome. At the end of this cleanse, I lost a total of 9 pounds, 1.5 inches off of my waist, and went down a dress size in 3 weeks. I didn't increase exercise (I exercise 4-5 days a week). I was never hungry. I just had to be smart about what I chose both in content and portion size. Which brings me to #2.

2. Sugar is in EVERYTHING.
    I basically had to give up any alcoholic beverages in the last 3 weeks because they are loaded with sugar; that wasn't a big deal. What was challenging was giving up my oatmeal breakfast and 2 pieces of fruit daily. Not to mention my treat meals and the random goodies at work I tend to find in my vicinity and eat without thinking. This cleanse really forced me to sit down and read/research/think about what I am putting into my body and I realized what a big part of the general diet sugar is.

3. I'M an all or nothing person.
    Although in general I eat pretty well, I let my cheat meals get out of hand sometimes. A cheat meal becomes a cheat day becomes a cheat week and on and on (i.e., my birthday month binge). I always felt like there were some foods that I would just NEVER be able to totally cut out. This cleanse made me realize that if I'm committing to a healthier lifestyle I have to REALLY committ. This may not be true for everyone, I'm just speaking for myself because a) I gain weight really easily and 2) I've got willpower issues. I don't buy large containers of cashews because they are my favorite and I'll inhale it all in 1-2 days. I don't keep cheese in the house very much because I will put it on everything. I don't make my comfort foods in large batches because my portion control goes out the door. When it comes to sugar, I'm going to have to be creative in how I satisfy my craving for it and that brings me to #4.

4. There are lots of healthy alternatives to the foods I love.
    Sometimes I want a sandwich. Hello coconut flour! I learned to make bread using coconut flour and it pretty much changed the bread game for me. I'm going to be doing a lot of experimenting with it in my future. I love cheese. See #5. I also love fruit. See #7. The crux of what I'm trying to say is that there is always a better version of that favorite food of yours. You just have to look for it. (sidebar: found a delicious recipe for an almost sugar free alcoholic beverage and I'm working on paleo mac and cheese.)

5. Avocados FTW!
   I love cheese. No, I LOVE cheese. Specifically cheddar and bleu cheese. Unfortunately these were off the menu for the cleanse. Too much saturated fat. Then in walks avocado. I've always loved avocado but it is a really great way to substitute for cheese. It's creamy and has lots of healthy fats and is just all around delicious. But I'm not a fan of slimcados. They may be bigger but not as delicious as regular avocados.

6. Fat isn't bad for you!
   I keep track of most of my food intake on My Fitness Pal. I usually try to keep my fat intake to a minimum and consider it a victory if I'm a couple of grams under my daily sugar intake. During this 3 week cleanse, my fat intake was over what the program said I should be taking in while cutting out most* of the sugar and I lost a significant amount of weight in a pretty short amount of time. The key is to take in good fats from things like avocados and nuts and limiting your intake of saturated fats (i.e., take the skin off your chicken and go light on the bacon)

7. Fruit extracts: get into them
   I love citrus fruits. This cleanse cut out any fruit intake for 21 days. I learned to satisfy my desire for tasty tasty fruit by flavoring cottage cheese with orange and lemon extracts and a non-sugar sweetener. Delicious. I'll be looking more to berries for my fruit intake in the future. Citrus fruits will have to be a sometimes treat.

8. Stevia is gross.
   I don't know what that nasty aftertaste is but keep it away from me. I finished out my stevia stash and started using Splenda even though that isn't too great for you either. I'm going to be switching over to Xylitol and hopefully I have better luck with it. BTW if anyone wants a bag of Coconut Palm Sugar and one of brown sugar, they're yours.

9. Preparation is key.
    This goes for the mental as well as the physical. During this cleanse I attended the wedding of two of my dearest friends. The reception was OPEN BAR with a NIGERIAN/SOUTHERN FOOD BUFFET. Satan get thee behind me! Perfect opportunity for me to slip up. But I was committed to seeing this cleanse out and I just had some chicken (I took the skin off) and collards. Plus I had my own stash of food in the car. Last weekend I went on a beach trip with my running group and there were boardwalk fries, ice cream, and funnel cakes oh my! But I had my trusty bag full of burger patties, avocado, and spinach, plus some no sugar treats and I stuck to it. You have to be willing to put in some prep work if you're going to stick to an eating plan. You don't know what people are putting in your food (I worked in a restaurant where they put sugar in the corn). Also you need something to lean on when you are tempted. I might look a little odd when I pull out my prepped food, but I've got goals to attain.

10. Eating clean isn't as hard as some people make it out to be.
    Halfway through the cleanse I got really lazy with cooking. So I went to the grocery store and I bought rotisserie chickens and veggies that required minimal prep. The hardest part was dividing the meat into appropriate portions (invest in a food scale; it is WORTH IT). While I do plan on trying out some fancier recipes, it's comforting to know that sticking to this style of eating isn't something that is going to have me constantly slaving in the kitchen.

   To sum it up, the cleanse wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be and I am more than pleased with the results. I think I might keep it going a little longer. I'm definitely more aware of what kind of food I put in my body and how sugar affects me. I know that because of the way MY body works, I have to pay special attention to my sugar intake. If you want the meal sheet, send me your email and I'll be happy to share it. Let me know your experience!

*I had negligible sugar intake from some veggies and avocado.

DIY: Aloe Detox Water

   In my never-ending quest to be about this fitness life, I work out with a group on Mondays. the workouts are INTENSE (I almost puked after the first one). Most of the participants are distributors for a nutritional supplement company that shall remain un-named (nobody's payin' me for promotion). We get to sample the products after our workouts and while I'm not really big on them I tried their Aloe concentrate in some tea after a workout one day and the next morning...I was literally cleaned out. Apparently aloe is a great way to clear out your digestive system. So I went to Trader Joe the next day and bought a gallon of their aloe vera juice. It was cool but the geek in me always wants to make things myself. So after some research, I bought an aloe leaf and made my own detox water. I learned about the process from here. The pictures are more artsy than the ones I'm going to show you but I wanted to give a layman's experience of making it.

I got my pitcher...

 

and my aloe leaf. It was $1.99 at my local grocer...

I split the aloe leaf down the middle. I would suggest doing this on a cutting board that's placed on some type of plastic or paper towel because the gel comes oozing out ASAP and you don't want to waste it.

I tried to cut the gel out but I kept getting skin and you do NOT want that. Apparently there's a yellow resin between the gel and skin that will chain you to the toilet. So I got a spoon and scraped out as much as I could.

I put the gel and the juice of a lemon in the blender with some water and blended it for about a minute. When it was done it was super frothy.

I poured it in the pitcher through a strainer to catch any unblended pieces and threw those back in the blender with some more water until it was smooth. When it was all done I filled the remainder of the pitcher with water and threw a piece of lemon in there.

There was still gel left on the leaf so I stored it in some tupperware. Not sure how long it will last but I'm hoping to make another round of this stuff in about a week.

 

It doesn't taste great but that may be due to the fact that I used more aloe than the recipe called for. You can use it in your smoothies or mix it in with some juice. I just drink it with water. Try it out and let me know how it works for you. Here's to your health!