21 Day {Added} Sugar Fast – Week 1

This is a food challenge that I foolishly believed would go much smoother than it actually did (in the beginning at least). G and I eat relatively healthy– or I like to think– but we definitely believe in moderation. Obviously some days we really give ourselves TOO much grace, but for the most part I think we are pretty good. But because G had a big financial test coming up, and I was starting a new job, we thought it might be good to cut out sugar to be healthier, give ourselves more mental clarity, and feel better all around.

We decided to eliminate all added sugars– including corn syrup, raw sugar, honey, artificial sweeteners, agave, etc. This meant cutting out all soda (diet included), eliminating pretty much all cereal, obviously pretty much all dessert, the list continues. I didn’t want to go down the Whole 30 or Paleo route because tbh they sounded a little complex and I don’t fully understand why they eliminate grains and legumes/beans from their diets and why they believe it to be necessary.

This isn’t an extreme diet and is likely something that could be more sustainable than say paleo, Whole 30, Keto, anything other crazy diet, because cutting out sugar is more of a choice. It means that you are going to probably end up putting less processed food in and take more time to look at what you are eating.

We just finished week 1 yesterday, so here is what we ate this week!

Day 1

Breakfast:

Meal prepped breakfast egg cups with turkey and spinach

Lunch:

• Meal prepped grilled chicken
• • I seasoned chicken thighs with olive oil, sea salt, black pepper, dried rosemary, and garlic and grilled it.
• “Fried rice”
• • To make the fried rice, I used a bag of “Multigrain blend with veggies” in the frozen section of Trader Joe’s, cooked it, added 3 eggs, and some coconut aminos. It is SO GOOD!
• Apple

Afternoon snack:

Raspberries and blackberries

Dinner:

Salad with falafel, avocado, and green goddess dressing

Day 2

Breakfast:

Day 2 of meal prepped breakfast egg cups

Lunch:

Day 2 of meal prepped grilled chicken, “fried rice” and apple

Afternoon snack:

Raspberries and blackberries

Dinner:

Spaghetti squash with turkey bolongese (from the frozen section at Trader Joe’s)

“Dessert”:

Apple with PB powder

Update: I feel horrible. I handed a patient a cup of ice cream and it took everything in me to not go get one myself. Hoping this is going to be the worst of the withdrawal. I almost cried today because I wanted chocolate so badly lol

Day 3

Breakfast:

• Ezekiel bread with smashed avocado and fried egg– topped with Cholula and Everything bagel seasoning (from Trader Joe’s)
• “Fried” apples
• • Heated avocado oil + ghee in a pan and added thinly sliced apples + cinnamon + touch of sea salt

Lunch:

Salad with Thai veggie burger (from Trader Joe’s) and green goddess dressing

Dinner:

Went out to dinner at YAFO kitchen (Greek/Mediterranean restaurant) and got a chicken Schwarma bowl– rice, tomato/cucumber salad, chicken schwarma, onion, and tahini (came with pickled onion but I took it off haha)

Update: Today is a little easier. Partially because I remembered that Ezekiel bread has no sugar in it, and I could still enjoy avocado toast #millennialprobs

Day 4:

Breakfast:

• Fried egg
• Ezekiel bread topped Justin’s almond butter and chia seeds

Lunch:

Went out to Chipotle and got a chicken burrito bowl with brown rice, black beans, mild & medium salsa, corn, guacamole, and lettuce

Dinner:

• Southwest black bean burger with caramelized onions (cooked in ghee, pinch of salt, and pepper) + spicy mayo (Cholula and mayo mixture) in a butter lettuce “bun”
• Sweet potato fries
• • Roasted sweet potatoes sprayed with avocado oil and seasoned with chili powder, salt, & pepper.

Update: We ate GOOD today. I feel like I was not missing out on anything and I felt full the WHOLE DAY.

Day 5

Breakfast:

• Ezekiel bread topped with Justin’s cashew butter and sliced bananas
• Strawberries

Lunch:

Buffalo chicken stuffed sweet potato

• I loosely based my lunch off this recipe but was essentially just eyeballing everything as I went. I basically combined 1 tsp melted coconut oil, 1 tsp melted ghee, 3 tablespoons hot sauce (I used Texas Pete), and a little bit of garlic salt. I placed a chicken thigh on a baking pan lined with foil and covered it in the sauce. I baked it at 400 until the chicken was cooked through and pulled apart then stuffed it into a sweet potato that I had microwaved (v classy I know). It was surprisingly REALLY good!

Dinner:

• Salmon
• • To make the salmon, I marinated it in coconut aminos, lime juice, garlic, & red pepper flakes
• • I then cooked it in the oven at 375 until cooked all the way through!
• Roasted carrots
• • I also ate the Trader Joe’s colorful carrot coins which are in the frozen section and are already seasoned with some olive oil and thyme! I just cooked them in a pan until they were cooked all the way through!
• Strawberries

Day 6

Breakfast:

Meal prepped breakfast egg cups with turkey and spinach

Lunch:

• Meal prepped Asian chicken thighs
• • To make the chicken, I marinated the chicken thighs in some red pepper flakes, coconut aminos, lime juice, chili paste, garlic salt and baked it in a foil packet until cooked all the way through. I then shredded it and divided it among the meal prep containers!
• Meal prepped stir fry veggies
• • I just used a bag of frozen stir fry veggies and stir fried them with some garlic and coconut aminos!
• Apple

Snack:

Raspberries and blackberries

Dinner:

Chimichurri marinated chicken thighs on a salad with avocado and Green Goddess Dressing

Update: I worked today and at work, I’m constantly surrounded by bowls of candy and bagels. Plus we had a brunch today for a coworker’s baby shower, but I actually didn’t feel like I WANTED any of the candy or sweets (which is truly mind-boggling for someone with a constant sweet tooth like me). It’s been a pattern the past couple days that I feel like I have gotten past the “withdrawal” stage and now I feel like I am clean and don’t need to eat sugary food.

Day 7

Breakfast:

• Smashed avocado and egg on toasted Ezekiel bread, topped with hot sauce and Everything but the Bagel seasoning!
• • Since I was just making this for one, I cooked my egg in this mini pan specifically for eggs (in case you’re wondering how it’s perfectly round haha)
• Pineapple

Lunch:

Went to a restaurant called Chopt for lunch and ate half of a chicken tinga bowl (sans chips and cheese), which has brown rice, quinoa, kale, corn, black beans, avocado, chicken, and Mexican green goddess dressing

Post-Workout Snack:

Apple with Justin’s Peanut Butter

Dinner:

Spaghetti squash with chicken meatballs and sauce

Week 1 Conclusion:

I think my main take away for this week is that sugar is addictive and the first few days of cutting yourself off is rough. But when you eat carbs, you’re going to crave more carbs. I also realized how often I eat sugary things out of sheer boredom, and how cutting myself off for a week made me feel full more often and not feel like I need to eat because I am bored.

I started off the week weighing 142 lbs and ended it weighing 140. Meanwhile my husband, G, who also is participating in the sugar-fast started off weighing 200 and is now down to 185 (?!?!?!?!) which is his high school weight!!!!

We both feel REALLY good, lighter, healthier, etc. We have a few more weeks of this to go though, and I am excited to continue sharing what we eat and this journey!