I've written before about being skinny and getting fat; it's a common struggle for many women. I've lost weight- with Weight Watchers back in 2005 and with Curves in 2012, but in recent months, all if my bad habits had crept back into my life. Three or more full calorie Coca-colas a day. Fast food nearly every day, and as disgusting as this is, there were literally days where I ate fast food for all three meals. I was diagnosed with insulin resistance (pre-diabetes) in 2011, but didn't feel the need to make any lifestyle changes, well, at least not any healthy lifestyle changes. I knew something had to give. After a terrible February appointment with my gynecologist left me feeling very fat-shamed and in tears, I sought out a second opinion. I've always had SUPER low energy, as a well as a few other healthy issues, but I just refused to believe that borderline high blood sugar could be wreaking such havoc on my body. In retrospect, I realize that sounds like someone deep in denial, and with all due respect to my gynecologist, I know that I wasn't taking care of myself the way I should (even if she was super bitchy in the way she said it to me!).
I found a wonderful, kind, caring doctor who focuses on integrative and holistic medicine and after a slew of tests we discovered I had multiple issues compounding my blood sugar problem, including food intolerance, Adrenal Fatigue, Wilson's Thyroid Syndrome, and a genetic mutation called MTHFR. All of these things are wearing my body down, and I'm not helping with all the crap I am putting into my body. She recommended a pretty strict diet, not because of the blood sugar actually, but the MTHFR doesn't allow my body to process man-made folate (A.K.A folic acid, which is in TONS of "fortified" foods like bread and cereals). So I sought out a diet that I hoped could change my life.
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| Don't let that sweet smile deceive you! |
Years ago, I got into a nasty online Pinterest war with a woman who took great offense to aparticular pin that said something like, "Your body's not a trash can, stop putting trash in it." I feel like this is a great adage to live buy, not unlike the old, "You are what you eat" saying. Y'all, I was eating crap. ALL THE TIME. Not an occasional treat- Cokes, fast food, bread, sweets- these were staples of my daily diet. I ran across Dr. Mark Hyman's book The 10 Day Detox Diet, and even though he takes a real tough love approach to it, I knew this was what I needed to kick my butt into gear.
This diet is not for the faint of heart, that's for sure. For 10 days we cut out ALL sugars- natural and man-made, with the exception of a half-cup of berries in a breakfast smoothie. We also eliminated all gluten (and gluten-free products) and all dairy. Dr. Hyman says to focus on what you CAN eat instead of obsessing over what you CAN'T have, but I spent the first three days in mourning over the fact that I will never again drink another Coca-cola. That's not normal. But it showed me how real my food issues are. I used to (secretly, of course) totally judge and laugh at people who would say they were emotional eaters or food addicts, but within days, it was clear that I had some major food hang-ups.
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| Image from healthyblenderrecipes.com My mornings started with this shake, chick full of nuts, seeds, and other good for you food. I missed chewing! |
The diet does require A LOT of prep work and grocery shopping. Curtis balked at the money we were spending but I had to keep reminding him that we were getting a week's worth of breakfast, lunch, dinner, and leftovers. We actually saved money. It's pretty straight-forward and easy to follow. You are given two 10-day menus- one is considered Basic and the other is called Adventure. The Adventure calls for more exotic ingredients, many of which weren't found in my podunk town, so we stuck with the basic diet. Each day was fairly similar: thick, fatty breakfast shake, salad or soup with protein at lunch, and a dinner heavy in leafy green vegetables and lean protein. I did get sick of not chewing for breakfast and it felt like we eat fish EVERY night, but the recipes were fairly easily to follow and most were pretty good. I had a few misses but all in all I felt like we ate well and I was rarely hungry. Snacks were almonds or vegetable dips that I never got around to making (hummus is a no-no because no beans/peas/etc. were allowed on the detox either).
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| Image from mamaandbabylove.com Each night is supposed to end with a detox bath. I wish my tub looked like this one! |
Even though I did cheat, I haven't given up. This Monday we actually started Diane Sanfilippo's super-famous 21 Day Sugar Detox. Her detox is much more lenient and allows for apples and bananas (green, but still, it will be a luxury!) I look forward to updating you in about a month as my journey continues!
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| Here's what's next! Wish me luck! |
If you have any questions about the 10 Day Detox Diet, just ask in the comments! I will gladly answer as truthfully as I can!!
