Lets Talk: 7 Day Sugar Detox!

Tuna salad lettuce cups. (scroll to the bottom for some more yummy meals)

I am a big believer in all foods in moderation, including those that contain sugar, and I've finally let go of that life of restriction, but sometimes it's fun to take on a challenge, and do something that will really help your body thrive. Especially when you do it with someone you love! That is why recently, my boyfriend Trevor and I took on the 7 day sugar detox. For those of you who don't know, the 7 day sugar detox is a mini challenge that has been making its way around the Instagram world. Basically it is what it sounds like.... 7 days with no sugar... BESIDES that of fruit! (So this means, no cane sugar, no agave, no honey.) At least, those are the rules that Trev and I followed. Simply because I think that fruit, when consumed in moderation is only going to do good things for your body! So no, we didn't take advantage of the fact we could have fruit, and stuff our selves full of it. Instead, we consumed it when we wanted, in moderation, and made sure to focus on creating meals with majority veggies, along with protein, complex carbs, and healthy fats!

We chose a week where both of our schedules were pretty free, and this took away a lot of the stress that can come along with taking on a challenge, and staying on track. We did our own thing for breakfast, and snacks, but were very fortunate to able to cook, and eat almost all lunches and dinners together. How we prepared for the 7 days went as follows; I had Trev look through my Whole 30 cookbook and pick out recipes he thought he would really enjoy, we wrote them down and created a shopping list of all the items we needed for the week. We had 7 different dinners, 3 different lunches, and the rest of our lunches contained leftovers from dinner! We meal prepped a few things like homemade chicken sausage, hummus, and cut up raw veggies, but all other food eaten was made fresh the day of.

Reasons why I like the 7 day sugar detox:

A doable challenge.

7 days, if you think about it in the long run, isn't a very long time. Therefore, those people who are set in their way of eating, and feel like they could never "diet", could accomplish this, (of course by putting in a little hard work), knowing that it would be over after just 7 days.

Makes you more aware.

The fact you have to look at all ingredient labels before consuming anything packaged, really forces you to be more aware of how much sugar, and even the fact that there is sugar in A LOT of packaged foods. Even foods you wouldn't think to find it! (including spices, did you know some lemon pepper blends contain sugar?!)

Quality time with my BF while doing something good for our bodies!

My boyfriend and I have different ways of eating. I have developed a passion for nutrition, and cooking, and love to try pretty much ANY food, especially when I know there are nutritional benefits for my body. My boyfriend on the other hand enjoys foods that are different from what I prefer, and some of the things I eat, aren't so appetizing to him. ;) Therefore, when we eat together, our meals are often quite different. However, while on this challenge, we ate almost ALL the same foods. We planned together, went grocery shopping, cooked, and even sat down and enjoyed our meals, getting in that extra quality time. It was really fun to be in a challenge together. Knowing we had the other person counting on us to stick to it, made it that much easier to be successful.

Delicious food!

Our meals were AMAZING over the course of the 7 days. I absolutely loved it, because it allowed me to get out of the rut of eating the same 5 meals throughout the week. When you're cooking for yourself every single meal from scratch, the ability to be creative can get difficult. But having my boyfriend to cook for as well, and the fact I wanted him to truly enjoy his food, made cooking that much more fun! We made whole food meals, with minimal ingredients, and each and every one offered different flavors/textures which made the 7 days that much more enjoyable!

Benefits your body!

When I asked my boyfriend how he felt at the end of the 7 days, he told me he didn't feel all that different. Surprised by his response, it got me thinking. While 7 days without sugar, is beneficial, and is good for your body, you may not feel the benefits after these 7 days. Especially if you are someone who consumes sugar on a regular basis. When you've been doing something for so long, it takes a little while to completely detox and reap the benefits that come with cutting it out. So while this could potentially help with headaches, bloating, and energy levels, it very well may not after just 7 short days. However, this doesn't mean your body isn't benefiting, it just may take some healthier choices on a regular basis, and perhaps a few more 7 day detoxes to truly notice a difference!

Makes you feel good!

After completing the 7 days, both Trev and I agreed that even if we didn't see physical results, we both felt really good about ourselves over the course of the 7 days. It is a proven fact that when you do something good for your body, there will be positive feelings associated with it. So why not give it a try!

My tips:

Take on the challenge with at least one other person.

Doing any sort of challenge is always easier when you have that other person counting on you, and keeping you motivated. Having someone to hold you accountable makes making the right choices a little bit easier!

Choose 7 consecutive days where your schedule isn't super busy.

Doing this when you're constantly on the go is doable, but requires a bit of preparation. Spending a day on meal prep to set you up to stay on track during a busy week works, but can be hard to find the time to do so. Therefore, if you can choose a time when you're able to make most meals as you go, it will take a lot of the stress off.

PLAN & PREPARE!

Sit down and prepare for the 7 days! Look at what events you have coming up, and figure out a game plan for how you're going to stay on track. Look through cookbooks or on Pinterest for sugar free meals for breakfast, lunch, and/or dinner. Plan out healthy and nutritious snacks, and ones that you can take with you on the go if needed! Make a shopping list, and go to the store with a plan of attack. Buying food for 7 days can be overwhelming, so keep in mind you're spending money on food that's going to last you the entire week, and feed you breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks! Divide the total cost of groceries by 7 days and the amount spent may not be so overwhelming!

Choose meals you are excited to eat.

Pick meals that make your mouth water when thinking about them. This is going to make staying on track that much easier. Choose foods that are nutritious, but that truly sound good to you. Focus on whole, colorful foods, and creating balanced meals with protein, carbs, and healthy fats!

Allow yourself fruit in moderation.

Unless fruit is all the sugar you consume, allow your self some fruit over the course of the 7 days! Yes, fruit when eaten in large quantities can have the same effects as cane sugar.... HOWEVER, in moderation fruit is very beneficial to our bodies. While fruit does contain sugar in the form of fructose, it also contains fiber to help keep us full. Therefore, when you do have that sweet craving allow yourself some fruit! Berries are a great low sugar fruit option.

Have realistic expectations.

Don't head into this challenge thinking you're going to lose a bunch of weight in 7 days. 7 days is a short amount of time, and losing a large amount of weight in a small amount of time is not good for our bodies. Yes, you may notice you drop a few pounds (a lot of which may be water weight). This is great, but it is possible that if you go back to eating how you were before the 7 days, you will see this weight come back. My advice, don't weigh yourself! D I T C H the scale. Go off of how you feel over the course of the 7 days. Focus on things like if you have less bloating, more energy, or less breakouts!

Make the healthiest choices you can!

While you are only cutting out sugar, my advice is that you don't use that as an excuse to eat other processed foods that are sugar free. (and probably packed with sodium) Instead, choose nutritious foods, like sweet potato, cucumber, broccoli, bell peppers, snap peas, berries, brown rice, hummus, avocado, nut butter, chicken, steak, or turkey! And if you have to eat something processed, look at the ingredients list, and aim for items that contain few ingredients, and that you know what they are!

What Trev and I ate over the course of our 7 days

The meals you see photos of.... as well as:

Crockpot Shredded Chicken Tacos AND Ground Turkey Tacos (on corn tortillas, with sautéed veggies, salsa, avocado)
Stuffed Bell Peppers (ground turkey, brown rice, tomato sauce)
Burrito Bowl (Refried black beans, ground turkey, brown rice, mashed avocado)
Quinoa and Red Lentil Pasta ( with homemade tomato sauce, and homemade chicken meatballs)
Veggie and Potato Hash (with fried eggs and fruit)