The 21-Day Sugar Detox- Day 16

Wow! Two days in a row of feeling good can really make a person happy. Even though I didn't sleep well last night, I still had enough energy to get through my busy day.  So many times, I wondered if I would ever feel better. I have to say, I'm getting a little nervous to add foods back into my diet in five days. This just reassures me that I'm going to need to take things slow.

I've learned so much over the last sixteen days. Most importantly, I've learned that I can still eat tasty foods with all of my restrictions. I understand I have to live without grains forever. Before I started The 21-Day Sugar Detox , I didn't think that was possible. But, I took this time to learn new recipes to fill my carb cravings. As I wrote in my post from day 1, I didn't really have a sweet tooth. Sugar was not my poison. Pasta, bread, and chips were my downfall.  To find out I couldn't have any of those foods anymore was devastating. Now, I feel okay about it. I know I can make pizza crust from cauliflower, pasta from zucchini or spaghetti squash, and chips from zucchini or sweet potatoes. And they taste great to boot! I get excited about creating new ways to cook my old favorites. If something doesn't taste quite right, it's back to the drawing board.

One of my favorite meals, I've discovered, is lettuce wrap sandwiches. I love them! I love that I can taste all of the ingredients, not just bread. I've learned how to wrap a pretty mean lettuce sandwich.

Lunch today was a roast beef and avocado lettuce wrap. I heated a cup of turkey bone broth on the side to warm me up. It was a cold one today!

That was the last of my bone broth; so, I will be making more on Thursday. I've been saving my chicken bones and freezing them for that occasion. Yum!

This afternoon, I had a bit of a headache. I put two droppers of White Willow Bark tincture in a little water and drank it down. Worked like a charm!

I began cooking dinner early. Since tomorrow is one of my busiest days, I prepared my dinner for that night as well. I won't get home until after 8 PM. I know I won't feel like making dinner then.

Tonight's dinner was Italian Sausage Stuffed Chicken Thighs wrapped in Bacon, served on a bed of wilted Arugula. Can you say DELICIOUS?

The flavor in this dish was amazing. My butcher makes his Italian Sausage with no sugar, preservatives, or artificial flavors. He only uses the finest meats and herbs. It's the best!

If I can eat this well, I can live on this program forever. I have definitely decided to adopt the primal diet after I finish with this program. I say primal because I would like to incorporate some grass-fed, raw cheeses in my diet. You can't do that with paleo.  However, if I find my body doesn't tolerate dairy, I am prepared to go full paleo. I will be a little sad, though. I heard Nutritional Yeast Seasoning is what vegans use to make foods taste cheesy. I guess I'll have to give that a try. Oh well, no use crying over spilt milk. I cross that bridge when I come to it. How many sayings can I fit into this paragraph? Goodness!

So, it's down to the final 5 days of The 21-Day Sugar Detox .  If you're still thinking about starting a detox program, I hope you do it. You could feel better than you have in years! I'm living proof of that fact! Let me encourage you. Why should you spend one more day feeling horrible?

Comment below or email me. I want to know how y'all are doing. 

Tmoperillo@gmail.com

The 21-Day Sugar Detox- Day 15

It's a Monday. But, it's also a national holiday! I decided to take the day off.  It's kind of weird to take a day off when you work for yourself. I guess I could have felt guilty, if I didn't have so much to do. You see, along with eliminating foods from my diet, I'm also eliminating clutter from my life. Last week, I started with cleaning out my workroom.  When I was done, I had bags of donations for my local charity. My workroom was organized, which lessened my stress. Today, I tackled my closet.

I toiled for hours, purging the contents of my closet. I tried on every pair of pants, jeans and skirt. If it didn't fit, I chucked it. Since eliminating grains from my diet, I've lost 20 pounds. I am now back to the weight I was before this lupus flare began. This is a clear sign that I am healing. Inflammation causes weight gain. That's a fact. Five more bags of donations is what I had once I was done, and a feeling of accomplishment.

Believe me, things aren't always glamorous here at home. Today's lunch was a can of sardines and an avocado with a squeeze of lime. Exciting, I know.

Once my gourmet lunch was eaten, I needed to fill some of my herbal capsules. I was running low on my Tumeric and Cat's Claw capsules. I like to make my own because that way I know exactly what goes into them, pure, organic herbs. I always order my herbs from www.mountainroseherbs.com or www.hearbalhealeracademy.com. I've done business with them both for over 15 years.

I guess I was craving fish because I baked cod for dinner. I placed the cod filet in a Parchment Bags with some fresh spinach. I made my approved version of fish and chips by baking some zucchini chips on the side. I probably could have coated the fish with coconut flour. But, while on The 21-Day Sugar Detox, I'm trying to stay away from all flours. No, let me correct that. I am staying away from all flour. I love breaded foods! I think it's better for me to try to break all cravings NOW.

All in all, today was a good day. I'm thinking things should continue to get better for the next 6 days. Don't get me wrong. I can't wait until next Monday! In fact, I've already decided which foods I will be adding back immediately. Bananas, almonds, chocolate, and egg yolks will be the first foods I enjoy. I understand that I need to add foods back slowly. But, bananas are not very high on the inflammatory list.mi think I'm safe with that one. The other three I have to be more careful. So, I'll be sure to start with a teeny amount. I think that after this 21 days, I deserve a little treat. It's going to happen, yep.

Purging your life of clutter is part of healing. I believe it's good for your soul. Ridding your life of junk, whether it be foods, clothes, negative thoughts, or destructive people, can be healing for your body, mind, and soul. If you need help getting started, I offer my help to you. You can do this. Comment below or email me privately. I'm here to help. Email: tmoperillo@gmail.com

The 21-Day Sugar Detox- Day 14

What a glorious Sunday! I slept amazingly well last night. And, since I attended church yesterday, I got to sleep in. It was beautiful! It's also helpful that I felt pretty darn good today. The aches and pains that usually fill my day were at an all time low. I felt better than I have in years. I'm so glad I started this detox! It's certainly one of the best decisions I've made.

On a side note, that has nothing to do with my detox. My little nephew, Grayson, was baptized today.

Unfortunately, the christening was in Louisiana. So, I couldn't be there. But, isn't he precious?

Okay, back to The 21-Day Sugar Detox. I really didn't get hungry at all today. For lunch, I ate leftover Cajun Dirty "Rice".  Typically, we eat dinner at 6 PM. I wasn't hungry at dinner time; so I cooked a very small amount of food. I sauted bok choy, slices of beef, and red onion with zucchini noodles. For flavor, I added Coconut Aminos, lime juice, and a dash of Fish Sauce. I would have loved to add some toasted sesame seeds; but, no seeds for me. Avocado with a little salt and black pepper served as my side dish.

The rest of my night was, frankly, spent pampering myself. I deep conditioned my hair with Coconut Oil, Organic Jojoba Oil, and Organic Rosemary Essential Oil. Then, I washed my hair with my no poo method. It seems so many people have an opinion about the no poo method, especially people who have never tried it. All I know is before I used it, my hair was falling out by handfuls. After I started using it, my hair stopped falling out. I'm sticking with it! It's uplifting for me to see my hair growing back. I'm not giving that up!

So, now I'm sitting here, writing this blog, all relaxed and clean. I feel great today. I am really happy I chose this detox. As rough as it's been some days, if I can feel like this for more days, it will all be worth it. I can't wait to see how I feel tomorrow.

If you are also doing a detox, drop me a comment to let me know how your day went.  I can only hope you felt as good as I did. If not, hang in there. There is light at the end of the tunnel.

Until tomorrow, have an awesome night!