The 21-Day Sugar Detox- Day 18

Okay, so, I may be a little excited that Sunday will be the last day of The 21-Day Sugar Detox. I was like a kid in a candy store at Trader Joe's today. I bought all of the foods I will be adding into my diet on Monday.  Aah, I'll be able to have bananas, apples, egg yolks, raw cheese, and dark chocolate again.  I'm a little nervous; but, not enough to keep these foods off my list of eats. Of course, if I have a reaction to any, I'm prepared to stop eating them.  Hopefully, that won't happen.

This morning, I felt better than yesterday.  But, this afternoon, I had a bit of a stomach ache and heart palpitations.  I'm starting to think my symptoms over the last two days have more to do with stress than the detox. I tend to freak when I have to drive in snowstorms.  I've had to do that a couple of times this week.  That, combined with my hormone levels being wonky this week, have, I think, caused some symptoms to reappear.  It's amazing what stress can do to our bodies.

I'm quite sure my lunch is not what caused my stomach upset. I had bacon and homemade guacamole in lettuce cups. I've been eating the ingredients throughout my entire detox.  They are all autoimmune and allergy free approved foods.  Then, I thought maybe it was cross-contamination from my husband's foods.  But, I am very careful about using only sanitized utensils and cutting boards. For now, I'm just going to go with the stress theory.

This afternoon, I tried to chill out by working on research.  It must have worked because my stomach cramps and palpitations dissipated.  By dinner time, they were gone.  I went with my old standby for dinner, chicken legs. I baked them Greek style, which is my absolute favorite.  On the side, I cooked Bacon and Butternut Squash Hash.  This was true comfort food, perfect for a chilly night. It was so delicious.

Once this post is done, I plan to continue my relaxation by taking a nice, warm bath with Epsom Salt and Lavender Essential Oil. Epsom Salt is great for detoxifying the body.  I'm not big on baths; but, I try to soak in one a month. It's great for sore muscles and joints, too.

I hope my bad days don't dissuade you from beginning your detox plan.  It's all part of the process. If I was less than honest with you and made it seem like everything was lollipops and rainbows, you would be discouraged when going through it yourself. I'd rather be up front and honest to prepare you for your ups and downs.  And, it's possible you won't have as many downs.  What motivates me are the good days, knowing that many more of those are possible.  When we feel bad every day, for so many years, we tend to forget what feeling good felt like.  These good days remind us of that. And, once you experience them again, you want MORE.  That's what keeps me going! I suspect it's what will keep you going too.

Need motivation? Comment below or email me! Tmoperillo@gmail.com

Thanks to everyone who's been following, commenting, and emailing me!  For those of you already on your detox journey, I pray you are finding your wellness again.  And, for those who want to start your journey, I pray you receive what you need to do so.

Goodnight and God Bless.

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 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!

The 21-Day Sugar Detox- Day 13

I made it through another day on The 21-Day Sugar Detox! Thankfully, I slept so much better last night than I did the night before. Unfortunately, I had to wake up really early this morning.  I had to attend a catechist meeting and mini retreat, starting at 8:30 AM.

When I arrived at my meeting,they were setting up the food table. I handed over the breakfast bars I was asked to bring. I, then, chose my seat and set up my area with my special coffee mug and water bottle. There was no way I would let my system be contaminated with their bottled water and flavored coffee of unknown origin. Yep, I have become that girl. Returning to the food table, I examined the spread. I realized, there was not one food I could eat. Not one! Luckily, I'm used to fasting. So, this was no big deal. I went back to my seat and sipped my filtered water.

Normally, I hang around after meetings to chat a bit. Not today. The snow had started falling half an hour ago. I just wanted to get home, get into my sweats, and make something to eat. My little Fiat was covered in snow. After brushing it off, I began the drive home.  The ride was slow going. I HATE driving in snow!

I felt such relief pulling into the garage. I prayed a thank you for God seeing me home safely.  Boho rushed me at the door. I love the way she's so happy to see me, no matter how long I've been gone. I threw all of my things down in a heap, walked to my closet, and slipped into my sweats. After putting away my stuff, I made myself something to eat, a bacon, avocado lettuce wrap.

After lunch, I thought about how I was feeling. It has been weeks since I experienced any gastrointestinal symptoms. My joints are still hurting. But, I think that has more to do with me running out of my joint supplements. My rashes have greatly improved. The butterfly rash on my face is now hardly noticeable. In fact, every one of my symptoms has improved in some way.  Yay for me!

I spent my time before dinner chilling. I read a little, did a crossword puzzle, and viewed pins on Pinterest.

For dinner, I baked Italian Sausage Bagels (one of the pins I found on Pinterest). I couldn't make them exactly like the recipe because of my food restrictions. I made the appropriate changes.

I served them with Arugula and avocado stuffed into them.  I also sauted some slivered brussel sprouts with bacon, red onion, and Balsamic Vinegar.  Dinner tasted wonderful, even with the changes.

I decided to write this blog post immediately after dinner. I really wanted to spend the rest of the night chillaxing. Silver Linings Playbook is on Shotime tonight and I want to watch it again. I really like that movie.

Tomorrow will be a short post. It's Sunday, you know. I don't like to work on Sundays. But, if you need any encouragement, drop me a note either in email or comments.

Enjoy your weekend!

The 21-Day Sugar Detox- Day 4

 Zucchini Noodles!

Almost done with day 4 of The 21-Day Sugar Detox! Shockingly, time seems to be flying by. I'm not having any cravings yet. I'm even getting used to my coffee with Coconut Milk only.

Unfortunately, I was up early again this morning. Our neighbor had some work-guy making noise outside. I think the only thing he was working on was waking me up. And, Boho kept barking because she likes to warn us of perceived imminent danger. Needless to say, I was up hours before I wanted to be.

I started off with my usual coffee with Coconut Milk.  After a few minutes of allowing myself to fully awaken, I grabbed my iPad, and answered emails. I, then, dressed and headed out to do chores. I spent the next two hours battling the snow on the roads in my little Fiat, grocery shopping at Trader Joe's, and stopping by my local health food shop to pick up some Pau d'Arco Tea and Geranium Essential Oil (couldn't wait for the delivery that's coming late because of recent bad weather). I was a little hungry while shopping; but, when I returned home, it had disappeared.

Around 1 PM, I ate the rest of the leftover Shepherd's Pie with a green juice made with celery, cucumber, lemon, and ginger.  Since I was already in the kitchen, I decided to whip up some of the oil mixture I use to cleanse my face.

The rest of my afternoon was spent on social media site maintenance, answering emails, and doing research for my clients. At 5:00 PM, I started cooking dinner.  I cooked Mustard Chicken from The 21-Day Sugar Detox and Zucchini noodles with avocado cream sauce from a recipe on my Paleo-A-Go-Go Board on Pinterest. Both were absolutely AMAZING!

I really don't feel as though I'm on a diet! I know it may be a bit easier for me since I had been eating Primal for about a month prior to doing this detox. But, as each day passes, I do find it easier to plan my meals, even with all my restrictions. I can't wait until I start to really feel better. I just keep that in mind!

Well, another day done! I'll be back tomorrow. Until then, stay strong!