Monday morning.  One week down, two to go.

This weekend was hard, mostly because I couldn’t hold to the morning routine that I used during the workweek.  I tend to not eat breakfast on the weekends, habitually, and eat an early lunch instead.  This route does not work at all on a low-carb diet.  Coffee only and no breakfast made for an energy deficit that I just could not make up eating what I ended up eating.  My symptoms were lethargy, mild headache, aching muscles and joints, slight pain in the kidney area of my back.  Sunday I ate a breakfast of wheat and sugar free pancakes, or crepes with a fried egg.  This start was much better, dinner was kielbasa with fried cabbage, green peppers and onions.  Very good, filling and held me til morning.  This morning was another crepe with two eggs.  So far today I feel just about perfect.

Measurements are coming later on today, but I think I have both lost weight and girth.

I went to the store and got myself a bulk size package of foot long hot dogs to keep at work.  Quality hot dogs are really good to have on hand to battle cravings that arise when you have to get stuck at work until midnite.  That happens to me from time to time.

I got behind a tad but, still enjoying this detox.. I have not craved anything sweet such as candy or ice-cream but I have been on a search for hot tea’s that have just tad taste of sweetness. Like cinnamon, ginger, cardamom,orange peel and maybe some mints. The problem is that they are plentiful but they all have stevia leaf in them and that is a NO NO for these 21 days. I did find a tasty little tea called Tiesta and the flavor is Nutty Almond Cream… herbal tea with apple pieces, crushed almonds cinnamon and beet root pieces… It did hit the spot but beet root is ??? for this diet. I am going to email the gal that wrote the book 21 day sugar detox and see what she says.

My yoga practices have been on fire not like energtic but on fire.. I can feel my muscles heating up and dumping all that crap into my system and coming out as sweat… dang it is intense !

This is how the brain works as soon as food hits your tongue

It’s the fourth day of sugar-free month.  Yesterday I figured out that if I didn’t quit drinking Coffee Mate that I was not truly living sugar-free.  Yes, corn syrup solids are sugar.  Who knew?  You can’t really taste the sugar in it if you are putting extra sugar in your coffee at the same time.  We got some heavy cream yesterday to do the duty of the dairy-free cream without the corn syrup.

Breakfast today was the same as the rest, food without fuss.  Sleep last night was restless, I was very near waking all night.  Still no return of desert mouth, sinuses may be healing themselves as I starve the bugs that were living there of their sugary diet.  At least so I hope.

Dinner last night was leftover pizza soup over spaghetti squash ‘noodles’, thrice-tossed salad with mayo, and cottage cheese.

By last night I felt achy all over, with pain in my forearms, the tingling was still all over my body, felt a bit tired and lethargic.  I think that it’s probably all the withdrawal symptoms that addicts must get through to be free of their chemical of choice.  Today will be better.

This morning’s report is much like yesterday’s report.  My entire body is humming like my hands did yesterday.  I hope that it is from the increase in circulation, but I know that it is a sign that my body chemistry is turning from it’s reliance on easy sugary chemicals to metabolize to the more difficult fats and proteins.

This morning’s breakfast was just like yesterday’s was.  I almost forgot to make it for myself, and Karen’s timely warning was provided with not a moment to spare.  It only takes five minutes to fry an egg and warm up pulled pork…for the record.  Another three minutes to eat it all up and clean the plate.  Who on earth doesn’t have time for that?  It was a good thing I ate breakfast at home, because this morning here at the plant they are having a charity breakfast catered by Chris Cakes.  Pancakes and syrup aromas are all over the place.  Could I have resisted the temptation if I had missed my eggs this morning?  Thankfully we don’t know the answer to that question, because I was defended from that temptation by a full stomach.

Yesterday’s lunch was another garden salad with left over meatloaf crumbled into it.  There may have been trace amounts of carbs in the meatloaf, but we will not worry about such things.  The dressing was mayonnaise, just two teaspoons mixed in like salad dressing.  That really is a great dressing, and if you have not tried it, you should today.  Not Miracle Whip or it’s equivalent but Mayo.  Break time cravings were satisfied, more or less, by eating handfuls of roasted almonds.  Maybe this weekend I will get us some pecans to roast, because I think they are a better snack.

Dinner last night was a Pizza Soup that we found online.  The sauce will make a really great marinara sauce and tonight we are going to use the leftovers atop a spaghetti squash that we have just for a no carb spaghetti night.  It was REALLY a good sauce, and made a REALLY good soup.  Very hearty, very spicy, very filling.  Just what the doctor ordered.

Sleep was not as good last night as the night before.  More nite time bathroom runs as the carbs leave my system, and late night storms with heavy rain and thunder kind of kept me up.  Other than that I was once again up before the alarm (good thing since I forgot to set it).

Dan was the model for this amazing transformation. We measured his belly and weighed him. So Dan weighed in at 149 and measured 37.25 around his belly an inch above his navel. We have specific measures that we are tracking on this 21 day sugar detox, i.e sinus drainage, toenail fungus, weight, energy levels, and of course, hormonal homeostasis. Neither one of us is in our 20’s and we are experiencing all the normal mythical acceptance of being 50-something, i.e Low Libdo, Hot flashes, Candida ridden guts, abnormal sleep patterns, low metablolism.

I hope you enjoy our blog and just maybe it will inspire you to want to take this little challenge on yourself.

Information on the effects and science behind the sugar-detox from a university….is here.