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So it was almost a year ago this week that Brian and I began Diane Sanfillipo’s 21 Day Sugar Detox program. Since most people share their experiences with a detox while they are participating or maybe right after,  I thought it would be valuable to look back at the experience with one year of perspective.

I somehow stumbled on the 21 DSD through a blog I was reading. I honestly can’t remember which one. But when I read about it, it got my attention, and it led me down a rabbit hole of learning more. Much more. After reading up on it, I went ahead and ordered the 21 DSD book. I read it, and decided this would be a great way to start 2014. When we did the program, we just did it using her books (the program guide and the cookbook). Diane now has a full comprehensive online program, but we did it just by following the books.

In general, most people would have described the way I ate before as “healthy”. I cringe when I think about that, because I now know so much more about what I thought was healthy.  Or at least what I thought was okay. I didn’t eat fast food, junk foods, cakes, cookies or sweets. What was it that got me wanting to change? I would say two major things. First, we were so bored with what we were eating. Second, I was curious to see how hard it would be to cut out the sugar from my diet. How much sugar was I actually consuming? Was I really addicted?

 

What is the goal of the 21 DSD?

  • Helps you bust sugar cravings.
  • Helps you break old habits and establish NEW habits
  • Helps regulate your blood sugar so you don’t have those “hangry” moments, where you feel like you could chop someone’s head off due to your hunger and low blood sugar.
  • Helps reduce the constant inflammatory state are bodies are in due to the highly processed food
  • Changes your taste buds! After a week, a carrot started tasting sugary sweet. So crazy!

 

What does the plan consist of? I don’t want to go into all of the details, because I would be doing a disservice to the awesome book and plan. However, it involves eat REAL, WHOLE foods and eliminating processed foods and anything with added sugar. There are three different levels you can participate in. You can decide which one appeals to you most. I guarantee they will all be effective. Plus, Diane includes modifications based on your activity level to ensure you have all the energy your body needs. Even though you might feel discomfort as you break out of old habits and your body starts breaking the sugar addiction, you will not be hungry.

 

 

Getting started

I had always been intrigued by “detoxes”, but was hesitant about them being gimmicks, or short term fixes. When I read through the book, one of the things that really sold me is Diane’s very easy-to-understand explanation of the effects of spikes in blood sugar throughout the day. She also outlined the negative outcomes that manifest as a result. Everything she said made sense to me. So I decided that I was in. Lucky for me, Brian said he would do it with me too.

So after we set our date and mentally wrapped our heads around doing this challenge, we were all set to go! The first two days were pretty good. The novelty of the program and the excitement that we were doing it, made it easy. Days 3 & 4, not so much. At least for me anyway. I was missing my carbs, and would down lots of hot herbal tea to try to get my mind off of it. My energy dipped and I was starting to feel restricted. At this point, I almost ditched the program. I thought, “This is not for me.” But I managed to plow through. By day 5 & 6, I turned a corner. We started getting a hang of the meals, and we both started feeling the energy levels go up. It really felt cool!

 

 

What were some of the physiological results we saw?

  • Clarity of mind & energy.
  • Clearer skin
  • Less wrinkles ( this was a completely surprising side effect, but I think that was temporary while I was on it, because I feel like they are back)
  • Change in body composition (for me). I only lost about 2-3 pounds.
  • Brian dropped 15 pounds.

What was the best part for me?

  • Changing habits. Like my daily sugar in my coffee, diet soda habit, etc.
  • Cutting out foods I formerly thought were semi-healthy like bread, pasta, cereal. Read the ingredients in those foods; you will be shocked.
  • Making dozens of new recipes and learning to cook more with whole foods.
  • Learning to quickly identify hidden sugar in all kinds of grocery store food.
  • Realizing the importance of a high healthy fat diet.
  • Having my kids embrace the food and eat much better as a result.

What is the toughest part?

  • Cooking every meal. Lots of dishes!
  • Leaving the house during a mealtime. There are very few places where we live that serve whole foods. Sad, but true.
  • Eating out with other people who are not on the program.
  • The cravings at the beginning. Especially the limit on fruit.

 

The 21 DSD Cookbook, which has tons of delicious recipes to choose from.

The 21 DSD Cookbook, which has tons of delicious recipes to choose from.

My tips for getting started:

  • READ the book. It’s not very long. But it is extremely important that you understand the all the details before starting.
  • Select a start date at least 2-3 weeks out from when you decide to start. You need the time to mentally prepare and to make arrangements.
  • Try to plan your 3 weeks when you will be close to home. Major events and travel will definitely make it tougher.
  • Make sure your fridge and pantry are very well stocked with the right foods before you start.
  • Buy the COOKBOOK. In the weeks leading up to your start date, try a few of the book’s recipes before you start so that when you are in a pinch, you are familiar with a few dishes you can whip up.

 

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Quick solo lunch of roasted brussels sprouts, chicken and dijon mustard.

 

A year later…

After the detox, I was intrigued by Diane’s other incredible book, Practical Paleo, which sealed the deal for us and was the style of eating we transitioned into after the 21 DSD. Eating a real food, nutrient dense diet, which is what Paleo is, provides a lot more freedom after the sugar detox because you can incorporate fruit, dried fruit and some real honey or maple syrup. Those things taste like the equivalent of a hot fudge sundae after being on the sugar detox.

When I look back a year, I am happy with the progress we have made. We went from eating a low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet lacking in nutrients, to a high fat, protein-packed, nutrient dense one.  Instead of reading the nutrition facts on food labels, we now read ingredients. Don’t care about calories and fat grams any more.  I no longer have those blood sugar crashes and can go longer than 3 hours without eating. When I do eat sugar or dairy now, I break out. When I eat foods with gluten, I start to feel bloated and achy. You may think that is not a good thing, but I really appreciate that my body now speaks to me when I introduce inflammatory foods. Those are not crippling consequences, so what it does for me is helps me to think about what “treats” are worth it and which are not. High quality homemade ice cream? Sure, I’ll have some. Belgian dark chocolate? Yes, please.

I call this a journey because there are still so many things I would like to learn about, change and incorporate into our lives. For example, I  am interested in incorporating fermented foods, and even more nutrient dense foods, like liver (scary!) Also, I am interested in learning more about supplementation. And, I am definitely on the beginning of the journey when it comes to the kids’ diet.

 

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Vegetables everywhere over here.

 

Bottom line:

This experience was fantastic for breaking old habits and rebuilding new ones. I have posted about the power of habit HERE and am a firm believer of the influence it has on our lives (for the positive and negative).  It truly has had a significant positive impact on the way we eat and live. I would highly recommend this program to almost everyone for that reason alone. I can pretty much guarantee that anyone who finishes the program will come out better on the other side.

Have you done a detox program before? Let me know if you have any specific questions about this one!