Hey there, friends!
In an attempt to kick 2018 off on a healthy foot, I'm hosting a sugar detox in January and I would be so thrilled if you joined in!
When does the sugar detox start?
January 1st - January 30th
What does a January sugar detox look like?
For 30 days I'm going to avoid all forms of sweetener --- natural, artificial, and refined.
Wait, but aren't natural sweeteners totally cool?
I am totally cool with natural sweeteners in moderation, BUT they are still sugar. Technically natural sweeteners ARE better for you, because they're natural, BUT they still spike blood sugar levels and can leave us hung over in an afternoon slump if we don't manage their use wisely. I also wanted to include the aversion of natural sugars in this detox because when we detox from sugar, but simply replace our evening refined sugar cookie with cookies made from maple syrup, our body and brain aren't really going to learn that they don't need to depend on a sugar source. Moral of the story, natural sugar isn't bad, but in order to fully reap the benefits of the sugar detox, I'm cutting them out too.
But what about fruit?
A line must be drawn somewhere, so for me I am totally cool with eating fruits during the sugar detox. Both dried and fresh are fine, but read your labels because a lot of times dried fruit can be loaded with added sugar.
How do I KNow if a food contains added sugar?
Read your food labels. Ideally most of your food is going to come from your kitchen, so you'd know exactly what was in it, BUT that is certainly not real life 100% of the time, so look at the ingredient lists on food labels to see if that food contains sugar. If you're dining out, a lot of restaurants list their ingredients online so take a look before you head out to dine. What makes things a bit tricky is that sugar can go by A LOT of different names. Here are a list of a few that you should be aware of. If an ingredient list contains any of the below ingredients, then it is not free of sugar and isn't compliant for this sugar detox.
- Fructose
- Sugar
- Beet sugar
- Blackstrap molasses
- Brown sugar
- Buttered syrup
- Cane juice crystals
- Cane sugar
- Caramel
- Carob syrup
- Castor sugar
- Coconut sugar
- Confectioner's sugar (powdered sugar)
- Date sugar
- Demerara sugar
- Evaporated cane juice
- Florida crystals
- Fruit juice
- Fruit juice concentrate
- Golden sugar
- Golden syrup
- Grape sugar
- Honey
- Icing sugar
- Invert sugar
- Maple syrup
- Molasses
- Muscovado sugar
- Panela sugar
- Raw sugar
- Refiner's syrup
- Sorghum syrup
- Sucanat
- Treacle sugar
- Turbinado sugar
- Yellow sugar
- Agave Nectar
- High-Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS)
- Barley malt
- Brown rice syrup
- Corn syrup
- Corn syrup solids
- Dextrin
- Dextrose
- Diastatic malt
- Ethyl maltol
- Glucose
- Glucose solids
- Lactose
- Malt syrup
- Maltodextrin
- Maltose
- Rice syrup
- Crystalline fructose
- Brown sugar
- Buttered syrup
Why would you cut out sugar for 30 days?
Sugar is addicting. It tastes good and temporarily sends your brain signals that make it super happy. Unfortunately though, after that super intense happy feeling comes a lethargic dip in energy. I know that sugar has a strong hold, both physically and emotionally, on so many people's lives and I wanted to create a space where people felt motivated to take a step towards gaining control of what they put in their mouth as well as give myself a source of accountability in this journey. Although I wouldn't say my sugar consumption currently is at it's all time high (it has been real crazy at times!), I still feel that I could benefit from resetting my body and regaining awareness of how prevalent sugar is in foods.
Wait, Does this mean I should never eat sugar again?
Committing to this detox for 30 days does NOT mean that you should never, ever consume sugar again. My hope is that by completing the 30 day detox you will become more aware of the amount of added sugar in food and find that you feel amazing without it, but I am all for balance and am totally into having a donut now and then (when you are not doing the detox).
How to be successful during the 30 Days
1. Know that you might start to feel bad before you feel good. And by "might" I mean "you will." That is an unfortunately reality. As any detox process goes (whether form drugs, alcohol, etc.) there is a period of feeling bad (read: terrible). The severity of that feeling corresponds with the amount of sugar that you were consuming prior to the detox. So the more sugar you were consuming, the likely the more severe your detox symptoms will be.
2. Read your food labels! There is sugar in so many hidden places.
3. Cook as many meals from home as you can. Knowing the ingredients that you are putting into your food will make it so much easier to follow through with the sugar detox.
4. Most importantly though, do your best and do not let the guidelines discourage your from trying your hardest to cut out or limit your sugar consumption. You've got this!
Leave any questions you might have in the comment section! If you would like to join the challenge, sign-up for my email list (right corner of this page) and you can stay updated with all of the sugar-less recipes I'll be posting in January.
