I have an addiction

Let me tell you a little about my addiction...my sugar addiction.  Oh, how I love sugar.  As far back as I can remember, I have loved sweets.  During middle school I would eat sugary cereal or a Little Debbie Snack cake for breakfast.  Yep.  Nice and healthy.  Every day for lunch I would pack a half turkey sandwich, chips, a cookie of some sort and a Mountain Dew.  And after school, I would have a massive bowl of ice cream topped with chocolate, whipped cream. and crushed oreos.  Thank God I had a super high metabolism, because the way I ate I should have been overweight for sure.  These eating patterns stayed with me all through high school and college and I never really thought anything of it because I still weighed under 100 pounds.

I was 22 years old when I got pregnant with my first child and this was the first time that I started paying attention to what I ate.  But, I would give in to every craving that I had.  With my oldest, all I wanted were Big Mac's from McDonald's.  Why couldn't I crave apples instead ? After I had Greyson, I could never get rid of the last 10 pounds I gained with him.

Now forward to being 24 years old and pregnant with my 2nd, Lincoln, and all I wanted to eat with this baby was Oreos and milk. Gave into cravings, have baby, cannot get rid of the last 10 pounds again.  Now I am 20 pounds heavier.  26 years old and pregnant with my 3rd, Britton, and I only wanted Deluxe Macaroni and Cheese, gave into craving, have baby, can't lose last 10 pounds.  Now I am 30 pounds heavier.  You see, I have terrible eating habits.  I can go weeks without a piece of fruit and not even miss it,

Up until now, I would not miss one day without drinking sugary coffee and having at least one sweet a day.  But, who am I kidding?  It was way more than one sweet a day.  At Christmas, I was so uncomfortable in my own skin.  I weighed the most I have ever weighed and I decided I could not keep eating like this.  I desperately needed a sugar detox.  Also, over the past 1 1/2 years, I have had 2 semi-serious health conditions pop up and I am sure that eating the way I do has added to these issues.

I started researching sugar detoxing and found the book "The 21 Day Sugar Detox" by Diane Sanfilippo.  It's basically a version of Paleo, but I don't like meat all that much, so I am doing more of a vegetarian version. Her book comes with some recipes but I have also been searching Pinterest for recipes that I think our whole family would like.  I am really happy to say that I have made it past my first week (longer than I ever have with any other lifestyle change) and I am starting to notice a difference.  My clothes are starting to loosen a little, pants are getting easier to button, and my stomach (my problem area) is starting to flatten out. I have not cheated at all! Now, I am getting excited about seeing some small results.




I am letting the boys eat any fruit they would like, no processed food, no refined sugar, and limited amounts of grains.  And they are doing a great job!  I have one child who is a major sweet tooth and I knew I needed to take care of that before he turned into me.

It hasn't been too difficult.  There is a lot of food planning and prep, but I do this anyway.  I haven't had terrible headaches.  I was really shaky one day, but that has been the worst.  I'm not as hungry, which is wonderful.  I am still waiting for the burst of energy to come someday soon though.  I'm not really sure what to snack on, so nighttime can be difficult.  This is when I usually consume the most sweets.  But, one thing I am super excited about is that I am already thinking about upcoming holidays and how I can change our theme meals from my normal sugary spread!

I thought by sharing this with all of you, it would make me stick to this plan. I am hoping you will hold me accountable and if you have done this could you share some of your tips.  I will share some meal and snack ideas that we have liked the most.  And hopefully, I will be sharing my progress with all of you.  I have no idea what my weight was when I started this and have not weighed myself through it so far, but I have an idea where I started at.  But, my main goal is to stop craving and needing sugar in my everyday life. Thanks for letting me share my addition story with you.   Here's to week 2 and sticking to the detox!

Have any of you done a sugar detox?  I would love to hear your favorite meals or snacks!