Sugar Detox Day 29: Week 4 Weigh-In

Yesterday was weigh-in day for Week 4 of my sugar detox.  I lost 1.2 pounds last week, bringing my total weight loss for four weeks to 9.8 pounds.  Yeeeeee!!!

The weight loss is really slowing down, and I'm actually not too disturbed about that.  The number one goal of this little experiment was to conquer my bondage to sugar.  So if I lose some weight in the process, great!  But if I hadn't lost one pound, I would still be happy if my body was shifting from craving sugar all the time to craving real food without sweetness.

I've started exercising again, but very slowly.  One of the problems with being a sugar addict is that I am hypoglycemic.  I have low blood sugar, and so I need a constant flow of food energy to keep myself from getting sick.  When I was a child, my family called it "hot tummy."  We'd be on the way to church and I would develop "hot tummy" and we'd have to pull over for a donut on the way.  Hot tummy is simply hypoglycemia screaming out for calories.  I start to feel lightheaded, and then nauseous, and if unfed, I usually throw up.

When I first start an exercise program again, I always get hot tummy the first few weeks.  And I know I can't totally blame it on hypoglycemia.  It probably has to do with me being incredibly out of shape and asking my body to push itself to a place it hasn't been in a long time.  I've been working out for 20 minutes on my elliptical machine three times per week or so.  I don't push it too hard, so I haven't gotten sick at all.

Well, last week when Health Coach Autumn came over, I warned her of my issue, and luckily, Autumn has seen it all before.  So after 10 minutes of air squats, push ups (girlie ones), and squat presses, I felt myself overheating and getting dizzy.  And that was it.  It was pretty embarrassing, because actually, I thought I was more in shape than that!  A couple of years ago when I'd hired a personal trainer, I was able to complete an hour long cross fit style workout.  And now I can barely huff and puff it through 10 minutes!  I felt so disappointed.  So needless to say, the 1.2 pound weight loss this week doesn't surprise me.  I hardly exercised!

Since Week 4 of the detox closed yesterday, I'm starting Week 5 today!  Sarah Wilson's Week 5 chapter is called, "Get creative, experiment…and detox."  Apparently this is the stage when cravings become almost unbearable.  So Sarah lists a bunch of ways to avoid giving in to the sugar temptation.
So when craving sugar:

1. Wait 20 minutes.  Then after the 20 minutes, reevaluate if you need the sugar.  Make a cup of tea while you wait. 
2. Infuse your life with other sweet rewards, not sugar.
1. Burn incense.
2. Call someone sweet.
3. Drink tea.
4. Meditate.
3. Try herbal supplements
1. Chromium - regulates insulin, can lower insulin resistance.
2. Calcium & Magnesium - help combat adrenal stress and help curb sugar desire.  
3. Gymema - an Indian herb  that powerfully curbs sugar cravings.
4. Green Tea - reduces the GI of food intake.
5. Cinnamon - stops sugar cravings.
6. Licorice root tea - tastes sweet without containing sugar; feeds and nourishes adrenal glands. 

Again, the above are from Sarah Wilson's, "I Quit Sugar" e-book.  Personally, I love drinking tea, so that suggestion is already part of my sugar fighting arsenal!  And meditation through my prayers to Jesus are essential.  As far as the herbal supplements go, I have tried chromium and a calcium/magnesium combo, and  they do help!  I like to take them at lunch time, so that when my 3:00 PM crazy-sugar-craving-time rolls around, I have a little help from my vitamins that are just then kicking in!  

On to Week 5 of the detox!  I am at the half-way point, and am so happy that I've made it this far!  Wish me luck for another week on the journey to good health!