21 Day Detox – Looking Back

January 26, 2015

I wanted to take a moment to share with you some of what I learned from the detox and my plans for moving forward.

In case you missed the beginning, here are my posts leading up to the detox:

21 Day Detox – Starting January 1!
More on My “Why?” and The Mental Side
My Plan + Some Other Options
13 Steps to Success
Beyond Food
Final Preparations

I wrote a personal journal post for each of the 21 days but rather than post the links to each individual day here, you can go to enspirebalance.com and just type the day (i.e., Day 1) in the search box.

I also pinned lots of great recipes and some pertinent other info on my 21 Day Detox Pinterest Board.

I found each of the 13 Steps to Success important but I’d say most of all, it was absolutely necessary to plan ahead – not just for the beginning of the detox but also day to day meal planning. I did quite a bit of research, selected recipes and got ingredients I would need ahead of time. Then I would keep a running list of things to make so that I wouldn’t be scrambling at meal times. I also planned ahead for times when I was going to be away from the house at a meal time since it would have been hard to eat out on the detox.

I learned early on that I’d be more successful if I considered the food as fuel for my body and I had to think carefully about giving my body enough fuel and the right fuel. I tried not to focus so much on what I was cutting out but instead focus on all the good stuff I could eat. If I satisfied my hunger and cravings for sweets with great food there wouldn’t be room for the crap. Don’t get me wrong….I still wanted the crap, but I was satisfied by eating things like bananas, dates, and other fruits. I also had to make sure I ate enough. I tried to eat when I was hungry and eat a lot. I never counted calories and my plate was always full of great plant based options. I’m a very active person so without an ample amount of food I would have had zero energy. I mentioned this early on but I didn’t do this detox to lose weight. The scale was hidden for the entire detox. I did weigh myself after it was over and did end up losing 2 pounds but I think that’s pretty good considering I cut out a lot of calories by taking ice cream out of my diet. I’m going to wait three more weeks and will then get my cholesterol levels checked again. I wanted to give my body a little more time to adjust to the new way of eating. I’ve read a lot of literature lately saying that cholesterol levels aren’t the best determinant of risk for heart disease but I do have to pay extra for health insurance with my high numbers so for me it’s worth getting them down even if just for that reason.

I’d say the most positive change I’ve noticed was from cutting out caffeine. Before the detox I would drink a small cup of coffee in the morning and then about a cup of a mixture of coffee and a non-dairy based latte or iced coffee after lunch. I have dealt with anxiety and/or depression on and off for about 20 years and have always thought the anxious, jittery, spacey, and irritable feelings I’d have during the day were from that. I would also notice drops in my energy level in the late morning and late afternoon. I realized quickly after cutting out coffee that it was at the root of these feelings. I haven’t felt them since cutting it out! I don’t plan on going back to drinking coffee on a regular basis but will enjoy it every now and then.

I also noticed a decrease in muscle aches, fatigue and soreness while on the detox. I’m guessing inflammation was at the root of these feelings. I may have sub consciously ramped down my workouts since I wasn’t eating as much “bad” food but I think it was what I was eating before (sugar?, dairy?, etc.) that was causing the problems.

I found meal prep a little overwhelming at times because I made nearly everything from scratch. I’m already used to making a lot of things from scratch but this was even more. I could have simplified what I ate but I like variety and also like flavorful sauces and things like that so I tried lots of new recipes. A lot of people have told me they could never do this type of detox because of all the prep and while yes, it does require more prep than eating convenience foods, it is well worth the effort and can be simplified to fit any lifestyle.

This detox was so much more than a food thing for me. If you followed along with my personal journal posts, you know that this was very much a spiritual journey that challenged me to examine my dependencies on food and caffeine, my reliance on food as a source of comfort, and my tendency to turn to food when I’m stressed or anxious. I had to rely on God to help me along the way because there were several moments of frustration and irritability when I would have turned to my normal food outlets but couldn’t. I had many ups and downs spiritually throughout these three weeks and I have no doubt that the Lord used this time to grow me and bring to light several areas of weakness and several areas I needed to surrender to Him. This experience was very humbling and made me feel extremely vulnerable at times. I loved following along with the You Version Bible App’s 21 Day Reading Plan Streams in The Dessert and the daily readings from Sarah Young’s Jesus Calling: Enjoying Peace in His Presence.  It was amazing how each day I felt like God was speaking to me directly through these readings.

I’m so proud of Scott for completing the detox with me. He followed my plan except that he kept in chicken, turkey, and eggs. He loves to eat out and is gone a fair amount at lunch and sometimes dinner so he had to plan ahead for those times. He is hoping the detox will help him get back on track with his eating and he’s definitely off to a great start! He also lost 8 pounds along the way and did that by just eating real food – no calorie counting and no supplements. He’s been very busy with a few work projects so he hasn’t been working out but plans to get back on track with that soon too.

Here’s a pic of Scott and I on our date night to celebrate the end of the detox. This was the first time we ate out on the detox (other than the night at the very beginning when we went out with our small group but I didn’t order anything). My mom was here to watch the kids and it was so nice to get out! We ate at Northstar and then got a piece of cheesecake to bring home from the Cheesecake Factory. We both did ok with the dinner but the dessert was a little too much sugar, especially for Scott. I don’t think we went overboard but it was very sweet. It was the second time I had sugar so I seemed to handle it a little better. His tummy was not too happy :(. He says he’d rather have the little shake concoction we had during the detox – frozen bananas, almond milk or coconut almond milk, medjool dates, and a scoop or two of nut butter blended up to a smooth consistency.

I realized quickly after the detox that I haven’t lost my sweet tooth. It is definitely less intense and I realize I can satisfy it many times with fruit or other healthy options. Scott reminded me that I’ve had a sweet tooth for my entire life and my ice cream habit has been going strong for 20+ years so I couldn’t possibly expect to kick that kind of habit in 3 weeks. I at least feel good about the fact that I curbed the need to have ice cream in abundance every night.

I’ve had a hard time mentally letting myself feel like I’m done with the detox. I do need to let go of it in a sense because I need to give myself a little more freedom and flexibility (without feeling guilty that I’m “giving in”) but in general I’d like to stick to the same type of eating as I followed for the detox. I felt great while on it and it was in many ways just an extension of how I was already eating so I don’t want to just go back to my old habits.

Going forward, I plan to follow a mostly whole food plant based diet with as little processed food and sugar as I can. I am not banning sugar even though I know it’s not good for me. I like treats and I’ll try to make treats that use little or no refined sugar (using things like pure maple syrup, medjool dates, and bananas as sweeteners instead), but the fact is I’m still going to eat sugar and enjoy it (at least until I get even more convicted!). I’m going to try very hard, however, to avoid sugar in places it shouldn’t be – anything other than treats. Sugar is hidden everywhere and one needs a careful eye to spot it. So I’ll continue to avoid packaged items as much as possible and make what I can from scratch. I’d like to save my refined sugar intake for sweet treats. I’m also going to enjoy desserts that are in no way healthy (i.e. ice cream and cookies) but in smaller quantities. I think this is doable for me and will allow me to enjoy what I like with more awareness and control than I had before. The detox was a great way for me to get started off on the right foot toward these goals!

It will hurt.
It will take time.
It will require dedication.
It will require willpower.
You will need to make healthy decisions.
It requires sacrifice.
You will need to push your body to its max.
There will be temptation.
But, I promise you, when
you reach your goal, it’s
WORTH IT!
(Author Unknown)

Thank you so much for following along with me on this incredible journey!