I started noticing it the week before we went to Bruges: the creeping death of the scales. On recent medical advice I had to stop any kind of strenuous exercise for a while (not difficult as I have not been for a run since the weddage) but taking the stairs and walking often meant everything body-related has been stable for months. And then work went a bit mad for a few weeks and I lost my routine and stopped being all that conscious of what I was eating. The 4pm tea and fruit break turned into the 4-7pm binge of sugar and then wine and no dinner andiwilldobettertomorrow. Promise.
So two then three and now five kilos have crept back on. On Monday I decided to re-start the food diary. Get back some control, breathe before approaching the vending machine. I completed pre-work early morning smug shoppage and have a stack of fruit and vege, ryvita crackers, salad, yogurt, granola within grabbing distance.
Without trying, I have gone two days without any processed food. Or sugar. I have an ache behind my right eye that will. not. stop. Seriously, it feels like a 1950s hanger abortion is going on behind it.
How the fuck does Gwyneth do it?
Has anyone done an unintentional sugar detox? When does the pain stop?
Comments
See, this is why I’ve never cracked it. The unrelenting hell of the withdrawal headache. Spending as much of my life as I do incapacitated by migraine, I run, in fear, like Bolt from any other form of head pain. I know I have to face it one day and soon but ugh…
You can do it. I’ll be watching to see how long it takes to pass and then I’ll follow in your sugar-free footsteps. xx
i’ve done it. and lived to tell the tale. the pain stops, but days 2-3 can be the hardest. by a week, it’s clear sailing. I’m right there with you. ate gluten and sugar last night (in the form of fabulous homemade pumpkin muffins) and feel like hell today. back on the green juice this morning…
I’ve done 3-week detoxes of all yeast, anything fermented, all dairy and sugar in any form a few times in the past as a result of an intestinal candida problem no probiotic yoghurt was going to deal with (diagnosed by fab osteopath/kinesiologist). The lack of sugar wasn’t a major problem but no cheese, no doorsteps of bread smeared with butter? I virtually ate no processed convenience food, became a packet reader (sugar seems to lurk in everything). I thought I’d die and felt like crap for the first 3-4 days but, like Lisa, after a week, it was fine. After each stint, I felt fantastic. Stick with it, you don’t need that shit.
Ah, yes. The stabbiness of the sugar-deficit headache. Ackkkk. The pain will stop- it takes about three to seven days for your body to reset itself and for your glycogen/insulin to balance out. One foot in front of the other, one step at a time. You’ve got this.
I haven’t stopped sugar unintentionally, but I did try to limit it due to the sheer amount of it that I was eating not so long ago just to keep my eyes open from early afternoon onwards (thanks to wakeful babies up every couple of hours during the night). It was hard for the first few days, but I did find that some of the fog (that I was permanently wading around in) lifted if I ate more protein during the day, and that helped me to cut down on the homemade muffins and cookies. I also found having a spoon of honey helped with any major cravings, and LOTS of fruit (I have developed a bit of an addiction for nashi pears). Good luck darling! :)
sas Replied:
god its been YEARS since i had a nashi pear. miss you x
Argh! This reminds me I have two blocks of chocolate crack on my desk which I was going to send over before the wedding. Crap, me. How about I save it until you are over here, chatting to me in my bright red kitchen in the suburbs, over a cuppa?
sas Replied:
TOTALLY!
I’ve tried it in an effort to control migraines. Which didn’t appear to work. Although that might have been because around day 3 I found myself with a half eaten chocolate bar in my hand and could remember how it got there. I’ve decided the pain must stop shortly after life is no longer worth living :o)
However, and more positively, I have found I can CUT DOWN on sugar by avoiding processed food, eating more protein and, when I need to ‘sweeten’ something (ie coffee) using stevia instead of sugar or chemical crap. It actually appears to be working. And it’s easier than I thought. Also: Keep some grapes in the freezer. Yum!
Keep going, you’ll find your own way to make it work.