Food Challenge Blues

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Eating Evolved packup.jpeg

The week before I start a food challenge, I can justify anything, namely eating up all the chocolate in my cupboards.  The house will need to be free of temptations, I tell myself.

And then I feel like crap. My vision is blurred.  My brain fog is thick as pea soup.  Yuck.

But eating challenges are a great way for me to reset. We all have our issues and for me it’s sugar.   So I’ve done my share of cleanses. Okay more than my share. Try eight in two years. Some helped me body feel better. Some helped my brain feel better. And some didn’t work at all. To the tune of no change on my A1c test, which indicates the average level of blood sugar in a 2 to 3 month period.

I knew I needed one again. Three telltale signs:

  1. Stressball Blues: Change is afoot in my household and that’s hard. I need to reset.

  2. Self-Aware of the Slip: I’ve been slipping and I know it. I used to enjoy sugar on the weekends, now I’ll open up a bag of chocolate chips on a Tuesday evening and won't stop until the bag is empty.

  3. The Funky Fit: My clothes don’t feel right. They’re too tight and I know why. Is it a lot of pounds? No. But it’s a feeling, and that’s a better measurement.

And then. From the beginning. I acknowledge that I’m going to slip up. I can resist the squishiest pastry, the sweetest drink, and I don’t care all that much about bread. But offer me Evolved Eating’s Coconut Butter Cups and all bets are off.

Eating Evolved No.jpeg

But know what helps me? I keep Melissa Hartwig’s Three Step Plan nearby:

  1. Reset Your Health, Habits and Relationship With Food

  2. Enjoy Your Food Freedom

  3. Acknowledge When You’re Starting To Slip

  4. Repeat As Needed

I realize that I’m on Step 3 and Step 4 is inevitable.  This time I’m tackling a big one: the “Go Sugar Free Challenge”.  Nope, it’s not nearly as popular as The Whole 30 or Diane Sanfilippo’s 21 Day Sugar Detox or even Sara Gottfried’s Hormone Reset (all of which I’ve done multiple times). It’s 9.5 weeks (67 days!) of no added sweeteners or refined grains.  But in the end, there’s a promise of freedom and that’s what keeps me coming back.