4 Things I learned from my 30 day detox

I have to give you some background before I tell you about my detox journey.  I am a lover of refined sugar and coffee.  There. I said it. I don’t deny myself when I want either of these things, because…why?  After a long hard day of keeping the family ship afloat, a girl deserves some chocolate.  Right?  And why would I want to start my day with anything other then my best friend coffee?  That’s just stupid.  Sure, I need daily power naps and can get moody but doesn’t everyone?

Having said that – Starting January 2nd, 2017, I started a 30 day detox.  My reasoning behind it was that my metabolism had seemed to go on strike.  It just wasn’t burning that refined sugar like it used to.  And my clothes were getting tight.  And I wasn’t going up a size.  And quite honestly – I wanted to see what all the hype was about.  Every where I turned I saw the words detox, have more energy, and feel better.  So I dove in.  I purchased an expensive starter kit of protein powder, fiber, and energy drink mixes.  I planned my gluten free, sugar free meals.  I became friends with the produce manager at my grocery store.  I was all in.  And this is what I learned.

1. You don’t need a power nap for power.  

The sugar detox was the worst for me.  It made me angry and irritable.  But quite honestly, after that first week of mentally telling myself to just suck it up and do it – it wasn’t terrible.  I even bought my family donuts and didn’t partake.  And after the first 2 weeks, my daughter pointed out to me “Mom, you don’t need to take a nap everyday anymore”. And, Oh my word, she was right!  I didn’t even feel the need to.  And let me tell you, my family knew when I got home at 3:30, that couch was mine for the next 30 minutes.  Now, someone else can have it.

2. I can survive without coffee.  

This is the part I was dreading the most.  The coffee detox.  I have had coffee every single day, without fail since my 2nd daughter was born.  And she’s 11.  I prepared myself for major headaches.  I had a headache the first day.  That was it.  What the what?  I can live without coffee??  Now, I did for 30 days, just to prove to myself I could.  But I did reintroduce that back because again, why would I not want to start my day without my BFF.

3. My family will eat healthy cooking.  

I was the most worried about my family revolting.  We have a steady diet of Mexican food.  Grilled chicken and veggies were going to make regular appearances instead of tacos and enchiladas.  But I was pleasantly surprised.  Veggies are awesome roasted with olive oil, salt and pepper.  And my family not only ate it, but they really liked it!

4. Gluten free doesn’t mean flavor free.  

I always feel for gluten free people, because, gluten translated to me as delicious.  But the truth is – there are a million cook books and people making amazingly delicious gluten free meals, desserts, and snacks!  Pinterest is full of it.  The library had a ton of cookbooks on it.  I actually entertained going completely gluten free once I was finished with my detox, because I honestly noticed a difference in how I felt.  People weren’t making it up!

Now the detox is over, and I’ll be honest and say the caffeine, sugar and gluten intake is all still there.  But I learned something.  I’m not a slave to any of those things.  When I’m feeling sluggish or tired I’m going to take one or all of those things out of my diet for a mini detox, to reset myself.  Because I learned that I can!  Before doing the detox I would have never thought I could.  If you’d like to try a detox – Go For It!  There’s information a plenty on the internet to get you started so I won’t repeat it here.  I promise you’ll feel better, and maybe learn a few things about yourself and your family along the way.  Eating healthy can’t hurt anything.  Right?

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Amy
Amy is an Oklahoma City Native who is the mom of 3 kids ages 14, 11, and 9 and married to her college sweetheart. She ditched Corporate America and her accounting career in order to pursue her creative side and keep up with her kids. She is the author of the blog JustFinishStrong where she blogs about food, family and fitness. Coffee, a scenic run, her border collie, Izzy, and exotic chocolate are a few of her favorite things!

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