Post 21 Day Sugar Detox Photos

Here are the newest photos post detox, I am wearing the same top as before and my make-up is the same except I swiped on some pink lip balm. The jeans I am wearing are different, they are a size smaller than the ones I am wearing in the first pictures...yay! My sweet, supportive husband took these pictures for me.

Before: April 3, 2012

After: April 25, 2012

Before

After

Before

After

Before

After

I can't really see much of a difference, but that is OK, it's only been three weeks, I can't expect major changes to take place in such a short time. What is important is I feel healthier and have more energy than before.

I visited my doctor today to get a blood test request to have my thyroid checked, I am pretty sure it's high right now meaning my thyroid medication will have to be lowered if I am correct. I really hope so, I would love to heal my thyroid if possible and not be reliant on any medicine. I have already lowered it from 150 mg to 130 mg, ( the doctor lowered it according to blood test results) and hope the doc will lower it more, pray for me! While I was at the doctor's office he mentioned to me about the HCG Diet, is anyone familiar with it? He told me (I think this is what he said, I'm deaf remember) that it is a hormone that mimics pregnancy in the body which makes fat burn faster. I told him I would do some research on it, but I'm not sure if it sounds like anything I want to do. I have been focusing on lifestyle changes, making slow, but significant progress in my eating habits and the foods I eat. I imagine if I don't make those fundamental changes, I would start gaining weight after going off the HCG Diet once I reached my goal weight. Still I will keep an open mind :)

Hope you all have a wonderful week!

Steph

Last Day of Sugar Detox and a Recipe for Meaty Spaghetti Sauce.

Today is the last day of the 21 Day Sugar Detox that I've been on. I've faithfully avoided sugar except for Easter day and I must admit, sometimes it was pretty tough, especially in the beginning, but now at the end, cravings are pretty non existent. So now what? Well, I plan to only have sweets on our Friday family nights and on special occasions, I also plan to continue eating the way I have been, paying close attention to ingredients in food that I eat, making sure it does not have any sugar or sweet ingredients, you see the 21 Day Sugar Detox not only cuts out sugar, it cuts out anything sweet! For good reason though, studies are coming out that show some people who eat sweets even if it is sweetened with a non caloric sweetener like stevia or Splenda even (yuk) will release insulin anyway, causing our body to store the food as fat. I really believe I was/am one of those people. There have been times when I felt like I gained weight just looking at a delicious chocolate cake :)

I am excited to say that I have dropped 3 lbs. and now fit it in a size smaller jeans! I am now at a weight that I have not been at for almost six years! As I said earlier, my cravings are pretty much gone and that was the real purpose of the Sugar Detox for me anyway, so the weight loss is a nice bonus...a very nice bonus. I am hoping that my hormones may be closer to normal and so I will attempt to get off the Proactiv skin care that I have had to use to keep my skin clear, wish me luck! I will continue to do several of these 21 Day Sugar Detoxes this year and perhaps forever, it will help me keep my sugar craving from getting out of hand again.

Now on to a couple of recipes.

This delicious spaghetti sauce is very easy to make and will feed a family of 5 for 3 meals, so it's inexpensive too!

Meaty Spaghetti Sauce

1Tbsp of olive oil or butter
1 red onion-diced
2 lbs ground beef or turkey or a combo (you actually could use less if you wanted, this amount makes a nice hearty sauce)
2  14.5 oz cans of organic tomato sauce
2  14.5 oz cans of organic diced tomatoes
1 Tbsp of dried parsley or fresh if you like
1 Tbsp or to taste of garlic salt
1 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried oregano

Heat on medium high a large 6qt pot. Add oil and wait till hot, then add your diced red onions, cook for a couple of minutes then add the ground meat and cook till browned. When meat is browned add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil. When it starts to boil, turn the heat down to low and let it simmer till you have finished making your pasta and serve.

Please add spices to your taste, this recipe is easy to play with and customize to your family's liking.
Enjoy!

Meaty Spaghetti Sauce on sauteed yellow squash ribbons with a sprinkling of parmigiana cheese, brown rice pasta is great too!

I made this quinoa pizza many times the past three weeks, it is delicious, easy and does not contain yeast (not that I have a problem with yeasted foods). I imagine you could use buckwheat groats (is not like wheat, and is gluten free despite the wheat in it's name) in place of the quinoa. While I wish I could take credit, the recipe is not mine and can be found on Charity Dasenbrock's For Life Blog, the picture however is mine, I hope it makes you drool :)

Quinoa crust pizza with pepperoni, black olives and cheese. I have made it vegetarian as well and it was equally delicious! 

Tomorrow I will have new pictures of how I look now, I'm not sure there will be much difference, but that's alright, what is important is getting healthier one day at a time!

Would any of you be interested in joining me on another 21 Day Sugar Detox in the future?

Steph

Day 15 of Sugar Detox and More...

Day 15 of the 21 Day Sugar Detox is almost at an end, I have one more week to go and I'm very happy! I don't plan to go on a sugar binge as soon as the detox is over, that would just undo all my hard work and be  plain stupid. I can honestly say I am a sugar addict, the last two weeks have made that abundantly clear to me, I was in denial thinking I was being healthy eating unrefined sugars, while healthier, they are still sugar and too much is not good. It's been a daily struggle trying to squelch my cravings, but I can honestly say it's getting easier now. My cravings are no longer the "frantic" type, but more the "secure" type, meaning I still crave sugary foods, but I know I can have some soon if I want and it's OK...does that make sense? :)

My goal for after I finish this 21 Day Sugar Detox is to do many of these detoxes this year, I'm thinking every other month or so. I need to conquer my inner sugar monster! Also I plan to have sweets on Fridays which is our family night for playing games and staying up late ( a perfect day for something sweet for the whole family) and on special occasions, not every day or almost every day as I was doing before.

Some things I have noticed in the last two weeks is my taste buds are more sensitive, simple foods taste delicious just as they are. I'm not as tired as I usually am, and that is big for me. I have also dropped another pound too, not too shabby!

Everyone is healing from the emotional and for Eric and Eilan, the physical trauma of the car accident. We have chosen to let it draw us closer to God and rely on him more than ever.

Here are some pictures of today's happenings...

My handsome Kade working hard on his school work.

Oops, I'm caught, the camera flash gave me away :)

Eilan and Aiden enjoying the sunshine and perfect weather during a break from their school work.

Our tomato plants, are planted!

My handsome Aiden showing me a trick he can do.

A delicious pizza made with a quinoa crust. I will post more on this later.

Homemade meat spaghetti sauce on sauteed yellow squash ribbons...so good and yellow squash does not have the bitterness that zucchini does.

Have you ever given up sugar? I'd love to hear about it.

Steph

Sugar Detox Progress (or lack of)

Last week started off well, I felt so steady, I did have some sugar cravings, but I was able to handle them fairly easily...until the car accident. My husband and daughter were in a car accident on Wednesday evening coming home from church, they were hit from the side by a driver who ran a red light. God was merciful and protected them and brought them back home safely to us! We have been praising and thanking the Lord since then, and treasuring every moment we have together. It is sad how easy we can take simple blessings for granted!

Despite all the happenings of last week, I remained sugar free (even though I wanted to rip through a tub of rocky road ice cream) up until yesterday. We had a birthday potluck at a church friends house between services and the sweet, young man of the house made a gluten free chocolate cake for me and another friend who are gluten free. It was the first time he had ever made anything gluten free, I just could not say no to his wonderfully, kind gesture so I had some...and it was gooood! Then things kinda spiraled out of control on the sugar thing, I had reasoned to myself, well since I have had some, why not live it up today and just get back on the wagon tomorrow. So I did, I had a mocha frap from Starbucks...venti, I also had some rocky road ice cream that I had been dreaming about all week along with some more chocolate cake that I took home. I don't know if my taste buds are changing but the mocha frap did not taste as good, let's hope for changing taste buds :)

It's Monday, I'm back on the wagon and being good again, but still having cravings and dreaming about rocky road ice cream and Christopher's gluten free chocolate cake. Will I make it through the next two weeks? I honestly don't know, but I will take it one day at a time and rely on the Lord for strength. What is encouraging is that before I went on my sugar binge, I was starting to see some benefits to my health and I had dropped a pound, therefore I will persevere to the end!

How was your week?

Steph

21 Day Sugar Detox Pictures

As promised, here are the starting pictures of me on Day 2 of the 21 Day Sugar Detox. I am pretty embarrassed to put these up, but I am curious to see the end result pictures and compare them. I fully expect to look radiant!

I ate some delicious Mini Egg Pizza Muffins from Paleo Parents new book "Eat Like a Dinosaur". Made plenty so I have breakfast already made for tomorrow!

I did have some cravings for something sweet so I made some coconut biscuits from the 21 Day Sugar Detox program recipes. Slathered on some grassfed butter and they filled me right up, cravings were gone.

I hope everyone has a wonderful week!

Steph

Starting a 21 Day Sugar Detox today!

The team at Balanced Bites are kicking off a new 21 Day Sugar Detox today and I'm joining them!

I'm looking forward to giving my body the chance to do a little "spring cleaning", I know I will feel much better when it's over. If you would like to join too, head over to their blog for more information.

I'll post my "starting" picture tomorrow and an "after" picture when I complete the 21 days. I am curious to see if there will be a visible difference in my appearance, I am expecting to feel better at least :)


Oh, and after a year of being away, I'm baaaaack!
Steph