21DSD: Day 3

I made it through Day 3!  That means I made it to a point in the detox where I can easily track my progress in fraction form -- I'm officially 1/7th of the way through!

I felt a little better today, a bit headachy here and there, but for the most part I was all right.  I had a few temptations today, but pushed through.  First of all, we had a work potluck today as a part of a lunch time training, and the spread looked pretty tasty. Then, after work I met up with my friend HL for dinner and a movie. I badly wanted to order a cocktail, but I stuck to water. Go me!  And now, for the official run down:


Time Went to Bed Last night: 9:30 pm - I was exhausted.

Time I Got Up This Morning: 7 am.  Though I got up 5 or 6 times during the night (I think  that's right- I actually lost count) to pee.  TMI?  Perhaps. It's the truth. I drank a lot of water before bed, plus it is a detox and peeing is what you do on a detox.

How I felt when I woke up (excellent, good, fair, poor):  fair to good. I still felt a little groggy, probably since I was up so much through the night, but I actually thought my overall quality of sleep (when I actually was asleep) was pretty good.

General Mood/Energy throughout the day (excellent, good, fair, poor):  Good - had a productive day, and generally was in good spirits.

Exercise (type/duration): Nada - went to a movie! 

Breakfast:  Coffee with cream, a banana, lots of almonds.

Lunch:   Chicken on a bed of spinach and lots of homemade guacamole (the guac my contribution to the work potluck).  And, sliced colby and cheddar cheese.

Dinner:  8 small, plain Grilled chicken wings.  Half a steak salad.   (so yeah - lots of meeeeaaaat!)

Snacks:  Almonds.

Water Intake: 8 glasses

21DSD: Day 2

Day 2...chugging along, but to be honest I felt pretty crappy all day since I did not sleep well last night. Today was also my day to bring in a birthday treat for one of my coworkers.  Luckily, he's a healthy eater, so I made a delicious Greek layer dip that I was able to enjoy as well, and everyone seemed to like (recipe listed below).

Right now, I'm feel a lot of apprehension -- how in the world will I get through the remaining 19 (!!!!) days? Taking on a diet overhaul like this is no small task - I'm used to eating "conveniently", and "in the moment" and am way out of my comfort zone. It's embarrassing to be struggling so much so early on, but I am trying to be good to myself and focus on positive, encouraging thoughts versus defeatist thoughts. I am committed to this and want to stick with it. Anyway, here's today's run down -- 

Time Went to Bed Last night: 10:30 pm (but tossed and turned forever)

Time I Got Up This Morning: 6 am

How I felt when I woke up (excellent, good, fair, poor): poor - could not fall asleep!  My brain would not turn off.

General Mood/Energy throughout the day (excellent, good, fair, poor):  Mood good/fair; energy fair/poor

Exercise (type/duration): Nada

Breakfast:  3 Egg white muffins (same recipe as yesterday) and a coffee with cream (confession - I had coffee with cream yesterday too, completely forgot to record it) 

Lunch:  Salad with chicken (leftover chicken from yesterday), salsa and sour cream, and a green banana

Dinner:  Broccoli topped with sour cream and pork tenderloin.

Snacks:  Almonds, Greek Layer Dip (recipe here);  colby jack cheese and summer sausage (I snacked a ton today!)  

Water Intake: 6 glasses

21 Day Sugar Detox (aka 21DSD): Day 1

Well, here we are on day 1! I made it through the the first day of the 21DSD (at level 1), but it was not easy.  Before I launch into what may sound like a festival of complaints, I am proud  that I overcame all the challenges that surfaced on this, the first day -- and the pride I feel now for  making it through the day supersedes the frustration and angst I felt when faced with these earlier challenges.

My first obstacle was that I woke up this morning with a bit of a crick in my back - I must have slept funny, and I've been sore all day as a result. When I turn my head to  the left, I feel a painful pinch in my left shoulder blade. I've been "painfully" aware (ha) of this ache in my back all day, and it has not been a good distraction.

My next obstacle was the sunflower seeds I chose as a snack this morning.  B did not buy them shelled, hence not very conducive for productivity.  Between trying to shuck the seeds with my teeth and then remove/spit out the shell, I couldn't easily stay focused on work. All in all, it seems like a lot  of work to get to that little  seed.  I think tomorrow I'll pack almonds instead of sunflower seeds.

The third challenge was the shaky hunger that began for me around 3:30 this afternoon. I felt fine up until that point, and when the hunger hit, I felt a little worried - after all this is only the first day!  I should be riding novelty wave and not feeling this way,  right?  Wrong.   I solved the problem by snacking on cheese, and will have to remind myself that the foods on the 'yes/no' list (including cheese!) are unrestricted in quantity, so I need to pack extra food when I'm at work so I don't fall over hungry.  It  also made me feel better that, when I later revisited the "what to expect" section of the book, Diane Sanfillipo (21DSD uthor) said that these feelings are not uncommon on day one, so I feel validated at least.

All in all, I made it through the day, so that = success.   I've chosen to copy the  "daily success log" from Diane's book here in my blog - here's what Day 1 looked like for me. I also tracked my food intake via a favorite wellness app  of mine, MyFitnessPal.

Time Went to Bed Last night: 11 pm

Time I Got Up This Morning: 7 am

How I felt when I woke up (excellent, good, fair, poor): poor - awful pain in my back!

General Mood/Energythroughout the day (excellent, good, fair, poor): fair - that darn pain in my back!

Exercise (type/duration): Yoga class, 60 minutes. This helped alleviate some of my back  pain,.

Breakfast:  3 Egg white muffins (recipe here) - with some modifications (I added onion,  black olives, and garlic). I made a batch of these last  night,  so I'll be eating them all week.

Lunch:  Salad with chicken (cooked last night), salsa and sour cream, and a green banana

Dinner:   Grilled Mexican Lime chicken (courtesy of B, recipe here) and salsa, 1/2 cup black beans with cheese

Snacks:  Those annoying sunflower seeds,  1 mini babybel cheese round

Water Intake: 6 glasses