Post-Detox: Day 22 and Beyond

I did it!  I completed the 21 DSD!  Was I 100% perfect and follow the detox to the exact letter?  No, but I came pretty damn  close, and eating some extra beans, a little bit more fruit on a day, a gram of sugar in some salad dressing, that one time with the little bit of hummus, and that one time with the little bit of corn...well psssssh!  This tiny collection of even tinier indiscretions really isn't that big of a deal - especially when considering my incredible results!

Pre-detox, my quality of sleep wasn't great, my mental state was a bit foggy, I felt bloated and sloppy, and I tended toward the cranky, irritable, anxious side of the mood spectrum.  As I worked my way through the detox, the change in all of these areas for the better is absolutely undeniable.  My sleep is great, my mood is improved, my mental state and ability to cope is better...eating gluten-free and low sugar has been well worth the sacrifice.  

And, I lost a whopping 9.5 lbs!  Let me say that again - I lost 9.5 lbs in 3 weeks, and I did it eating real, whole foods that kept me energized and satisfied all day long.  I wasn't starving myself, I was just giving my body the type of fuel it had gone without for so long, and man, did my body respond to it!

Throughout the challenge  I averaged anywhere from 1400 to about 1800 calories a day (based on entering my meals into MyFitnessPal) I worked out a little bit, but nothing crazy - 5 yoga classes and 3 runs over the course of 21 days, so that's a few times a week on average.   My macronutrient (fat, protein, carb) ratio generally speaking was very low carb (25% or less, mostly from veggies) and  high fat and protein, and likely got my body into a ketogenic state or near it (even though the detox is not technically a ketogenic diet), which means operating on depleted glycogen energy storage, which means the body is burning fat for energy instead.  Pretty cool!  (hopefully I've explained that right!)

The favorite new food/recipe I picked up on the detox is hands down, ZOODLES!  I also tried a handful of recipes from the 21DSD book, and look forward to experimenting with many more in the future.  

My plan for "Day 22" and beyond is more or less to stick with it, but allowing for more variety of fruit, alcohol on the weekends (and a glass of wine during the week), and allowing for a little sweet treat on a special occasion...I'm toying with the idea of maybe 1 cheat meal allowed a week.  This weekend is Memorial Day, and I don't plan to go hog wild, but Brian and I may go out for ice cream or something like that, and I'm not going to deprive myself, I'm just going to be smart, and go for a taste rather than a gut-buster.  But, I am planning to stay very low sugar and low to no gluten on most days.   I'd love to try to drop another 15 lbs, if not more.

And finally, here's a walk down memory lane, with links to points on my journey.

Pre-Detox: Unsweetened:  The entry explaining my interest in the 21DSD
Day 1:  It's harder than I thought it would be!
Day 2:  Feeling Apprehensive...can I really do this?
Day 3: 1st  mini milestone - 1/7th of the way!  Resisted temptation when meeting a gf for dinner and a movie.
Day 4: Starting to experience vastly improved sleep (but peeing a lot!)
Day 5: Headaches starting to subside, and energy picking up, though experiencing some digestive challenges.
Day 6: Faced with  more temptation out with friends, but stuck with the program, and proud of it.
Day 7:  Hell yeah - made it through week 1 and feeling amazing!  The 'bad' symptoms have subsided.
Day 8: Dropped a little knowledge on the pitfalls of sugar.
Day 9: Still sleeping well, but felt a little energy dip
Day 10: I know I made the right decision to cut out sugar, but severing the emotional ties is tough.
Day 11: Halfway there!  B and I crave pizza means...we made "meatza" (so wrong, yet so right!)
Day 12:  Energy is picking up again!
Day 13: Stayed on track, but my workout was a little shaky.  Maybe I need to up the carbs just a tad.
Day 14: Two weeks down, one to go!  And...the day we discovered Zoodles!
Day 15:  Kale chips.  Overrated.
Day 16 & 17: Controlling the chaos and managing the stress at work.
Day 18 & 19:  See Day 16 & 17
Day 20:  Almost there!  Put myself in temptation's way one last time...and passed the test!
Day 21: MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

21DSD: Day 21 - Mission Accomplished!

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood for SO MANY reasons!  It was a bright, sunny 72 degrees today, it's the end of a lovely weekend, I finished my project this morning, I got in 2 solid workouts today, and....I completed my 21 day detox!

Today marks "day the final", and tomorrow I'll settle into a modified version of the detox, one that allows for a bit more variety of fruit (though keeping to 1-2 helpings), some additional legumes and carb sources, like hummus and sweet potato (though I'll still mostly away from the refined stuff and the gluten), and yes, wine and cocktails, though I will more or less limit those to the weekend.

Tomorrow morning, I'll step on the scale to see how I fared in the weigh loss dept.  I'll share those results, along with my detox recap, a little later in the week, probably Wednesday or Thursday.  Tomorrow I also plan to treat myself to a Starbucks iced venti coffee with agave in the AM and a glass of wine (or 2) for the planned girls night to watch the season opener of the Bachelorette in the evening (don't judge! it's a fun excuse to get together and catch up sans the men in our lives).

And now, here's the DAY 21 Rundown:

Time Went to Bed Last night: 1 am. 
Time got up this morning: 8:30 am
How I felt when I woke up (excellent, good, fair, poor): good
General Mood/Energy throughout the day (excellent, good, fair, poor):  good/good.  put in a few hours of work this morning and finished my work project
Exercise (type/duration):   B and I rented Nice Rides and biked around Lake Calhoun. I also ran 4.2 miles through the Lyndale Gardens and around Lake Harriet.  Not too shabby.
Breakfast:  Coffee with cream.  That's it.  I don't advocate skipping breakfast, but I got into a groove while working and finishing up my project that I didn't stop to prepare anything beyond 2 cups of coffee.
Lunch: Got a chicken salad at chipotle, with beans, pico, onions and peppers, cheese and sour cream
Dinner:  We cooked up some ground beef, onions and peppers, with cheese and salsa (yes, quite similar to lunch....what can I say? Food with a little mex/tex-mex flair works well with the detox)
Snack: Almonds
Water Intake: at least 6 glasses 

21DSD: Day 20

I didn't get a chance to post last night, because last night B and I were out late, first to dinner at a fun, new restaurant here in Uptown that specializes in Southern style cuisine called the Boneyard, followed  by a night at the Orpheum theater to see AZIZ ANSARI!  It's our second time seeing Aziz perform live in Minneapolis, and for the second time, he didn't disappoint.

Of course, the hardest part about today (and weekends in general during the duration of this thing), was no alchohol when we went out to dinner.  That drink menu looked TASTY!  Man, I feel like a lush, that the thing I miss the most, and the thing I keep talking about over and over and over is that I miss being able to have a glass of wine, beer or a cocktail.  Maybe that's a sign I need to cut back, which I've already promised to do.  My rules on this will be limiting drinks to the weekend, and allowing myself a glass once during the work week if out for a happy hour or evening with friends.  There. Concrete, clear, manageable.

Here's the DAY 20 (SO CLOSE NOW!) rundown:


Time Went to Bed Last night: 12:30 am. 
Time got up this morning: 9 am.    weeeee! so much sleeeep!
How I felt when I woke up (excellent, good, fair, poor): good
General Mood/Energy throughout the day (excellent, good, fair, poor):  good/good.  put in a few hours of work in the morning, which was no fun on a Sunny Saturday, but hey, gotta stay in the good graces of my employer and keep earnin' 'em dolla dolla billz. 
Exercise (type/duration):   Low impact today.  Went to the driving range.  Handled the woods pretty well today (heh!  get your mind out of the gutter!  Oh, that wasn't what you were thinking?  Liar.)
Breakfast:  Coffee with cream, bacon and scrambled eggs with onions, peppers and cheese.
Lunch:  Snacked for lunch - apples, cheese, almonds
Dinner:  As I just mentioned, went out to dinner at the Boneyard.  I actually was able to choose a (mostly) detox friendly option, the "sweet tea" brined grilled chicken breast, with succotash, braised kale, creole aioli.  The only "off plan" item was a little bit of corn in the succotash...imho its nbd!
Snack: see: lunch
Water Intake: 6 glasses