Sugar-Free Cleanse

Hey loves!
When I told you guys that I was going two weeks without sugar, I got a lot of feedback from readers who wanted to know about my experience. Well, I’m happy to say I survived… {but it wasn’t easy}!

Let me start by explaining why I wanted to do this… because my stinkin’ sweet tooth had gotten out of control!! Before the cleanse, I was literally eating ice cream every day. A cone from the drive-thru, a cookie dough sundae with my girlfriends {and so forth}… and it was all adding up. I felt sluggish and moody, and woke up every morning feeling bloated and gross. It was time for a change!
I decided to cut out refined sugar from my diet. If the sugar was natural and came from fruits and veggies, I ate it. The bad sugar is found in processed foods, fatty foods, and sweets… but it can be difficult to detect. Sugar exists in so many different forms and finds its way into our food through various ingredients. I was constantly checking the nutrition labels of foods to find out if they contained sugar. 

I had to memorize the above list of sugars. As a general rule, if it’s processed, it’s probably going to contain sugar!
A few days into the cleanse, I started having dull, throbbing headaches. At first, I didn’t make the connection between the headaches and going sugar-free, but when the pain wouldn’t go away I did some research. Did you know there is such a thing as sugar withdrawals? There can be several effects, such as headaches, sugar cravings, fatigue, and feeling as if you’re coming down with the flu. While I didn’t experience flu-like symptoms, I did feel more tired than usual. On top of that, I was really, really craving ice cream… especially in the evenings after dinner. That was the hardest part! The evening is the time of day that I usually treat myself to something sweet, and I don’t feel “satisfied” until I’ve fulfilled that pesky sweet tooth of mine. 
However, it did get better! After four days of being sugar-free, the headaches went away. The sugar cravings throughout the day went away as well {although I still had them after dinner}. Instead of feeling tired, I felt as though I had more energy than usual. And because I wasn’t eating a huge dessert after dinner, I didn’t go to bed feeling overstuffed, and I woke up feeling hungry in the morning… which is a good feeling. After completing the two weeks, I had even lost a few pounds! I didn’t weigh myself before and after {I use how my clothes fit as a gauge of my weight}, but I felt so much better in my clothes by the second week. 
So how did I do it?
Sometimes it was really, really hard to say no to sugary dessert. One thing that really helped me was tricking my taste buds into thinking I was having a treat! 
These are some of my favorite snacks… free of refined sugar!
Basically, any fresh fruit will do. It’s naturally sweet, low in calories, and will take the edge off of that sugar craving. I also discovered that a local frozen yogurt shop {SweetFrog} carries a frozen yogurt that’s NSA {no sugar added}, meaning the only sugar it contains comes from natural sources. While on the sugar-free cleanse, I filled up on fro-yo and topped it with kiwi, pineapple, strawberries and almond slivers. I hardly missed the sugar-laden version!
However, the real credit for helping me stick to my sugar-free diet goes to this:

and it’s NOT ice cream! It’s…
YONANAS!

Sounds crazy, yes… but {this machine} turns frozen bananas into soft-serve ice cream. Seriously. You just insert frozen bananas {and whatever else you want… frozen strawberries, peaches, cherries, whatevs} and it tastes just like soft-serve ice cream. The best part is, you’re tricking your taste buds – it tastes like ice cream, but you’re really eating pure fruit: a low cholesterol, antioxidant-rich treat that is actually beneficial to your body. 

It tastes amazing and the combinations are endless! I’ve been tempted to eat yonanas for breakfast… or lunch… or as a midnight snack. I really believe this machine saved me from derailing my sugar-free diet!

And now, to conclude… I saw so many positive effects from going sugar-free that I’d like to keep it up as much as possible. That being said, I will definitely still indulge in ice cream every now and then… but the benefits of being sugar-free far outweigh the taste of sugar.
If you’re considering trying it, even for a few days or a week, I encourage you to! If you have any questions, feel free to ask me in the comments or shoot me an email. 🙂
Love, Cait

Leave a Comment

17 Comments

  1. Anonymous

    Thank you thank you thank you! I have been thinking about doing this for a little while now b/c I also have found myself eating WAY too much ice cream and feeling gross afterwards. My problem was not knowing where/how to being. Thank you so much for the tips – I will start immediately!!!!!!! Thanks!!! 🙂

    7.2.12Reply
  2. Yonanas sounds awesome! Def trying that out. 🙂 Glad your detox went well!

    7.2.12Reply
  3. I should go on a two-week detox myself. I have had quite the sweet tooth lately…it's just not like me.

    7.2.12Reply
  4. i have a terrible sweet tooth! this would be quite a challenge for me. I do avoid "fake sugars" now, but would definitely like to cut back. i JUST saw yonanas at bed, bath & beyond! now i want to try it!

    7.2.12Reply
  5. Wow you are brave girl! I have always wanted to do this but never have the ability!

    xx Lynzy

    7.2.12Reply
  6. Interesting post… I'll try and go sugar free for a while!! Thank yooou *__*

    7.2.12Reply
  7. I might try to do this just for a couple days! And Yonanas sounds awesome, definitely looking into it!

    7.2.12Reply
  8. Hon I LOVE this and so want to do it, I've gotta give it a try!!! Printing this right now, THANK YOU!

    7.2.12Reply
  9. hahaha we are buying this machine right now! 😮

    7.2.12Reply
  10. Anonymous

    Sounds AMAZING! Love your blog, just found it!

    xo,
    Courtney
    GirlAvantGarde.wordpress.com

    7.2.12Reply
  11. Loved this! I've been working on trying to limit processed foods, pop, etc. from my diet, but haven't started on sugar yet! The Yonanas machine sounds absolutely amazing.

    7.2.12Reply
  12. Yonanas sound SO good! Might have to try that for sure haha

    (also, kind of random but what's the script font you used on here? I've been seeing it everywhere but not what it's called!)

    7.3.12Reply
  13. This is such a good idea! It's so interesting when I eat sugar, I start to crave more and more sugar! I also experience a crash a few hours after I eat anything sugary ~ not good!

    7.3.12Reply
  14. I need to do this–I've gained way too much weight in the last year and am finally getting it off by getting back into a regular exercise routine! Now is time to start tweaking the diet! I always find that once I cut the sugars from my diet I stop craving them, it just takes a few days to kick the habit!

    7.4.12Reply
  15. those look delicious! im on a diet right now- unlimited fruits and veggies for me 🙂

    7.5.12Reply
  16. What a helpful post. I'm going to try it. I live on junk food. Take aways, chocolate, mcdonalds ect. I do get a lot of headaches and i'm not as energetic as i should be for a 24 year old. Thanks for a great post. I have a new outfit post up, would love to know what you think!

    Your new follower, Eimear x

    http://supposeishouldblog.blogspot.ie

    7.7.12Reply
  17. Okay I need the Yonanas. Now.

    Great post!

    7.8.12Reply