Sugar Detox: Week 6 Complete

I posted a little late last week about completing Week 5 of the 8-Week Sugar Detox Challenge, so we have now completed Week 6 (reduce consumption of "quick breads").

This past week has been challenging and our entire clean eating was slightly derailed due to the move. We ate out a few times and it is a real challenge to eat clean at most restaurants. So today, now that we have the bulk of the moving behind us, I am getting my clean-eating train back on the rails and chugging ahead.

I believe in any lifestyle change, there will be setbacks-the key (at least in my opinion) is to keep moving forward, despite the setbacks. Give yourself some grace!

So onward to Week 7!

Goal for this week: reduce or avoid breads and starchy foods.

Now, I love my carbs. Pasta, rice, bread, rolls, biscuits....I could go on and on. But as a diabetic, I know I cannot consume these on the scale I have been in the past. When meal-planning, I almost always include a meat, green vegetable, and starch. I think this is what most Americans consider a standard meal. So this week I will be working to replace that "starch" with other, healthier alternatives.

We will also be continuing the clean eating habits we have developed over the past 6 weeks:

• Avoid high fructose corn syrup-entirely if possible.
• Eat only whole grains.
• Reduce consumption of sweets and desserts.
• Cut out all soda.
• Stick to natural sugars.
• Reduce consumption of "quick breads"
• Limit natural sugar consumption (goal: <2 b="" day="" per="" tsp="">

Just to give you an idea of what this looks like in action, I will share what a typical meal plan for a day looks like:

Breakfast: 
Smoothie (I love my NutriBullet) consisting of greens (usually spinach or kale), frozen or fresh fruit, plain Greek yogurt, almond milk or water, and sometimes nuts (usually almonds) and/or seeds (sunflower, pumpkin, flax-seed). If I don't have a smoothie I usually make an egg scramble with spinach, onions, and cheese.

Lunch:
Salad with plenty of dark greens, fresh fruit (apples or strawberries), seeds and chicken or a hard-boiled egg.

Dinner:
Tonight we are having slow cooker chicken with broccoli and stuffing (yes, I know that is a starch-but I am currently limited on groceries due to the move!).

Because I am diabetic, I try to eat smaller portions at my meals and snack every 2-3 hours. Snacks consist of veggies and homemade ranch dressing, sweet-potato tortilla chips and salsa, etc. I also usually have a smoothie at night which includes ingredients that aid in restful sleep.

Blessings Y'all,
Meri