So, How's Day 5/30 With No Sugar?
To say the first five days of my sugar-free journey have been eventful would be an understatement. Let's sum up all that's happened over the last five days:
- I came down with a fever of 100+
- My grandmother passed away
- I went to a baby shower
- I watched football at a bar
- I slept a lot, cried a solid amount, and managed, still, to avoid sugar
My efforts to make this study as scientific as possible have been totally thwarted now that there are so many variables to account for my lack of energy (fever) and emotional state (fever + death in the family). But I'm carrying on. For pseudo-science!
QUICK SUMMARY OF ALL I'M GIVING UP (it's not just "sugar")
I'm avoiding all processed foods that are known to house hidden sugars—breads of any grain (even gluten-free or corn), dairy, pre-made salad dressings, and soy products. I'm essentially doing the Whole30. But I'm allowing myself limited amounts of low-sugar alcohol on weekends and I'm not worrying too much about legumes (since I don't consume them much anyway). I'm doing this because if I'm really going to cut sugar from my diet, I need to cut ALL the ways it could show up in my diet. Pizza sauces, pastas, breads, dairy-free milks (read your labels!), even certain brands of kombucha. Sugar is everywhere. But you're most likely to avoid it when you stick to homemade meals comprised of whole foods.
NOW ABOUT THOSE FIRST FIVE DAYS...
The fever struck on Day 2. I can't in my right mind hypothesize that it had anything to do with my veto on sugar since it came so early in the process, but I CAN guess my immune system was broken in the FIRST place because of all the excess sugar I'd been consuming over the last few weeks (paired with two red-eye flights I took within four days of each other). So I'm blaming the fever and subsequent sick vibes on my sugar intake pre-challenge. News of my grandmother's passing also came on Day 2. This was a bittersweet blow because she had been suffering from Alzheimers for many years. I mourned her loss, of course, but also felt a sigh of relief that she was finally free of the disease. That said—throughout the rest of the weekend, I found myself sporadically pondering the meaning of life and sobbing for our family's matriarch — the woman who selflessly loved and fearlessly cared for seven children — that she had to endure such a long and painful end in the first place. I've heard that when you cut sugar cold-turkey as I have, you go through many stages of withdrawal. Emotional withdrawal comes around days 4-5, where you get irritable and, maybe in my case, super sad. Then again, I was experiencing the come down from a high fever and a family member's death, so—too many variables to flag it all as sugar deprivation. It's possible I was hit that much harder thanks to all three simultaneous situations.
FEVER DREAMS: A BLESSING AND A CURSE
If you really want to nail the first five days of a challenge like this, pray for a fever. (Just kidding I don't wish this on anybody). But in fairness, getting sick made it a lot easier to get through those first few days eating only healthy foods. I was non-contagious by the time I attended the baby shower, but my body was still reeling from the hit. Not going to lie: it was easy to say no to food in general, so it didn't take a lot of effort to avoid cake. Whenever I'm sick, I crave oranges like it's my job. I've been keeping my fruit intake pretty well-managed (natural sugars!), but I have been giving in to one orange per day. And a banana. That's about one fruit more than I'd like to eat per day, but I'm okay with it FOR THE SAKE OF MY IMMUNE SYSTEM. My brain is still in a fog, which might account for this poorly-structured-and-just-as-poorly-written post. Still not sure if that's on the sugar, sickness come down, or life.
5 DAY TAKE-AWAY
Listen, if I can kick this whole thing off with just about the worst weekend ever and STILL not cave into my very real desire to say, "f*ck it, I'm ordering a pizza," then I'd say I can probably stick this out for the rest of the month. Did I crave beer while watching football on Sunday? Yes, very much. Did I take a whiff of Jaren's sweet potato fries—which I could tell were coated with some kind of cinnamon sugary seasoning of sorts—and want to gnaw off my own leg to get away from what happens to be my favorite food ever? Yes, also, very much. Was I super sad and irritable on Sunday night and did I feel like it would all just go away if only I could dive into a barrel of ice cream? YES. ALSO THAT. But I didn't. Because I am on a mission to prove to you guys that after the fever, after the withdrawal, after the painful life events that can't be controlled, if I stick with this no-sugar thing for the next 25 days, I will feel happier. I will feel clearer-headed, more energetic, and all-around healthier in heart, mind, and spirit. OR ELSE. Stay tuned for my next update. And wish me luck!