Sugar Detox Week 1: Smooth Sailing

So I'm seven days into the detox.  It's going well.  No cheating, and aside from a three day headache at the beginning (my own fault for getting positively drunk on sugar the week prior), no side effects.

After 7 days of detoxing I have dropped 5 pounds of water and my abs are back.  Such as they are.  I am also sleeping better, which is a bonus.

Detoxing can be a double edged sword when you're distance/weight training.  I can honestly say that my CrossFit abilities seem to be heightened when I'm off sugar, though that is not the norm.  I attribute that to the increased protein consumption.  I eat a lot of protein normally (hell, I eat a lot of everything normally), but when fruit is removed from the snacking realm I find myself going for jerky and boiled eggs along with some serious veg.  My protein and fiber intake skyrockets, which translates to good stuff in the gym.  From a running perspective, the reduced carbs end up meaning less gas in the tank.  For short runs and speed work this is a non-issue.  For long runs?  Trouble.

I'm going to be experimenting with a different fuel source on tomorrow's 11 miler.

I give you the Larabar.

 

Larabar.  They rock.  They are Paleo (many varieties are).  They are not strictly sugar detox approved, because the base is made from dates.  Here's the thing-I have to violate the detox to run long.  The last couple of long runs I've used ShotBlocks the way I did in the past.  This was not a good idea.  Two words:  Gastric Emergency   I'm going to give the Larabar a shot as distance fuel.  They have around 25g of sugars per bar, so I see no reason it wouldn't work.  The texture is pretty soft and at least as easy to chew as ShotBlocks, but not as sickeningly sweet.

 

 

I've also been experimenting with new snacks.

Kale chips.  Like garlic popcorn with iron.

 

 

These things are pretty damn good.  Easy to make (slice the stalks away from the leaves, tear into chip size pieces, lightly toss with olive oil until toasted, bake on foil or parchement at 350 for 12-15 min or until crips) and easy to eat.  They are very filling.  I understand that kale is a memeber of the same family as garlic, so baking them brings out the garlic flavor.  I hate steamed kale, it is bitter as fuck, but these are completely different.

 

So week one went well.  Weeks 2 and 3 are always harder for me, though.  It's when the novelty wears off, the weight loss slows down, and you just want to eat Cadbury eggs.  I'll get through it, though.  I have before.  One thing that might help a bit is some Paleo bread I got today at Woodman's.  It's not like "real" bread, but it makes a dandy fried egg sandwich.  Something I have been missing deeply lately.

With bacon.  Duh.

 

 

Today at CrossFit we were doing Open WOD 13.4.  It was a ladder: 95# clean and jerk then Toes to Bar 3/3-6/6-9/9 etc.  My personal best clean before today was 85# and my best push press was 90#.  I was scared shitless of this workout.  I can do toes to bar.  I can.  I've been doing a crapload of situps since the first of the year, and my core can handle that movement now.  Problem was, I had to hit not one, not two, but THREE 95# clean/jerk before doing toes to bar.  Let's just say I spent the 7 min WOD bitterly failing at the clean portion of the clean and jerk with owner/coach Grant shouting me through it and two fellow members trying to psychicly help me up out of the squat hole.  It didn't work.  Big fat goose egg for the WOD.  However, Grant wanted me to try again after the WOD...so I did.  I failed the jerk, but I hit a 95# clean I thought was 90# and then a 100# clean I thought was 95#.  Because I can't do math.  So I walked out having failed at the WOD...but with a 15# clean PR.

 

Also?  I totally cried at CrossFit.  Because I am lame as fuck.

 

Last month I got some ink.

Yes, that is my bathroom.

 

It's symbolic.  My children's names are represented with the symbols for their saints.  On the inside of my bicep there is a wound that bleeds tears and the date 1/22/09-the day I lost what would have been our second child.  On my back is the phrase "No one else will ever understand the strength of my love for you.  Only you have heard my heartbeat from the indside."

 

I need to get musculature worthy of this tattoo. 

 

 

And finally, my little baby boys are three.  Hard to believe.  They are loud and fearless and infuriating.  Here they are at Sir Bounce A Lot with the most fun ride.  The water fountain.

 

 

 

You should try a sugar detox, even if you're already Paleo.  It's a fantastic kick start.  It's also a giant eye-opener for the hidden sugars in fucking everything.  Give it a go-even if you only make it a week.

 

 

Until next time...