Back to School
As many of you already know from last week's post, Monday we are starting the 21 Day Sugar Detox. Here at The Fuse Fitness, we strive to consistently make healthy choices, whether it’s with food, exercise, family or work. However, we all indulge in things that aren’t healthy, we’re only human, right? Summertime often means over-indulging on more occasions than normal, with vacations, parties, barbecues, there’s almost always a reason to over-indulge. With the start of this new school year we are making a conscious effort to get back on track with our goals and training.21-Day Sugar Detox
That is why we have decided to make it a challenge at The Fuse Fitness to participate in the 21 Day Sugar Detox together, to jump-start our engines, reset our metabolisms, and rid our body of the excess toxins we’ve consumed this summer.According to Wikipedia, the average person consumes about 24 kilograms of sugar each year, which is equivalent to over 260 food calories per person, per day. Even when we think we are following a low sugar diet, it’s often surprising to find out how many foods have added sugar.
Benefits of Detox
Removing sugar from your diet helps you lose body fat quickly by stabilizing your blood insulin levels (insulin promotes the storage of body fat), increases your energy by stabilizing your blood sugar (keeping you from having those sugar highs, then sugar crashes), improves the complexion of your skin (sugar zaps the collagen in your skin), and helps you taste and sleep better. All these effects sound awesome, right?Downside of Detox
While all of the aforementioned are huge positive effects, there will most likely be some negative effects during the first few days of the cleanse. Just like any type of detox, as you clean your body from the inside out and rid it of what it is addicted to, the body suffers a bit on its path toward getting healthier.The most common negative symptoms reported during the first two to three days on this cleanse are headaches, cold-like symptoms, low energy, irritability, bloating, and sporadic sleep. However, many people experience no negative symptoms, and for those who do, it’s usually just the first few days. As always, check with your doctor if you have any questions or concerns about starting this diet or within the 21 days of the diet.
Discipline
You can find out more info from the 21-day sugar detox website and purchase their book if you choose. Basically, the program is designed in three levels, introducing Level 1 participants to a life without refined foods, but not excluding all grain, legume and dairy products. Level 2 goes on to exclude grain and legume products while Level 3 is a strict Paleo diet with additional modifications specific to The 21-Day Sugar Detox’s goals for participants in breaking their sugar and carb addictions.Foods to Avoid
Foods you should be avoiding completely are anything with sugar in it (agave nectar, evaporated cane juice, fructose, high fructose corn syrup, honey, maple syrup, raw cane sugar, sucrose), alcohol, fruit, breads, candy, cereal, dairy, anything with flour, oatmeal, potatoes, soy, tortillas, vinegar, white rice, pasta, and seitan.What Can You Eat?
Lots of delicious food. All veggies (except potatoes), up to 1/2 cup of sweet potato a day (especially for athletes or if your energy doesn’t spike back up after the first few days of the detox), eggs, avocado, coconut oil, fish, ghee (clarified butter), lemon and lime, nuts, olive oil, free-range chicken and turkey, grass-fed beef and lamb, quinoa (Level 1 only), seeds, tomatoes and unsweetened chocolate.Stay Tuned
We will be posting regularly on Facebook, the blog, and Instagram (follow The Fuse Fitness on Instagram and/or post pics of your meals #thefusefitness) about what we’re eating, links to meal ideas and recipes, and how we’re feeling, both what’s challenging and what’s making us feel good.We highly encourage you to participate with us and share your meals, your struggles, your highs and ask any questions you’d like. We’re in this together and it’s just 21 days to a better you.