Dare You To...

Just23 days ago, I began the 21 Day Sugar Detox.  It's something I'd wanted to do for a long time now, and the new year seemed like the perfect time.  Well, it wasn't perfect, because I knew that I had a trip on January 19, during which I would not want to restrict myself, but I figured a 19-Day Sugar Detox was better than nothing. It would be a good chance to dabble in it and see how it went!


And now, my first go-round is complete :)

Here, I'll give you a small background on it (but go to the website for all the details!), a glimpse at some of my eats during the 3 weeks, and a set of lessons learned about myself and my food--thanks to the detox program.

A bit of background: 
The 21 Day Sugar Detox is not intended to be a permanent lifestyle.  It is a nutrition-based program for anyone who experiences sugar or carb cravings, energy spikes and dips, brain fog, lethargy, and other undesirable symptoms of an unhealthy, unnatural diet.  It's carefully designed by Diane…

One of my goals last month was to spend at least 30 minutes per day reading, and I had four books on my must-finish-before-August list.  (See how that went here.)  One of those books was...

It Starts With Food

I first heard of Dallas & Melissa Hartwig when they were guests on Robb Wolf's podcast, The Paleolithic Solution - Episode 26.  After that, I explored their website, whole9life.com, which is full of useful guides, helpful forums, and interesting blog posts.  More recently, they were on Underground Wellnesswith host Sean Croxton. They've certainly been getting their fair share of the spotlight since their recent publication of It Starts With Food. 



Another paleo-inspired nutrition book?  How could I not read it?  And I literally breezed through it.  It Starts With Food is very readable, targeted toward readers who are new to such a "radical" approach to eating.  They lay it out, plain and simple, and remind you that they understand your concerns, but they…

Alright, I've been dropping hints of my gluten-free, paleo-style eating all month. Time to explain what went down.
1.  I went on vacation. I didn't eat wheat, and only very few grains.  I felt great. 2.  I finally accepted all the article, podcast, and book information on the "paleo" (short for paleolithic) lifestyle and how it's curing everything from acne and indigestion to diabetes and chronic disease.
3.  I gave it a go for one month. 30 days.



There are entire books on this, so please bear with me as I try to thoroughly (yet briefly as possible!) explain the diet, my own experience, and my thoughts going forward.

PALEO basics:


What is the paleo diet?
The "paleo diet", aka "caveman diet", is essentially eating meat, fish, eggs, vegetables, fresh fruits, and nature's fats (nuts, seeds, healthful oils).  What you reduce or eliminate is: grains, legumes, and (depending on who you ask) dairy.  It's fairly simple, until you go to the super…