Week 4 Review

The last week of my no sugar and no caffeine experiment is over! While I didn’t experience the cravings I was expecting since my timing was off on my monthly cycle, I did end up cheating a couple of times this past week.

Here’s  a quick review of the week and what I ate. Again, this isn’t comprehensive since I didn’t include all of the snacks I ate each day but it’s pretty close.

Day 22:

Scrambled eggs with canned pumpkin and canned salmon
Salad with broccoli slaw, guacamole, radish, cucumber, garlic sauce, and leftover damn fine chicken
Leftover garlic cauliflower “mashed potatoes” and damn fine chicken
Sugar Detox Pumpkin Cake in a Mug

Day 23:

Pumpkin Pancakes from Practical Paleo with coconut butter
Sugar Detox Pumpkin Cake in a Mug
Leftover garlic cauliflower “mashed potatoes”  and damn fine chicken with 8oz Kombucha and some Kimchi
Stuffed hot dogs with chipotle smashed butternut squash and avocado (recipe modified slightly)

Day 24:

No-atmeal (No Oats Oatmeal)
Sugar Detox Pumpkin Cake in a Mug
Salad with guacamole, smoked salmon, and garlic sauce
Leftover mashed butternut squash with cinnamon

Day 25:

Pumpkin Pancakes from Practical Paleo with coconut butter
Red curry with eggplant, spinach, and ground beef
Bacon-wrapped stuffed chicken and salad with broccoli slaw, avocado, and garlic sauce
Salted caramel ice cream (Gasp!)

Day 26:

Scrambled eggs with pumpkin and smoked salmon
Banana with almond butter and coconut butter
Leftover red curry with eggplant, spinach, and ground beef
Sugar Detox Pumpkin Cake in a Mug

Day 27:

Pumpkin Pancakes from Practical Paleo with coconut butter
Cinnamon & Green Apple Mug Muffin
Leftover bacon-wrapped stuffed chicken and salad
Hamburger (no bun) with lettuce, avocado and a fried egg from BurgerMeister (not pictured)
Handful of macademia nuts

Day 28:

Omelette with mushrooms and spinach topped with heirloom tomatoes
Broccoli slaw with avocado, garlic sauce, and Wild Planet canned tuna
Braised green cabbage and crispy salmon with raspberry butter sauce (raspberry sauce is not sugar detox approved)
Second helping of braised cabbage with raspberry butter sauce

As I mentioned a few days ago I was very ready for this experiment to be over. I don’t want to go crazy with the sugar and caffeine now that I’m done but it’s great to not have to tweak recipes and monitor my fruit and starch intake. Today is my first day after the sugar and caffeine detox and so far I’ve had a few chocolate chips in my morning pancakes and some sweet potato fries with lunch. I really missed sweet potato!  

I’m not sure when I’ll be ready to drink coffee again. I think my body functions better without it because my energy level is more consistent throughout the day. I think once I can get 8 hours of sleep on a regular basis I’ll feel comfortable with adding a cup of coffee back into my routine. That way I’ll know I’m not using it to get by when I really should be resting more.

Overall I’m really glad that I tried this. I learned a lot about my body and how it responds to stimulants like sugar and caffeine. I also found a number of delicious recipes and tried some new foods. However, this experiment didn’t bring me closer to Jesus. Next month I will be focusing much more intentionally on growing my faith in Jesus.