Round 2: Day Seven.

Today was exhausting. After a late night up with the parents the night before, we awoke earlier than my day-off minded body would have liked and I began breakfast. That's right, even in my sugar-free existence, I cook for my sleepover guests. Vegetarian biscuits and gravy. [Don't knock it til you've tried it, even my meat and potatoes father said it was delicious.]

It's a good thing we started off the day with a filling breakfast because we were in for some walking. It was time to take the 'rents on a museum tour way downtown. So after a bus ride, a train ride and a little walking in the wrong direction, we finally made it to the Field Museum. My dad's a big history and nature buff so this trip was mainly for him. I can get into parts of it, but pretty much if there's not pretty clothing or painted art, I'll eventually tune out any history lesson. For anyone who's never been, I would also like to point out that the Chicago Field Museum is like walking in a labyrinth of dark rooms with very little lighting. I think my body thought there would be no way out and started to shut down because by the time we decided to leave for a late lunch I was Tired.

Lunch did a bit to revive me, but I overindulged in ordering fish and chips [see what I mean by less than healthy eating habits? at least it wasn't a potato chip sandwich]. This was followed by a marathon grocery session at Trader Joe's where we purchased a treasure chest of organically sweetened goodies. Then last stop was a wholesome sushi dinner.

Once home [finally], a Netflix viewing awaited us. I feared I would not have the stamina to stay awake for a whole two hours of television and contemplated allowing myself an organic sugar rush to make it thru. But even faced with my own glorious loophole, I resisted. After all, I know it's cheating and I wanted at least one completely cheat-free day to end the first week of this project.

So I fell asleep during the movie [I'll re-watch that part tomorrow] and had a banana to make it thru the evening's homework [potassium rush, anyone?]. But now it's either chocolate or sleep, and, for once, I'm choosing sleep.

Sweet dreams filled with sugar await me.

Round 2: Day One.

It's not quite a year later, but I'm back for round two of Sugar Detox. This time is slightly different: the rules are looser, there's no article ending [that I know of], and I'm not exactly starting out in perfect health.

Some updates on the life of Candy Girl:

1. I now live in the Windy City, otherwise known as Chicago. Since moving here a little over two months ago, my daily habits have become less than healthy. With higher rent and a greater tax percentage, I've pretty much been living on Peanut Butter and Potato Chips [not together, but some days I wouldn't be surprised to try it]. There are the occasional evenings out for a good, healthy meal [sushi being my favorite], but when left to fend for myself, I'll pretty much reach for anything to stop the hunger.

2. I have a new addiction [much more shameful than my previous dark chocolate binges]: McDonald's strawberry shakes. With a whopping 63 grams of sugar in a small [I usually get a medium], I have one of these treats at least once a week. It's not entirely my fault really, the evil arches are literally steps outside my backdoor and much cheaper than a trip to the corner market where a pint of healthier yogurt can cost me almost $5.

3. Probably no surprise after reading 1 & 2, I'm not feeling so hot lately. Since moving, my energy level has plummeted and my sleeping cycle has gone haywire. 2am bedtimes and afternoon naps are a constant in my life, not to mention the fact that sleeping in often cuts into my daily workout time. Even now, as I write this, my brain is a bit sluggish and my eyelids a bit heavy.

Basically, it all has to stop.

So today is day one off sugar. As I said, the rules are a bit more flexible for this round. Refined sugar dessert is still a definite NO NO, but with a smaller budget the strict label reading may have to have a few loopholes. Like last time, organic is ok, but agave sweetened is better [avoiding the glucose crash is key, after all]. Alcohol has to have an in somewhere, but I'll opt for wine instead of sugary cocktails. Oh, and of course, Green and Black Dark Chocolate will be back, but not until after week one's initial withdrawals subside [otherwise I'll be eating it by the bar rather than the piece].

Ok, I think that sort of sums it up [again, my mind is not in top form, hopefully the writing will improve with my health and wellness].

Quick summaries on day one:

1. Incredibly dehydrated. However, it should be noted that this is not unusual nowadays, lack of sleep and lots of walking will do that to you sometimes.

2. Sleepy. Again though, not unusual [clearly this is not a controlled experiment like the last time].

3. No real sugar cravings, but perhaps that's due to an impending cold. [I don't crave sugar when I'm sick, instead I crave orange juice and soup.]

Perhaps tomorrow we'll see improvement...