SUGAR FAST RESULTS

Three or four months ago, Melissa got it in her head that she was going to do a 21 day fast from all sugars. There is a website that offers support and guidance from a Christian perspective in this endeavor, revelationwellness.org, and Melissa got busy recruiting some friends to join her. Nobody was in favor of doing it over the holidays, of course, so we kicked the idea into the new year. 

I'm so glad I joined in.

A fast that requires this much self-control and planning is much more likely to succeed with some support. The website gave medical information and offered daily devotions. We were part of a Facebook messenger group which shared encouragement and recipes and special grocery store finds. We met weekly on Zoom to check in with each other and process the experience. 

Ultimately it was a surprisingly joyful and satisfying experience on all levels. 

To be clear, ALL sugars were off the menu.  I think we all have some gut understanding that tossing products containing "high fructose corn syrup" would eliminate 90% of all American food products, but this fast took sugar prohibitions several steps further. Not just candy, cookies and cake, but fruits (except for lemons and limes), breads (all grains, actually), and potatoes, and legumes were gone. We were allowed to eat meat, fish, leafy green veggies, peppers, onions, and nuts, as well as crackers and chips made of cauliflower and whatnot. Water, coconut milk, almond milk, coffee and tea were ok to drink, while fruit juices and soda and alcohol were obviously not. 

I had to give up my precious barbeque sauces. 

My findings after three short weeks:

1) Eating healthy is crazy expensive. (But I hear that maybe we'll get that money back someday in reduced doctor bills.) 

2) I had more energy. I was more alert. I was getting by on 5 or 6 hours of sleep a night. At first I assumed that starting this fast simultaneous with my first day on a new job was the worst timing. Now I wonder if I could have survived the first few weeks back in the classroom without it.

3)  I didn't spend a lot of time craving sweets. I was actually eating less food overall but still satisfied. I truthfully suffered no hunger pangs. Melissa found a great keto brownie mix made of almond flour and sweetened with stevia that was our go-to for an occasional treat. (And honestly, I don't know what sort of sorcery the manufacturers are practicing, but these brownies were moist and delicious and stayed fresh for days. Weird!) 

4) Melissa's joint pains all but disappeared and I was able to get out of bed in the morning without the aches and pains I had started to accept as an inevitable part of growing older. 

5) I think Melissa and I each lost about 10 pounds. 

6) Melissa added some incredibly tasty new recipes to her repertoire. Everybody in the family enjoyed the switch up in our meals. 

Conclusion: We plan to loosen up our menu a bit going forward, but there is no going back to my old sugary ways. My sweet tooth is broken.