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If you follow me on Instagram, you know that I recently completed a 30 day sugar-free detox challenge.

The decision was triggered by pure spontaneity after over-indulging during the holiday season. On January 2nd I simply decided to try a full month of NO sugar, NO alcohol, and NO carbs.

The point of this detox had nothing to do with weight-loss, but rather, to see how my body would feel without these three components in my diet.

Before I can share my experience, I need you to understand what my diet consisted of prior to the challenge.

I was always a clean eater, and tried to stick to whole foods and minimize intake of processed foods. Prior to the challenge I would consume a lot of the following: fruits, vegetables, legumes, quinoa, fish, almond butter, dark chocolate (not sugar free), variety of nuts, eggs, fermented foods, and meat (not on a regular basis).

It may sound to you like a healthy diet, and it probably was – but my body simply needed a change and I wanted to give it the opportunity to explore a different kind and lifestyle.

During the 30-day challenge I eliminated a lot of foods including quinoa, legumes, nuts, fruits, and of course, anything with ‘sugar’ in it.

Let’s start with the ‘SUGAR’ component:

Although I hate to admit it, I have a sweet tooth. I love a good slice of cake or some chocolate (here’s a secret: I used to be addicted to Werther’s Originals!!). I always have this urge to have something sweet after a meal. Anyone else experiences the same cravings?

During the challenge, I eliminated all fruits and anything that has sugar listed as an ingredient in it, and you would be surprised to find out how many products out there have added sugar when it is completely unnecessary! (For instance: salad dressings, nut butters, sausages, and even bacon!). So my recommendation: Read the list of ingredients very carefully and disregard labels such as “all-natural” because they really don’t mean a thing!

To kill some of the sugar cravings, I would consume some sugar-free, dairy-free hot chocolate (recipe will be posted!), a piece of dark chocolate or a scoop of almond or coconut butter. With time, the cravings subsided.

Next are the ‘CARBS’:

Let’s clarify what I mean by eliminating carbs. In my opinion it is impossible to completely eliminate carbs from one’s diet, because carbs are in almost anything – even vegetables. So I really just tried to minimize my carb intake and ensure that if there are carbs, that they are the complex and low glycemic index ones. So: NO potatoes (not even sweet potatoes), minimal amount of carrots, beets or bell pepper as they are known to be higher in carbs/sugars. And of course, no bread, pastries, etc.

This category wasn’t bad because I normally don’t consume a lot of carbs. The only thing I really missed were beets and sweet potatoes 🙂

Finally, no ALCOHOL:

This one is pretty straightforward – no consumption of alcohol during the 30 day challenge. Although I am not a big drinker, I do enjoy my occasional cocktail or glass (or two!) of wine. For me personally, this was the easiest part of the challenge, as I didn’t miss alcohol at all and didn’t feel like I had any cravings for it.

And here is the verdict:  I LOVED how the detox made me feel; both physically and emotionally. Although it was tough at times, and there were ups and downs, I truly appreciated the outcome and am very happy that I did it.

Beyond the physical aspect, the detox helped me be more focused and clear minded, I had less mood swings, and barely any cramps during “that time of the month”. I’m not kidding, it was one of the least painful and barely noticeable menstrual cycles I ever had! This is mainly because hormone fluctuation was minimized due to the lack of sugar, which results in less cramps or PMS symptoms.

I strongly believe that the consumption of sugar and alcohol should be minimized in all diets, and I am certainly going to continue with that habit (i.e. consume it only on occasion). As for carbs, these are a bit more complex (pun not intended!), as they could be harmless for some individuals, yet very harmful for others. Here is where bio-individuality comes to play, and one should simply listen to their body regardless of what their friend or partner is doing. Your body will tell you what’s right for you.

I will be posting some of the recipes I created during the detox, and I am very excited for you to try them regardless if you are on any kind of detox or not.

If you would like to learn more about the detox, and some easy ways that you can implement it in your daily lives to experience some of the benefits I experiences, please email me or leave a comment below. I love connecting with my readers!

Purely yours,

Lena

I’ve been postponing this moment for a very (very!) long time. I wasn’t sure how to start. I wasn’t sure what to say to make this attractive, charming and fascinating. After a lot (probably too much) of thinking and analyzing, I realized that I should start from the beginning, and be as open as I possible can. As vulnerable as I possible can. And hopefully, this will resonate with some of you, and maybe even inspire you (which will be a dream come true for me). So let’s start.

I developed a love-hate relationship with food back when I was a teenager. I just started high-school (grade 10 I think), and all I wanted was to belong. None of my actions were intentional, but subconsciously, it seemed that the best way to fit-in would be to lose weight. Initially I just started eating healthier, which came pretty naturally to me. Less sweets, less fried foods, less bread.. you know, the uzh. From there it transitioned to less frequent meals, smaller portions, absolutely no fat, no meat, so pretty much only fruits and vegetables. At first I was losing weight pretty consistently, and not drastically. I was simply ecstatic! I felt that I was in control, that I am the queen of the world. I was receiving compliments from my friends about how great I looked, and these all made me feel so extremely happy… or so I thought. Completely oblivious to what was going on, I developed an eating disorder. Anorexia to be precise. After a while I started having cravings, because a person can live on minimal amount of raw fruits and vegetable for only so long. So I started binge eating. Since I had to stay in control, I’d binge eat, and then discharge of everything I eat (i.e. vomit). The irony was that I had absolutely no control. The food and this mental state were consuming me, and had full control over me. That lasted on and off for many years, and with time I started thinking that this simply cannot be right. It was so unnatural, and I felt so extremely guilty. I just wanted to be a normal girl, who enjoys a nice meal, without constantly being hypnotized by food.

About eight years ago it stopped. I am fortunate enough to say that I was able to get out of it on my own. Don’t get me wrong – I still have body image issues that I am working on on a daily basis, but that terrible self-harming, self-destruction, halted completely. I am unable to pin point exactly the driver that made it stop. I am not sure if it was simply me maturing, the tremendous support I had from my mother, or simply getting too busy with school, where I had to maintain my A+ average and could no longer have this eating disorder as a distraction. I am aware that this isn’t always how these stories end, and I am beyond grateful that this is how mine did.

This experience made me reevaluate my relationship with food, and resulted in a whole new perspective of the concept of a “healthy” lifestyle. It made me realize that there isn’t one diet that fits all. The magic answer isn’t the “paleo” diet, or the “Mediterranean” diet, or the vegan diet, or you name it. The diet is simply called the “listen to your own body” diet (unless it’s telling you to eat M&M’s on a daily basis, in which case you should probably get a second opinion).  This lifestyle is much more than the food we eat. It is the air we breath, the water we drink, the amount of exercise we get (not necessarily at the gym). It is our community, our surrounding, the love and affection that we give and receive. It is a purely holistic view of life, where we listen to our body. Where we learn what kind of food makes us feel light yet energized, and what kind of physical activity we enjoy doing that contributes to our well-being without causing unnecessary stress or anxiety.

I am here to share everything that I know, and everything that I am still learning, which will contribute to your health and well-being. I am a true advocate of eating whole foods, eliminating processed foods, eating more fruits and vegetables (yes – fruits too! – we’ll get to that in a different post :)), and incorporating more live foods and fermented foods in our diet. I LOVE food and will be sharing tons of healthy, easy and delicious recipes, that are mainly dairy free, gluten free and plant based (some high quality animal products will be incorporated occasionally).  I am also a true advocate of SELF LOVE and SELF CARE. Yes, folks. It doesn’t matter what food you eat, or how fast you run. If you don’t take a good care of yourself, and don’t truly love yourself, you probably won’t get too far. Luckily, I am here to share with you everything I know about self love and self care. Everything from meditation, to oil pulling and tongue scraping! Occasionally, I will also be sharing my workouts, cool places I visited, and other random items that may contribute to this purely holistic lifestyle that we are adopting together. Together, we can create a truly holistic lifestyle, in which we achieve our body’s and mind’s fullest potential.

Thank you for joining me in this journey. Until next time, my friends. In the interim, I invite you to my Instagram page, where you can get a head start and find various recipes (you’ll learn that I am a huge smoothie fan!), and other adventures I’ve been up to thus far!

Yours purely,

Lena