Fifty-Eighth Step

About sugar detox, from essortment.com. Haha, I have had all of these symptoms, which would be interesting if I wasn't getting a little tired of it:

"Many people choose to detox from sugar in order to achieve optimal good health. Refined sugars cause the body to become sluggish and unhealthy when eaten in generous quantities. Obesity is often caused by sugars. Many food items contain sugar or starches that turn to sugars once eaten. These foods aren't often considered sweets or desserts, yet they have a high sugar content just the same. It is often these foods in particular that are most missed when detoxing from sugar.

Considerations

One of the more common symptoms of sugar detox is headaches. As the body discards these toxins and moves them toward elimination, it also feels a letdown of sorts, which results in a headache. From mild to severe, the headache pain varies from person to person. Keep the body hydrated when detoxing to help eliminate the toxins faster and alleviating the headache pain as well. If the headaches occur for more than three straight days, a call to your doctor is advised.

Considerations

Lethargy is another sugar detox symptom. This symptom typically occurs in the day or days following the headache phase. Since sugar can act as a stimulant, it will react to a decrease of that stimulant with a slower heart rate. This will register in the mind and body as a lack of energy. This phase can last up to 10 days.

Considerations

A body that is detoxing from sugar may incur the symptom of skin rashes. Much in the way that the heart rate reacts by slowing down once the toxin level has decreased, so does the skin react similarly. When the amount of sugar in the system has decreased significantly, it is actually throwing out poisons, some of which are eliminated through skin cells. After this happens, the skin starts to "come alive" and become an active part of the detox process. This discarding of toxins in conjunction with the new skin activity may cause itching or a rash. These symptoms usually last only a few days. Once again, hydration is imperative.

Considerations

People who don't typically suffer from colds may find they get one when detoxing from sugar. This is one of the body's natural ways of eliminating some of the last of the toxins in your body. While the cold may temporarily be a detriment, it will ultimately aid in the return to optimal health.

Benefits

While these sugar detox symptoms aren't particularly pleasant, they are small sacrifices to make in light of the bigger picture. Once the toxins have left the body, the sluggish feeling will give way to new energy. The skin will become healthy and more radiant, and the mind will be clearer and far more able to function."

In case anyone is still reading and wants to keep hearing my detox rantings, I've experienced all of the following too (except boils), from healthynewage.com (not a site I'd particularly recommend). It's crazy to me how much sugar had been "involved" in my system, shown by the severity of detoxing from it--why do I feel like I have the flu? It's "just sugar." The insomnia has been particularly annoying, like my brain is itching. The baby had a skin rash too, and now has diaper rash. Clarissa was nice enough to inform me about the bad breath:

"Detox symptoms can include skin rashes or eruptions, headaches, bad breath (sometimes, very bad breath!), unusual body odors, dizziness, nausea, feelings of fatigue or even slight depression, gas, diarrhea, colds, ear infection, insomnia, boils, itching, etc. You can experience temporary periods of confusion, and lack of appetite. You may be very thirsty at times. Why is this a good thing? Well, assuming the detox doesn't happen faster than the overall system can handle it, the symptoms indicate that the immune system is working properly, that toxins are being eliminated and that the body is working toward balance again. Usually, a healing crisis should last no more than three days."

A last note--I'll say it again, don't try this at home, folks. You really can't do it alone--you need support, a well-thought out plan and some healing under your belt before you attempt a detox. Studies show it can be harder to get off sugar than cocaine (but I personally have no way to compare). And I'm not just talking about white sugar or high fructose corn syrup, but bread, fruit juice, dried fruit, tortillas, baked goods, honey, etc. It all gets broken down into the same thing: sugar. Some people can handle it in moderation, but I am sugar sensitive (check out the Radiant Recovery website) and my brain gets a hit similar to morphine or heroin. Even a little sugar makes me want more more more, so just trying to limit it hasn't worked for me in the past. Much like an alcoholic can't have " just one drink." It has taken me a while to accept that this is just the way my body is, unless God supernaturally heals me. For now He is healing me through what my Radiant Recovery friends call "doing the food." :)

Fifty-Seventh Step

Drum roll...After two years of adding in good, good foods and a steady diet of them, I am finally detoxing from sugar. If you are out there reading this and think, "I want to stop sugar," don't do it. Read Potatoes not Prozac or The Sugar Addict's Total Recovery Program by Kathleen DesMaisons. Go to www.radiantrecovery.com and start with breakfast. Believe me, if you try to go cold turkey, you will be miserable and just end up bingeing in a couple weeks. So give yourself the gift of a tried-and-true program that takes into account all aspects of what's going on in your brain and body each time you turn to sugar. And definitely ask me more about it!

I've already seen some progress after doing the first 5 steps of the program leading up to detox, but taking sugars out and the subsequent six months is where the most visible healing takes place. Goals of all this do not involve a masochistic restriction mentality, but a desire for real, natural, long-term healing without the side effects of medication. Here are some of my goals:

1. getting out of the pit of low-grade depression
2. having more energy for life
3. enjoying life free from addiction
4. not basing my days and social times on how I will get my sugar fix
5. reducing chronic body pain, inflammation, fatigue
6. eventually losing some weight so I can look and feel healthier
7. more patience with my family and more stable mood
8. winning battles with yeast overgrowth, hormone imbalances, and insulin resistance
9. not having anything be my master except Jesus Christ.

I really thank God for leading me to this program and giving me the faith to keep going even when it was hard to believe I was getting anywhere. This week has been hard, since my companions have been headaches, body aches, tummy aches, and today, joint aches (wild--feels like I have arthritis and hurts to go up and down the stairs. Has really given me new empathy for people suffering from joint pain--I'm used to fibromyalgia muscle pain). Plus the almost-six-month old sweetie has had a hard time the past few days, but she'll thank me later for how great she feels. : )

Please pray, y'all, because it takes a lot of praying and depending on Jesus to change 20 years of abusing my body with pounds and pounds of sugar and non-foods. But it's going well, and is not like any other time I've stopped "using." I am not panicking, not really craving, not being dramatic and pouty with my family. This weekend I did have to escape and go nurse the baby when the rest of the family had cake at Grandma and Grandpa's, for mine and 2 other birthdays, this weekend (It was even gluten-free, but at least that way my kids could eat it). Honestly, I've tried to get myself to be mad and stomp out of the room when my family is picking out Halloween treats after dinner, but I really am OK. I feel calm. I do not want what it does to me.

Fifty-Sixth Step

I had been feeling the "winter blues," and I don't mean seasonal depression (although I tend to deal with that, but that's what my lightbox is for!). I mean the WHY AREN'T YOU DOING ANY WINTRY FUN THINGS WITH YOUR KIDS, YOU LAZY MEAN MOMMA! blues. There are some lies embedded in that statement, but that's the way it first rings when I hear it. I mean, we didn't even make CHRISTMAS cookies, and we definitely have not built a snowman yet. So today I made at least 4 trips up and down stairs between the basement and 2nd floor to find socks for feet (and hands in Charlie's case since his mittens are missing, the little kitten), hats, snowpants, jackets with velcro apparatuses on them, and those little-worn things called scarves. Which both decided they really wanted to pull down OFF their faces, so both got red freezer burn on their cheekies. I will NEVER get their Christmas pictures done.

I bravely decided to send them out while nursing the baby in the kitchen who had gotten really crabby due to boycotting her morning nap. Never fear, I could see them very well, yellow/black and pink/green against the snow. I did get their initial reactions on the camera video (my only video of choice these days), since before now they had been practically forbidden to walk in or touch the stuff in our mad rushes between the house and the van. "No, we don't have time to wonder as we wander! You must resist the magnetic pull of magical, glittery, freshly fallen snow!!" Well, not today--today I was the epitome of setting them free, watching from the kitchen as they ran around with DELIGHT. Schnookie would say it, "We did go in the SNOW and we did play in the SNOW! Heh heh. And we did have FUN in the SNOW!" Honey promptly plopped down for a snow angel. Schnookie crawled like an army guy, and even got out his tricycle, which he "rides" like someone waddling with a load in his pants. But not today, precious, not today. Today the pants have been unloaded. That didn't come out right. This post is getting more and more weighty. Hahahaha, some potty humor for you. OH, and to top off my wintry fun image, I did NOT forget the cocoa, for mommy either (since I did venture out to take some pics).

Fifty-Fifth Step

It's UPDATE CITY time. Here's some random ones:

1. Yard sale - We passed the $400 mark! Woo hoo! (is it tacky to share yard sale profits?)
2. Radiant Recovery - I'm still working on step 3 out of 7 to heal my sugar addiction and depression. This has been awesome: www.radiantrecovery.com .
3. Still enjoying helping people with pregnancy, women's health and fertility issues. Two great books are Naturally Healthy Woman by Shonda Parker and Fertility, Cycles and Nutrition by Marilyn M. Shannon.
4. Overjoyed that a good friend with one little exuberant boy angel is having a sweet little girl angel this April.
5. Survived two birthdays in December, plus this little-known holiday where we try to do a simple celebration of a little baby named Jesus but it turns into a big hullabaloo and it's still good but afterward you look around and think "What happened?".
6. The two birthdays mean that I now have a THREE-year-old boy (who's almost pottytrained except for a very unfortunate accident today that resulted in much mess on mommy's hands and a bath) and a FIVE-year-old girl (who's not napping at the moment and I really really want her to be). It'll be super freaky when she turns 6--that is like a PRETWEEN. Hahaha.
7. I have decided to call my kids those cute little nicknames blogger moms use. I will now refer to my three kids as Tweedle, Deedle, and Dum. Isn't that just precious? Just kidding. For real, I'll use "Honeygirl," "Schnookieboy," and "Sweetieheart." If I were to spell the last one phonetically (which refers to my 5-MONTH-OLD baby--she'll be a year before we know it!) I would write "Sveetieheart," but Schnookieboy is enough of a stretch for people already. I'll probably shorten them to Honey (the girl with the honey-colored hair), Schnookie and Sweetie, just so you know. They are in reverse chronological order too, another hint for those who know my little chonkers.
8. I'll practice, because I know I'll revert back to real names at times. "Sweetie" is rolling over like a champ, both ways, turning in a circle with her head as the compass point with all her rollings, and scooting some too. She can't quite get her knees up, but is trying. I think she'll be the earliest crawler yet. Watch out, unfinished projects stuffed under the desk!!

Fifty-Fourth Step

OK, top 3 things I'm battling right now and the antidotes:
1. yeast overgrowth = grapefruit seed extract, whole garlic clove, and plenty of probiotics. A big clue with this for me is major, major sugar cravings, and then some weird happenings after eating sugar. Creepy crawlies, other goings-on not for the blogosphere.
2. sleep deprivation = submitting to God about my bedtime for the first time EVER. Been battling this for 2+ years (knowing the good I should do, get to bed before 10, and not doing it, as in getting to bed at 1 for the past week). Who do I think I'm impressing by rebelling in this manner??
3. body pain = massage today. Tried hyaluronic acid for this but it made me and the baby sleepless, malic acid/magnesium seems to make a tiny bit better but EXERCISE, BABY, there's the key. Got the trampoline out, and BIG NEWS: Mom Sagar is letting us borrow her treadmill INDEFINITELY. I am sky high about this, like to the moon, Alice. We will have a fly time with our rebounding and walking going on. The sprained ankle has prevented me from doing my Bikram yoga video (which happens to be for pregnancy but fits my skill level any 'ol time) or from vigorous running (which happens to be um, physically impossible for me at this stage of the game). The ipod my sweet elf got me lifts my intentions and heightens my experience while doing said exercise. Well, we still need to pick up said treadmill for said exercise in said white truck covered in said snow. You know the one.
4. (a little extra info for ya) mood swings = placenta pills. Just kidding, I'm not really having mood swings too much, but I did take placenta pills after having Abri. Just wanted to shock and awe you, since you are brave enough to be reading this far.