The 10-Day Sugar Detox: Reporting Live From Day 5

My roommate and I are entering the 5th day of The Blood Sugar Solution 10-Day Detox Diet. No sugar or added sweeteners whatsoever, (even fruit sugar, with a few low-glycemic index fruits like berries). No caffeine either. Lots of insulin-balancing supplements. Lots of CRAVINGS. Tons of shopping and cooking everything from scratch! It's been super challenging...but just starting to tip the scales to really rewarding. My primary goal is to see if, when I stop eating sugar, the pain in my joints goes away so I can resume the life I cherished as a runner. I have no delusions about running another marathon, or even running several miles at a time. I just want to be able to go for a few jogs a week without pain in my hips and lower back. I want to do yoga without pain in my wrists. I also want to make choices about what I put in my body, rather than having a food addiction demand that I feed my body its deadly sweet drug. I've read Dr. Hyman's book, and have watched Fed Up, The Truth About Sugar, and other documentaries that have opened my eyes to how grave a problem sugar is.

Skyrocketing obesity rates are the product of something much deeper, much more systemic than "too many calories in and not enough calories out". What sugar does to our bodies and brains is -- according to recent studies with mice -- eight times more powerful than a cocaine habit. And it is in EVERYTHING. It is EVERYWHERE. Unless we become conscious consumers of both products for which we shop, and the actual nutrients (or lack thereof) we put in our mouths, we will stay stuck in the cycle: Wake up, need caffeine, need sugar, insatiable cravings for more and more; headaches, body pains, bloating, afternoon sleepiness, lack of focus, more sugar, more sugar, more sugar, insomnia! Playing by the rules of this detox is sustainable for ten days. But I am not so bold as to say I'll be able to keep up with it forever. At least not in such an absolutely structured way. I believe in balance and moderation in all things, not in depriving myself of enjoying life...including a piece of key lime pie or a handful of chocolate covered cinnamon bears now and then (those are the two obscure-ish sweets that have HAUNTED me just about every minute since the detox began). The goal is more about cultivating an awareness of my eating habits, and having more say in what they are. Recognizing that how I feel is, in such large part, up to me. If, by the end of these ten days, I feel as good as I imagine I will (based on how I feel already, and also on others' comments who have done the same detox), then the added effort and responsibility in the shopping, cooking, and self-control departments will be 100% worth it. If I can run again...I will never look back!