YOUR 2024 BRAIN BRAWN MINI RESOLUTION SUGAR DETOX: WEEK 4

Originally published February 27, 2024

The Final Week of Our Sugar Detox

Are you feeling the magic of our no-sugar-added lifestyle yet? By now, you should have steady energy throughout the day, better digestion, improved sleep and level moods. You should also feel confident about your ability to read labels. Keep up the good work!

We now conclude our sugar detox by removing sugar from dinner! The same principles from lunch apply to dinner.


Navigating No-Added-Sugar When Out and About

What happens when you cannot read a label? When you are in a restaurant or at a picnic/BBQ or affair/event? How do you choose wisely? You can ask the wait staff if there is added sugar, but you may not get an accurate answer. Here are a few tips to navigate dining outside the home:
 
Where is the hidden sugar in a restaurant?

• Salad dressing--instead, ask for olive oil and vinegar or lemon on the side
• Processed meat/cold cuts, including bacon and sausage – instead, ask for grilled chicken, fish or meat
• Dried fruit--instead, ask for fresh fruit
• Condiments like mayo, ketchup or BBQ sauce--instead, ask for salsa, avocado or pesto
• Marinara sauce—there is no getting around this one, almost all restaurants add sugar to their marinara—it is a hotly debated issue in culinary circles. You can ask if they can make a quick pan tomato sauce for you without sugar or instead go with primavera sauce (PRO TIP: you can replace the added sugar in your home marinara sauce by floating one or two whole carrots in it while it simmers)
• Bread—try ditching it altogether for the night. Lettuce can also be used as an alternative to sandwich bread.

Want to enjoy a cocktail?
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Keep in mind the plain alcohols with no added sugar are: tequila, vodka, and gin. If you level up to a flavored spirit, sugar has likely been added. But remember what you add to the spirit is typically where the downfall occurs. Almost ALL mixers and fruit juices have added sugar! Here are a few examples of mixers that are sugar bombs:

• Sour mix (Margaritas)
• Cranberry juice (Cosmos)
• Tomato juice (Bloody Mary)
• Tonic
• Rose’s Lime Juice

 
To keep it free of added sugar, keep it simple with vodka and club soda or tequila with fresh lime.

Where do we go from here?

Just because we are wrapping up the resolution doesn’t mean we need to go back to our “old ways.” As we discussed in week one, added sugar can negatively impact the brain in several ways, and the average American consumes sugar in excess.

So what are some potential strategies for reducing added sugar going forward?
 
Some people are able to stay sugar-free all the time with exceptions for special occasions. Perhaps this could be you, too! It takes time to learn what works for you in real life, and to allow your palate to make that final adjustment.
 
If a no-sugar-added lifestyle doesn’t interest you, decide what your allowances will be:
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• You may wish to select specific meals of the day that, no matter what, you will keep as no-added-sugar meals. If this is the case, we strongly suggest selecting breakfast as one of those meals. This anchors the day and prevents sugar highs and lows that you have to battle the rest of the day.
  
  
• Maybe you’ll decide specific days of the week will be your dedicated no-added-sugar days. For example, maybe weekdays are unsweetened, but you allow prudent indulgences on weekends.
  
  
• At the very least, we recommend staying vigilant by reading labels and avoiding products and brands that add unnecessary sugars/sweeteners. Do you really need sugar in your yogurt, mayo, ketchup, salad dressing, nut butter and bacon? Now that your palate has shifted with this month’s sugar detox, we doubt you will miss it.
  
  
• PRO TIP: Virtually every food product you buy is available unsweetened and can be purchased at Thrive Market, an online specialty discount grocer specializing in healthy eating. Remember, most items labeled “paleo” will not have added sugar, but “Keto” items are likely to have artificial sweeteners.

We hope you enjoyed this month’s Sugar Detox! See you next week for a new resolution! Feel free to email your Motivated Mondays Coach Michele at [email protected] with your individual questions.

​TRACK YOUR PROGRESS:  YOUR MINI RESOLUTION: REDUCE YOUR SUGAR INTAKE

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