14-day sugar control detox -introduction · 2018. 10. 31. · do you have energy spikes and crashes...
TRANSCRIPT
14-Day Sugar Control Detox -Introduction
www.eatnakednow.com
Copyright © Eat Naked, LLC 2012
Congratulations!
Congratulations on taking this important step in reclaiming your relationship with your weight, your food, and most
importantly – yourself!
The 14-Day Sugar Control Detox is a great way to kick your bad habits, flush out your system, and quickly reset your
body to a new tempo. Don’t worry… you’ll still be able to eat. In fact, you’ll be eating loads of delicious, nourishing foods.
They just might be different foods than what you’re eating now.
And it’s only two weeks. You can do anything for two weeks, right?
Why start here? The two week sugar cleanse is an excellent way to re-calibrate your body’s blood sugar handling system, giving you
sustained energy, eliminating cravings, and kick-starting your new relationship with food. And did I forget to mention
weight loss? It’s one of the most effective ways to shed those unwanted pounds and set you on the right track for
continued weight loss.
Consider the following:
Do you have a few (or more) extra pounds you simply can’t seem to shed?
Do you have energy spikes and crashes at regular intervals throughout the day?
Do you feel sleepy after eating?
Do you crave sweets after a meal?
Do you reach for that mid-morning or mid-afternoon coffee, soda, or chocolate bar to help you through the day?
Do any of these factors contribute to unhealthy eating habits you have?
If you answered yes to any of these questions (and most of us do), then you’ll love the results of this two-week sugar
detox.
14-Day Sugar Control Detox - Introduction 1
What’s happening in my blood and how does it affect my waistline? Blood sugar regulation is one of your body’s topmost priorities. Your body will go to great lengths to ensure there isn’t too
much or too little sugar in your blood at any one time.
This is what healthy blood sugar handling looks like:
Insulin!
Excess blood glucose stored "in muscles/liver as glycogen!
Glucagon!Stored glycogen mobilized back "into blood as glucose!
Upper "limit!
Lower"limit!
Blo
od
Glu
co
se!
This first scenario occurs when you eat a nice, balanced meal. Your blood sugar levels (or blood glucose, as it’s officially
called) start to rise gradually. As they approach the upper limit, your pancreas secretes insulin, a hormone that tells your
body to store any extra blood sugar (glucose) as glycogen in your muscles and liver. As you go through your day and use
energy, your blood sugar levels start to drop. When they approach the lower limit, your pancreas secretes glucagon, a
hormone that tells your body to release those glycogen stores back into your blood as glucose. This keeps you going
with some good energy until you have your next meal, and the cycle repeats.
This cycle is very smooth and even. You store excess glucose as glycogen, then you mobilize it back into your blood
when you need it. Your blood sugar levels never stray outside of the optimal range, which means this is very gentle on
your body.
In this scenario you don’t notice much change in your energy levels or mood. You just feel good. You have nice
consistent energy, it’s not an emergency situation if a meal is a little delayed, and you don’t experience any crazy highs or
lows. You just feel good.
Unfortunately, not a lot of people feel this way. Poor blood sugar handling is much more common, and looks like this:
14-Day Sugar Control Detox - Introduction 2
Insulin!
Excess blood glucose stored in muscles"& liver as glycogen, the rest as fat!
Glucagon can’t mobilize glycogen quickly enough!= state of emergency for your body !
Upper "limit!
Lower"limit!
Blo
od
Glu
co
se!
-! Crave sugar (spike back up) "- Adrenals fire (cortisol)!
-! Caffeine!
= storing fat!
= not mobilizing fat & !putting body in biochemical!
state to store more fat !
This second scenario is far more common and occurs when you consume a meal dominated by starch or sugar. In this
case, your blood sugar levels spike too quickly, putting your glucose levels well above your body’s upper limit. Your
pancreas now needs to secrete significant amounts of the hormone insulin to get all that extra sugar out of your blood.
Some of this is stored as glycogen, but much of it is stored as fat. Furthermore, with all that insulin in your blood, now
blood sugar levels drop too quickly and send the body into an opposite state of emergency: low blood sugar.
When your blood sugar levels get too low, the hormone glucagon simply can’t mobilize glycogen back into your blood as
glucose quickly enough to get you out of the state of emergency. As a result, one or more of the following happens:
1. You crave sugar. This is a natural and fully appropriate response by the body in its attempt to quickly raise blood
sugar levels. Unfortunately, eating more sugar will send you right back into another sugar spike, and the cycle
repeats.
2. Your adrenal glands fire. Your body is in a state of emergency and your adrenals secrete the stress hormone
cortisol to get you through this emergency. Cortisol isn’t mobilizing any of that fat, though. In fact, cortisol is a fat
storage hormone.
3. You reach for some caffeine. Our adrenal glands get used constantly, and rarely get time to recover. When we
constantly use our adrenals without enough recovery time in between, they get tired, which leads to a condition
called adrenal fatigue. Ingesting some caffeine essentially forces these tired adrenals to fire, giving us an energy
boost in the short term, but exacerbating the problem in the long term.
14-Day Sugar Control Detox - Introduction 3
Often, we’ll reach for both something sweet and something caffeinated - the mid-afternoon coffee with a sweet treat is a
classic example of this. And of course, it just sends us right back into the same cycle all over again. We’re all familiar with
what this feels like: it’s the sugar high and sugar crash that can so easily dominate our entire energy pattern. In this
scenario, we have short bursts of energy followed by intense lows that are terribly difficult to move through without help.
We’ll crave a sweet at the end of a meal, or need to eat every couple of hours to prevent another emergency low blood
sugar situation.
Clearly this scenario is very stressful for the body as it’s constantly far out of the optimal range. Furthermore, it’s in a
constant state of fat storage: the excess glucose is stored as fat, and then not only is that fat not mobilized to get you
through the energy crash, but your body is in a further state of fat storage with the release of cortisol. The longer this
cycle continues, the more fat your body will store.
Sugar Control Detox to the Rescue!The 14-Day Sugar Control Detox is an incredibly effective way to break this cycle quickly and powerfully. For 14 days, we
take anything and everything that could possibly lead to a sugar spike out of your diet. Yes, even those things that have
nutritional benefit. This eliminates the sugar spike, which eliminates the sugar crash and essentially forces your body into
the nice, even sugar handling pattern we see in the first scenario above. Think of it as a chiropractic adjustment for your
blood sugar handling.
By eliminating the sugar spike and crash, we’ve stopped that endless fat storage cycle and evened out your energy
highs and lows. We’ve also reminded your body that fat is an important source of fuel. We have two main energy
sources: carbohydrates and fats. If you think of your metabolism as the equivalent of burning a fire, the carbohydrates
are like the kindling, and the fats are like the logs. You’d never stoke a fire all day long using only kindling because it
would burn hot, then die out, burn hot, then die out, and you’d need to be constantly fueling it all day long. Sound
familiar? This is the very same energy pattern that so many are experiencing due to poor sugar handling. In these two
weeks, we’re removing the fastest burning kindling - the sugars and starches - and thus forcing the body to burn that fat
as fuel, rather than just endlessly storing it. This is what gives us that nice, long-burning, consistent energy we all want so
badly.
To do this, we remove anything and everything that could possibly lead to a sugar or insulin spike.
What’s OUT for the 14-days? • All sugar, sweeteners, and sugar substitutes, even the ‘natural’ ones.
Let’s face it: sugar is sugar. Whether it’s raw honey loaded with enzymes or high fructose corn syrup, it’s still creating
this pattern of sugar spike and crash in our blood. For these two weeks, all of it is out. Even the non-caloric sugar
substitutes, no matter how natural they may be. Why? Because having the taste of something sweet on your tongue is
14-Day Sugar Control Detox - Introduction 4
not helping us to re-calibrate your taste buds. Also, there is some evidence that even the taste of sweet, no matter
how non-caloric or low-glycemic, causes a spike in insulin even in the absence of a spike in blood sugar. Let’s not take
any chances and keep it out.
• All grains, even whole, gluten-free grains.
This means no bread, cereals, pasta, rice, crackers, or even quinoa. Grains are a starch, and starches break down
very quickly into blood glucose, creating that very same sugar spike we are avoiding in these two weeks. Yes, even
whole grains with all that fiber break down into blood sugar quickly.
• Most fruit, with some minor exceptions.
Fruit, no matter how nutritious, is loaded with fructose and breaks down into sugar in your blood very quickly. For
these two weeks, you’re going to eliminate all fruit except one small serving of low-glycemic fruit such as a handful of
berries or half a green apple. If you do enjoy one of these low-glycemic fruits, you’ll enjoy it with something fatty such
as raw nuts or nut butter. The fat slows down the absorption of sugar into your blood, preventing that spike we’re
trying to avoid. A squeeze of lemon or lime into your water is fine, but all other fruits are off limits for these two weeks.
Also, while produce such as avocados and tomatoes are technically fruit, they are fine to eat in abundance.
• Starchy vegetables such as potatoes (all types), and cooked carrots and beets.
Vegetables will form a large part of what you’re eating over the next two weeks with a few notable exceptions: starchy
vegetables such as potatoes (including sweet potatoes and yams) and cooked carrots and beets (eaten raw, these are
fine). You’ll also want to be careful with some vegetables that are borderline starchy: winter squash and corn for
example. These are fine eaten whole and in moderation (i.e., no corn tamales or tortillas), but do make sure to keep
portion sizes small.
• Alcohol.
Yup, these are going to be a dry two weeks. Alcohol (all alcohol) is just another form of sugar. Enough said.
• Dairy.
Dairy doesn’t create a spike in blood sugar (especially full-fat dairy), but it is “insulinemic”, which essentially means that
it causes a spike in insulin even in the absence of a spike in glucose. We want to avoid any spikes of sugar and/or
insulin, so we’ll cut it out for these two weeks. Furthermore, dairy (especially pasteurized, unfermented dairy) is one of
the top food sensitivities, so by cutting it out, we can use these two weeks as an elimination diet and see if you’re
sensitive to it when we reintegrate back after the cleanse.
• Unfermented soy.
Of all beans, soy is the most difficult to digest, and is essentially undigestible unless it’s consumed in one of its
fermented forms: as miso, tamari or shoyu soy sauce (ideally gluten-free), tempeh, and natto. Any other form of soy -
including soy milks, tofu, and any soy components found in so many processed food items - are extremely hard on the
digestive system. Other than very small servings of fermented soy, it’s out for these two weeks.
14-Day Sugar Control Detox - Introduction 5
What’s IN for the 14 days? You might be wondering with all that we’ve taken out of the diet, what on earth is left to eat? Lots. You’ll be enjoying:
• Loads of fresh vegetables.
Vegetables will make up a significant portion of what you eat over the 14 days. They are the cleansing element of this
program. With the exception of the starchy vegetables noted above, you can go crazy here. Eat as many vegetables
as you like prepared in any way other than deep-fried or juiced (juicing removes the fiber and leaves you with too many
easily-digested sugars that can lead to a spike in blood glucose). You can eat them raw, lightly steamed, lightly
sautéed, or even roasted. It’s hard to overdo it. Mix it up! Take the opportunity to experiment with veggies you might
not have tried or even heard of. Our meal plan recommends some interesting uses of vegetables to give you a little
inspiration.
• Healthy proteins.
Protein forms a vital part of this cleanse and you’ll want to make sure you have at least some protein with every meal.
When we say “healthy” proteins, we’re talking about both quality and the source of the protein. For example: eggs and
meat from chickens that were pastured (or, at the very least, organic and free range); beef from cows raised on grass
(or, at the very least, organic); wild fish; and so on. Not only is this protein you can feel good about eating from an
ethical and environmental perspective, it’s nutritionally far superior. You don’t need to eat a lot of it - but you do need to
eat some at each main meal.
• Healthy fats.
Fat is a vitally important nutrient that you’ll want to incorporate into every meal and snack during these two weeks. It
has been falsely demonized by so much of the health and wellness industry. Fat is in every cell membrane, it allows for
the digestion and absorption of fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, and K), it’s required for the proper digestion of protein, it’s
a precursor for our hormones, it helps regulate inflammation, and very importantly, it provides that steady, slow-burning
fuel that keeps us going between meals. Eating fat does not lead to the bodily condition of being fat. It is critical that
you understand this, so I’ll repeat it: eating fat does not lead to the bodily condition of being fat. Eating sugar leads to
the bodily condition of being fat for the reasons explained above. Interestingly, consuming fat also triggers the body’s
satiation mechanism, meaning it’s the thing that makes you feel full, and feeling full helps you avoid overeating. Now,
not all fat is created equal, and so let’s define what is a “healthy fat”.
This is an enormous topic and one that could easily (and has) take up its own book. (I recommend reading the “Naked
Fats” chapter in my book Eat Naked if this topic interests you.) The health of a fat is not about its molecular structure.
In other words, it’s not whether that a fat is saturated or unsaturated that makes it healthy or not. Both types of fat are
equally important and play different roles in your body. The health of a fat is in its quality and how you use it. Toxins
tend to accumulate in fat, so you want to make sure that the fats you eat are organic and if they come from an animal,
that animal was raised in a healthy, appropriate environment (e.g., butter from grass-fed cows raised on pasture is
nutritionally far superior to butter from feedlot-raised cows fed genetically modified corn and soy).
14-Day Sugar Control Detox - Introduction 6
How you use the fat is important, too: saturated fats such as coconut oil, butter, and ghee are far more stable and thus
appropriate for cooking. Unsaturated fats such as extra virgin olive oil or nut/seed oils are much less stable, and thus
are appropriate for use on food after it’s been cooked. We have included a list of fats that are in and out, and how best
to use them over the 14 days in the food list below.
• Beans, nuts, and seeds.
You can supplement your meals with some cooked beans and raw nuts and seeds. Beans are a little starchy, but they
don’t convert to glucose in your blood as quickly as the other things we’ve removed. They make a nice filler as they
provide that starchy feeling without the corresponding sugar spike. Raw nuts and seeds are also a great supplement
to meals providing a little extra fat and protein, and they make an excellent snack especially when accompanying some
low glycemic fruit.
• Lots of water and herbal teas.
For beverages over the course of these two weeks, you’re going to be drinking primarily water and herbal teas.
Hydration is vitally important and we recommend you drink at least half your body weight in ounces of water daily. For
example, if you weigh 180lbs, you’ll want to drink at least 90oz of water every day. That’s probably a lot more water
than you’re currently drinking. Proper hydration is required for the function of every cell in your body and to flush out
any toxins that are mobilized during this cleanse, and you’ll feel loads better if you stay hydrated during these two
weeks.
If this sounds overwhelming, never fear. We have a comprehensive food list on the following page, and we’ve included a
full two-week meal plan in a separate document along with its own grocery list to make things easier for you. Eating
without starch takes a little getting used to, but you’ll find that it’s different, but not overly difficult. And we’ve given you
lots of tools to take out as much of the thinking as possible.
14-Day Sugar Control Detox - Introduction 7
Sugar Control Foods List
What’s In What’s Out
High Quality Protein – Your foundationEach meal should include a minimum of 4 to 6 ounces of
high quality protein. Eat as much as you desire. Meat,
poultry, fish, and eggs are unlimited. Here are some
guidelines for how to pick quality proteins:
Beef or other red meats (lamb, buffalo, etc):
Best: organic, grass-fed (aka “pastured”), free range
meats. These are naturally leaner, higher quality and much
more nutritional.
Good: organic, grain-fed meats. Slightly fattier, but still
organic.
Avoid: Conventional meats.
Poultry:
Best: Organic, free range poultry. As with beef, these are
naturally leaner, higher quality and much more nutritional.
Good: Organic grain-fed poultry. Slightly fattier because
of lack of access to outdoors and activity, but still organic.
Avoid: Conventional poultry.
Fish:
Best: Wild caught fish. “Wild caught” is the Aquarian
equivalent to “free range”
Good: Wild caught seafood
Avoid: Farmed fish and seafood.
Eggs:
Best: Organic, pastured eggs. These naturally have the
right balance of Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids, and are far
superior nutritionally to conventional eggs.
Good: Organic eggs. These are next best, as the
chickens have typically a more balanced diet and thus
produce eggs that are nutritionally strong.
Avoid: Conventionally produced eggs
Over-processed, Low Quality Protein Over-processed protein is meat, eggs or fish that have
been modified from their original state. For example liquid
egg products (especially the egg white only versions) and
processed deli meats are both over-processed proteins.
Choose the real thing. Eat whole eggs (yes, even the
yolks), and cook your own meat, slicing it for later use. If
that’s not feasible, then freshly-sliced meat from the deli
counter is your next best bet.
I also recommend you steer clear of protein powders and
bars. First off, it’s almost impossible to find these without
any added sugar or sweetener of some kind. Also, most
are made with either whey (dairy) or unfermented soy
protein and so are on the no-no list. Choose whole, real
foods. The results are worth the extra effort.
14-Day Sugar Control Detox - Introduction 8
What’s In What’s Out
Vegetables – Go crazy!Eat as many vegetables as you want; you simply can’t eat
too many veggies. Focus on dark leafy greens, as well as
veggies of a variety of bright and rich colors.
Vegetables bring the cleansing element to this two-week
program. Eat some vegetables raw or lightly cooked with
every meal. They should make up 50-75% of your plate
(yes, even at breakfast).
Buying guidelines for produce:
Best: organic, fresh, local, seasonal produce. Your local
farmer’s market is an excellent source.
Next best: local & fresh
Good: organic and fresh or frozen
Worst: canned (one exception: organic canned tomatoes)
Starchy vegetables Starchy vegetables are veggies such as potatoes, yams,
and cooked carrots and beets that convert to sugar faster
and have less fiber than other veggies.
The key with starchy vegetables is the cooking. If you’re
eating them raw, you’re fine (but we don’t normally eat
raw potatoes…) but once you cook them the sugars are
released and more easi ly absorbed into your
bloodstream.
Fats – wholesome, natural fatsBecause you’re not eating starchy carbs, your body is
going to learn how to use fat for energy during this two
week period. That’s a good thing! You need fat to burn
fat, and fat gives you much more sustained energy than
carbohydrates.
Eat plenty of wholesome natural fats with every meal.
You will not increase your results by skipping out on this
piece. In fact, you’ll make the transition harder on your
body and not get the same benefits from the cleanse
without the fats.
Include fats such as:
For cooking: organic butter, coconut oil, ghee, lard
For very low-heat cooking: extra virgin olive oil
For cold dressings and sauces: flax seed oil, hemp
seed oil, sesame seed oil, walnut oil, borage oil
Fats – Artificial fats or oilsNot all fat is created equal. Be sure to avoid all artificial
fats or oils such as margarine, vegetable shortening, and
highly processed vegetable oils such as canola, soy, or
any other hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils.
Note: most commercially-produced foods such as salad
dressings, sauces, and such, contain overly refined
vegetable oils and/or hydrogenated or partially
hydrogenated oils. Avoid these completely during these
two weeks.
Avoid low-fat and fat-free: while it might seem counter-
intuitive to be consuming fatty foods as you’re looking to
shed pounds, avoid anything low-fat or fat-free. Fats are
actually a very important part of your diet, and it’s the
quality of fat more than the quantity that’s important.
Furthermore, when fat is removed from a food, it doesn’t
taste as good, and sugar is often what’s added in as a
replacement.
14-Day Sugar Control Detox - Introduction 9
What’s In What’s Out
Fruits – one small daily serving of low-
glycemic fruitOne or two pieces of fruit daily is plenty for normal
physiology; on this diet however, fruit is not
recommended.
That said, one small serving a day of low-glycemic fruits
such as half an apple or a handful of berries can be a
good snack. Make sure to always accompany fruit with
something fatty, such as raw nut butter or raw nuts.
You can always have a squeeze of lemon or lime in water
or on your food. This doesn’t count as ‘fruit’.
Fruit – generally not included for these two
weeksWhile whole fruit is very healthful, it is also high in sugar
(albeit natural sugars) and thus not recommended for this
two-week sugar cleanse.
Any fruit other than those listed in the “What’s In” column
are out. This means no citrus, bananas, melons, papayas,
peaches, dates, plums, etc.
Beans - properly preparedFor the starchy feel you might miss during these two
weeks, we recommend including some properly prepared
beans. While they do contain some starch, they also
contain enough fat and protein to slow down the
absorption of sugar in the blood, and so are a nice option
for these two weeks.
“Properly prepared” means beans that have been properly
soaked and cooked to remove the anti-nutrients which
are responsible for beans’ bad reputation for digestive
disturbance. Canned beans are fine, but do make sure to
rinse them well before using them.
Grains of any kindFor these two weeks, you’ll consume no grains of any
kind. Even the gluten free grains such as quinoa and
millet. For these two weeks, all of them are out.
This means no pasta, bread, rolls, crackers, tortillas, rice,
or any food product with any kind of grain (gluten-free or
not) in it.
Remember: it’s only two weeks!
Nuts – raw, or soaked and dehydrated/
slow roastedRaw nuts and seeds make a nice snack or addition to
meals. They add a nice crunch and a little extra fat.
Raw nuts are fine. Even better are nuts that have been
soaked overnight and either dehydrated or slow roasted.
Here’s an article on the benefits of soaking nuts.
Nuts - Processed or flavoredWhile raw nuts are a delicious and healthful part of this
program, roasted, salted, or otherwise processed or
flavored nuts are not recommended.
14-Day Sugar Control Detox - Introduction 10
What’s In What’s Out
Small serving of fermented soySoy is only digestible to humans in its fermented form:
tempeh, miso, natto, or Tamari or Shoyu soy sauce. Even
edamame is very hard on the digestive system.
For these two weeks, the only form of soy will be
fermented soy, and in very small servings. There is
absolutely no need for soy in these two weeks, so if you
don’t feel compelled to eat it, that’s fine.
Unfermented soy of any typeUnfermented soy is extremely hard on the digestive
system. For this reason, we’re cutting it out completely for
the duration of these two weeks. No soy milk,
conventional soy sauce, tofu, soy protein powders, soy
faux meats or cheese, or any other soy by-products.
Beverages - water & herbal teaFor these two weeks, you’ll only be drinking beverages
without any sugars. Some examples:
Water - Water will form the bulk of what you drink. Strive
to drink at least half your body weight in ounces of water
(e.g., if you weigh 150lbs, you want to drink 75oz of
water). To make the water more palatable, add some
fresh squeezed lemon, lime, cucumber, or mint to your
water.
Diluted coconut water - Coconut water is very
hydrating. It also has some sugars in it, so we
recommend you dilute it to a ratio of 50% water, 50%
coconut water, and limit your intake to 8oz of coconut
water daily.
Herbal teas - Herbal teas are very hydrating and can be
considered part of your daily water intake.
Mineral water - Mineral water in moderation (no more
than 8oz per day) is a fine option. Add a squeeze of
lemon or lime.
Coffee and black/green tea - These beverages are
diuretics, so proceed with caution. If you must drink them,
omit all sweeteners and use unsweetened hemp or
almond milk in place of dairy or soy milks.
Beverages - juices, soda, energy drinks,
alcoholAny beverage that isn’t specified in the “What’s In”
column isn’t included in this two-week program. This
includes all juices (even vegetable juices), all soda (even
“diet”), all energy drinks, and all alcohol.
14-Day Sugar Control Detox - Introduction 11
What’s In What’s Out
You’re sweet enough as it is! :) Sweeteners of any kindNo sweeteners of any kind are allowed for the duration of
these two weeks. Not even the natural ones such as
Stevia, honey, maple syrup, or molasses.
While these sweeteners may not have the same caloric
value as sugar, they have the same negative impact on
your blood sugar handling.
Artificial non-sugar sweeteners are also not included
because they have their own extensive list of health
implications and can actually trigger an insulin response
even in the absence of a blood sugar response.
Overall, we don’t want the taste of sugar on your tongue
at all over these two weeks. This will re-calibrate your
taste buds, one of the important elements to making the
changes on this program sustainable even after you’ve
transitioned back to your new normal.
14-Day Sugar Control Detox - Introduction 12