14 Day Sugar Detox COMPLETED! Before & After Pics and Meal Ideas too!

Wow, I can't believe the 14 day sugar detox is over and I did it!  When I first started I thought there was no way I was going to make it without sugar or gluten or dairy for one day, let alone 14!  I am so glad I did this.  If you missed my other posts about the start of this journey, please check them out here first:  Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

Now, that the 14 days are over, I am happy to report that I really do feel great and think that I am planning on continuing to eat gluten free and dairy free and MOSTLY sugar free!  I wouldn't say I have tons of extra energy, but it's just different, level energy throughout the day.  I'm not having the sugar crashes and highs and lows I was having before.  Definitely a lot less bloating and puffy feeling as well.  I have added back in a few natural sweeteners like maple syrup (to make some gluten free cookies), but that's about it so far.  And I really don't feel too deprived!  During the 14 days, I lost another 5 lbs (in addition to the 4.4 I had lost previously when I started cutting carbs about a week earlier), plus I lost over 10 inches overall too!  My clothes fit better, I have gone down a shirt size, dress size, & pants size and I feel great!  I don't know if these before and after pictures really show that much difference, but I'm going to share them anyway . . . Here goes me being brave:

I post these only to show that if I can do it in the midst of my crazy and busy life, anyone can!  And if I can do it, a former addicted to sugar person (REALLY), than anyone can!  It really, really feels good to even have 9 lbs off of me . . . I feel lighter and like the simplest things that were sometimes tiresome before, are not as much anymore.  It really makes a difference overall.  I am still not totally to my goal, but I think that if I continue to eat clean and eat real foods like this, without all the processed stuff, that I will get there sooner rather than later!   In my last post, I shared a lot of sweet alternative treats I was trying, but here are also some pics of the actual meals that I've had for dinner.  Most all have at least been "tried" by the kids and my hubby has eaten them all with me too.     Paleo Stuffed Peppers

Meatloaf Muffins

Chicken & Veggie Stir Fry, made with coconut aminos instead of soy sauce, with Cauliflower Rice

Chicken Veggie Meatballs with Pesto Zucchini Noodles made with a Veggetti (found at Walgreens in the "as seen on tv section) - forgot to take a pic of our actual meal for this, but it was so yummy!

Almost 5 ingredient pizza spaghetti pie . . . one of my favorites so far!

And now that my 14 days is over, I can finally have some of my long awaited gluten free paleo snicker doodle cookies!  These are soooooo good and tasty!  

I also tried these chocolate chip cookies that were so delicious!  (Ate them too fast to get a pic! :-)  I also tried this paleo chocolate mug cake that is easy and fast and hits the spot! I even found a way to make healthy whipped cream!  Coconut whipped cream on my berries is great too!

So, as you can see, healthy, gluten free & no-sugar-added sweet treats are out there, and very good!  As long as I can keep up with having ingredients on hand to make some of these treats, I think it makes this diet very do-able.     I have started using Pinterest more to collect the recipes I find.  I am putting them on a board called Paleo Recipes.  You can see the board over in my sidebar on this blog too.  Feel free to follow me on Pinterest to see more of what I find worthy of pinning!  (I'm a new pinner, so be patient . . . )   Thanks for coming along with me on my sugar detox journey.  I hope you've learned something you didn't know before, or maybe been inspired to try something similar yourself!  Please let me know if you have any questions, and I'd be happy to help you on your health journey as well!