I Quit Sugar - Week 4 Recap

Week 1
Week 2
Reading Food Labels - SUGAR 
Week 3

First, apologies for making this quick and short...crazy week happening already and I hope to devote some blog time to Ragnar this week so let's chat real quick about week 4!

Perhaps the biggest news of week 4 was that I was asked to be an IQS Ambassador for the remainder of the program (and hopefully future ones!). The IQS team saw how active I was being in the forums and evidently thought I was providing good info so I was made an official ambassador. I am beyond honored as I am truly embracing the IQS lifestyle and I'm just happy to share it with others!

To recap, week 4 was about doing a little more detoxing by removing gluten, alcohol and caffeine for 5 days. I did the whole no gluten and alcohol thing but wasn't going to risk daily headaches just to give up my precious coffee for 5 days :). 

LEFT: Sauteed kale, sausage and beet hash over some wild rice mix.  This hash is actually in Sarah Wilson's I Quit Sugar for Life book and she along with the recipe she gives you tips for creating your own hashes with whatever ingredients you have on hand.
RIGHT: Veggie fried rice! This was super filling and included asparagus, zucchini, mushrooms and peas.  I stretched this to three meals, it was way too much for just two for me...which is usually not the case.

Big winner for the week were these salmon patties.  It was basically canned salmon mixed with sweet potato puree with some green onions and flour to find. The combo of salmon and sweet potatoes was really amazing. I would have never thought to combine those flavors before.  Trader Joe's came through again with bok choy already trimmed up and cleaned so I just steamed them for a couple minutes for a simple side dish.

I do want to take a minute to tell you how I've been feeling now that I'm half way through the I Quit Sugar 8-week program.  In a nutshell, pretty damn good and normal! Normal may sound like an odd choice for how I feel but that really is true.  For the past as many years as I can remember my stomach was never "normal".  I thought that bloating, constipation, upset stomach, nights in the bathroom were my normal but going through this sugar detox has taught me that it indeed is NOT normal.  I'm not bloated with uncomfortable pain after lunch every single day, I don't have to excuse myself from a room to relieve painful gas (sorry TMI, but it's true!), and most of all I'm really enjoying all the cooking and eating. 

Week 5 is our last week of keeping all fruit, sweeteners, etc out of our diet and in week 6 we will slowly reintroduce some low-fructose fruits and non-fructose sweeteners like stevia and brown rice syrup (I'll chat about those more later).  The timing is good because I'm determined to modify my oatmeal pumpkin protein bar recipe in time for Ragnar!

More Reading:

What nutrition nerds eat for breakfast - NEVER eat a boring breakfast again...yumm!!
Is magnesium the answer to your sugar addiction - never tried magnesium before but I just might try it...so many benefits!