The sugar detox diet will help you get off carbohydrates as a primary energy source and teach your body how to burn fat for energy. We are all born fat-burners, mothers milk is 50-65% fat! We only become addicted to carbohydrates because that is what society feeds us the moment we are off of mothers milk. The easiest explanation as to why we are turned away from naturally occurring higher-quality foods very young in life is that carbohydrates are cheaper to make and easier to store and transport. Carbohydrates helped us expand the population of the planet but they also decreased our overall health and cause many of us to hold excess bodyfat and struggle with insulin related (diabetes!) health issues.
The first 10-14 days of this diet can be unbearable for some people. The withdrawal symptoms will be very strong and you may feel extremely hungry. Every time you feel hungry you are allowed to eat unlimited portions of the allowed foods. In the early stages you will not want to eat these foods, they will not seem palatable to you. This is when you will realize the truth, that you are not really hungry, you are fighting the effects of a non-stop rollercoastering blood sugar. Once you let your body get through the 2 (possibly 3) week detox period vegetables, eggs, meat and fullfat yogurt, rice and potatoes will suddenly seem incredibly tasty and fulfilling. These are the foods that will keep you lean and healthy for life with no cravings or suffering, What you previously thought of as hunger was not actually hunger, it was your blood sugar going up and down all day. By focusing on high-fat proteins and , low glycemic load carbohydrates your blood sugar will stabilize and you will no longer suffer the side effects that come along with being overweight.
Low-glycemic load vegetables - Almost all above-ground vegetables have a low glycemic load. Carrots and beets are technically below-ground but you can still eat them because they have a good carbohydrate to fiber ratio (low glycemic load). You are temporarily avoiding rice and potatoes although these will be the backbone of your carbohydrate intake when the detox is compete.
Specific food list here http://runyoncanyonbootcamp.blogspot.com/2014/03/default-diet-foods.html
Eggs - Lightly cooked or raw, preferably organic and pastured. Raw is better because it keeps the probiotics, vitamins and minerals alive. Probiotics are an extremely important part of this diet as they strengthen your digestive system and allow you to comfortably digest nutrient-dense foods. If you need to cook your eggs try to cook them as little as you can to make them palatable.
Meat - grass-fed beef, organic chicken, wild-caught fish (you are basically avoiding all factory farmed animal products. I personally only eat grass-fed beef and eat very little chicken or fish. I like beef because you can eat it in a very rare state. Rare or medium rare meat has a tremendous amount of enzymes, vitamins and minerals (as well as good fats and protein). Overcooked/charred meat is proven to be carcinogenic and something to avoid.
Other than the noted limitations eat as much of these foods as you want. This is not a calorie restrictive or weight-loss diet. You will most likely lose weight on this plan but a good deal of the weight will be water weight and systemic inflammation. The goal of this kind of diet is to get your body used to burning fats for energy as opposed to carbohydrates. For people struggling to lose weight carbohydrates are a poor fuel source as they mess with your insulin sensitivity (ability to use food as fuel instead of turning to fat) and teach the body to store food as bodyfat. Once a person restricts carbs for a couple of weeks the body switches to burning nutritional fats and bodyfat for energy. Since we can only eat so much in the form of nutritional fats (almost nobody overeats steak, fullfat yogurt or bacon) the body will quickly burn the fat we eat and then start consuming bodyfat for energy. This equals fast and easy weight-loss for people willing to stick to these protocols. This will go much further for weight-loss than calorie restriction which has proven to be useless as a long-term weight-loss tool.
No processed meats. You can eat beef, chicken, fish, pork, pretty much any form of meat so long as it is not processed. Exception to this is uncured bacon. Eat as much uncured bacon as you like but no more than 1x a day.
No coffee, unsweetened tea (no milk) is fine.
No alcohol. Period.
No rice or potatoes. Yet. After 2 weeks pass we will start adding back safe starches to your diet.
Eat 2-4x a day, try to avoid small snacks, make every meal a full meal.
Have a cheat meal of whatever you want at the end of the 14th day.
On the 15th day resume above diet but add in any form of potato or rice in one of the last 2 meals of the day. Start with either a medium to large sized potato or 1/2 cup of rice (this is dry weight). If you do not exercise regularly eat this starch at the end of your day, with your last meal. If you train regularly eat this starch in the meal just after your training session. As an athlete we will eventually add in a 2nd starch meal to your diet but not until you reach your body composition goals.
Re-evaluate at the end of 4 week #4. If you are at your body composition goals you can consider eating fruit instead of starch for your carbohydrates. This is a slippery slope for most because fruit is still a simple sugar and can easily cause the body to crave more sugars in all forms. If you decide to eat fruit at this stage, eat it as a stand-alone meal. Fruit interferes with the digestion of most other foods. Honestly, if staying lean for lifetime is something you desire you will be 100% fine never eating any fruit.
