Here’s How I Was Finally Able To Overcome My Out-Of-Control Sugar Addiction

I receive my Your Super goodies in the mail, and the box is full of nicely packaged powders and plant proteins that I have no idea how to use. Luckily, Your Super provides a five-day detox plan e-book that explains all of these things; otherwise, I’d be completely lost.

The pre-detox information suggests that I take pre-plan photos of myself and write about how I’m feeling. This is optional, but it sounds like a good idea to me. The best motivation is seeing improvement from where you started. I don’t own a scale, so I’m going to have to weigh myself at the gym this week, but I think I’m about 150 pounds.

How am I feeling? Honestly, I’m a little nervous that I won’t be able to stick with a plan like this. My husband is an amazing cook, but he likes to do his own creative thing in the kitchen. Having to adhere to specific rules will be a challenge for us. And I say "us" because let’s be honest: If I’m going to succeed here, he will have to help me out. I’m not exactly Rachael Ray!

I’m also feeling excited to finally try some sort of a program that holistically looks at my health, well-being, and weight. Do I struggle with weight? I guess from an outsider perspective, no. I’m athletic with a medium build and definitely still benefit from "thin privilege." Off-the-rack, straight-sized clothing fits me just fine. People don’t give me side-eye when I sit next to them on airplanes. I don’t have to worry about the many biases that the plus-size community grapples with on a day-to-day basis.

But weight is absolutely something I think about on a day-to-day basis, and mostly it’s from the perspective of wanting to lose it. I work out a lot, and I know I would more clearly see the results of my sweaty efforts if I could just lean out a bit. Unfortunately, I really like large portions and after-dinner cereal, so sue me. Ultimately, this plan is about resetting my relationship to sugar and processed foods, and if I happen to lose a few pounds in the process, that’s cool with me.

Wish me luck: I’m starting on Sunday!

I've decided that I'll adhere to Your Super's five-day detox plan with some substitutions here and there based on my body’s needs and my personal preferences. I like having a clear list of what meals I'm going to eat each day, along with an ingredients list, so this makes it super simple for me.

I wake up around 8:45 am and take my doggo on a long walk. When I come home, my husband and my brother-in-law are still cleaning the kitchen from the shindig we hosted the night before, so I not-so-patiently butt in and start preparing my first-ever smoothie on this detox plan. Ingredients are as follows:

• 2 tbsps. Your Super Skinny Protein
• 2 tsps. Your Super Super Green
• 1 big handful spinach 
• 1 fresh mango 
• ¼ cucumber 
• 1 cup coconut water 
• ½ cup frozen mango

I take my first sip, and boy does it taste green! Really, it’s a delicious smoothie, but I’m a bit surprised at the lack of fat in this one, since it’s the first meal to start the day. Usually, I add full-fat Greek yogurt and/or almond butter to my smoothies, so I was definitely a bit wary of actually feeling full after sipping down my breakfast.

This would come into play later.

I have just moved to a new house, so mostly my days are all about job work and housework. Today I have to make some returns and hit up Home Depot (which is basically where I live now). Since I ate such a late breakfast, I don't want to eat before I leave for my errands, but that turns out to be a mistake. By the time we’ve been out for a few hours, the hanger begins to set in, and Home Depot is no place for a hangry lady like me.

When I finally get home around 4:30 p.m., I need to get a huge salad in me, stat! I whip it up, take a taste, and decide that because I’m used to more salt/sweet in my diet, I need a few additions. Here's the result: 

• Mixed greens
• Avocado
• Cucumber
• Cooked green peas
• Cooked brown rice
• Pumpkin seeds
• Super Green
• Raisins
• Raw walnut pieces
• Dressing of tahini, water, Skinny Protein, and black pepper

With the extra ingredients, I am incredibly happy with the flavor of my ginormous salad and feel very satisfied after chowing it down over an episode of Southern Charm on Bravo.

Dinner is the Forever Beautiful smoothie with berries, beets, and bananas. I really love all of the healthy smoothie recipes I’m learning, and I had no idea you could put raw beets in your smoothie! And my husband doesn't make me suffer through watching him eat a huge plate of pasta with homemade sauce and cheese. He eats outside. 

I wake up this morning at 6 a.m. feeling pretty good and energized. I have one cup of decaf coffee sans half-and-half, mostly because I’m addicted to the ritual. I’m not sure if decaf is against the rules since caffeine isn’t allowed. There are supposedly trace amounts of caffeine in decaf, but I am improvising and adjusting so as not to make myself completely miserable. Next, I work for a while and then take my doggo out for his morning constitutional.

When I get back around 8:30 a.m., I whip up my Mean Green morning smoothie with Skinny Protein, Super Green, kale, banana, lemon, coconut water, dates, mango, and avocado. It’s tasty but a little more textural than it probably should be — maybe I need a better blender.

I definitely miss eggs and avocado toast, but a breakfast smoothie isn’t too far off from a normal morning from me, so I’m feeling good.

Another day, another hilariously huge salad for lunch! This one has mixed greens, cucumber, yellow peppers, avocado, walnuts, brown rice, and a dressing of mustard, apple cider vinegar, and Super Green. I’ve got to hand it to these recipes; they really are yummy, and you can taste how clean you’re eating. Which, I realize, might sound like a backhanded compliment, but it’s not. 

I just ate, and it’s around 1 pm, so hopefully this will keep me satiated until my liquid dinner. If not, I do have dates and walnuts to snack on, as well as fresh fruit!

I let my husband eat dinner with me while I drink a smoothie. Honestly, just smelling his grilled meat kind of makes me feel like I'm eating it. My smoothie is really tasty, but a little later, I'm already hungry, so I eat half a cup of the brown rice and peas I had prepared on Sunday. I use apple cider vinegar as a seasoning, and it really fills me up!

Looking back on the day, I felt surprisingly energized all day. I didn't crave sugar, and I was even able to do a 45-minute boot-camp-style workout class and an hour-long walk with my dog after that. I did need a few extra calories because of this, and that’s why I ate the rice. Full disclosure: I also had a few pieces of fresh watermelon because I thought I deserved it, and it felt just right for my body.

Hectic morning workwise. I finally get to take my dog out for a short walk, but then the HVAC guys who were scheduled to come over later end up arriving early, so we have to cut our walk short. When I get back, I have a bunch of things I need to do before I can make my smoothie, but when I do, it includes celery, frozen berries, bananas, Super Green, Skinny Protein, spinach, lime juice, cucumber, and almond milk. I like the celery and cucumber flavor quite a lot. The smoothie was supposed to be made with water and without frozen berries, but I substituted based on my preferences this morning. All of my subs are things from my shopping list, so I figure it’s OK!

An hour and a half after breakfast, I am feeling some hunger, but I can wait it out till lunch time.

It's lunchtime, and I am huuuuungry! I get to eat solid foods now, and I am very excited. My salad includes mixed greens, steamed broccoli, shaved carrots and broccoli, avocado, walnuts, peas, brown rice, and a dressing of tahini, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, and cayenne pepper. I may have overdone it with the cayenne, because this is one spicy salad. I’m a fan of spicy foods, however, so I’m not mad at it.

I’m starting to become accustomed to eating tons of green leafy stuff out of a giant bowl. I’ll probably stick with these for lunch in the future. It’s a great habit to get into, and if I can eat completely clean for one meal a day, why not do it?

Also, I must say that this style of eating (sans salt and dairy) is really forcing me to explore flavors in a new way, and I’m really happy about it. I know my dependency on salt and sugar is real and something I need to be mindful of as I eat. This plan is also forcing me to do way more of my own meal prep, and I’m feeling very self-sufficient, though I think my husband is feeling a little bit left out …

I go a little AWOL with my smoothie this evening and use banana, frozen berries, Justin’s brand peanut butter, spinach, Chocolate Lover mix, Forever Beautiful, and almond milk. It is soooooo good. I also go grocery shopping and stock up on some fresh fruits to have in case I need a snack. I take a 45-minute spin class and generate quite a caloric burn. My after-dinner snack is a cup of fresh cherries!

I almost forgot to tell you about Forever Beautiful water. It’s just ginger, lemon, cucumber, water, and a teaspoon of Forever Beautiful mix. The mix looks like dirt, but it actually tastes great in water. I’ll be making a few of these a day from now on. Even my husband likes it!

I wake up needing coffee, but no caffeine is allowed, so my husband and I take our dog and walk to a coffee shop. Thankfully, they have decaf iced Americanos and unsweetened almond milk, so I have myself a tasty “cheat.” It is so good! My breakfast smoothie is also delicious with spinach, banana, frozen berries, Justin’s peanut butter, coconut milk, frozen mango, Super Green, and Skinny Protein. I'm feeling full and energized!

Best moment of the day so far is discovering that if I mix Forever Beautiful with iced chamomile tea, lemon, ginger, and cucumber, it tastes like sunshine — that is all!

I finally have some warm food today! I'm supposed to roast sweet potatoes for today’s salad, but work is so busy today that time gets away from me, and I find myself ready to eat a cat around 1 pm. I check out the list of approved recipes, and beans are on it; the only issue is cooking them without oil. But I can use tahini and lemon juice and a bit of water, and that does the trick! Lunch is a raw spinach salad with brown rice, heated white beans (no salt or oil), walnuts, and cucumber with a dressing of tahini, black pepper, mustard, apple cider vinegar, Super Green, and Skinny Protein.

Learning to plan for my coming meals is something I’m still getting used to, but it’s a really good habit to start, because often when I’m ravenous, I reach for something easy, but that something easy may not be the healthiest option.

I decide to go to boot camp again because I have tons of energy, so something’s gotta be working! For dinner, I do a repeat of last night’s smoothie because it was just so good, except this time I add lime juice, and it's a revelation! Chocolate and lime are such a fun combo.

The first thing I think when I open my eyes is, "It’s the last day of my cleanse, and I can eat pizza tomorrow!” So that’s where my head’s at! Work is insanely busy this morning starting at 6 am, and I have meetings from 7:30 am to 9:30 am, so I'm not able to make myself a smoothie. Luckily, when I start to droop from low blood sugar, my husband sees that I'm not going to make it and jumps in to make my morning smoothie. He uses banana, frozen berries, spinach, peanut butter, almond milk, Skinny Protein, and Super Green. Lifesaver! Afterward, I decide to try the Energy Bomb power pack in a glass of water, and I’m flying high!

One of my friends texts me this morning to check in on me, asking if I've cheated at all. I tell her I've been incredibly pious. I've stuck to only the allowed foods in the plan and stayed pretty much on schedule with minimal snacking. And then I think about how difficult I expected this whole thing to be, and I'm happy to say it hasn't been that tough. My body has been feeling good, my mind is clear, and, most importantly, I’m resetting my relationship with sugar, salt, caffeine, and alcohol.

My lunch is a large, filling, delicious salad of mixed greens, roasted sweet potato, avocado, broccoli and carrot slaw, yellow pepper, and a dressing of mustard, apple cider vinegar, pepper, and Super Green. Delish! Yes, my husband is eating a pulled pork sandwich because he's a traitor!

My last and final smoothie on this detox tastes sweeter than ever, and not only because it's made with Forever Beautiful, Super Green, two dates, sweet potato, frozen berries, and almond milk! I'm also pretty excited to wake up tomorrow morning and eat some solid food for breakfast.

I have to say at the end of this, I’m feeling healthy, energized, and focused. I can tell that my sugar cravings after dinner have subsided substantially, and I know I will continue to use the Your Super powders in my smoothies, salad dressings, and infused-waters. I’ll also continue to try to eliminate processed foods and unnecessary sugar and salt where I can. This detox definitely put me in a better place with my overall understanding of how food affects my energy levels and physical self.

Something I said at the beginning of this detox was that I was going to need my husband’s help. I had become incredibly reliant on him to prepare food, and this plan has taught me to be more self-sufficient in the kitchen. That is something that I am proud of.

Another thing I thought about at the beginning of this cleanse was weight loss. I have decided not to weigh myself at the end, as that’s not what this whole thing was about for me. Sure, I’m probably down a few pounds, but I don’t feel like that’s what’s important for me in this journey. Instead, I can feel proud that I’ve been able to exhibit self-control when it comes to my intake of sugar, salt, caffeine, and alcohol, and I’ve been able to reset my relationship with those things.

I do believe in "everything in moderation" and am not someone who wants to have an incredibly restrictive relationship with food, but I do think clean eating is part of that balance. Incorporating more clean meals into my weekly eating schedule is something I can stick with, and augmenting those foods with the Your Super supplements will continue to give me energy and inspire me to think more consciously about what I put into my body on a day-to-day basis.

If you're interested in trying out this detox, follow the link to Your Super and use code LITTLETHINGS for 15 percent off at checkout!

LittleThings was gifted these products from the brand free of charge but that in no way influences the way we comment on or review them.