Sugar Detox - Exercising through the Withdrawals

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mardetox
mardetox Posts: 26 Member
Hello!

I have started a sugar detox that I expect to last 30 days (if not more if I am happy at the end!) I am on day 3 and I am so exhausted I feel like I could fall over. I also am trying to lose 20 lbs by eating 1200 calories a day and doing at least 30 minutes of cardio 5 days a week. You know, that whole shebang.

Today though, I feel too beat to exercise. My question is - do I push through the fatigue and get 30 in? Has anyone else experienced withdrawal symptoms from sugar? Thanks!
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Replies

  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
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    It's psychological. Unless you have been eating all meat for 3 days, you have been eating sugar, so the withdrawals are unlikely.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    edited July 2015
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    What is your weight loss "speed" set to? 2Lbs a week? with 20LBs to lose...that's probably not going to happen. And probably not enough calories. What's your height/weight/age?

    As for the fatigue from reducing sugar (and probably therefore carbs), increasing fats can help. But you might just have to wait that out. Folks often feel awful when they reduce added sugars and therefore carbs. If you're not trying to be "low carb" add some fruits, and some beans.

    But again: my eyes are drawn to that 1200 calorie figure and wondering if that's much too aggressive.
  • charlisobel
    charlisobel Posts: 31 Member
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    Hey - I feel your pain! I'm not doing a specific "detox" but am on day three of just generally eating healthy and avoiding sugary snacks (my nemesis). Am getting horrendous headaches. Have exercised on both days though because even gentle exercise makes me feel better and more energised afterwards. I'd say go for it - something is better than nothing.
  • Alluminati
    Alluminati Posts: 6,208 Member
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    OP, I think you're tired from eating so little.
  • magdalen13
    magdalen13 Posts: 62 Member
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    Hey! I'm doing something similar switching to Paleo-style eating, no sugar other than from veggies & fruit for the last 2 weeks. It took me till like day 5 to be exhausted but still... Feel your pain. I think the best thing to do is take a few days off, there's no sense in pushing when you're exhausted, that just causes overwork & increases your stress levels which doesn't help with the detox... Take a nap & let your body adjust to the change :) I skipped most of a week & still lost 5 lbs right off as your body balances out the sugars, water, fats etc.
  • martyqueen52
    martyqueen52 Posts: 1,120 Member
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    mardetox wrote: »
    Hello!

    I have started a sugar detox that I expect to last 30 days (if not more if I am happy at the end!) I am on day 3 and I am so exhausted I feel like I could fall over. I also am trying to lose 20 lbs by eating 1200 calories a day and doing at least 30 minutes of cardio 5 days a week. You know, that whole shebang.

    Today though, I feel too beat to exercise. My question is - do I push through the fatigue and get 30 in? Has anyone else experienced withdrawal symptoms from sugar? Thanks!

    1200 calories, 5 days a week exercise..... what are you? An 80lb. teenage girl? You need to eat more.

    Like previous posters said, unless you're eating ALL meat, you're consuming sugar. Your body doesn't need to detox at all. It does that on it's own.
  • IsaackGMOON
    IsaackGMOON Posts: 3,358 Member
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    /thread
  • mardetox
    mardetox Posts: 26 Member
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    Hornsby wrote: »
    It's psychological. Unless you have been eating all meat for 3 days, you have been eating sugar, so the withdrawals are unlikely.

    Are you able to view my diary? Happy to have input. The sugars I've been consuming are natural (fruit) but other than that, yes - I've been sticking primarily to protein and greens.
  • mardetox
    mardetox Posts: 26 Member
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    What is your weight loss "speed" set to? 2Lbs a week? with 20LBs to lose...that's probably not going to happen. And probably not enough calories. What's your height/weight/age?

    As for the fatigue from reducing sugar (and probably therefore carbs), increasing fats can help. But you might just have to wait that out. Folks often feel awful when they reduce added sugars and therefore carbs. If you're not trying to be "low carb" add some fruits, and some beans.

    But again: my eyes are drawn to that 1200 calorie figure and wondering if that's much too aggressive.

    Sorry - to clarify, I'm not trying to lose 20 lbs in 30 days, just do a 30 day sugar detox. I'm hoping to lose 20 in 80 days. 5'7/150/23

    Good tip about fats, I will definitely incorporate more! I assume you mean avocados, coconut oil, etc. The 1200 calorie goal is what myfitnesspal gave me after I entered my goals =/
  • mardetox
    mardetox Posts: 26 Member
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    Hey - I feel your pain! I'm not doing a specific "detox" but am on day three of just generally eating healthy and avoiding sugary snacks (my nemesis). Am getting horrendous headaches. Have exercised on both days though because even gentle exercise makes me feel better and more energised afterwards. I'd say go for it - something is better than nothing.

    You should add me so we can stay on track! I'm with ya :) I tried a little bit of yoga and squats/lunges (20 minutes tops) and gave up haha.
  • mardetox
    mardetox Posts: 26 Member
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    Alluminati wrote: »
    OP, I think you're tired from eating so little.

    Possibly very true, I'm not used to this but that is the direction myfitnesspal gave me.

    Here are my "goals"

    Nutritional Goals

    Goals
    Net Calories Consumed* / Day 1,200 cal/day
    Carbs / Day 150.0 g
    Fat / Day 40.0 g
    Protein / Day 60.0 g

    Fitness Goals
    Goals
    Calories Burned / Week 830 cal/week
    Workouts / Week 5 Workouts
    Minutes / Workout 30 mins

    Your Diet Profile Target
    Calories Burned
    From Normal Daily Activity 2,060 cal/day
    Net Calories Consumed*
    Your Daily Goal 1,200 cal/day
    Daily Calorie Deficit 860 calories
    Projected Weight Loss 1.7 lbs/week
  • mardetox
    mardetox Posts: 26 Member
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    magdalen13 wrote: »
    Hey! I'm doing something similar switching to Paleo-style eating, no sugar other than from veggies & fruit for the last 2 weeks. It took me till like day 5 to be exhausted but still... Feel your pain. I think the best thing to do is take a few days off, there's no sense in pushing when you're exhausted, that just causes overwork & increases your stress levels which doesn't help with the detox... Take a nap & let your body adjust to the change :) I skipped most of a week & still lost 5 lbs right off as your body balances out the sugars, water, fats etc.

    Congrats on the 5 lbs! That is awesome.
  • mardetox
    mardetox Posts: 26 Member
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    mardetox wrote: »
    Hello!

    I have started a sugar detox that I expect to last 30 days (if not more if I am happy at the end!) I am on day 3 and I am so exhausted I feel like I could fall over. I also am trying to lose 20 lbs by eating 1200 calories a day and doing at least 30 minutes of cardio 5 days a week. You know, that whole shebang.

    Today though, I feel too beat to exercise. My question is - do I push through the fatigue and get 30 in? Has anyone else experienced withdrawal symptoms from sugar? Thanks!

    1200 calories, 5 days a week exercise..... what are you? An 80lb. teenage girl? You need to eat more.

    Like previous posters said, unless you're eating ALL meat, you're consuming sugar. Your body doesn't need to detox at all. It does that on it's own.

    It's interesting that both of you who posted this are guys. Any sense in justifying that women need to eat less than men in general? I agree that 1200 is pretty low but I have done a ton of research on calorie deficits to lose weight and 1200 seems to be the range recommended, albeit nothing lower than that.

    I'm wondering if the 1200 number recommended is after exercise. Meaning, if I burn 300 calories in a day, I should really be eating 1500. But I wish myfitnesspal "goals" would just say that haha.
  • mardetox
    mardetox Posts: 26 Member
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    Wow can't believe I got so many replies so fast! Thank you everyone!
  • Alluminati
    Alluminati Posts: 6,208 Member
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    mardetox wrote: »
    Alluminati wrote: »
    OP, I think you're tired from eating so little.

    Possibly very true, I'm not used to this but that is the direction myfitnesspal gave me.

    Here are my "goals"

    Nutritional Goals

    Goals
    Net Calories Consumed* / Day 1,200 cal/day
    Carbs / Day 150.0 g
    Fat / Day 40.0 g
    Protein / Day 60.0 g

    Fitness Goals
    Goals
    Calories Burned / Week 830 cal/week
    Workouts / Week 5 Workouts
    Minutes / Workout 30 mins

    Your Diet Profile Target
    Calories Burned
    From Normal Daily Activity 2,060 cal/day
    Net Calories Consumed*
    Your Daily Goal 1,200 cal/day
    Daily Calorie Deficit 860 calories
    Projected Weight Loss 1.7 lbs/week

    How are you measuring your activity burns? MFP already has the deficit built in so you should be netting 1200 a day. MFP also tends to exaggerate exercise burns, so perhaps eat half of your exercise calories back and see how you feel. Like Hornsby said, you cannot be eating zero sugars unless you're just eating meat.

    Unless you have a medical issue with sugar, there really is no reason to "detox". If you wish to cut back on sugar as a personal choice, then have at it. But I don't think your withdrawals are coming from the lack of sugar itself. More like you might be burning yourself out from not eating enough to fuel your workouts.
  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
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    mardetox wrote: »
    Hornsby wrote: »
    It's psychological. Unless you have been eating all meat for 3 days, you have been eating sugar, so the withdrawals are unlikely.

    Are you able to view my diary? Happy to have input. The sugars I've been consuming are natural (fruit) but other than that, yes - I've been sticking primarily to protein and greens.

    I didn't look at your diary. I am just saying, you are eating sugar (natural or not) so I am not how you are having withdrawals, other than psychological, from sugar while eating sugar.

  • morning_joy
    morning_joy Posts: 1,063 Member
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    I totally did feel fatigue coming off sugar. The good news is...it won't last. Are you eating a green apple every day. It really helps to balance blood sugar and makes the cravings back off. Make sure you are drinking lots of water...it helps if there is some lemon, a dash of cinnamon and Cayenne pepper in it (I know, sounds gross but it really does work and you get use to the taste...even start to crave it. It will help you flush all that sugar out of your system. When you eat fruit, make sure it is low on the glycemic index...green apples and berries are the best. Bananas and pineapple the worst. If you eat very sugary fruit, do it early in the morning so your body has time to burn it off. You may also want to switch to almond milk because cows milk has a great deal of natural sugar.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
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    jul_ohare wrote: »
    I totally did feel fatigue coming off sugar. The good news is...it won't last. Are you eating a green apple every day. It really helps to balance blood sugar and makes the cravings back off. Make sure you are drinking lots of water...it helps if there is some lemon, a dash of cinnamon and Cayenne pepper in it (I know, sounds gross but it really does work and you get use to the taste...even start to crave it. It will help you flush all that sugar out of your system. When you eat fruit, make sure it is low on the glycemic index...green apples and berries are the best. Bananas and pineapple the worst. If you eat very sugary fruit, do it early in the morning so your body has time to burn it off. You may also want to switch to almond milk because cows milk has a great deal of natural sugar.

    sugar is not a toxin, so why would you want to flush it out of your system?

    and why would you recommend a green apple to some detoxing from sugar?????
  • RGv2
    RGv2 Posts: 5,789 Member
    edited July 2015
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    mardetox wrote: »
    mardetox wrote: »
    Hello!

    I have started a sugar detox that I expect to last 30 days (if not more if I am happy at the end!) I am on day 3 and I am so exhausted I feel like I could fall over. I also am trying to lose 20 lbs by eating 1200 calories a day and doing at least 30 minutes of cardio 5 days a week. You know, that whole shebang.

    Today though, I feel too beat to exercise. My question is - do I push through the fatigue and get 30 in? Has anyone else experienced withdrawal symptoms from sugar? Thanks!

    1200 calories, 5 days a week exercise..... what are you? An 80lb. teenage girl? You need to eat more.

    Like previous posters said, unless you're eating ALL meat, you're consuming sugar. Your body doesn't need to detox at all. It does that on it's own.

    It's interesting that both of you who posted this are guys. Any sense in justifying that women need to eat less than men in general? I agree that 1200 is pretty low but I have done a ton of research on calorie deficits to lose weight and 1200 seems to be the range recommended, albeit nothing lower than that.

    I'm wondering if the 1200 number recommended is after exercise. Meaning, if I burn 300 calories in a day, I should really be eating 1500. But I wish myfitnesspal "goals" would just say that haha.

    It has nothing to do with men or women replying. In your "research" did you even run your numbers? You're 5'7 , 150....well within a normal weight range. By your stats and admitted workout schedule, you're TDEE is around 2100-2200 cals. If you're only eating 1200 calories your eating at TDEE -44%, if you eat your exercise cals back to 1500 you're at TDEE -30%. That is the reason you feel like you could fall over.....you're not properly fueling.

    I'd be interested in where you found TDEE -30% to TDEE -45% is recommended for someone within a healthy weight range. My 6 year old eats about 1000-1200 calories a day.
  • peachyfuzzle
    peachyfuzzle Posts: 1,122 Member
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    Your body does not care what source sugar comes from. It is all processed the same way. Any negative affects you might be experience are psychosomatic.