5 Reasons I am not doing a detox

New year = new you; I get it. In fact, I had a completely different post almost completely finished when the subject for this one popped into my head. So you can be on the lookout for 5 ways to ditch sugar within the next month or so.

Cynthia from You Signed Up for What?, Courtney from Eat Pray Run DC, and Mar from Mar on the Run have shaken up the Friday Five linkup for 2016 and this week the theme is food and fitness.

I’m really looking forward to everyone’s take on it! You never know what you might learn, so make sure you click through to the other blogs. And keep in mind that this post is about me, and what is right for me, which may not be right for you.

We are all an experiment of one.

Respect my body
Maybe it was the stress or maybe it was the fact that we didn’t have a lot going on during the holidays, but I really didn’t overindulge much this holiday season. That hasn’t always been the case, especially since I love to bake.

Don’t get me wrong, I still dealt with carb and sweet cravings, and I still managed to pack on just a few extra pounds — and when you’re vertically challenged like me, even just a couple of extra pounds can make a world of difference.

Remember that respect is my 2016 word. And I do respect that I am at a healthy weight. Do I want to lose a few pounds? Sure. But there’s no reason to make drastic changes to my already fairly healthy diet.

It’s never a good idea to cut out whole food groups
This is about me. And you name it, I’ve probably tried it. Well, not the grapefuit or cabbage soup diets, but I’ve done the sugar detox, I’ve tried paleo, I’ve tried raw food . . . I’m willing to try most things because I’m curious.

I take a little bit away from everything I try and it gets incorporated into the Judy diet, which is always evolving.

I’m not cutting out carbs, I’m not going high protein or paleo, I won’t limit fruit or fat . . . I believe that almost anything has a place in a healthy diet — in moderation. Which leads me to my next point.

Deprivation never works
Tell me I can never have chocolate again and you might meet dark Judy.

Actually, that’s not true: because yes, I have tried the whole sugar detox thing, and yes, at some point, I voluntarily decided to forgo chocolate. And it didn’t even actually make me crabby.

There’s a reason for the name of my blog, though, and obviously I didn’t decide to ditch chocolate forever.

Because usually the minute you tell someone they can’t have something, guess what the only thing they want is? And guess how much they’ll overeat other things because what they really want is what they told themselves they can’t have in the first place?

It’s better to think about what you can add
Instead of depriving yourself of something you think of as unhealthy, try adding in things that are healthy —  a much healthier way to detox.

There are all sorts of healthy foods that taste really great — foods that you may have even demonized — that will fill you up and suddenly you may not even crave the thing you thought you couldn’t live without.

Warm, comforting soups and chilis and curries. Salads the color of the rainbow. Crunchy apples. Sweet bananas and grapes. Popcorn. Creamy yogurt. Tangy hummus. Smooth nut butters.

There’s a whole world of healthy food out there that’s good for you, and it usually doesn’t come out of a box! You can follow me on Pinterest and see what catches my eye, like that sweet potato mug cake (which no, I haven’t tried yet but today might be a good day for it!).

It’s not sustainable
How many times have you heard someone say I’m trying the 21 day sugar detox or whole30 for the _______ time?

Hey, been there, done that. And the truth is I do think these programs have their place and uses, and for some people, they’re absolutely life changing.

I, however, always seem to go back to whatever it is I’ve decided to cut out. I may not eat it as often as I did before trying these detoxes and that is a good thing.

I do still have those last 5 pounds to lose. The only way to lose weight, and keep it off, is to make it a lifestyle. Something that you can do for the rest of your life.

So in 2016 I am not detoxing. I did join in the 21 Day Reset Challenge, along with some other bloggers, however. I paid out of my own pocket and that isn’t an affiliate link and yes, there is still time to join in.

I may not be detoxing, but I do have some weight loss goals still and even better, this isn’t just about weight loss; it’s also about becoming a stronger runner.

 Are you deoxing for the new year? Giving up any foods?