It’s incredible how strongly my Sugar Dragon came back after Valentine’s Day when I ate all of the treats at work! I didn’t hold back!

Everything definitely tasted super sweet that first day, but it’s amazing how quickly I got used to it! 😳

Things likely to Go Wrong with too much sugar:

• My arms and feet get tingly and are more likely to go numb
• My body is extra stiff when I get out of bed in the morning
• I feel hungover even if I haven’t had any alcohol the night before
• My head is foggy
• My skin looks blotchy and could start breaking out
• I feel sick! Ewwww

After adding sugar back into my diet for just a week, I definitely felt more tired and I wasn’t sleeping as well. I had plenty of late nights during the Whole30 and never felt this rough the next day!

The term “Sugar Dragon” comes from Melissa Hartwin Urban, the creator of the Whole30. And she mentions it a lot in her Whole30 Day by Day journal especially in the first week of your Whole30 journey. Here is a link to her posts about Training Your Sugar Dragon.

Melissa says, “The only way to slay the Sugar Dragon is to starve it, which is why the Whole30 rules are so strict.”

This experience got me thinking that I should probably do some more research into how Sugar affects the brain. I am well aware of how sugar affects the body because its effects on my body are so obvious.

I found a TED-Ed video that was simple enough to understand and interesting enough to hold my attention for 5 whole minutes. haha. I’d like to find a similar video geared toward children to show my students! They need a wake up call when it comes to what they eat!

So, after only nine days (it had only been 9?!?) off the wagon, I was ready to be strict Paleo again. The benefits are incredible. Sleeping better means feeling better and that means being better at my job!

And while Whole30 didn’t relieve all of my pain, it definitely made things better! And easier! I woke up faster, moved more easily with less stiffness. Very little numbness in my feet or hands.

One morning after eating far too much sugar, my feet were SO unhappy! I’d been standing in the kitchen for hours making gnocchi and I happened to look down at my feet. They were so read! And actually seemed swollen! It had to be connected to my diet!

I guess I’m just an all or nothing person. And I may always be this way. It’s disappointing especially when my mother has extreme discipline and can eat just one little piece of chocolate at day and be satisfied. Or one glass of wine. Or one handful of chip. Well, my father is the opposite and I guess I inherited my need to finish the whole bag of chips or chocolate bar from him! 

It was important that I write all of this down because my willpower has totally been in the toilet lately!

Thankfully, I really enjoy cooking and creating Whole30 and Paleo meals that are delicious and unique. I relish the challenge! Now I just have to get back to making conscious, deliberate decisions about what I eat! Thanks for teaching me that Whole30!