One More Day to 21DSD

I went shopping yesterday for my 21 Day Sugar Detox plan I'm starting on Monday. I mentioned in my last post that I'm sure I will learn a lot following this plan, and the learning has already begun.

I never realized just how many products, even at natural/health food grocery stores, have added sugar in them. I challenge you to read labels of groceries you buy and make note of how many contain some form of sugar: sugar, cane sugar, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, sucrose, fructose, dextrose, maltodextrin, honey... words that end in "ose" are likely a form of sugar.

In Jackson, we don't have a store like Whole Foods or Trader Joe's. I worked in Lansing yesterday, so before I headed back to Jackson I stopped at Foods For Living. I had fun going through the isles and seeing all of the different types of items you don't see at regular grocery stores. And I loved that you can buy spices by the ounce instead of an entire jar-full, which was a cost saver. I'll definitely be going back there for certain items. However...

One thing is for sure, some items that are more expensive at a store like that can be purchased at traditional grocery stores for more reasonable prices. I probably spent more money than I will in the future. I will save visits to those types of stores for the items that are important to me and can't be found at traditional stores, and buy other items like most fruit, vegetables and meat at regular grocery stores.

It's easy to point fingers at traditional food companies who use marginal ingredients to sell higher quantities of bad food. But it's important to also remember that just the fact a food is sold at Whole Foods or other "natural" grocery stores doesn't make it good for you. A food manufacturer can claim to produce only natural, whole food, and to stand for good health, but the bottom line is they're in business to earn a profit. Money will always have the potential to sway even the best intentions. That being said, even the food products that are natural and whole, produced by good companies, are diverse enough that it makes sense to know what your goals are and investigate what you're eating.

One more day! Tomorrow I will do some food prep to get ready for the week. I'm getting excited!