Cheree Sheldon, Nutritionist for the Sugar Detox 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge has shared her top 5 ways to help your family reduce and detox from excess sugar in your diet:
Depending on how much sugar your family currently consumes and how it is affecting you, will determine the type of reactions you may get when reducing it from your diet.
Reactions can range from mild to extreme. Think small cravings, to headaches, tummy upsets, anger, irritability, skin breakouts, and bowel changes.

You can help reduce unpleasant side effects by assisting your body in the detoxification process. Here’s how:

1) LIQUIDS:

Drink lots of clean purified water. Add lemon wedges or apple cider vinegar in water. Drink herbal teas like dandelion root. Drink veggie juices to help cleanse the system- beetroot, carrot, ginger, cucumber and celery are fantastic.

2) HERBS:

With the help of a naturopath or herbalist, get a custom blend liquid herbal mix to take to help with sugar cravings and to help balance blood sugars. Herbs that should be considered are cinnamon, gymnema, fenugreek, St Mary’s Thistle, and fennel. Herbs should never be self prescribed, especially for children as their dose range is so different, so make sure you get professional advice.

3) NUTRIENTS:

Supplementing with nutrients or adjusting your diet to target specific nutrients can help the body adjust to sugar changes. The main mineral involved with blood sugar imbalances is chromium. It is in liver, mushrooms, wheat germ, and brewers yeast. Probiotics can also help if you are suffering form gut problems, so include fermented foods like water kefir, pot set yoghurt, or sauerkraut.

4) PLAN TO SUCCEED:

The old saying goes “If you don’t make a plan, you are planning to fail”. Succeed in your detox by planning your menu in advance, by removing all sources of temptation from the house, and by having alternatives there for when the desire kicks in. Have nuts, seeds, homemade raw chocolate, sugar free pikelets, wholemeal toast with nut butter, smoothies, and fresh fruit ready to go if the cravings hit! Get our guide to detoxing from sugar here – it’s FREE

5) KEEP GOING!!

“They” say it takes 21 days to break a habit. If you are trying to break a family’s sugar addiction, prepare for 1-3 months until the new habits fall into place for everyone. Write some house rules (e.g. no processed foods, only use stevia in tea/coffee, replace sugar with coconut sugar in cooking, only have desserts on Friday nights) and stick to them.
Plan a big family reward for everyone sticking to the changes (trip to zoo or shopping for a new toy/book).
Be there to support each other and encourage each other in positive ways. If someone falls off the wagon, talk about how you can do things differently the next time a challenge pops up and don’t put them down for not being perfect!!
Before you even start the reducing sugar in your diet, take a “mug shot” of everyone, take your measurements, and write down a food and symptoms diary for three days. Take note of what your moods are, bowel movements, and what your skin is like.
Do this again at the end of the first 30 days of reducing sugar from your diet and see how far you have come!!
Cheree Sheldon, Nutritionist
And the 28 Day Sugar Detox starts on April 4. It is family friendly and a GREAT way to quit the sweet stuff – learn all about it here

Results from mums on the 28 Day Challenge

Mums lose an average of 4-6kg (8-13 pounds) on our 28 Day Challenge and below are some of the amazing results from mums JUST LIKE YOU who are already using the 28 Day Challenge and losing tummy fat – make the change and join them today too!
You can see lots of more results and you can join here too
Krystle Lost 38kgs* with the 28 Day Challenges

Krystle says:“I love how all the calories are already worked out for you on the 28 Day Challenge meal plans and recipes are already there. This simplifies life for me while I am learning to have a different relationship with food. I am also learning that eating the correct amount of calories to assist weight loss is crucial. I have always been overweight, so Lose Baby Weight is helping me to change a lifetime of habits.”
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