Sugar Detox: Running Is Not A Free Sugar Card

For a long time, I had the idea that because I run and workout regularly, sugar didn’t necessarily have the same effect on me as someone who doesn’t. It’s an easy assumption when you aren’t “seeing” outwardly any impacts.

The “but I’m a runner and burn off the calories” logic is what has long allowed me to continue eating a daily cookie or piece of chocolate without weight gain…but here’s the thing, this isn’t about calories, it’s about the effect of sugar on the body. And that is one of the biggest things I took away from this sugar detox. runners and sugar Just because I exercise regularly and generally eat clean doesn’t take away from the fact that sugar has in fact still been messing with my body and probably hindering my running.

So if you’ve been using that same logic, time to understand how sugar impacts us as athletes.

Sugar Issues for Athletes

Ways sugar can catch up to even the fastest runner:

Can cause osteoporosis (yikes!)
Aggravate arthritis by increasing joint inflammation
Damages collagen and causes wrinkles. Many runners start running to look their best…what good is a slim body when your face is showing years of food abuse?
Our liver holds on to toxins and fat when we eat too much sugar. Just a shot in the dark that a toxic body is not a high performing one.
Abnormal sugar regulation {from over consumption} leads to body fat. Undoing all that hard work over time.

I feel like a broken record, but not everyone sees all posts so let me be clear: NO FOOD is off limits.

You should absolutely enjoy a cupcake or cookie if you want to, the goal here to stop making that something we do daily and to be HONEST about the ways we are rationalizing poor choices. gels

What About Sugar During Training?

Since we’re all being sold weekly on new gels or blocks to chew while running that ensure we get enough sugar, it leads to questions about how much we really need.

Over 16 years of running and coaching I’ve learned a few things:

Learn how to truly do easy runs (i.e. LHR training) those runs use fat and don’t require you to be sucking down sugar
Understand that you already have glucose in your muscles and likely don’t need as much fuel on the run as you think
Don’t go by the standard guidelines, test yourself to see what actually provides you with an energy boost
Even the taste of sugar in our mouths creates an energy boost, so you may not need that entire gel all at once
A new study showed runners performed worse after eating a high sugar meal shortly before their workout

Is it ok to eat sugar if you exercise? Yes, but your added sugars should ideal still stay below 25grams most of the time. Now is the time to checkout the whole food options I’ve shared for fueling your long runs.

An Honest Breakdown

According to Dr. Oz: “It takes 28 days to detox from most addictive substances, and sugar – hidden in fast food, low-fat options and condiments – is certainly an addictive substance.”

If you think you can manage all 28 days, I commend you! I LOVED starting with 7 days because it felt so much more manageable mentally and that is a huge factor in achieving success. It was just the right amount of time for me to understand the effects sugar has on me, and to understand how to better handle it. Now having made it 7 days, I am encouraged to continue passing on sweet treats and processed sugar because I realize it’s a slippery slope for right now.

The longer I ca go without fully giving into the cravings, the better off I’ll be able to handle it long term.

You’re probably wondering, did I have any sweets at all? Well..

Here’s the breakdown:
– 1 piece dark chocolate
– A couple Vega bars {which I didn’t really even think about having sugar}
– A couple pieces of dried fruit
– Slice of pizza as noted yesterday
– 2 hard peppermint candies

Number of times I thought about sugar: 10 {daily, seriously – that didn’t really go away}
Number of different sugary treats in hour home: 6
Number of nights David ate cookies or ice cream in front of me: 7

Clearly, I didn’t go 100% sugar free…but to say it’s an improvement from the previous few weeks is a bit of an understatement. I had allowed myself to being eating out of “David’s Cabinet”. This meaning I was eating processed granola bars, not that great packaged cookies, a daily piece of dark chocolate and maybe even some ice cream. I was so in the habit of just grabbing or rewarding myself with something that I didn’t realize how often I was doing it.

After doing the sugar detox, I definitely am much more conscious and mindful of all the food decisions I need to be making – not just with sugar.

How’s that for being honest?! I know a lot of bloggers out there would have you believe they eat only beautiful salads and nothing else, and no lie most of the time I am eating clean too! But I have realized that stress or habit make it all too easy for me to go from really savoring a single piece of chocolate to just relying on the chocolate just because.