What's Next after the two-week challenge?

When you are finishing up the two-week no sugar / no flour challenge, your mind reaches a point of clarity while your cravings diminish to pretty much no impact on you. Your body feels better and your sense of accomplishment is at an all-time high. You start to wonder what the next steps are because you understand that going back to your old life isn’t worth it anymore. Below are some ideas that will allow you to continue feeling great, or even become better.

***Disclaimer. If you read that first paragraph before participating in the challenge, then there’s no way you will believe it. Honestly, if someone told me those things before I experienced my clarity, I would have laughed in their face. My natural reaction to being healthier in the past was that it was a painful sacrifice that just didn’t stop until I eventually admitted defeat and drowned myself in a pizza. Please come back to this section below when you are on day 12 or 13 of the challenge and are that person who completely gets what I’m talking about.
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1. CONTINUE FORWARD WITH NO SUGAR / NO FLOUR. You’ve done it for two weeks and your body is now getting adjusted to it, so just keep going. With your blood sugar level staying consistent now, odds are you will lose weight just by continuing. Add in a nightly walk or some regular exercise and it really makes an impact as you pair it with eating properly.
2. BE A LITTLE MORE AGGRESSIVE WITH IT. There’s a chance you have been making some food decisions based on pure survival, which means you may be sticking to some comfort foods that fit the criteria. Choose a food tracking software that will give you some goals in regards to calorie, carb, and fat intake and then make some adjustments to balance out your meals even more. Start trying some new fruits and vegetables when having meals because they will likely have a different taste now that the processed chemicals are leaving your system.
3. INTEGRATE LOW CARB WHEAT OPTIONS BACK IN. In your first week after the challenge, still keep the sugar out of the diet, but pick a few meals that are easier with a low carb bread. I love the low carb wraps for my tacos and sandwiches because it just made things more convenient, so every other lunch would be a sandwich wrap instead of a salad. Maybe a special meal for the week is a big juicy hamburger, so go ahead and eat it without guilt. Just enjoy it with water instead of soda so you aren’t doubling down on your sugar and carbs.
4. BEGIN AN EXERCISE PROGRAM. You’ll hear me say that starting the two-week challenge is not the time to start a heavy exercise program too, simply because it is just too much going on at once. Around halfway through the second week though, you develop your stride and can start thinking about doing more. The greatest impact in my life is when I made the decision start visiting the gym and never missing two days in a row. I started with a resistance focus and vowed not to weigh myself for 2 months as I worked to build muscle. My schedule consisted of an arm day, a leg day, a cardio day, a day off, and then I repeated the cycle. If I wasn’t feeling great or had a busy day, then I didn’t go, but I made sure not to miss a second day in the row, no matter what. Putting this routine in place while going without (or at least minimizing) sugar and flour multiplied my results two times over.
5. TRY EVERY OTHER DAY WITHOUT SUGAR AND FLOUR. Look at your week and designate four days that will be meals without sugar and flour, then give yourself some freedom on the rest. By now you likely have some good meal plans that don’t involve the bad stuff, so keep those in place on a Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday and then plan smartly for the other ones. Your goal isn’t to binge on the bad stuff every other day, but to make its impact negligible on you during the week. Maybe I know we are going out for pizza with friends on Friday night, so I keep Thursday and Saturday planned out as no sugar and flour to avoid stacking more trouble on my system.
6. REALLY LOOK AT YOUR DRINK CHOICES. One of the biggest changes in my life came out of the first no sugar / no flour challenge I did. Much like a large part of the population, I was a heavy soda drinker and couldn’t imagine a day without a fountain drink during the winter and a slushie during the Summer. They were cheap, tasty and make every meal a better experience, but it took the challenge to make me realize the damage I was doing by drinking my calories. I made the decision to drastically reduce my soda intake after the first challenge, moving to crystal light tea with the occasional root beer with my pizza. After another no sugar challenge, I ended up minimizing the crystal light and making water my primary drink.  You may not think it’s possible for you, but over time I became a guy who primarily drinks water with my meals. This decision has given me better health, more consistent energy, and even saved me money over the years.
7. TRY FASTING WITH NO SUGAR / NO FLOUR EATING. Fasting is a hot button for a lot of folks, so do your research on what is right for you as you attempt it. One thing that the experts all recommend is that you approach fasting with a base of eating foods that don’t contain processed sugar and flour, so it fits best if you continue the challenge and add the fasting component.  I’m the type of person who likes things in black and white, so I tried the 36 hour fast while going without sugar and flour, and it yielded positive results. Basically, I stopped eating at 7PM one evening and then only drank water until 7AM the day after the following day. Mentally, I just had to prep myself for going without food for one day, which wasn’t the end of the world. I then broke my fast with bone broth and higher protein foods that were without sugar and flour. Then maintained my no sugar no flour diet for the remainder of the week as normal. The following week, I did the same thing and just dropped one day of eating.
8. GO BACK TO YOUR NORMAL EATING ROUTINES. Even though I find this option highly unlikely for anyone who successfully completes the two-challenge, I guess it’s still an option. Before you take this option though, I’d ask that you keep a journal of how you feel in the final days of the challenge, and then how you feel as you throw it all away. I’m guessing the contrast of the two will make it obvious how your old eating patterns were destroying your life because you should feel terrible.
9. TALK A FRIEND INTO THE CHALLENGE AND DO IT AGAIN. The saying “Misery Loves Company” definitely doesn’t apply to this situation because you will be feeling amazing. In fact, when you talk about how you feel to other people close to you, they won’t be able to believe it, so find a brave soul to take the challenge and tell them you’ll do it again with them. Your second time through will be much easier and you’ll be comforted by the fact that you are making a positive health difference in someone’s life. Plus, you’ll have someone to share leftovers with.
10. GET SOME THERAPY. Odds are that if you are struggling with your weight, then you might have some underlining relationship issues with food. It’s nothing to be ashamed about because food has been ingrained in our lives as something tied to emotion, and you may not be able to change your programming without some help. If your insurance policy has an EAP program, then look in your area for a therapist that has a specialty with food disorders and see if they’re available. Now, I’m not saying you might have a disorder like Anorexia or Bulimia, but the therapist will at least have the background to help you explore your relationship with food. Have an open mind and give it a try.

Since you have some momentum after completing the challenge, push yourself and continue to grow. You’ve established that you are capable of more than you originally thought, so now is the time to ask yourself what else you are capable of doing. Use the ideas above to continue forward, or create a mix of the best elements that work for you. The key is to keep moving forward.