Sugar Detox Recap and Zola Coconut Water Review

Last week, I took part in Laura @ Mommy Run Fast's sugar detox. The challenge called for no added sugar for one week, meaning sugar could not be an ingredient; there could be sugar in something, it just had to be naturally occurring.

I wasn't perfect. A few times I ate out and had some soy sauce-based sauces that I'm guessing had added sugar. But I didn't eat any baked goods, candy, etc. from Monday to Sunday and I only moved on from the detox on Sunday by having a splash of maple syrup on my oatmeal and a square of dark chocolate.

What I realized from the detox is that I don't need sweets. So often when we're hit with a craving, it feels like we absolutely need something sugary. But since cookies and sweets weren't an option at all, I had to just take a deep breath and move on.

What I realized was that my cravings would subside. I didn't spend all afternoon thinking about cookies and baked goods if I didn't grab a sweet when I was in a coffee shop. In fact, the craving would be gone fairly quickly. It was all mental based on seeing or reading about sweets rather than being an actual message from my body.

The one time my sugar craving didn't disappear. I made a batch of my peanut butter balls sweetened with dates and shredded coconut, and that hit the spot perfectly. It's something I'm going to make again for future sweets cravings!


Zola Coconut Water Review

A couple of weeks ago, I was sent a sample of Zola coconut waters and acai juice (and some sweet shades). I drank one of them during the week leading up to the Nike DC Half Marathon and I loved it. I often don't like coconut water because it tastes a bit stale, but this tasted incredibly fresh. Both coconut waters also have no added ingredients -- it's pure coconut water.

I  polished off the second bottle this past week during the sugar detox. Since I couldn't drink nuun because it has added fake sugar, I used coconut water for electrolyte replenishment after particularly sweaty workouts. Both the regular and "with pulp" versions tasted great! I'll be getting these at the store if I see them.

I also loved the acai juice, which I'd actually never tried before. This one does have some added sugar in the form of organic evaporated cane juice, but no more than your average juice bottle, and it has otherwise stellar nutritional stats. I don't buy juice very often, but if I were looking for an antioxidant boost, I would definitely purchase this.


Do you drink coconut water? What's your favorite brand? Have you tried a sugar detox before? What were your results?


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I received a free sample of these juices and coconut waters. As always, opinions about the products are my own.