The Busy Babe Sugar Cleanse commences today, Jan. 6, for my husband and me. As such, we spent much of last week and weekend preparing. We probably overthink it too much on the whole however preparing for something like this is essential to success. You must review the entire plan, take it to heart and ask any questions you may have before you begin.
For example, my husband wondered about men and whether the “busy babe” cleanse truly would be Ok for males. After asking in a private group Lyzabeth Lopez has for those who have purchase her lifetime Train with Lyzabeth program, I learned quite a few husbands had not only done the sugar cleanse with their wives, but had great success! Another question we had was about soup. One of the staples of this 30-day cleanse is a recipe for “Lazy Bone Broth Soup,” which involves mixing bone broth with another kind of soup that must be low carb, low sodium. Well, I was having a tough time finding a soup that qualified! After posting in the group, I received a few ideas!
Grocery Shopping
This plan includes a full grocery list for each week, thank goodness! So, I split my shopping into two trips to save time, purchasing the pantry ingredients first, followed by the fresh ones. One thing I immediately learned is that we just don’t have the refrigerator space for all this food! My husband and I are both doing the 2,000 calorie plan so it’s a lot! We are using our regular refrigerator, as well as the smaller one he has in his office and we’re maxed out! I would think that for ladies who are doing this on their own and/or at a lower calorie level, this would not be a concern but we’re thinking of doing two shopping trips during week two, depending on what’s needed. Plus, I brought two days worth of food to work this morning since I have a refrigerator in my own office and can easily do that.
As for the shopping, it was painless however I did have a bit of sticker shock! I spent $475 for week one! About $75 was the regular stuff I always buy for the kids’ lunches and things, another $200 were items that hopefully will last longer than one week and the rest of it was the meat and produce. This is a consideration for anyone thinking about doing this. Again, there are two of us cleansing, so the cost would likely be less for one person or for lower calories.
Meal Prep
The plan indicates it will take 30 minutes to prep for each two-day meal menu. It took a lot longer for me. Now, I was multitasking a little bit getting the kids’ lunches made, plus I ended up making my own chicken patties (couldn’t find pre-made), as well as my own soup to go in the “Lazy Bone Broth” but even if I didn’t do those two things, I still think prep is more like 45 minutes to an hour. I haven’t meal prepped before but I see on social media that folks who do spend an entire Sunday afternoon so an hour or so is a lot less than that! And perhaps I will get better at it.
I used my Instant Pot for the soup, which sped that up a great deal, and my husband helped with various things to help keep things moving. We decided perhaps we’d alternate who is in charge of prep week to week since it is a bit of a job!
The other part of our prep involves making sure we have everything we need for work the next day. For example, I’m making my shakes at work in my office NutriBullet so I had to measure out all the powders and ingredients to take with me. Some folks may just do this all at home. Plus, i planned out my husband’s day since he’s new at intermittent fasting, which is a component of this cleanse. So, I mapped out when he should eat what and got him squared away, as well. Again, fail to prep, prepare to fail! You absolutely have to be ready to go to be successful.
Day 1
It’s the morning of day 1. I started with a greens shot, followed by BCAAs during my workout (Day 1 of the Train with Lyzabeth program). I drank my usual protein, creatine, glutamine, collagen peptide cocktail on the way home from the gym. Now, I’m at work, with a full water jug (I’m aiming for 64 ounces today) and have stocked the fridge for the day. I’ll have my shake at 10, followed by meal 2 at 12:30, meal 3 at 3 and meal 4 at 5:30. I may have some herbal tea before bed.
This is my plan for now and if I find that workouts are too hard without the carbs for energy, I may add a Serious Mass shake at the end of my day before bed to help with that issue. But, I will see how everything goes.
So, there you have it! The Busy Babe Sugar Cleanse is on!