Sugar Detox Day Four Plus – Pass the Whine

The sugar detox has been going on since Monday, and I started feeling some of the less pleasant effects Wednesday evening (post-blog). A headache, annoying but not severe, hovering around my temples. It felt like a dehydration or caffeine withdrawal headache, except I’d been pounding water and I’d had a couple of cups of coffee that morning. That’s around the same time I started fantasizing in earnest about raiding the M&Ms we use as potty rewards for our youngest.

As every parent knows, there’s a special shame that comes with stealing from your kid. When, for example, you furtively eat the cookies that came with their kids’ meal at the restaurant the night before. The ones you took away amidst a tantrum of protest in the name of good health and the idea that they should eat the wholesome parts of their meal first. Maybe you promised they could have them later, maybe you pretended to throw them away, maybe you snatched them out of the meal before they saw them and told them the restaurant had run out of cookies. Maybe you even made a big speech about eating healthy and how cookies are for special treats, not a random Wednesday night after corn dogs or chicken nuggets. But now it’s Thursday morning and you’re eating them on the sly, in the car or maybe even hiding in the bathroom. You despicable hypocrite.

I haven’t done that, not this week anyway. I’ve resisted the M&Ms and the ubiquitous packet of gummy bears that always seems to be in our pantry even though I never buy them. (I think they’re reproducing in there – having sticky little gummy bear orgies.) I dug through the garage freezer looking for frozen bananas and didn’t stop to drool over the Girl Scout cookies. I even asked the waitress yesterday if the salsa had added sugar before digging in. I’ve been a rock of detoxification.

Trying to decide if I can fit a wine barrel in my purse.
Trying to decide if I can fit a wine barrel in my purse.

Until the wine.

When I decided to do the detox this week, I didn’t think about the fact that I’m going to a bachelorette party in the North Georgia mountains this weekend. We’re going to be visiting some wineries to do tastings, which is one of my favorite things to do at a winery. That and a good game of Vineyard Hide and Seek….

So I asked Meghan what to do. Is wine allowable when you’re off sugar?

Here’s what she said:

So, wine, made from a sweet fruit, does have some natural sugar content, but not a ton, especially when compared with beer. Beer is higher in carbs and sugar, so avoid this if possible. Obviously, ordering a club soda at a winery for a bachelorette party would be very boring – I get that! Try to stick with red wine. It has a lower sugar content. Champagnes and dry wine also have less sugar than sweeter wines or dessert wines (clearly, hence the name). 
On a whole, during a detox, it’s ideal to give your liver a vacation by avoiding alcohol. But in this case, sip on some red. 🙂

Soooo… that’s the plan. I’m not sure I’ve ever “sipped” anything in my life, but I’m going to give it a shot. I’ll let you know how it goes on Monday. And over the weekend, if you hear a desperate-sounding woman scream, “Just give me a full pour!” from somewhere in the North Georgia mountains, you’ll know already.

[Read the next installment of the Sugar Detox Saga here.]

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I’m M.J. (Manda) Pullen, an author and mom in the Atlanta, Georgia area. I blog about writing, publishing, parenthood, life and the many lessons I’ve learned the hard way. I drink too much wine and only occasionally steal cookies from my children.

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My current roster of books includes The Marriage Pact series, a trilogy of Contemporary Romance/Women’s Fiction novels. You can find them for all eBook formats and in paperback here.

MJ Pullen

M.J. Pullen is a distracted writer and the mom of two boys in Roswell, Georgia, where she is absolutely late for something important right now. Her books include quirky romantic comedies and playful women's fiction. She blogs erratically with writing advice, random observations, and reflections on raising very loud kids and dogs. Join her Distracted Readers newsletter list for updates, free content, giveaways and more.

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