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SS's cry for help!


ss116

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Hi all! 

 

I want to do a Whole30 (or possibly longer) PROPERLY to help accomplish the following goals:

 

1. Heal my very longstanding (and lately completely out of control) sugar/carb addiction.

2. Start to repair my metabolism, which I believe is VERY out of whack due to #1.

3. Establish a way-of-eating that is healthy and easy for me to stick to for life.

 

I will not lie, because of the issues with sugar/carbs, I have put on quite a bit of body fat that I want to get rid of very badly. This has tripped me up in the past re: weighing when I'm not supposed to, trying to follow ketogenic diets, etc etc. So I think that I need to be held accountable and get some support, so I would like to try posting daily food logs here just with the idea that even if no one is looking at them, I'll know someone COULD be. 

 

The other issue I wanted some input on is that I do in fact seem to be EXTREMELY carb sensitive. I have binged quite easily on fruits, nut butters and nuts, and there have even been a couple instances where a meal high in starchy vegetables and resulted in my having EXTREME sugar cravings a few hours later into the next day. All of this seems to imply to me that I would benefit from a somewhat lower overall carb intake, but I have not been able to make it through withdrawal periods attempting to do so. So basically I'm having a hard time in the first week or two starting out striking a balance between not eating so much starch that I might stimulate cravings and going too low carb and completely crashing to the point where I am unable to tolerate it and continue on plan.

 

I honestly hope to get off sugar/wheat/refined carbs with the intention of NEVER eating them again. I know most do not go to this extreme, but these foods have literally had me in the throes of serious addiction for years now. It doesn't appear to have much correlation with emotions/moodstates so much as I genuinely feel PHYSIOLOGICALLY addicted to these foods, but SO strongly. If I could have myself locked away in a detox for a month where they were completely unavailable to me I would do it in a heartbeat. I'm certainly considering speaking with a therapist about it as well (the one I'm currently seeing in general happens to specialize in addiction) - however, the addiction model around food generally isn't well-received in clinical circles yet so I'm a little concerned he would tout moderation, which I have come to learn through years of self-experimentation is literally not possible for me with these foods.

 

Anyway, sorry this is quite long! I am genuinely open to any advice and am realizing I might need to relinquish a little more control than I have in the past and have faith and patience that my body will be able to sort itself out over TIME given the proper tools (step 1 is that I plan to literally THROW AWAY my scale this evening). Thank you in advance for any suggestions, and I will begin posting my logs here tomorrow. 

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Hey There!

 

This certainly is the kindest, nicest, thing you can do for your body, is eat this way.  So good on you for starting this journey!

 

I don't quite know if I would have ever called myself carb addicted.  Did I find solace and relief at the bottom of a cookie jar?  Yeah a little too frequently after chronically undereating during meals for years.  Hormones have been messed up for YEARS because of carbs and sugar.  That being said - I have found that I can't go completely low carb either.  That messes up with my hormones too.

 

So you will need to play around with the starchy veg/fruit levels to suit you.  You could do very well with a low amount of starchy veg, but I don't recommend it.  At minimum you should include 1 starchy veg/day.  Breakfast/lunch works the best.  If you are including higher activity levels then throw in an extra one.  Fruit limit to 1 or 2 a day.

 

Good Luck!!!

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 You are here........so you are heading in the right direction!

 

Throw out that scale and start this moment to commit to a Whole30.

 

Realize that nobody is perfect so if you make a bad food choice during your Whole30: pick yourself up, own the mistake and start all over again right that very minute! Don't wait until 'tomorrow' to start again - the temptation to indulge will be too great and will make it that much harder to start again.

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Thanks for the quick support! Carlacinni, I feel like I have actually tended to do better with starchy carbs in the evenings for some reason though not sure why - I will definitely play around with it within the guidelines of W30. I am throwing away my scale as soon as I get home and above all being kind to myself for the next 30 days! 

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I can completely relate, and my best suggestion is to not overshoot it right out of the gate (nice mixed metaphor, eh?). Just do the w30 with the intention of following the template. Avoid snacking, especially hand to mouth eating of fruit, nuts, and nut butters. Allow yourself root veggies and sweet potatoes, and maybe over time think about limiting them. That's what's worked for me. I did my first w30 one year ago, and I didn't lose any weight, but it killed my sugar dragon and for the most part I've felt in control around food, even sugars, ever since. Don't expect all kinds of miracles right away, commit to the journey for the long haul, and be kind to yourself.

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Thanks LadyM - I've DEFINITELY done that in the past. I do want to commit to this for the long haul. I did one successful Whole30 in the past and it did help a lot for sugar cravings (and I was able to eat a little bit of fruit and sweet potatoes without it being a problem sugar-craving wise), but as soon as I introduced either a higher proportion of fruit/ANY sweetener (even honey/dates/etc) it was like I was instantly back to square one with horrific hypoglycemic reactions, cravings and binges. I think I am anticipating that the outset of this will be particularly painful for me as I've been eating obscene amounts of sugar and refined carbs lately, but attempting to cut back gradually in preparation is not going to work for me as I'm kind of like an alcoholic with sugar - there is absolutely NO off switch once I start eating that or wheat flour products.

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Got through Day 1 - which included a 1.5 hour nap when I felt I was dragging/needed rest. I think that allowing myself rest will be key as I'm coming off a period of LONG chronic stress. I'll also be starting med school in August so I'm a little bit nervous about being able to take proper care of myself then, but hopefully I'll have good habits in place...

 

MEAL 1: mixed greens w/ rotisserie chicken, grape tomatoes, 1 avocado, olive oil + sea salt; crio bru

MEAL 2: rotisserie chicken & roasted eggplant w/ hot sauce; 5-6 raw radishes & pickles

MEAL 3: mixed greens & radicchio w/ tuna, cucumber, grape tomatoes, broccoli, olive oil + sea salt

 

I bought groceries for next week and have some sweet potatoes to include in meals and spaghetti squash for some dinners, as well as some berries, so it won't be quite as low carb. I'm not doing any intense workouts right now - just yoga classes and then some runs (but slowish/leisurely ones, nothing long and no sprinting) - but the weekdays are a little harder because I still tend to crash in the afternoons pretty badly!

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Congrats for getting started, SS!

 

I just want to underscore how great (and important) it is that you're putting the best possible supports in place for yourself before you begin medical school. You're in for quite a few years of extreme stress and the best thing you can do for yourself is to control what you can, establish good habits, and keep them for the long haul.

 

Keep going, and keep taking it day by day, pacing yourself with exercise and starchy carb needs. My functional medicine doc (who's been a miracle for me, really) says that fructose is way harder on the body than other sugars, so a good rule of thumb for when you need that boost is to turn to squashes and root veggies before fruit.

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LadyM so funny you mentioned about the fructose - I'd been having some fruit (not more than 1-2 servings per day) the last couple of days but noticing it was causing me to crash later on and have what I identify as reactive hypoglycemic episodes (ie: was walking to an appointment after work one day after I'd had an apple at lunch and felt out of nowhere faint/shaky/sweaty and popped in a store and got nuts and a Larabar that I inhaled). This was on Day 3 and on Day 2 I had gotten a smoothie at a local health food restaurant at lunch, but frankly it was a SWYPO kind of situation (everything in it compliant but tasted way too desserty and wasn't food you chew...) so I think I will probably extend my W30 to at least a W35 and focus on incorporating starchy veggies and weaning off the fruit. 

 

Day 4 (yesterday) - 

MEAL 1: bunch of rainbow chard sauteed in coconut oil + 2 eggs

MEAL 2: salad w/ mixed greens, cucumber, grape tomatoes, celery, red onion, broccoli, bell peppers, turkey, 1 avocado, olive oil; sweet potato fries; 1 apple

MEAL 3: rotisserie chicken & broccoli w/ olive oil + sea salt; 1 raw bell pepper, 2 stalks celery; strawberries & blackberries w/ coconut flakes + cinnamon

SNACK: 2 pieces turkey jerky  

 

At lunchtime I felt RAVENOUS yesterday (hence the SP AND apple) so today I'm having a bigger breakfast (more sauteed greens w/ eggs but added an avocado) and will try to incorporate more fat if I'm so hungry again instead of adding so many carbs to my meals. In general yesterday I was headachey and exhausted most of the day, but prior to starting this I was really binging on processed carbs and sugar very frequently, so it's to be expected. I'm getting acupuncture for the second time this week tomorrow and last night went to sleep at 8pm! Also essentially have a clear weekend ahead where all I'll have to do is rest. Just trying to ride out these first couple of weeks...

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Day 5...

 

MEAL 1: bunch of kale sauteed in coconut oil + 2 eggs + 1 avocado w/ sea salt

MEAL 2: roasted chicken, meatballs in sauce, roasted eggplant, tomatoes & cauliflower, mashed butternut squash

MEAL 3: baby spinach w/ cucumber, bell peppers, red onion, tuna, olives, oil & vinegar; 1 banana

MEAL 4: rotisserie chicken & broccoli; sweet potato w/ coconut oil & cinnamon; 1 kiwi

 

Was craving sugar/flour HARD today and truly was worried I was going to cave on several occasions - when I get these cravings I honestly feel week/dizzy/hypoglycemic basically so I just continued fueling my body with huge meals. Hopefully if I stay the course things will start to regulate more. I had a headache all through days 2-4 that seems to have dissipated a little bit today. Also had a cup of decaf late morning and that definitely threw my blood sugar for a loop. I quit caffeine about two weeks ago (which seems to have been the right call based on my anxiety levels/sleep/blood sugar stability) and it seems even that little bit is definitely an issue for me!

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