Accidental sugar, a close call, and reduced mental state

(Family, Honor, Freedom) #1

A little background: been aware of keto for awhile. Got myself into ketosis for a week in late 2017 but really didn’t make any effort since then. Last few weeks I’ve been eating healthier and gradually getting more and more towards low-carb. This week, I actually started eating darn near keto - Monday and Tuesday were a little high in carbs but very close to the guidlines. I’ve been doing well and feeling great about it.

Then there’s yesterday: what a day. Breakfast and lunch were great and ultra low carb. Exercised more than the day before. I was continuing a trend of 3+ days near perfection and 0 sugar. Then it changed in an instant.

Dinner was light and I felt satisfied. Until I didn’t. All of a sudden, I felt depressed and ready to give up, along with the urge to pig out. I could see no apparent external reason for it.

I went to the kitchen, had half an avocado. Good for you, Dave, except that didn’t fix anything. Went back into the kitchen. I stood there a bit, seriously considering making 1 or 2 or 3 sunbutter and jelly sandwiches. The only things that stopped me were that I’d have to admit it to my “accountability partner” and, also, I’d been doing so well that I wanted to see how things played out over the next few days. An experiment that would be completely broken if I didn’t hold out.

So instead I had cheese and raw sunbutter. Too much food, too many calories - but still low carb. I can still achieve ketosis in the next day or so.

I didn’t go to bed when I should have either. Watched a movie - perfect choice, actually, for the way I was feeling, “Henry’s Crime”. Guy lives his life just going along, until he realizes he can change things. Started out depressing, just like me. Then it picked me up, just a little.

Late to bed, slept in an hour, skipped morning yoga, late to work. Right now, I still feel unenthused, tired. Don’t want to do this. Continuing only because…don’t know why I’m continuing. For now, I’m still fighting a rearguard action.

Do not know why this happens - why I become so tired of life. But there is a possibility. Dinner should have been healthy - chicken stir fry and vegetables. I declined the rice. But wife used the packet of sauce that came with it and I could taste the sugar in it. Wasn’t much, and I honestly don’t believe it’s the culprit, but…well, maybe. Tiny little bit of sugar completely derailed my mental state? Maybe, maybe. Or maybe it’s just me.

Today was supposed to be the day I start a 4 day fast - water and supplements only Wednesday night through Sunday night. At the moment, I don’t know what I’ll do. I did skip breakfast. But do I care enough to continue the fast through lunch, and dinner, and for 3 more days?

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #2

It could well have been a trigger. I’ve known alcoholics who ended up binging heavily after starting with one non-alcoholic beer, triggered by the taste. I’ve even known alcoholics who were triggered on binges from tasting food cooked with wine, even though the alchol had all evaporated from the food during cooking. Taste is one of our primal senses, and it affects us at a primal level. Our cognition can’t always assert control in such cases.

I generally am okay with taking a tiny sip of wine at Communion, but there are days, sometimes long stretches, when I just know to stick with the host only, because I would be vulnerable to even a very small sip of wine. It is much less of a concern these days, however, than it was during the years right after I gave up drinking.

So right now, you are newly sugar-sober, which means you are going to be vulnerable to even tiny amounts of sugar. There’s no point in beating yourself up about it–it’s not a moral failing, just something you need to protect yourself against. I suspect that, a few years down the road, a tiny amount of sugar is not likely to be nearly the same problem as it is today, but you’re not there yet. You’re still at the stage where there’s a big payoff to being really careful. Other people might call it obsessive, but you now know better.

(My ex, an alcoholic, used to say vehemently that A.A. was a crutch. It took me years to figure out that I should have told him, “Yeah, but when your leg is broken, using a crutch is a really good idea.”)

#3

Is it possible that the spice had MSG? It can be hidden as “natural flavors” unless package specifically states “MSG Free” on it, MSG causes cravings and other side effects for many people.

(Family, Honor, Freedom) #4

Thank you, Paul - maybe, then, it was the meal. I’m learning that it helps an enormous amount to understand WHY these things happen. If there’s a reason, it can be understood and it can be dealt with.

I don’t know about the MSG - quite possibly.