Diet, Exercise, and the Rollercoaster

I have struggled for years to know what to eat. It has gotten worse in the last few years, but I don't feel good after I eat. I went through elimination diets, trying to discover any allergies, and eventually found corn and peanuts aren't great for me. But off of those two, I still have symptoms of EE and/or food allergy. But in addition to that, and more concerning, I own the symptom of becoming so exhausted after a meal that I need to lie down. I recently have stumbled on a few more pieces to the puzzle. After reading Sugar Nation, a story of a rail-thin prediabetic, I realized there's something going on with my blood sugar. I haven't had any tests done and am not sure I want to, partly because I'm sure any doctor would raise an eyebrow or two at a 27 year old sans every risk factor for diabetes. But I'm pretty sure something is out of whack, particularly with how low I feel after eating.
For the past two weeks, I've taken most starches out of my diet (with varying degrees of success, since I've learned from experience that I have to eat some carbohydrates or I get a horrible ketone headache). But for me carbs are addictive, and eating one slice of bread or a tiny bowl of Kashi GoLean can set me off track for half a day. Beyond the problem of after-meal naptime, 30 minutes later, I am ravenous again--and that's when I'm lowest and have the least self-control--and I often jump back on that blood sugar rollercoaster by eating bread or something equally carb-y. I used to do this all day, every day: pancakes or oatmeal for breakfast, naptime/"snap at the kids" time, run to the kitchen for some toast or crackers or cookies, repeat sequence. I've lived like this for years and never caught onto the endless pattern I was on. I always knew I was addicted to sweets and should avoid them, but often didn't or couldn't, rather. I always beat myself up for not having self-control, but now I know there's more to it than willpower. My body was screaming, "I'm starving!" when my blood sugar had crashed.

This world is crazy because it thinks the worst thing is to get fat. I would rather be fat than swinging up and down like a monkey in a tree.

I have the inkling that I DID THIS TO MYSELF. Back when I was a kid, I ate pretty "healthy," at least avoiding most processed foods and white bread. But I ate mostly carbs at every meal. Canned peaches and toast was a standby. I think I would've been OK if I had stayed there, but unfortunately, I went to college and got to choose what I spent the grocery budget on. I've always loved truly healthy food, but cheap and easy won the day. I remember I used to work at BYU Vending, making sandwiches at 5 am. To wake myself up, I would eat sandwich cookies with peanut butter (and not 100% kind) before work. So looking back, I realized that most of my calories came from sugar and starch, for a period of about 8 years.

Gratefully, I became a mom and started changing how I fed myself because of my family. Five years later, our diet has changed incredibly from the start, and I know it will continue to do so.

But now I'm trying to figure out how to avoid eating so many carbs, while still following the Word of Wisdom in eating meat sparingly. And how many carbs can I handle, and what kind? Legumes, whole grains, fruit? Plus getting enough of all the nutrients, especially because I'm nursing and plan to have other children. . . (I have a lot of questions.)

And the other side of the coin is exercise. Exercise is a great equilizer in diet. I feel totally different when I do some cardio and weights than when I don't in terms of the energy roller coaster. I know that exercise has the power to take that extra glucose right into the muscles, which is fabulous for someone like me who can't tolerate it well. It's a buffer for my carb slip-ups; it seems to keep my blood sugar more regular.

Something else I'm trying to figure out is fat. When you drop the carbs, you've got to replace with fat and protein. I'm not convinced it's fat that makes us fat, at least me or people like me. I'm pretty convinced it's the sugars. The crazy ups and downs of eating carbs does a number on the heart. In Sugar Nation, O'Connel cites studies that say it's more the range of the ups and downs that can damage the heart than the actual numbers. So it's not just the high blood sugar, it's the low, too. I think this is where a lot of this nation's heart problems stem. But what about me, and my heart, my cholesterol? I've probably doubled the percent of fat I eat since ditching bread. And I want to know, is this safe long-term? I don't think heart disease runs in the family, but diabetes does. And I am starting to see my same behaviors regarding carbs in certain family members. And I am a bit concerned that we're on a track to the big Type 2, with it's associated heart risks.





Interesting that the "unhealthy, fatty foods" in the picture are also high in carbohydrates--refined at that.

Do you ride the energy rollercoaster?
What's your opinion on a high-protein, high-fat diet?