I don't want to hijack this thread but also didn't want to start a new related one.

I didn't eat any sugar or white flour type of foods for about two weeks. Last night I made a few tea biscuits and ate one and a half of them before chucking them in the garbage.

I woke up this morning feeling lethargic and headachy. I also feel a bit nauseous and am extremely tired and low energy. I am fighting the urge to go buy a bagel or cookie and instead have eaten 2 oz of nuts and an orange.

Is this a bug or has anyone else felt physically from eating white flour products after a few weeks of clean eating?

Dianthus it's totally normal to feel lethargic the first while off sugar. But it seems like you were already adapted to not eating sugar and the sugar sort of have you the high, then the lethargic crash. They do refer to it as "carb flu" the first few weeks your off carbs and sugar though....your bady has to detox and get off the sugar highs and lows. I often get a headache the first few days I quit eating sugar.

Dianthus,

It could be a bug, you never know. That said, both my husband and I are gluten intolerant. My symptoms are more along the lines of classic celiac (gastro intestinal distress, bloating, stomach ache, nausea cramps etc.), whereas my husband experiences "rheumatoid-like" arthritis flare-ups. My so-called "IBS" went away upon going gluten-free, and my husband's advancing arthritis practically disappeared. He used to get these severe arthritis flare-ups where his joints would swell up and sometimes it was hard to move. Me? I was experiencing stomach and gastro-intestinal type issues. All cleared up as long as I stay away from gluten.

Both of us will experience that lethargy that you're describing. I've never gotten a headache, but I think my husband has.

Going gluten-free wasn't easy, and it still isn't - but we don't do it for fun or because it's some kind of fad. We do it because we both feel 100% better.

In terms of the thread topic - and avoiding cravings for sugar/sweets (or anything else really), I've personally found that replacing old wheat-based foods with new-fangled "gluten free" versions does *not* help in terms of reducing or eliminating the cravings. Gluten-free cookies are just as addictive as their regular wheat-based versions, imo. This is why I follow a "Paleo-ish", low-"ish" carb diet 99% of the time. Don't get me wrong - birthday rolls around, and you can bet there'll be some fancy treats (gluten free of course). Flourless chocolate cake comes to mind

Meanwhile, as far as I can tell - it's not gluten itself that triggers the cravings. Getting back to what rachylou was saying earlier - it's probably the combination of carb+fat+salt/sugar creates those oh-so-addictive qualities of certain foods.

Hang in there, and I hope you feel much better soon!

Hi. First, there is no thread hijacking because I don't consider this "my" thread; it's everyone's and only underlines the problem of pervasive sugar and carb addiction....I expect that this thread will never become completely dormant (for better or worse), but I hope we all benefit from exchanging info or even venting.

I have to admit that after about a week of very clean, no-sugar, extremely low-carb eating, I've been off the wagon for the fifth day...but am definitely getting strict again tomorrow, when I'll have time around the house to get back to food prep and better meal planning. I was away visiting family over the Passover holidays and while that's not an excuse, my eating always goes haywire for some reason...even when the food's not anything that special. I have to figure out how to work around this better (not asking for advice--it's more a psychological issue, really).

But anyway, I've been feeling progressively more like I have a sinus-y cold...pressure in my nose and sinuses, tense, mild headache, overall feeling like crap. I am pretty sure it's NOT a bug but my body on toxic overload. Funny how this is not carb withdrawal (which would have been last week, when I felt pretty good) but now a few days after a week of eating clean. So now I really feel the impetus to get back on track. I just am not enjoying this, even in the immediate moment of eating something I used to enjoy a lot.

Thank you for the feedback.

Raisin, it is interesting that in the past when I have tried no carb (atkins) I would feel that "flu" but I had been eating fruit and whole grains (mostly brown rice and quinoa) and did not get that feeling at all. In fact, I was feeling pretty good.

VC, I think you might be on to something. The headache was sinus related which is consistent with an intolerence or allergy. I have lots of allergies and more develop as I get older. I also try to avoid the substitutes for everything except the occasional aspartame but I am trying to cut back on that too.

Mochi, I am sorry to hear you too fell off the wagon and are suffering for it. I think I started going downhill when I weighed myself and saw that not only had I not lost weight, I had regained a pound or more. It is hard to change the focus from weight to health management but I am working on it.

Since I had already blown it and was feeling unwell, I gave into the craving and had ice cream last night. I am going to try to get back on track today. We have a four day weekend for Easter and I am thinking I will start a barre class on Monday. I bought a two month pass and haven't activated it yet.

Enjoy the easter weekend all.

I hope you're feeling better too Mochi - what you're experiencing is pretty normal - it's very hard to just change everything up all at once. There are bound to be some fits and starts along the way.

In the meantime, I hope that as you work through things, and figure out your own friendly foods (that don't trigger ridiculous cravings or cause you to feel 'ick') - you can come to a place where things are comfortable and don't feel "strict."

When you try something new, and are in the midst of trying to nix cravings, lose weight, feel healthier or what have you - it does feel very strict, but I think this is mainly because everything is a bit different and requires attention, thought and planning. The good news is that if you just keep going and work out your own best plan, the entire process will become a whole lot easier. It won't seem like so much of a challenge, because it won't be 'brand-new' to you, if that makes sense. The feeling of 'strict' will go away! I guess I'm just saying that it only feels strict because it's new, and there's a lot of work, planning and prepping going on. Soon, it will become 'old hat'.

Hang in there and I hope you're feeling better!

I do often feel lousy the day after eating refined flour now, if I eat it in a large enough quantity. (E.g. pasta) It's rare for me to eat that, these days, and typically I pay the next day somehow. I wouldn't even dignify this with the name "gluten intolerance." It's just a yucky, hungover feeling. But whether it has a name or not doesn't really matter, since I just try avoid meals that are high in refined carbs, period.

Mochi, the way I interpreted the LE habits, it was pretty much a primal diet.

I think one habit that has changed is the carb habit...when I began in the program they said "starchy carbs post-workout only" but now it's "choose carbs wisely."

I think the new habit is a better, more realistic one -- one that allows for individual variation, and one in line with the view that there's no such thing as a "bad" or a "good" food -- just better or worse choices. I think in the past there was a danger of people demonizing carbs, going too low with them, ignoring their own bodies' needs, etc.

But the advantage of the earlier formulation of that habit was that it probably had more immediate and drastic effects. I ended up eating mostly vegetables, a few fruits, meat/ eggs/ fish, and healthy fats. And I still eat that way for the most part, though I do eat more healthy carbs than I did when I was actively trying to lose weight.

What I know for myself is that a regime of mostly vegetables, enough lean protein (and for me, that's quite a bit) and healthy fats, plus a small complement of whole foods carbs, seems to keep cravings at bay for the most part -- and prevents me from feeling that awful hungover feeling I can get now from too much refined anything.


Having said that, I still seem to be able to manage small and occasional amounts of refined flour/ sugar/ white rice, etc. without any problems at all. But "occasional" is key. It can't be my daily habit.

I am on day 3 of no gluten or sugar and think I am past the worst of it. This totally reminds me of when I quit smoking. I hadn't realized how much it affected me until I had gone a few days without and then used a nicotine patch that was too strong for me. I quit cold turkey after the reaction and it has been well over 20 years.

I have been making a big pot of chicken vegetable soup every few days and eating that when I feel like eating (as compared to when I am hungry) and it really helps. Other than the chicken breast, I add celery, carrots, onion, and diced tomato. I also put 1/3 cup of brown rice but this is into at least 3-4 liters of soup so not much.

It is interesting that I rarely actually feel hungry and even when I do, I don't feel a great urge to eat. I am clearly an emotional and binge eater.

You're doing well dianthus! Woo hoo for getting back on track, even though I know it's *tough*. I just wanted to say though, that you might want to consider blaming the food, and not the person (ie. you) or behaviour. Just as we try to remind ourselves here at YLF that it's not a person's body/shape, but rather the clothes that aren't the right fit - I think the same is true with food as well.

Food for thought: maybe it isn't that you're an emotional or so-called "binge eater", but perhaps certain types of food are extremely addictive. In fact, I remember reading an article in the New York Times magazine recently about the process of making manufactured food/snacks as addictive as possible. Let me go look it up....

Here it is: "The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk Food" (warning: long, but still a fascinating read)

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02.....ewanted=al

In the meantime, love the soup idea. It's an excellent strategy to have something "go to" like this on hand.

Just as an aside, here are a few other strategies that have worked for me over the longer haul:

#1 - Don't test my own willpower too much - if I'm going to a party or a fancy restaurant, I eat something 'small-ish' before I leave, so I'm not ravenous or tempted by too many things. A handy-dandy small snack has been few bites of olive-oil packed tuna. I might add green onions to it, or dill relish or a bit of mustard. Doesn't need mayo because of the olive oil, and it's 'moist' enough to not need any mayo anyway. Love this stuff - particularly tasty in a green salad at lunch too with some kalamata olives, tomatoes, green onions, grape tomatoes etc.

http://www.starkist.com/produc.....-olive-oil

Quick alternative is a small portion of nuts (ie. macadamia nuts) or perhaps a couple of tablespoons of almond butter. Even a hard-boiled egg or something, if I've been organized enough to have some in the fridge.

#2 - It's not reasonable to expect that you'll never eat dessert or cake again - I just don't have it in the house, unless I'm having company - and further, a little tip is to "use it up" . You can get past the cravings that such an item triggers faster by burning it off - that's what the carbs are for! Someone that has toast or a bagel for breakfast and then walks to work, or walks to a transit stop may not find these foods as 'addicting' - because the fuel is being used up/burned off before anything goes too haywire. Something to keep in mind when it's your birthday or some other celebration - you *can* have a slice of cake or dessert, but you might want to go on a power walk later that evening or first thing the next morning. Doing so will shorten up the after-effects of feeling sluggish and/or cravings. Note: if you suspect that gluten makes you feel ill, I'd recommend g/f stuff on these (hopefully) rare occasions. The other night I had a slice of gluten-free, flourless, hazelnut chocolate torte during our anniversary dinner out at a nice restaurant. Went nuts on housework next day, and there are no dire cravings hanging around.

#3 - don't go out shopping (of any kind - groceries, clothes, hardware store) without eating something first, no matter what - I know it seems ridiculous, but I have noticed that I spend more and make more shopping mistakes if I'm hungry! Weird eh? Plus, there's the "temptation" factor if shopping for a few hours - easy to get sucked into a restaurant or the food court. I remember meeting up with my Mom and one of her friends for a vacation in Palm Springs. The three of us women were all excited about going to a local outlet mall...they had coffee and were raring to go. I insisted that I needed something to eat before leaving the house. There was some leftover cold chicken salad in the fridge, so I had a scoop of that, plus half an apple sliced up. After three or four hours of "power shopping" - we ended up at a fast-food/diner type place. Mom and friend ordered breaded zucchini, burgers, fries etc. I wasn't 'starving', so was able to just get myself a nice salad with some shrimp on it. Interesting tidbit - they were tired after lunch, and I was ready to keep shopping

Ok - enough of the novel....clearly, the topic is one I'm passionate about.

Good luck everyone - the sugar addiction can be resolved or at least minimized, I promise!

You can be hypoglycemic like me. When sugar makes you feel weak, shaky, jittery, and confused, your craving for it dies really, really fast.

Also, I will note that having a basically paleo diet does give me more tolerance for the occasional bite of cake. I do like cake - I just can't eat very much of it.