low carb and depression
 

When I Low Carb, I get depressed...and as soon as i eat a candy bar or a cookie, i feel like everything is perfect in the world.
I know it is the serotonin connection, but how do i get through each day when i just crave carbs and i know that as soon as my :wave: :wave: tongue feels that sugar, i am flying high?
I crave carbs so much...when i eat something sugary or carbs, i feel like i can accomplish anything...talk about a power trip!
any suggestions?
i don't want to die young..
thanks everyone

Yes, I understand completely what you're saying. It's an insidious addiction. Once you acknowledge it, it won't go away, but you can start taking steps to recovering from the addiction. I know, it really sucks!

I'm talking to you now, one addict to another. I get the same high from sugar.

There is no answer though that will give you the magic bullet 'cause it's the bullet you have to bite to get through this.

L-glutamine can help - the powdered form, not the pill - taken 1/2 hour before you eat, but it really boils down to you making it happen.

A book I like to recommend is Potatoes not Prozac by Kathleen Desmaisons and the organization called Overeaters Anonymous. It's tough to do this by yourself, and a group like this may be just the medicine you need to get you started.

Let us know how it goes.

Karen

You are not alone _ I feel the EXACT same (although it is only sugar not other carbs that give me the high. Other carbs just make me FAT :D ).

I am very depressed at the moment and fight sugar cravings every single day, but you can get through it. Unfortunetly it involves a lot of heartfelt emotion and exploring things you don't wanna explore. Like any addiction, it is a great way to escape from real feelings.

I haven't come out the other side yet; but someday I will


(((((((((((((HUGS)))))))))))))))))))))))))))

me too!
 

I can relate totally I have a pretty easy time the first three weeks of Atkin's well I totally gave in to it the last couple of days and feel HORRIBLE It is so not worht giving it all up for. I hope you feel better take care :wave:

Even before I started on this WOE I knew that if I ate any sweet thing, I was going to crave ( and eat) sweets the rest of the day. So it's been easy for me to know that if I cave in to the craving, I'll just start that vicious cycle all over again. If I get a craving for something, I usually find that if I have a couple olives, that it takes away the need for anything else. Plus I know that if I eat sweets, I will upset my stomach and have that IBS flare up.

try to think of it this way....

You are low carbing, losing weight, and becoming healthier... aren't all of those reasons to be happy?

Depression
 

Wow. I must be lucky.

Ever since I started LCing, my depressions have lifted. Yes, sugar gave me a momentary glow, as did nicotine and booze, but the constant roller-coaster effect left me generally depressed...much like watching hours of TV.

Getting off all these addictions lifted the depressions....but it was LCing that was the most crucial. I do not crave cigs or booze or carbs or TV...largely because I feel so great without them. It does take a while to adjust (strangely, the carb addiction took the quickest), so patience is key. I find belief in a higher power is essential, but not all do.

I'm truly sorry you are experiencing the opposite; and i wish I knew a solution. Unfortunately, we are all wired differently....keep searching for your answers. Meanwhile, I'll include you in my prayers.

Very best,
Mark

Depression, 2
 

Oh....almost forgot. EXERCISE. Exercise is a proven serotonin producer. I have exercised every day since starting LC....I consider it essential. I find that when I read the journals here, those who exercise regularly seem to have less problems with depression, cravings and set backs. Not all, but generally, I find this to be true.

We are made to move. Unfortunately we live in a sedentary culture. Exercise is thus a necessary requirement for good health in our age. No two ways about it.

Keep movin!
Mark

Depression 3
 

LOL. Can't shut me up tonight!

Lest you think that smiling face over there knows nothing about depression, you should know that the first time I tried suicide was at the tender age of 14. Depression I know. My diet at that time consisted of Ho-Hos, Dr. Pepper, and ice cream sandwiches (5 for lunch every day). I never exercised or played sports. I truly believe that if had been eating low-carb and exercising, I would never have gotten to the point of swallowing two bottles of pills.

Carbs, like cigs, like booze, like tv, is for me an addiction. In other words, I cannot think that one day I can start eating ice cream again, or pasta or potatoes. It is over. Period. Done. Buh-bye!

Hello protein and fat and a bit of carb. That is how I live from now on. Playing with fake sweets or chemical sweeteners I find as dangerous as drinking non-alcoholic beer, or bumming "just one" smoke from a friend, or buying a TV for my guests. Addictions need firm rejections. It has worked with TV, cigs, booze and now carbs.

My way is not everyone's way. We must all find a way that works for us. But if you are "cheating" then your way is not working and you need to find another way.

Regardless, never give up hope. As I lay in my bed with two bottles of pills in me, a voice kept saying, Mark, you'll be on your own in 4 years, and then you can live as you choose. My hope was revived, I got up and had to beg my mother to take me to the hospital (she sent me back to bed! LOL...oh mother dearest!)

But I'm now 45 and relatively successful for an ADDer who was not diagnosed till I was 39, and who was addicted to so many things.

Hope. Do not give up Hope.

You are a unique expression of creation...fight for your place at the table of Joy.

We all encounter mild bouts of the blues sometimes regardless of whether we low carb or not and sugar seems to be a quick fix, but it's like putting a bandaid on a corpse. All of my quick sugar fixes only served to make me fat. Being fat makes me very depressed and I'm not just talking about a bad day. When I was fatter I did all I could to avoid all social situations and I even did my grocery shopping at 3 AM to avoid seeing anyone I knew (actually I was avoiding being seen). I felt like the situation was hopeless and went to bed most nights wishing I wouldn't wake up in the morning. Since losing some of the weight, the depression has lifted, but I still do have mild bouts of the blues from time to time. It finally got to the point that it was just too painful to continue to be as fat as I was. In the long run, a quick sugar fix only contributes to a much deeper depression for me.
asugar :wave: