Depression and sugar/carbs?

[lolanej]

So, I've been doing a little action evaluation after falling off of LC for the past week.

Scary: after cheating, I became unbelievably moody and very, very depressed. I've been battling depression my whole adult/young adult life, and the swing I experienced after going off of sugar and carbs for two and a half weeks and then cheating like crazy for a week and a half was intense.

Anyone else notice that sugar/carbs affect their mood in a drastic way? I wasn't exercising, so I know that wasn't affecting anything (ie I didn't exercise for a while then stop... though after reading about exercise v. depression on the web, I'm starting a walking program tomorrow morning).

I'm convinced that insulin/hormones might be the root cause of most of the unbearable depression I've been going through for the past 5ish years. (It started after I lost a considerable amount of weight, then gained it back plus about 30 lbs).

[quietone]

it makes a huge difference in my mood swings. I stay much more even-keeled when I watch the carbs.

But, it doesn't seem to make a difference regarding the "real" stuff, which is SAD.

[FabByFifty]

Hi and good luck. I hope you get to feeling better. I think that when you are following your diet and doing good you do feel better, and then when you slip and go off track it is more like a pyhological depression. You just lose the confidence you had when you were doing it right. I know eating this way is definitely healthier for you and it does boost you energy and moods so it might have something to do with your carb, sugar intake. There is just too many factors when it comes to emotions to tell for sure. But, I hope you feel better and I'm sure when you get into the routine of following your plan and exercising you will feel a hundred percent better!
Good Luck!
Brenda

[Amanda7373]

hi :) I hope you are feeling better. I'm not too sure but i do think that sugar and carbs can cause some depression. I have battled with depression since i can remember and it didnt totally go away until i started doing Low Carb. I dont know what it is but it seemed to releive me of it. I'm pretty sure in Dr. Atkins book that it does say something about depression and how the Atkins plan will take care of it. Have you read the book at all?

[pastaJunky]

Hi! I battle major depression and mild bi polar disorder... when I did my low carb plan Nov. 2001 to May 2002 I didn't even need my meds and I was fine most of the time. I truly think not riding the sugar/nicotine/caffine rollercoaster makes a BIG difference.

I went off my meds again last december and have had a really rough time... but I'm confident that now that I'm back on track food wise that things will normalize.

[cs_carver]

I can't swear that HC foods cause depression, exactly, but they sure don't help any. The swings. The hangovers. The self-hate from eating too much and gaining. The fat feeling. The helplessness. Is it mood or is it sugar or is there even a difference?

When I'm LC, I figure the basic system is pretty stable, and then I can see a little more clearly into mood and exercise and meds and events in my life and how I'm processing them and tell what's depression and what's not.

Never had a hope of untangling it before.

[Rain1272]

Anyone else notice that sugar/carbs affect their mood in a drastic way?

I am a long term chronic clinical depression/anxiety disorder suffer. I had to go off my meds due to lack of insurance and was able to handle the depression fine until I started LCing. I talked to my dietitician about this and she said that there is a direct link to serotonin production/usage with carbohydrate intake. With the lower carbs the depression kicked into overdrive. So with that in mind she tweaked the carb intake and raised it slightly and I seem to be able to maintain the depression again without the meds and still lose weight. Give your body a chance to catch up to the lower carbs. It gets used to the higher amounts and basically pitches a fit to get what it wants. After a while though it will become used to the lower amounts. I may still end up back on the meds but that is because the depression is pretty severe for me. If yours isn't so bad you will eventually level off.

[zorra_1]

I do believe it was a direct result of the carby foods I was eating, actually inhaling! If I didn't get pie when the craving hit, I was homicidal. I would have those feelings where you would eat and eat and never be full. This WOL has eliminated those feelings.