How does Sugar Binge Affect You?
 

After a week away at a retreat where they feed you endlessly, I have inevitably succumbed to the sugar binge these last 2 days. I had a cold during the entire retreat and it came back strong last night and today.

I'm wondering if it's the sugar binge and wonder how this affects others?

Do you get a sore throat immediately?

Inquiring minds....

My husband and I are 4 months into Atkins and we have a planned Cheat Day every 40th day. These are definitely sugar-laden days for us! However, when it's over and we have satiated our desires for whatever foods we were missing, we are happy to go right back to eating right. We have changed our way of thinking about sugars and flours and we regard these foods as treats to be enjoyed every once in awhile as part of our new lifestyle.

It takes us two days to get back into ketosis and for me, a few days to drop the retained water, but by the next weekly weigh-in, we always show a loss....he much more than I, but that's just the disparate male/female weight loss reality. :lol: His body seems to be reinvigorated for losing after a Cheat Day. Mine just plods along at the usual rate of 1 -2 lbs per week.

Neither of us have experienced any physical problems at all, nor any psychological problems that others here frequently describe, such as continued binge behavior, wild cravings, "induction flu" symptoms, etc.

As far as your cold symptoms go, colds are caused by a viral infection, not by food. Your immune system may be weakened by poor eating habits and your cold symptoms may last longer for that reason, but it's also quite possible that you have an undiagnosed/unrecognized food allergy that produces symptoms similar to a cold. There's something that I eat every once in a while that gives me an itchy nose, watery eyes, and nasal congestion. It hasn't bothered me enough to find out what it is but it certainly isn't a cold. And I've never gotten a sore throat (nor heard of anyone else getting one) after eating sugar. Your sore throat may be caused by it drying out if you are mouth-breathing due to nasal congestion, or by post-nasal drip (your sinuses draining fluid/mucous down your throat), or you may have tonsillitis, or by a bacterial infection such as strep throat, which can be easily diagnosed with a simple throat culture done in a doctor's office.

I don't know how it will affect me once I've been on atkins for a while, but I already know I'm super sensitive to sugar. I've gone through cycles in the past where I won't touch it for a while, then I'll binge. Sugar makes me incredibly sick and drunk. I react to sugar the same way as most do to alcohol (which is basically sugars anyway). I can get hyper, a bit giddy and feel the rush inside (can't explain exactly), then I'll suddenly feel really, really ill.

i get really b*tchy when i have too much sugar. and my skin looks like crap. and i want more and more and more. it's pure evil, i tell ya.

after i've been on plan for a good while, any treat causes a crash within 1/2 to 1 hour, and i mean i'm snoring on the couch crash.

At first I feel great when I eat sugar, but after a couple of days of it I feel horrible, and I ALWAYS get sick...cold, sore throat, whatever. I get bloated too. Skin seems OK. I get very moody too.

Thanks for all your input! I've been off the binge for several days and still have a sore throat, etc. It's definitely a cold or something so I guess the "good news" is that I seem to have processed the sugar just fine. Although I swear my cheeks (face, not butt!) got bigger in just a week! Down about 4 lbs scale wise, but I know that's not real. Back to clean eating....

When I binge, I get that high, but it doesn't last long unless I keep the sugar coming. I binged yesterday, I had the high, we had lunch, which was lC so it probably helped, but after lunch, I was asleep, for 4 hours! Thats normal for me, I can't get out of bed after I binge.

Yeah, that's my whole prob. I cannot have a cheat day. Every time I do, I go on a 4 week bender and gain all the weight back. I am so highly addicted to sugar and carbs. Now, I am having trouble getting motivated.
But, that's why I'm here now posting on ALC in order to get back on diet.
I want to start again after my Bday next week.
How do people do a Bday, and not continue to binge?
I am a binger.

Meat, green vegs and fats it healthy enough with out grains.

But, look at the "diet" in the garden of Eden:
All the fruit of the trees and every green herb of the field.

No meat.

It looks to me that God intended us to be VEGANS!

This has always bothered me.

Why would God give us a diet that would make us unhealthy?

Hi Israeli ~

The diet as you described in the Garden of Eden ended when Adam and Eve sinned, and they were cast out of the Garden and into the world. Basically, humans then became part of the food chain and as such, omnivores. Once they partook of the forbidden fruit, everything that had existed in the Garden of Eden changed for mankind.

Even Christ Himself dined on fish and presumably beef at feasts, where fatted calves were slaughtered for such occasions. I would imagine He would have also enjoyed lamb meat, goat meat, various poultry and other seafood, plus all of the wonderful by-products made from the milk of cows and goats.

I'm sorry to hear that you are having trouble getting motivated and staying on course. I guess your question of how one does a birthday without it turning into a prolonged lapse of eating LC (or a binge) depends on each individual person...their desire to cheat in the first place, their tolerance for occasional treats, their desire to return to eating right, and their will to not give into the mindset of "well I blew it today, might as well wait until tomorrow, or Monday, or the 1st day of the month," etc.

Just because it's your birthday does not mean that you MUST go off of your low carb way of eating. Instead of cake, you can treat yourself to something luxurious that you don't have very often, like perhaps lobster or snow crab or whatever delicacies you eat in your part of the world. There are also some LC desserts that can be enjoyed, such as LC cheesecake.

You have options. You just have to have the willpower and hopefully, the support of family and friends (like us here!) to help you stay the course on your journey. :)

Thanks Cakepro, good point on the Garden of Eden eating vs after the time of Jesus. Yeah, He is a good example of today.

True, it does not HAVE to be cake on Bday.
I'll think of some nice seafood resturant.

One day at a time!

I was visiting with a friend not long ago and we were discussing the same thing. I don't read the bible, but I was brought up in the Christan Church and do remember some. My friend told me that it mentions in the bible that God said we are to eat animal flesh and enjoy it.

Sometimes it even helps just to think one meal at a time! Remove all the bad stuff from your pantry & fridge and stock up with good things that are easy to grab and eat. I think that it's when we get really hungry and don't have something quick to eat when we are most vulnerable. If you're starving and before you is only a whole chicken in the fridge (which would take an hour to prep and cook) or a bag of chips in the pantry...the bag of chips usually wins. :lol:

You can do it!! We're here for you. :)

I had some serious moments of mind altering cravings. I knew if I touched the cookies, I would be lost for days or longer. I scrubbed the fridge and lifted weights, I'm in a much better state of mind and can truly think with a clear head, for now.

If I broke, It would be hard to get back into it, and the cravings would be awful, like I'm dealing with now. I gave on Tuesday, and I'm feeling the pains of my foolishness today. Cravings have to be the worse, trying to deal with them can be he**.

Stomach ache, so tired i pass out, head ache, no energy the next day. My body hates carbs......but my tongue thinks they are tasty!

Not sure if this is a coincidence or not but I have gotten those "shark bite" cramps in my calves after my last couple of cheats.

I also tend to get the usual bloat and feel generally bad for a couple of days afterwards.