Thursday, December 10, 2009

Bringing out the worst in me

Until recently in my life, I haven't realized the connection between the food I put in my mouth, and my overall disposition.

The last several months have been wonderful, and tough in many ways. I've been adjusting to a big change in life, and there are bound to be ups and downs. But recently, after I cut out almost all of the sugar in my diet, I noticed that my mood was tremendously better. My energy levels soared. My stress levels were totally manageable. And I've been generally happy. I didn't realize that it was partially attributed to my food intake until this past week.

After my birthday celebrations this weekend, I had a few sweets. Unfortunately, it sent me into a vicious cycle of wanting more sugar. I have been craving chocolate again, with a vengeance. I started to feel moody, and tired. I've woken up feeling hazy and exhausted. At first, I thought that it was attributed to the fact that I'm anxious because I'm returning to work after my maternity leave very soon. But last night, I realized that my food intake has been suboptimal (for my usual self!), and it's probably not helping matters. I had the worst headache I've had in a long time. It was miserable.

Food fuels our body. The body can't operate on pure sugar and salt. It needs healthy, nourishing food. And while a little treat every now and then is totally fine, binging on sugar can totally send my body into chaos-land. Simply put: sugar brings out the worst in me.

I know this sounds simple: what you put in your body is what you'll be able to get out, in terms of energy, mood, and quality of life. It's 100% true! I've lived it now.

So instead of scrounging through the cupboards for a "quick lunch" today, I decided to take an extra ten minutes and prepare something really delicious for myself.

I baked some sweet potato fries in the oven with a bit of olive oil. I made myself a little side salad on mixed greens with cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, and pumpkin seeds. I grilled two veggie burgers. And I feel truly amazing and ready to take on the rest of the day.

Sugar, be gone. At least until I can handle you in small doses again.

6 comments:

Sheridan said...

good for you and I totally agree...my body runs on premium too, good stuff makes for happier me, and just the fact you took the extra time to make a good meal with you and your health in mind is super! :)

Rebecca said...

i think its great your tackling this.

it's so hard, but once you do, it's like the habit is kicked!

i love reading your entries lately...very inspiring!

Nicole said...

i crave sugar too. i think it's super addictive.

Martalu said...

You know what? I've never made this connection, and maybe it's really simplistic, but eating too much sugar is the equivalent of drinking too much alcohol! They have similar effects, although alcohol also has the dehydration thing going. But alcohol turns to sugar and that is part of why we have hangovers. Ugh. Good for you for dumping that again!

All Women Stalker said...

It's good that you have finally made that connection. As for me, it wasn't until I read this entry that I have started thinking about my food intake and the energy I get from it. I think I'm like you. When i got into my 2-week rut, I started eating a lot of carbs and sugar again. It made me feel weak and even more depressed. But this morning, I decided to exercise and cook a nice breakfast. Amazingly, I feel a whole lot better today!

-Denise

Teresa said...

Isn't sugar often referred to as one of "the white poisons". It really sends me for a loop as well. Good for you taking the extra time to cook something a little special. Keep up the good work, excellent frame of mind.