Refined sugars and mood
Fri, Jul. 29th, 2011 07:08 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
scarlettinaI have noted previously that meringue cookies are a trigger food for me; in other words, once I start eating them, I have a hard time stopping. Now, as trigger foods go, meringues are relatively harmless, less than one PointsPlus value per cookie. I could have four at a sitting, incur only three points' worth of damage (my limit for the day is 29 PointsPlus, just to provide some scale and context), and enjoy their tasty sweetness. But the problem was always that I couldn't stop there. Well, I've been off them for a couple of months now. In a burst of optimism (or perhaps false hope), I bought a box last week and then another earlier this week and discovered two really important things:
1) Meringue cookies are still a trigger food for me.
2) They--or perhaps more specifically, refined sugars--affect my mood in a significant way.
One of the benefits of doing my food program has been a pretty significant swing toward productivity and positivity in my moods over the last half year. It only occurred to me about six weeks ago that I've been generally feeling pretty good this year, no deep mood dips or feelings of despair, which I used to have pretty regularly. The last two weeks, however, have been a different story. I've been feeling less sure about my weight loss despite the fact that I've had continued success. I've suffered a pretty significant drop in confidence about my writing (which may also have to do with a rejection I received, on top of struggling with what I'm working on). I've been feeling sad and lonely and have, on occasion, spent more time than is healthy pacing back and forth across the floor like a caged animal. All of this behavior has manifested since I brought significant doses of refined sugar back into my life. While it probably isn't all attributable to the cookies, I'm betting a good part of it is.
Last night, I dumped the balance of the cookies out into the yard waste bin behind the house. No more meringue cookies for me. None. Period. The end. I can't do this anymore. I can't feel this way anymore. It's destructive and discouraging and just miserable.
1) Meringue cookies are still a trigger food for me.
2) They--or perhaps more specifically, refined sugars--affect my mood in a significant way.
One of the benefits of doing my food program has been a pretty significant swing toward productivity and positivity in my moods over the last half year. It only occurred to me about six weeks ago that I've been generally feeling pretty good this year, no deep mood dips or feelings of despair, which I used to have pretty regularly. The last two weeks, however, have been a different story. I've been feeling less sure about my weight loss despite the fact that I've had continued success. I've suffered a pretty significant drop in confidence about my writing (which may also have to do with a rejection I received, on top of struggling with what I'm working on). I've been feeling sad and lonely and have, on occasion, spent more time than is healthy pacing back and forth across the floor like a caged animal. All of this behavior has manifested since I brought significant doses of refined sugar back into my life. While it probably isn't all attributable to the cookies, I'm betting a good part of it is.
Last night, I dumped the balance of the cookies out into the yard waste bin behind the house. No more meringue cookies for me. None. Period. The end. I can't do this anymore. I can't feel this way anymore. It's destructive and discouraging and just miserable.
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no subject
Date: Fri, Jul. 29th, 2011 02:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Fri, Jul. 29th, 2011 02:18 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Fri, Jul. 29th, 2011 02:27 pm (UTC)So good for you for throwing those cookies out. You will feel better about everything in your life, and who know? It may make a difference to your weight loss as well.
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Date: Fri, Jul. 29th, 2011 04:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Fri, Jul. 29th, 2011 03:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Fri, Jul. 29th, 2011 06:15 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Fri, Jul. 29th, 2011 10:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Fri, Jul. 29th, 2011 11:28 pm (UTC)Kate and I call white sugar "refined white plant powder." You know, like heroin or cocaine.