Sugar made me an asshole

I've been off pretty much all refined sugar and grains of any kind since I tried and subsequently ditched Wellbutrin a few months ago. 

{Photo of crack. I mean, sugar. Same difference?}

Yes, I needed to lose some pounds, but really I wanted to lose the "I'm an extraordinary asshole" couple of weeks that would occur in relation to PMS and Ovulation or just being a 30-something woman apparently.  

I ain't gonna lie. The first few days were hard. As in "rabid animal about to tear shit up for some fucking cookies" hard.

It didn't help that I wasn't eating fruit either.

But it got better pretty quickly, and now save the fruit that I added back in (some raw, some dried), a bit of dark chocolate, and dark chocolate peanut butter because I'm not completely insane people (and OMG have you tasted that shit?), I survive mostly on nuts, vegetables, meat, fish, and a little cheese.

Oh, and gigantic 5 Guys hamburgers with no rolls every now and then. 

I still drink coffee. And booze (but maybe once a week at most, no beer).

And I need to drink more water. 

But I lost about 10 pounds. And generally speaking, I'm no longer an asshole. A little weepy. A lot of anxious still during my PMS week. But not nearly as bad as I was.

Like waaaaaaaaaaay not as bad. 

This all happened when I got the Paragard IUD and I started taking B-12 supplements, so I don't know if that has anything to do with anything (scientific terms there), but it's been absolutely 100% worth it. 

And the weirdest, coolest, and not so surprising part: I don't crave the carbs or the sugar at all. 

None. Nada. 

I have no plan or method or fancy-named diet or dramatic reasoning like TOXIC SUGAR! which Mark Bittman addressed in his recent New York Times column. 

Just no sugar. Mostly.

No grains.

A whole lot of will power.

{photo via}

Comments

[Yamato]

I was avoiding some kind of sugar and controlling them. I just consume some sugar from fruit. So I avoiding white sugar and their family. This help me to decrease my diabetes.

[Barbara]

After spending the last year staving off post-partum depression by eating my feelings, I am finally dealing with my feelings and my eating habits. I hate sugar and all it does to me now. Add in the nasty candida infestation and I'm o-v-e-r it. My greatest challenge is beans, which I love, and milk in my coffee.

FYI GABA Calm helps during the "bad week".

[Titania Jordan]

This is extremely compelling. Congratulations!

[Motherhood Uncensored]

@Karen: I was taking 500mg under the tongue. Now I'm on 1000mg swallowed pills mostly because that's what I grabbed - ha!

I'd give it a try and see if it helps.

[Ali]

Congrats! I just read "The Hunger Fix" by Pam Peeke a few weeks ago and it woke me up to some cold hard truths about food addiction. I've been dessert-free for 2 weeks and have cut out bread and pasta as well and I definitely see a difference in my moods and weight. But it ain't easy. Good luck to you!

[Azara]

I've wondered many times to what extent my extreme sugar habits were making my depression and anxiety worse. I did try to cut out the sugar once and became so depressed in day 2 of the diet that I couldn't take it and mainlined a chocolate bar. I can't believe how despondent I felt, and I'm not sure what to make of that. I think it means I'm truly addicted to sugar, physically and psychologically.

I'm hugely impressed you're doing this. Good luck and congrats on your success so far!

[Mom101]

You're my hero. And I can attest to the fact that you look mahvelous.

[Karen]

How much of the B12 are you supplementing with? This is on my radar screen to help me not be a monster come "bad week."

[RookieMom Heather]

Congratulations. That's a big effing deal.

[BethB.]

Me too- except I do eat things like soy yogurt that has sugar and eat rice/quinoa.. But I stopped eating/drinking milk products and that totally cleared up my skin.. Kristen - thanks for sharing your journey!

[Julie Marsh]

Holy crap, that sugar article threw me for a loop. Read it a few days ago and sent it to Kyle too. Helped underscore my efforts to cut out sugar.

What's been interesting for me is that we've all lost the taste for it. Occasional sweets, like birthday cakes and rare homemade desserts, sate us. Our exchange student still stocks the fridge and pantry with her self-bought junk, but my kids don't pilfer it or even ask for it.

[Motherhood Uncensored]

Congrats to you, @Jenny! One thing at a time, right?

[Jenny]

I just quit drinking (three weeks sober today!), and I've been craving sugar. I've let myself indulge, but I know I need to cut back soon. Congrats on making such a huge change!

[Motherhood Uncensored]

@Emily: We honestly don't each much sugar around here. I limit it to natural kinds. No candy really, cakes, cookies -- most are "healthy" like natural animal crackers or Kashi stuff. Fruit dessert nights and that sort of thing.

It's easy to set limits for the kids and abuse them for myself, which is what I was doing.

[Tabitha]

I definitely notice that my mood is MUCH worse when I've been eating junk. I limit grains and stick with mostly whole/real foods, but sugar is my weakness. I've been doing a lot better with it lately, though, and my mood is definitely reflecting that. No IUD or B-12 here, so I know it's the food. Now to find a therapist for this damn lingering PPD... (which the food is also helping, but not completely).

[Amanda]

I'm interested in exploring this mostly because I am becoming increasingly leery of the lies companies use to veil what is in their products. My guilt is huge that the places that I still buy boxed and bagged stuff are snacks for the girls. I thought I was safe buying certain brands but then I saw the Santa Cruz GMO stuff and I snapped.

Thanks for the push. I think I worried about making too much off limits for the girls, but honestly I think I'd rather have them be a little different than chock full of chemicals and crap.

[kim]

I've been toying with the idea of something like this--or cutting out chocolate, but I feel like I'd need to go out of town, away from my family and societal expectations for a few days while I detox. I'm sure those first days were really hard, as you note above. Hmmm. Thanks for sharing.

[Emily]

What about the diets of your kids? Have you made changes there as well? If so, what's been the outcome? After reading the article you linked to I'm thinking sugar might be a bigger problem in my house than I thought.

[Betsy]

Hormones and vitamin deficiency and PMS, Oh my.

I have to say, I stopped the pill, started taking high doses of D3 (prescribed by a doctor) and also added a combo of folic acid and vitamin B's and I feel such a big difference.

Good luck to you!

[Sheryl]

I'd like to quit sugar, but I'm afraid to jump off that cliff.

[jodifur]

Me too....best part for me, my skin, which I've been struggling with for years....completely cleared up. I'd like to reintroduce whole grains but I've been told I'll probably break out again.