Back In The Kitchen
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Okay, I don’t feel good – so why can’t I admit that to myself? I woke up this morning and have been repeating over and over the though ‘No, you actually feel fine…good even…start your day and get out of the house.’ At the moment this just not true. No I do not ‘feel fine’, I feel like I was run over repeatedly by one of those huge metro buses – - hmm, how to explain…everything from my head, to my stomach, to my skin just feels like shit hurts.
No it’s not a hangover. Well not in the alcohol and drug sense of the word. What I am wondering is if you can get a hangover from food. Yes, I know that anyone can probably eat until they make their stomach hurt – but does their entire body hurt the next day? This is a reoccurring thing with me and I find it utterly confusing. I am not one for sugar/sweet indulgences but on occasion[<-- that was a lie, in reality it's quite often] I feel extremely hungry and compensate by eating a large amount of food. [As a side note: I do try to stick with relatively healthy foods such as fruit, meats, lower fat items ...not that I am always successful...]. What I want to know about is the physical effects this has on my body the next day. I once likened the feeling to having a bruise over my entire body. My skin becomes painful to the touch, in addition to the more obvious symptoms such as a headache and stomach pains.
I can’t help but wonder if this is a typical response to overeating. I do know that it has a disastrous snowball effect in that once I feel this crapy bad, all I want to do is comfort myself with food. Yes I do know that it will not help and will make things worse – but this knowledge does not seem to be enough of a deterrent. It might even be that knowing this makes me more prone to head back into the kitchen. ‘Oh you don’t think you can feel any worse, well lets see about that,’ or ‘I know you planned all night to work out today but you don’t feel good, might as well eat instead…’.
It’s odd watching myself say these things to myself, knowing they are compete nonsense, but being somewhat at their beck and call. I do know the consequences of actions like these. I was overweight in my teen years and while I am currently a slim looking 5′7 130 lb woman [<-- that wasn't easy] – the weight/FOOD issue is a constant battle.
[Another side note I find interesting: My finance does not share in these struggles. He is healthy, extremely fit, eats what he wants, stops eating when he is reasonably full, works hard, and usually feels great with the exception of some version of IBS. Watching him, for me, is like a science experiment. I look at him go about his day without the obsessions that plague mine and I take him as proof that no, everyone in the world does not battle with this as I do. 'Ahem, no Andrea, you are not the center of the universe...'.
It seems that the problem of obesity and weight in general - in the U.S. and possibly elsewhere - is, at least in part, derived by own own obsession with restriction and substitutions in the name of healthy living. C has never had to diet. He cannot conceptualize why anyone would eat huge portions of something - past their comfort level. While he doesn't eat low fat versions of food because they don't taste as good, he does avoid eating fast food saturated in oil too often - ie. more than a couple times a week... If he is hungry - he eats, when he's full that's it. He has no anxiety whatsoever in conjunction with food. (I am reminded here of something I heard in an AA meeting several years ago. They said that an alcoholic is unable to waste alcohol - can't understand how someone could drink half a glass and be done with it. Are we simply becoming foodaholics? <--this word is not found in my computer's spell check function despite the fact it suggests 'workaholic, shopaholic, and chocoholic'... The 'clean your plate before you leave the table' gone horribly wrong?)]
I don’t have any answers but I do have a thought or two. Overeaters Anonymous deals with overeating. (I’m sure you knew that. Do I have a strong sense of the obvious or what?) At your height and weight I can’t imagine you being a candidate, but probably like AA, it’s up to the individual to decide. I have very similar eating tendencies. It might be a potential problem. But when I’m healthy in other areas, I don’t eat as much or for comfort.
Additionally, I keep hearing about this Fibromyalgia. Could that explain the pain your having? And of course clinical depression can cause aches and pains.
Take care.
Thanks for the response Rob ;-)
I looked into the Fibromyalgia you suggested. Many of the symptoms sound similar but quite a few were a little off. Plus the really odd thing is that this only occurs at times when I overeat. On other thought is the possibility of its connection with my hypothyroidism which was diagnosed about six months ago. My body does make T3 (a hormone associated with the thyroid), nor does it create anything in my blood that would signal it as lacking (hypothalamus…).
I currently take 2 five mcg tablets, 3 times a day – 30 total mcg. The reason I bring this up is that hypothyroidism was listed on the Fibromyalgia site as something that would cause similar symptoms.
Thanks again for the response.
What you describe is related to insulin levels, but not insulin problems alone…the ‘feeling bruised all over’ and ’skin hurting’…is a ‘textbook example’ of ‘insulin crash’ problems. (And, serotonin deficiency is a leading cause of ‘food cravings’.)
And though there has not been a clinical link (causality etc.) established between serotonin fluctuations and insulin ‘rollercoaster’, there does appear to be some statistical co-relation between … you guessed it…serotonin fluctiations and thyroid problems. Could be the ‘central co-ordinating cnetre’ has problems, could be as-yet-unknown causality…or it could be just a statistical anomaly. I have bombarded my MD’s with questions about the hypthalmus, only to be told they really don’t know how it works…they know what it does, but not how or why.
But…the discomfort you describe feeling is incredibly similar to the discomfort described by people whose body senses ‘high carbohydrate input’ and triggers high and fast insulin production. The insulin then travels through the body, eating up all free carbs…and IF the carbs in the bloodstream run out before the insulin does, it (paradoxically) causes an insuling low….and THIS produces the symptoms you described.
Now, our body is ‘way too clever’ for its own good…often, it thinks carbs are coming in even when they are not – like when you eat diet foods or drink diet sodas. Since saliva is the first chemical to digest sugars, sensing a ’sweet’ taste makes your body think carbs are coming…and if they are not, you end up with way too much insulin, and you ‘crash’….
And insulin ‘crashes’ are a SIGNIFICANT factor in weight gain….body begins to try to protect against them, hoarding carbs and storing them as fat…vicious circle!!!
All ‘diet’ foods and ‘low fat’ foods have high glycemic indexes – that means that they flood your blood stream fast, and get out fast….leaving the insulin to wreak havock with your system. Advice (and, please, pass this by your doctor, I am NOT an MD): STAY AWAY FROM LOW FAT AND DIET FOODS!!!! Especially during a craving binge!
Fruit, low-fat and ‘diet’ foods (during an eating binge) will so seriously mess up your insulin, it’ll take 24-48 hours to get back to normal…and you’ll feel crappy that whole time!
You’re better off to take in the calories and work them off than to mess up your body chemistry.
Xan,
I would like to sincerely thank you for the last comment you made. Sorry for the delay in response but I have been ‘pondering’ what said for the last couple of days.
To be honest I actually feel a hell of a lot better…
So much of this makes sense it’s scary. In particular, the FRUIT comment … I eat way too much of this for my own good – especially [cringe] late at night. And sweet..hmm, so 3 packs of Splenda – sugar substitute/sweetener – in my coffee or tea each morning doesn’t sound like it’s doing me all that good either.
I am curious in regards to what foods do not increase insulin in such a drastic fashion that results in the “crash” you mention. [I am sure a quick google search would easily provide this answer but apparently I am a bit lazy at the moment].
Not to further belabor the point – Thank you Xan for an incredibly informative and thought provoking comment – as usual ;-)
xanthippa,
I’d like to visit your blog, if you have one. There’s a note at the top of my sidebar linking to an easy fix for the “comments not linking back to your site” issue, should you want people to be able to find your site via your comments.
Peace.
Hey there,
I also struggle with an occasional disconnect between what my body needs and what my body craves. It happens in winter especially when the cold makes the idea of exercising seem unpleasant. That said, the simple advice of “Exercise more and you will be healthier!” doesn’t necessarily help. Maybe this advice will help you out, though… sorry its a bit long-winded!
About once a year, near the end of winter, I get back into shape. In general, I do anaerobic exercises for a month or so to get the muscles in place that I am going to need for the second stage. I tend to gain a bit of wieght during this stage because my food cravings don’t change but intensify instead and I satisfy them.
Then after I get all the muscles I need in place, I do something that pushes me way into exhaustion. Usually I need a friend to help push me. At some point during this big push, my stomach revolts, my headaches, and in general my entire body wants to die, but I push through it. I generally crash into an intense migraine afterwards that ends in vomitting. Though I have gotten much better at managing my migraine and for several years have been able to avoid vomitting! Even so, this doesn’t sound fun, probably. And you should probably be careful before choosing to do it yourself, I know how my body reacts to a sudden overexertion, but if you don’t, be careful as you find out!!!
But, the good news is that it only happens once in the process of getting back in shape for me. After that one time, my stomach enters a state of flux. It doesn’t know what it wants. I use this time to feed it healthy things and do aerobic exercise. I also make a point to think about the healthy things while I am doing aerobic exercise.
My body then begins to crave both exercise and healthy foods. After two weeks or so, I relax a little bit and start to satisfy my cravings again. If I find my cravings beginning to slide towards unhealthy foods, I add in a little more exercise. If I find that I am eating correctly, but having trouble keeping up my exercise routine, I cut down on the exercise a bit. I try to maintain the equilibrium though, because it is really hard to restore the equilibrium once it is gone.
In the end, it is a four stage plan to move from being seriously out of whack to being in equilibrium.
1) Get the muscles you need to be successful. Satisfy whatever cravings you have, just make sure that you do 20 minutes of exercise everyday without exception. Don’t look for any results during this phase, don’t worry about changes in weight or cravings.
2) Push yourself hard. Its probably not healthy the way I do it. Maybe lessening the intensity and repeating for a week is healthier. You need someone to make you keep going after you run out of will power to continue yourself. It sucks and hurts and makes you want to quit, so you need someone who can be strict with you. Its a short phase but it isn’t one that you can decide is over by yourself. You need someone to keep the pressure on you until your are truly exhausted. A safe way to do it might be to run for however long you want on the first day. Then have your friend make your run for 2 minutes longer the next day, and 2 minutes longer the next day, and 2 minutes longer the next day until you finally just cannot physically make the 2 minute addition. Then have your friend force you to do your maximum for several days in a row. The key to surviving this phase is to know that it will be over eventually. As far as eating goes, eat what you want, just not too much.
3) Once you have disoriented your stomach with phase 2, set a light aerobic schedule for yourself and pick out healthy foods to think about while you run. Be very strict with yourself in this phase and only eat what you think about while you are exercising. Also, try to do just a little bit of exercise before every meal. Even just walking while you think about what your are about to eat.
4) Relax. Keep track of how healthy your cravings are and how easy it is to complete your exercise routine and adjust accordingly.
It sounds to me like you probably have a condition that makes it more important for you to manage your eating habits than it is for other people. It also sounds as though you are currently doing a good job controlling your weight, but at the expense of your cravings.
I find that if I switch from managing my weight by controlling my cravings to managing my cravings by controlling my weight, I am happier In the latter case, weight control follows naturally on the management of my cravings, but in the former case, controlling my cravings follows on the management of my wieght only by tremendous exertion of will power.
Some people thrive in unhealthy lifestyles and some people don’t, since it sounds like you have the type of body that doesn’t thrive in an unhealthy lifestyle, its probably very important that you live healthily, maybe taking a craving based approach to monitoring health as opposed to a weight based approach will make living healthier easier!
I hope so! Good luck!
Hi T.Socrates, it is nice to hear from you ;-)
Thanks for the comment. Your routine does seem a bit over my head but that is probably because I don’t know anyone that would be willing to push me to the extreme necessary. [Where's a friend when you need one...].
Thank you though for the comment. When I do get the exercise ‘bug’ I usually hit the gym sporadically for a couple weeks and absolutely exhaust myself (for me that’s about 800 calories. In all fairness, I probably could do more but TIME becomes the issue (being that I have none when it’s convenient and too much when it’s not…). I know it would probably be beneficial to go EVERYDAY for 30 minutes or so – but since something inevitably prevents this – I always feel like I’m doing ‘catch-up’ work.
Thanks for the tips – and kudos for being able to stick with a plan as strenuous as this one. Whether you have a friend around to push you or not – it takes quite a bit of determination.