The Connection Runners

Me vs. My Sweet Tooth

Yesterday I mentioned I'd had a feeding frenzy this week (and let's be serious, it's been more like the past 2 months since I started internal medicine), and when I'm really honest with myself--I'm highly suspicious this is why I've been so lethargic. Case in point- this week,every time I went past the nurses station (which has a candy dish), I picked up 2 pieces of candy. I can never pass up those delicious strawberry hard candies (you know the ones wrapped in strawberry paper)

Truth is, I went by that nurses station about 5x today. 2 candies per trip-- you do the math. If I really think about it, I took candies every time because of the principle of supply and demand-- I was afraid that the next time I went by the candy dish, my favorite hard candies would be gone. So I stockpiled them. But psychologically, I would only take 2 at one time because I didn't want to risk judgment by the unit secretary. Pathetic, I know. I've housed half that candy dish each day for the past 2 weeks or so- I think she's on to me ;-).
Today I went through what I ate, and sadly--everything contains sugar! I started the morning with a larabar (which I'm officially addicted to) and 2 dough balls from yesterday (I brought them in to share with my team). Then for lunch on-the-go I had half a bag of carrots, another larabar, another doughball, probably a few hard candies, and a tootsie roll lollipop one of the nurses gave me.

You bet your gluteus maximus I crashed by 3 pm. I had a massive headache, could barely keep my eyes open, and felt awful.

And this has been the pattern. I came home, crashed, napped, and woke up still feeling unrested and zombie-like.

Now I'm a decently smart cookie- it doesn't take a rocket scientist to determine why I'm have these major crashes: too much sugar (and caffeine)--my blood sugar is spiking after I eat, then crashing, spiking again... etc.

See all those troughs (low points?)- that's me 4x a day.

I decided I am going to make more of an effort to revert back to the basics of healthy eating as it has worked for me before. At this point, it's not so much about intuitive eating the foods I want, as my body is telling me I feel awful when I eat this way.

Tips for maintaining stable blood sugar? (courtesy of reader's digest)-
1. Eat lots of whole grain foods (with fiber)- They’ll slow absorption of glucose and decrease possible insulin spikes, and fill you up.
2. Dairy- The components of milk/yogurt- lactose, protein, fat improves blood sugar by filling you up and slowing the conversion of food sugars to blood sugar.
3. Cut down on refined sugary foods- cakes, candies, soda- you get the point. No nutritional value, cause your blood sugar to spike, etc.
4. Load up on Spinach/greens- fiber, iron, magnesium are great for you, fill you up, and some say can help prevent type II diabetes.
5. Sprinkle Cinnamon: studies suggest that sprinkling cinnamon prevents post-meal sugar spike. And it's delicious.
Here's my dinner, and I'll tell you it's a start:

Spinach and romaine salad, w/ strawberries, hard-boiled egg, morningstar vegan patty, black beans, guac, and cucumbers.

Do you hit the candy dish? Do you ever sugar crash?