** Trigger warning, I have a top trigger food in a photo at the very end of this post** I'll give you a warning before the photo arrives.
Here's what's working:
1. Glucose monitoring:
Waking up this pre-Christmas Saturday very thankful I didn't dive into the Standard American Diet at the Holidays. Holy Smokes!!!! I can promise you my fasting blood glucose would not have been 84 mg/dL before breakfast.
2. Full Fat Coconut milk: Home made special coffee. Recipe:
Coffee
1/4 cup coconut milk
Cinnamon sprinkles
I found some cans of full fat coconut milk, Natural Value, Ingredients = Coconut Extract, water. Frasier Farms. $2.79. Typically I use the Trader Joe's light coconut milk $ 0.99 (not because it's less fat, because the ingredients are only coconut and water and it's cheap and easy to find.). Finding coconut milk without the guar gum or xanthan gum is difficult. Additives can trigger a binge in about 60 seconds after consuming.
* doughnut talk*
3. Reading Vera Tarman, MD,"Food Junkies" Book. I can totally relate! I had the book in my purse when a person dropped off 2 dozen shiny, glazed doughnuts in the break room. I whipped out that book and said "Hey look, those doughnuts are as shiny as the doughnuts on the cover of this book...."
We had a good laugh and a great conversation about the book.
I had several great conversations later that morning. Lots of people identified with it. What could have been a tough day was no big deal, because I don't moderate the foods of my addiction. Remission and recovery means I manage EVERYTHING I put in and on my body, including shiny doughnuts. I thank my higher power every single morning that I had clarity to own that practice. Food template, Every single meal. No matter how shiny those doughnuts were. (photo at the end of this post)
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| I stopped binging on sugar in 2011, diabetes stopped! |
What didn't work in the past:
1. I didn't monitor my glucose: Except watching it go higher and continuing to binge on sugar. Starting to monitor at home, between blood draws is an awesome tool on a very silent disease.
2. Consuming additives that kept me binging. Yes, yes, I know that guar gum is "natural" but it totally messes with my brain. This additive = binge urges Forget it. I've had 40 years of binge eating. I'm done with knowingly triggering myself and to stay healthy, I don't consume these additives. Here's some more reading at Chris Kresser's site Interesting that I can tolerate soy lecithin, but not the gums. So glad to have been food sober long enough to ID and remove this substance.
3. Moderating sugar and grains, towing the WW moderation line:
Counting WW points and moderating shiny doughnuts just didn't work. Eating sugar and wheat = binge. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. I really felt like I should make myself moderate. To diet harder. What I was really doing was going toward pre-diabetes faster. Yikes! Glad I stopped moderating sugar and grains.
Here's to doing what works, Holiday's last a few weeks. Here's to setting up 2015 for success. How are you setting yourself up for 2015?
**** Trigger food photo warning*******
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| Using the tools in Food Junkies to navigate shiny doughnuts |
My husband sent all three of his brothers heart monitors (for exercise) as xmas gifts. Really good idea, I think.
ReplyDeleteI do not do any added sugars whether they are manufactured or not.
Naturally occurring sugars (fruit for example) I have to really watch. I do not add a naturally occurring sugar (banana is a common one) to foods to sweeten them. I avoid the concept of sweetened food in general, even if it is natural sweetener (as you said).
I see a LOT of people (bloggers) trying to do exactly what you say did not work for you - they are trying and trying, unsuccessfully, to moderate. And they think the problem is them. And the problem is usually the system.
My blood sugar never goes as low as yours but then perhaps it would if I did mine before breakfast! I usually do the odd test one hour and two hours after a meal. For me I have no choice but to avoid carbs - becoming a diabetic is just not an option for me!! I must remember to do a morning test ! I'm curious now what it would be.
ReplyDeleteThanks for introducing me to the book and the concept of avoiding trigger foods. I have lost 60lbs with Medifast 2 years ago and decided not to go back to grains since I knew (From doing WW in the past) that it will be hard and impossible for me to limit my quality of grains. I had unpleasant withdrawal symptoms when I first started MF and I just didn't want to go down that path again. Then I discovered Wheat Belly and then Paleo. Never wanted to taste grain again.
ReplyDeleteThe problem is I discovered Paleo baking, Elana's Pantry and others have wonderful recipes but I am just learning they are trigger foods for me. Although healthy and wholesome ingredients, they prompt me to eat more.
Live and learn. I am learning from you and Gwen to fine tune my diet and learn what works for me. No one fit all formula.
I was diagnosed as insulin resistant/prediabetic a few years ago. I monitor myself, too. I don't want to be another member of family with diabetes.
ReplyDeleteWhat BGtracking app is that??
ReplyDeleteYour blog is so empowering, and inspiring. We really need more voices like yours about the "moderation" BS we are fed (pun intended).
ReplyDeleteI second the request - what's the BG tracking app?
I personally have never struggled with binge eating (thank goodness), but, but, but. I have eaten things simply because they tasted good, even when I was full. This seems to me to be on a "spectrum" with at least certain aspects of binge eating. So, even having the corn tortilla chips on the table, for example, just doesn't really work for me. Thank goodness I don't often have to be around shiny doughnuts! Wow! Your clarity of thinking on this is, again, just so empowering.
Glad I found your blog! Happy holidays to you.
Wendy
......just stopping by to wish you and yours a very Happy Christmas
ReplyDeleteAll the best Jan
Fitter, I've been looking around and it looks like GlucoseBuddy. It's free for the light version.
ReplyDelete