Revelations

I read more of Potatoes Not Prozac last night. I'm still on Step 1 (Breakfast) but I'm reading the rest of the book to get an idea of what lies ahead & to gain a better understanding of how sugar sensitivity affects my brain & body.

All I can say is....wow. Page after page of AHA! moments. I've never read anything that has so clearly expressed the WHY's of my relationship with sugar.

It's very freeing.

I am starting to get the sense that the way that I am is not my fault. And I am not doing the "Oh poor me, I will always be fat and there's nothing I can do about it" thing. I am realizing that my brain is wired differently than most people. (I'm sure there are many in my family who would agree with this statement who have no idea I'm sugar sensitive. But I digress.)

Think about how alcoholics manage their disease. Their brains aren't geared like non-alcoholics. Well, sugar sensitive people's brains are wired very similarly to alcoholics.

No one says to an alcoholic, if you just had more willpower you could drink once in a while. No one says to an alcoholic, it's all your fault that you are this way, you brought it on yourself. No one says to an alcoholic, a little bit won't hurt you, go ahead, have a drink.

Dropping sugar completely is the next to last step in this 7 step process. I'm no where near ready to eliminate sugar from my life. I'm laying the groundwork, which will likely take months & months. There are anecdotes in the book where people spend 3 months on step 1. The process is very personal. There are no set time frames. The only rule is that you master each step before moving on to the next.

But I've cheated a little. I wanted to see what it would be like to eat 3 meals with proteins & complex carbs and then have a potato before bed. That's what I did yesterday. And I have to say, it was pretty cool. I didn't have cravings really. I had 3 cookies with dinner last night (Chips Ahoy reduced fat, 140 calories)--but WITH dinner, not at 10 p.m. (that's part of the plan--during step 3 you can still eat your sugary foods, but they have to be with a meal). And I had a potato at 9 p.m. while watching football.

I slept well but had the craziest dreams.

The author mentions this--if you are low on serotonin and you start the 3 protein meals/potato at night routine, you may have very vivid dreams. My dreams last night confirm the low serotonin issue I have, which is awesome. I feel like I'm finally on the right track of figuring out how to live a balanced life.

Hopefully weight loss will be a nice side affect. It's definitely not the driving force here. But I did weigh 156.6, almost a pound loss from 2 days ago.

I can't wait to share more with you. And if you crave sugar and carbs and are struggling with mood/depression issues, I'd encourage you to buy the book (get the new edition). It's really worthwhile, and not just another diet book.