Week 2--Seeing Any Changes Yet?

This week my friend and I were talking about the affects that sugar play on us.  She is diabetic and all of a sudden I could tell a huge difference in her temperament and how she was handling small things.  I asked her if she had checked her sugar level?  She glared at me and scowled a bit and then checked her blood sugar.  A few months ago I had begun to notice a change and when she checked her blood sugar she found it to be low.  I suggested she bring a snack with her to keep her blood sugar up.  So today when she checked it, she came and said, "you think you are so smart don't you?"  and grinned.  Her sugar was low again.  She turned to me with a very confused look and said, "How did you know?"  I said, "Because I saw your temperament go from calm and sweet to very agitated."  This was not my sweet friend I loved, I knew something was out of sync.  And so it is with all of us.

 I know we all think we know ourselves better than anyone else, and for the most part we do.  But there are  times that we change and do not recognize it, but others do.  We all do this!!!  I suspect one of the biggest culprits of our yo yo of emotions is our sugar levels.  When I was off sugar I was pretty even keeled, not getting agitated, stressed or impatient.  I realized a couple of days into back on my sugar I was on a emotional roller coaster ride again.  I had been off it for so long, I forgot what it was like to be on it!!!  It is not a fun ride. I had more nights of tears than I care to ever remember.  I was so ready for January 1st to start to go back off the sugar and soda, I could hardly wait.  But I didn't realize how bad the sugar affected me until I was talking to my friend.

I have been asked if I have more energy by going off the sugar and soda.  Some days I do, other days I don't notice it as much. The thing I see more change than anything is my temperance. I know this sounds crazy, but let me tell you a little story.

STORY TIME

At one point in my life I was taking a different approach on weight loss and started attending a diet clinic.  Every week you were weighed and your blood pressure taken.  Interesting enough each week my blood pressure was "different". One week it would be really low, and the next week sky high, then low again and then sky high.  After three or four weeks of this, they had me see one of the "boss's" of the clinic.  She looked at my file and looked at me and said, "You are 46?"  I said "Yes". Then came the list of questions. How much did you weigh when you were born?  Are you tired all the time?  Do you feel like an emotional roller coaster?  The one I remember when I saw the light bulb come on was when she asked me if I had ever had blood work done?

To give you a bit of background on this, at one time I worked for Vanderbilt University in the OBGYN department of the medical school.  I had the best and most knowledgeable doctors there.  I had blood work taken THREE times because they were shocked with my results.  I was told my blood work was perfect and people would pay me good money for my results.  After all blood work doesn't lie does it?

In another time in trying to take off the weight and discussing this with a dietitian she said, "Oh no someone did something wrong."  They were having a cholesterol screening at her clinic and challenged me to get  free testing done.  I tried to explain they would not find anything but she insisted that I be tested, which I was --- THREE TIMES!!!  Why?  Because they could not get a reading out of me.  And they too told me there was nothing wrong with me except basically I was very obese and had to find a way to take the weight off.

So back at the clinic where I was being asked if I had ever had blood work done, I related the scenarios above. "Ahhhhhh, let's go chat."  I got scared, because I knew for the first time in my life someone was going to be able to tell me what was wrong with me and it was just not all in my head.  I had been told all my life if I just ate less and excerised more I could lose the weight.  No wonder I beat myself up over weight loss!

She explained I had what was called Estrogen Dominance.  Most women will have a 50-50 balance and I had a very elevated level, more like a 90% instead of a 50%.  Due to the high level of Estrogen she thought it masked my blood work.  So it may be I have diabetes or high cholesterol and once I began to lose weight it would more than likely show up.  When I asked her how I could lose the weight, she told me by leaving the sugar, soda and carbs alone like the pasta, potatoes, bread etc.  I sat there in amazement!!!  Because when I had done that and everyone told me how wrong it was.  "For you" she said, "It was the best thing you could have done."

So you are asking yourself, well duh Laura if you know this why are you not doing it?  Because it is so hard to give it up! I also forgot how much better I felt.  As I said earlier, I realized really today how much better I was feeling being off the sugar.  So I am just wondering if any of you are seeing changes yet?  Now that we are starting week 2, how does everyone else feel and do you see any changes?  I know Wendy S has lost 10 lbs!!!  For me I can sure feel a difference.  Mainly the roller coaster and emotions have stopped!!!  Yeaa Me!!

I know seeing less pounds helps us know that we are doing something right, but sometimes the biggest changes are not in the pounds but in emotions or clothes?  Anyone seen a change?  Please share!!!