Sugar-free update
It's been more than two weeks now since I went sugar-free.
On Monday night at coffee night, I slipped and drank two hot chocolates. I didn't even remember that hot chocolate has sugar in it until I was on the second one. I think that is because last week I made myself hot chocolate here at home, using Splenda, so I wasn't thinking of hot chocolate as a sugary food. Anyway, I felt fine afterward.
I am still having the problem with blood sugar. It is not stable. I will get very, very tired, sleepy, nauseated and sick-feeling, and then as soon as I eat I'll feel better. This is the hardest thing about being sugar-free. I have not adjusted to this yet and don't really know how I should. I think maybe keeping things like Bumble Bars on hand will be a help, but then there's the issue of eating in general- I don't have a lot of appetite (compared to most folks) and I don't want to "spend" it all on such things as Bumble Bars, rather than on vegetables.
Today I have, as I mentioned, had a really bad health day. I've felt weak, sick, tired, and out-of-sorts all day, and also had stomach pain. I also had a very bad bout of dizziness this evening- I bent over to put something in a low cupboard and when I came back up, the room started spinning. I leaned against the counter but started to list sideways. R said I should sit down, so I did, right on the kitchen floor. I sat there for awhile until I was sure I wasn't going to hurl. It was a close thing.
I was wondering if I was having a reaction to Splenda. See, last night we had rehearsals over here and I was low on steam, so I made myself a caffe mocha. I sweetened it with a little bit of Splenda. Then after dinner I also ate some sugar-free cookies... I was just dying for some cookies. The package said "made with Splenda" so I thought they would be safe for me to eat... I have never had a problem after eating Splenda. However, last night I thought consumed more Splenda in one day than I ever have before, so I thought maybe that was the problem. Tonight I looked up Splenda reactions and mine didn't fit that pattern, so I had a bright idea: I actually read the ingredients on the package of cookies. Doh! They are actually sweetened with sorbitol- sorbitol is at the top of the ingredient list and Splenda is way down at the bottom!
I do have a history of abdominal pain after eating sorbitol. It's common for it to trouble people with IBS. And dizziness is a common side effect of sorbitol... that still doesn't explain the weakness and etc, but whatever.
I very seldom have sugar cravings anymore. And they are much easier to ignore than they used to be! However, I do have a serious weakness when it comes to smell: when I smell a pastry, I want it.
On Monday night at coffee night, I slipped and drank two hot chocolates. I didn't even remember that hot chocolate has sugar in it until I was on the second one. I think that is because last week I made myself hot chocolate here at home, using Splenda, so I wasn't thinking of hot chocolate as a sugary food. Anyway, I felt fine afterward.
I am still having the problem with blood sugar. It is not stable. I will get very, very tired, sleepy, nauseated and sick-feeling, and then as soon as I eat I'll feel better. This is the hardest thing about being sugar-free. I have not adjusted to this yet and don't really know how I should. I think maybe keeping things like Bumble Bars on hand will be a help, but then there's the issue of eating in general- I don't have a lot of appetite (compared to most folks) and I don't want to "spend" it all on such things as Bumble Bars, rather than on vegetables.
Today I have, as I mentioned, had a really bad health day. I've felt weak, sick, tired, and out-of-sorts all day, and also had stomach pain. I also had a very bad bout of dizziness this evening- I bent over to put something in a low cupboard and when I came back up, the room started spinning. I leaned against the counter but started to list sideways. R said I should sit down, so I did, right on the kitchen floor. I sat there for awhile until I was sure I wasn't going to hurl. It was a close thing.
I was wondering if I was having a reaction to Splenda. See, last night we had rehearsals over here and I was low on steam, so I made myself a caffe mocha. I sweetened it with a little bit of Splenda. Then after dinner I also ate some sugar-free cookies... I was just dying for some cookies. The package said "made with Splenda" so I thought they would be safe for me to eat... I have never had a problem after eating Splenda. However, last night I thought consumed more Splenda in one day than I ever have before, so I thought maybe that was the problem. Tonight I looked up Splenda reactions and mine didn't fit that pattern, so I had a bright idea: I actually read the ingredients on the package of cookies. Doh! They are actually sweetened with sorbitol- sorbitol is at the top of the ingredient list and Splenda is way down at the bottom!
I do have a history of abdominal pain after eating sorbitol. It's common for it to trouble people with IBS. And dizziness is a common side effect of sorbitol... that still doesn't explain the weakness and etc, but whatever.
I very seldom have sugar cravings anymore. And they are much easier to ignore than they used to be! However, I do have a serious weakness when it comes to smell: when I smell a pastry, I want it.