Tag Archives: IBS

Bye Bye Sugar

I’m having a binge eating problem and it’s probably psychosomatic. When I say ‘binge eating’ the worst that it’s gotten is that I’ve eaten two bars of chocolate and a cookie all at once, but all day every day I’m constantly suffering from the need to put something in my mouth even though I’m not hungry.  It’s very uncomfortable and frustrating.

While I’m trying to find out the root of this problem I need a combat, or at least a coping, strategy. I’m guessing meditation will help calm the restlessness I’m constantly feeling, so I’ll try that every day (and I’m starting a meditation course next week).

When I binge, I have managed so far to resist the urge to binge on carbs despite there being two huge bags of corn chips and popcorn in the cupboard. But As mentioned by the chocolate binge earlier, I let myself snack on sugar. Does it help? Only during the 20 secs that I’m actually eating the chocolate.

So, like with the paleo diet, I am declaring that for a month from this day on (till Oct 8th) I will cut sugar from my diet, including chocolate. When I say cut ‘sugar’, I am referring to processed sugar. I will stick to fruits for now. I hate the fact that I’m cutting my no 1 comfort food, but I also know it’s my ‘favourite’ because I’m just addicted to it when I have problems. When I’m back in Japan, surrounded by family and happy I hardly need to eat chocolate. In fact, I don’t really want it.

Besides, numbing pain isn’t a solution.

I’ve also been constantly entertaining the idea of a juice fast. My stomach irritation/serotonin deficiency syndrome has gotten a lot milder on the paleo diet, and my allergies have virtually disappeared, but it’s not enough. My gut feeling (this joke is going to get old) is that my whole digestive track just needs a big break so the chronic irritation can stop. I think this month is the best time to do it because I don’t have intense work. I’ll start off with a one-day juice fast and will extend it if I feel a bit better (though I hear three days are necessary to really feel the effects). I’ll say here when I’ll be going on a juice fast, probably sometime this week, so stay tuned.

I’m not doing it today for the simple and childish reason that I desperately want to try to make 1) Butternut Squash Cookies and 2) Butternut Squash Flatbread (can you tell that I have a carb-binge eating craving?).

Making changes slowly so I don’t crash….

Stay tuned!

Marie