Quote:
Originally Posted by RedDaisy
That said, on day 3 I cheated and had a phase II granola bar and was feeling much better just an hour or so after. I still managed to lose 6 or so pounds in the first phase, but with a bite or two of granola every couple of days if I started to feel ill again. FYI that feeling went away by the end of week 1
Red Daisy, I'm glad you found something that worked for you, and I appreciate your sharing it.
However, I want you (and those who read this) to know that the reason the granola bar made you feel better is that you were giving your body what it was craving. Basically, this is like trying to get someone off of an addictive substance by denying it, then giving them a little bit every time they get very desperate. In addition, the malitol in the bar made your body think, for a little while, that it was getting sugar. Some of us have found that malitol can cause really strong cravings, even though it's not real sugar. This could lead to feeling worse later, even though it might have made you feel better at the time. So, by eating the granola bar, you were ruining the work you did with the rest of your time.
The reason the detox feels so bad is exactly what you said--it's very hard to go from LOTS of carbs to almost none.
What's important to remember is that you wouldn't start SBD unless you felt there was something lacking in your previous lifestyle. For many of us, there were
a lot of things, most of which were due to eating sugars and BAD carbs. As Dr. A says in the book, those sugars (and that granola bar, to some extent) cause a yo-yo effect in your blood sugar. It makes you crave more. It makes you tired and worn out after an initial high. We want to get away from that yo-yo effect and move to a balanced, calm place, and that's what Phase 1 does for us,
but you have to get through the days of feeling bad
first.
By eating something off-plan (even something okay in Phase 2) whenever you feel bad in Phase 1, all you do is postpone the inevitable. I'm glad that you felt better after a week, RedDaisy, but the main reason could be that you left detox and went back to the old yoyo effect.
If so, you'd still be stuck with cravings and all that struggling would be for naught.
Yes, it's very hard not to eat the things your body is craving when you're going through the hard part of Phase 1. But think about it: if you had a loved one that was an alcoholic and going through DTs, would you give them a tiny sip of alcohol, only to have to give them another tiny sip the next day?
You
can get through that time--so many of us have done it, sometimes several times, and the other side is SO worth it. Really!
See you there!