Food addicts shouldn't take a day off from healing themselves

It’s become pretty clear to me that the “six day on one day off” approach to dieting doesn’t work, at least for me. I’ve heard people that have successfully used this approach to dieting, but for a person like me who is so soundly addicted to sugar and simple carbs it just doesn’t make sense. Have you ever heard of a drug addict using this type of approach? You don’t hear any doctors suggesting that a patient in a drug rehab program should “indulge” now and then.

If I have even one meal consisting of any carbs other than vegetables, my cravings for massive amounts of food kicks in and my willpower deteriorates. When I’m not “under the influence” of sugar or the like, I can quite easily pass up pretty much any kind of food if I shouldn’t eat it.

Also, when exercising, I find it much easier to resist binging. I also have some trouble with smoking – I currently smoke and I have plans to quit very soon. I know based on past experience that after a few weeks of eating low-carb I can also stop smoking with minimal cravings! It’s amazing, the connection between my sugar addiction and my various other vices. I feel so much more in control of my behavior when I don’t eat a ton of carbs. I feel less anxiety, I feel better about myself, and I sleep so much better!

When I was a kid, I was diagnosed with ADD – doctors also warned I could continue to experience symptoms into adulthood. I did, and I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Up until I started low-carbing, I had so little control over the way I lived my life. I had tremendous mood swings, insomnia, and simply wasn’t able to manage my life. Now that I’m older and have started taking better care of myself, the mental and emotional difficulties I experienced have slowly disappeared. I know it’s hard to believe, but I’m convinced – low-carb eating has alleviated the symptoms of serious mental illness. It did more than drugs or therapy ever did.

I am pretty sure that as time goes by, people will come to the realization that most of our health struggles (physical and mental) can be erased with proper diet and exercise. I think low-carb methods may not be perfect, but they have brought to light that we truly are still just barely scratching the surface as to how our bodies work as a whole.