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Reducing carb intake and insomnia


trulycrabby
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Hello, I have decided that this extra ten pounds has got to go. Part of the reason I have gained weight Is due to difficulty sleeping, and extra carbs at night help me go back to sleep. Generally, two slices of wheat toast with a bit of butter at bedtime do the trick.

 

When I have reduced or eliminated carbs from my diet in the past, the insomnia issues have gotten much worse. My question is: For those of you who have reduced carbs in your diet, have you had trouble sleeping, and if so, will it go away as the body adjusts to the new diet?

 

I plan to eliminate wheat and gluten from the diet, and perhaps adopt a paleo diet. All sugars except fresh fruit were eliminated from my diet six months ago.

 

Thanks in advance for any help. I already know a lot about sleep aids such as melatonin, magnesium, valerian root, hops, passionflower, unisom, etc... I will not take prescription sleep meds; they make me feel awful.

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Hello, I have decided that this extra ten pounds has got to go. Part of the reason I have gained a few pounds is because I have difficulty sleeping and extra carbs at night help to get me back to sleep. Generally, two slices of wheat toast with a bit of butter at bedtime help me nod off.

 

When I have reduced or eliminated carbs from my diet in the past, the insomnia issues have gotten much worse. My question is: For those of you who have reduced carbs in your diet, have you had trouble sleeping, and if so, will it go away as the body adjusts to the new diet?

 

I plan to eliminate wheat and gluten from the diet, and perhaps adopt a paleo diet. All sugar except fresh fruit was eliminated from my diet six months ago.

 

Thanks in advance for any help. I know a lot about sleep aids such as melatonin, magnesium, valerian root, hops, passionflower, unisom, etc... I will not take prescription sleep meds; they make me feel awful.

Aren't you on thyroid meds or am I remembering wrong? I find that strict ups and downs in carbs mess with my thyroid levels. I am always better to lower carbs but not to an Atkins level. Also if you usually eat gluten and then cut it out then that can be an adjustment.

 

 

ETA- could you try paleo without the severe carb cut? Paleo naturally cuts carbs. Most people lose just with that switch

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Yes, I was on armour thyroid, but even on 1/2 grain/tablet per day, I cannot sleep at night. I have an appointment with the doc next week to find out what's going on, and if I can try T3 only. My T4 levels have always been adequate, but I don't convert it to T3.

 

I could try switching to paleo-approved carbs at night, such as a sweet potato before bedtime. Thanks for the advice! :)

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I would sub out the carbs for more fat. Drop to one piece of whole wheat toast (or even just a half a piece), but really lay on with the butter and peanut butter. I eat low to very low carb all the time (diabetic). I get insomnia when my blood sugar drops at night, but adding extra fat to my bed time snack will counter the blood sugar drop. My current favorite is an egg and cheese on a small slice of buttered toast.

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I actually sleep much better when low-carb, so you must be dealing with different issues than I am. But I wanted to say that you don't necessarily have to spread your carbs evenly throughout the day. I've found that I do much better with a super low carb breakfast, and what carby indulgences I do have, my body handles them best if I eat them late in the evening. I've heard many other low-carbers report similar experiences, and there seems to be an explanation for this in the way the body's hormones fluctuate throughout the day. First thing in the morning, your body will release glycogen from your liver to increase your blood sugar to give you the energy you need to procure and prepare breakfast. So your blood sugar is just naturally higher in the morning, and you don't need to eat many carbs at breakfast. In the evening, it's the opposite. As you go to sleep, your body lowers your blood sugar, so the carbs you've just eaten don't impact you as much. I read an article once that explained this much better than I did, but I can't seem to find it at the moment. I'll post it later if I can find it again. But, you could experiment with restricting your carbs more during the day, and eating more of your carb "allowance" at night, and see if that helps.

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