Anyone else have an exaggerated physiological response to eating carbs?

[Julie in CA]

For many years I have noticed that immediately (within 20 minutes or so) after consuming high-carb meals, I would become very, *very* tired.

 

I have been eating very few carbs now for about 4 months, and I feel so much better! My problem is that now, when I slip up and eat a meal with a higher carb count, I become so tired 20 minutes later that I am dizzy, sick, and completely unable to function. A smart person would learn her lesson, huh? I don't think I'm that smart....I still slip up now and then.

 

Generally speaking, I stay below 20 net carbs per day. Probably once every week or two I slip up and have some refried beans or a slice of whole-wheat bread, or something like that. Is there any way to reduce that horrible about-to-drop-dead feeling I get when I do that?

[mcconnellboys]

I don't know, unless eating some protein would help to counter-act it. I do the same thing every day after lunch if it includes too many carbs. When I was doing low carb dieting, I also found that I was much more alert, but would slip into near coma if I went out to dinner and ate a few carbs.

[forty-two]

I'm not affected as badly as you, but I've found eating lots of protein with some fat helps offset the carbs.

[Wyndie]

Oh gosh, I am the exact same. I have gotten so tired sometimes that I would have to pull over into a parking lot and take a nap b/c it was unsafe for me to drive!! Eating protein helps a little but I just avoid carbs during the day. It's vicious and if someone has a clue what to do other than not eat, I'd love to hear it!!

 

FTR, I have heard before that it's a thyroid problem but when I went on Armour thyroid it didn't make a dent.

[Julie in CA]

Maybe if we're really lucky, one of the docs (or dr.'s spouses) who frequent the board will chip in with some add'l info on why this happens, and if there's anything to do about it. :confused:

[muffinmom]

Wondering if you might have a sensitivity to wheat or gluten? Maybe when you eat lower carbs you can tolerate the smaller amount, but a higher amount is more offensive, particularly if you have been cutting back lately. (Sometimes people don't notice how sensitive they are to a food until they go off it, then add it back in.)

[Julie in CA]

Wondering if you might have a sensitivity to wheat or gluten? Maybe when you eat lower carbs you can tolerate the smaller amount, but a higher amount is more offensive, particularly if you have been cutting back lately. (Sometimes people don't notice how sensitive they are to a food until they go off it, then add it back in.)

Hmm....I'm thinking about this, but I'm pretty sure that's not it. I once ate a teeny tiny piece (like less than 3 bites) of a flourless chocolate cake. It has no wheat or gluten, and I still had the same reaction 20 minutes later. :001_huh:

[Wyndie]

Wondering if you might have a sensitivity to wheat or gluten? Maybe when you eat lower carbs you can tolerate the smaller amount, but a higher amount is more offensive, particularly if you have been cutting back lately. (Sometimes people don't notice how sensitive they are to a food until they go off it, then add it back in.)

 

Hmm....I'm thinking about this, but I'm pretty sure that's not it. I once ate a teeny tiny piece (like less than 3 bites) of a flourless chocolate cake. It has no wheat or gluten, and I still had the same reaction 20 minutes later. :001_huh:

 

 

Same here. I don't eat gluten at all.

[abbeyej]

Yes, I have a similar reaction.

 

I find it's mostly to highly processed carbs. I can eat fruit or beans no problem. I can eat limited whole grains without any issues. (Now, gorging on a giant whole wheat bagel could do it to me too -- but I'm less likely to suck down a giant whole wheat bagel than a Krispy Kreme or two.) I don't count carbs, 'cause they aren't all the same for me.

 

Having fresh fruits and veggies along side the carbs help.

 

Sometimes the pattern isn't clear... And yeah, lol, you'd think that *knowing* how much better I feel eating only fresh fruits and veggies, beans, occasional limited whole grains, and some lean meats and a little dairy that I'd eat that way all the time. But... Apparently I'm a Very Slow Learner. ;)

[Sputterduck]

I have the same reaction but I have an endocrine disorder.

[Julie in CA]

Yes, I have a similar reaction.

 

I find it's mostly to highly processed carbs. I can eat fruit or beans no problem. I can eat limited whole grains without any issues. (Now, gorging on a giant whole wheat bagel could do it to me too -- but I'm less likely to suck down a giant whole wheat bagel than a Krispy Kreme or two.) I don't count carbs, 'cause they aren't all the same for me.

 

Having fresh fruits and veggies along side the carbs help.

 

Sometimes the pattern isn't clear... And yeah, lol, you'd think that *knowing* how much better I feel eating only fresh fruits and veggies, beans, occasional limited whole grains, and some lean meats and a little dairy that I'd eat that way all the time. But... Apparently I'm a Very Slow Learner. ;)

Beans definitely cause the same trouble for me as bread.

I haven't really tried fruit.

I do ok with veggies, but I watch the amounts.

I rarely eat highly processed carbs at all.

It's embarrassing that I can *know* a particular food is going to make me feel terrible, and yet still not always resist. :blush:

[happyhomemaker25]

I am a Type 2 diabetic and before I was diagnosed I had the same type of reaction to carbs. I still do if I eat too many. You might want to get that checked out.

[2cents]

Too many carbs and I get headaches. I can feel it happening within 20-30 min of eating then my joints hurt too. I'm doing no carb/no sugar now (yet again I should say). This is no carb day 3 and I'm already feeling better.

[torikei]

Sugar does this to me--also very highly processed carbs. Initially it's not too bad--I just feel kind of sleepy. Within a couple of hours, I start to feel increasingly anxious. The anxiety is totally not worth it--no matter how much I love donuts, cake, etc. I manage to stay sugar free most days, but it definitely isn't easy. In the past, I've been known to medicate with donuts ;)--shocking I know!

 

Tori

[Paula in PA]

I am a Type 2 diabetic and before I was diagnosed I had the same type of reaction to carbs. I still do if I eat too many. You might want to get that checked out.

 

:iagree: I was the same way. It has to do with how our bodies process the carbs, turning them into glucose. Eating too many spikes your blood glucose level way up very quickly (the high) then it plunges down almost as quickly (the low). Even people with normal insulin sensitivity can have this happen, but it's more common in people who are pre-diabetic / diabetic. I would tell your doctor and have the tests run.

[mcconnellboys]

POTATOES! Ugh! They kill me! Beans are okay. Other fruit and vegi's are okay. Breads, pastas, gravies, sauces, stuffing, etc. No. can. do.

[Willow]

Gosh I didn't know anyone else had this! Weird!

 

I cannot tolerate sugar, and if I eat it with grains (We are gluten free as 2 of 3 kids are coeliac) then disaster! The weirdest thing is my temperature plummets, sometimes as low as 34.5C (37 C is normal), I get tired, shaky, brain freeze....and exercise makes things much much worse.

 

I thought it was just me.....

 

Now I don't eat sugar, honey, agave, any sweeteners, and I am careful with fruit. I love veges thankfully.

 

Willow

[Julie in CA]

Gosh I didn't know anyone else had this! Weird!

 

I didn't know anyone else had this either--I've never heard anyone IRL discuss such a thing. :confused: