Carb Overload

Image of Bob Evans Caramel Banan a Pecan Cream Stacked and Stuffed Hotcakes from Poiseshealth.com

Back in the day, when I was in massage school, my classmates and I would sometimes go to Bob Evans for lunch between our morning and afternoon classes. You can't go to Bob Evans without ordering hotcakes. My favorite were the cinnamon hotcakes. My classmates generally ordered carb-heavy choices too. Muffins, pumpkin bread, rolls and biscuits were overflowing at our table. During our afternoon Anatomy and Physiology class, you could hear lots of yawning throughout the room. We were all suffering from what I like to refer to as "Carb Overload". Lots of carbs + No protein=Carbohydrate coma.

It didn't take us long to break off our relationship with Bob and move on to healthier venues for lunch. It was just too hard to concentrate on the cardiovascular system, the physiology of a muscle contraction or the bones of the human skeleton when you feel like you might nod off at any minute. I had a similar experience this week after Thanksgiving. While I tried to eat the healthy items on our Thanksgiving table, as you know, the average American Thanksgiving feast is pretty carb heavy. After Thursday's meal and Friday and Saturday's leftovers, I was feeling completely fatigued. I generally spend the day after Thanksgiving putting up my holiday decorations, but my lack of energy got the better of me and I only got partially through the process.

On Saturday morning I went to the gym to get some cardio in, but felt completely exhausted after 20 minutes on the elliptical machine. I was forced to hop off the machine and, for the next 25 minutes, halfheartedly pedaled a stationary bike while my husband finished his workout. What a disappointment. When I got home, I showered and went immediately back to bed for two hours. The rest of the day was spent catching up on my reading. I literally had no energy to finish putting up the holiday decorations that I had started on Friday.

With the Thanksgiving leftovers consumed, my husband suggested that we go out for dinner on Saturday evening. Ready for a break from the carb-laden meals of the past few days, I ordered a large salad with grilled chicken. I went to bed around 11:45 Saturday evening and didn't wake up until 10:45 Sunday morning. The good news, I finally got past the carb overload.

Lesson learned: Simple carbs are not my friend.

*Men's Health Magazine's Matt Goulding lists the Bob Evans Caramel Banana Pecan Cream Stacked and Stuffed Hotcakes pictured above as one of the top 20 Worst Foods. With 1,540 calories, 77 grams of fat, 198 g of carbs and 109 g of sugar it's no wonder that a person would feel comatose after consuming these. Mr. Goulding suggests the Western Omelet with 654 calories and 44 g of protein as a better alternative. To see the complete list of the 20 Worst Foods and Goulding's suggested alternatives, go here.