[tat2missyj]

Hi there, I am new here and looking for some advice about dieting with hypoglycemia. I am tired of being tired. I think it is absolutly insane that I have to take a nap everytime I eat lunch. And I often skip breakfast, to avoid the food coma that comes everytime I eat. My poor DH has got to be sick of hearing me say "I'm tired" 30 mins after we eat dinner. Because quite often it leads to me going to bed, alone....if you catch my drift.

I am 29 and holding (for the last 2 years), married for 2 years (to a man with a perfect waist line and a hollow leg) i have 2 kids, almost 7 and almost 2. I used to be 110lbs, and I don't think it would have been unhealthy for me to have been smaller than that. If you could see me you would understand.
I have always liked food, but not to the point that I would consider over-eating. I was always able to stop when I was full. And I was always able to make good choices. Making an effort not to eat more than a serving size of the naughty stuff. I have never been on a diet before. Granted I used to be alot more active, but it's not like I sit on my butt all day now.
My mother and grandmother on my side are/were always thin. On my dads side is a mystery. I have been told that my other grandmother was a large woman. But I have never seen her. I also now suspect that my mother had hypoglycemia. Now that I know the symptoms, I am almost certain of it.
I didn't have any blood sugar issues (that I know of) until I was pregnant with my first daughter. I was tested twice (I have big babies) with both girls for diabetes, as are most women. All 4 tests came out negative for diabetes, but they don't test for hypoglycemia, because the test (glucose they make you drink) can bring it on in a normal person. So they always assume it's a normal reaction. After my first child was born, I went back to normal. I didn't have any further blood sugar problems until I was pregnant again. And that was severe. I had an episode nearly everyday. Sometimes leading to eating sugar right out of the bowl with a spoon. But I thought it would go away once the baby was born. NO!!! I am better able to control sugar drops now, and recognize the symptoms early enough to catch. But I am still tired after I eat, and I am not sure how to deal with that.


So 2 things have pushed me to change my lifestyle, and maybe lose weight...

Being tired all the time. And realizing my youngest child has blood sugar issues, also. I am going to change both our eating lifestyles, mine to lose weight, and feel better, and hers to have a constant (healthy) supply of glucose.

AND stepping on the scale only to be horrified that I weigh as much as my husband, and being 10 inches shorter than he is.

I am stumped as to how this happened, and at this point I am not sure it matters. What matters to me right now is getting better. I want to have more energy for my kids, and my DH. I want to feel better about who I am. Because believe it or not, i used to be cute.

This year I DID NOT resolve to lose weight. I resolved to laugh more, play with my kids more, and be a happier person. This is just one of the steps down the path to that happier person.

I am 160 now, and I would be happy to be 130. So that is my goal. I am realistic, in that fact that i will never be pre-pregnancy weight again. And losing 30 lbs would make me feel like a whole new person. If I were to get back down to 110, that would be wonderful also, but i am not setting myself up to fail.

Sorry for the long post, but sometimes a history can be useful when asking others for help.

Missy

[thecatlady]

I love your resolutions, I think that's awesome. I'm not hypoglycemic but I'm insulin resistant and know what you mean. If my blood sugar gets too low I get SO cranky and tired. I have to eat every 3 hours on the dot or I get a headache (how annoying is that?!) and they told me to eat lower carb, higher protein with less sugar. So far, it's worked. I've lost almost 22 lbs in about 4 weeks. Do you check your blood sugar before and after you eat?

[britomart]

I have a similar situation -- I was feeling terrible and run-down all the time, like I could never get enough rest. I'd get mid-afternoon headaches everyday, and I was being irritable even with the people closest to me. I went to a Dr to figure it out, and of course she just wanted to test for low iron, thyroid problems, etc... I asked her if, out of curiosity, I could get a fasting blood sugar test done since I have a family history of diabetes and was beginning to think my body didn't respond normally to what I eat....

And lo and behold, the only thing that came back abnormal was the blood sugar. Now I know I'm a reactive hypoglycemic and have seen a dietician about what I ought to do.

Seriously, the best thing to do is NOT to skip breakfast, and not to skip anything at all. I eat every two and a half hours, and have a restricted carb intake. Actually, I'm on a diabetic diet plan with more strictly-restricted carb allowances. At first it was a pain, but I've been on it a week and I now realize how much better it makes me feel, especially in getting me through long lectures in the afternoon! It also encourages me to eat way more fruit and veggie snacks than before.... I used to just snack on whatever was around -- crackers, chips, cookies, etc.

I'm also learning to avoid sugar and refined white flour, but THAT's a hard undertaking. I'm a total sugar addict, and I'm really trying to stay away from it... It's just not good for me, it makes me feel awful. I can imagine that you feel this way too when you eat one of these trigger foods.

I would recommend trying to see a dietician..... she'd really help with listening to your symptoms and trying to identify what it is that's making you so tired after eating. There may just be some element that your body doesn't like.

I used to think that if I just ate when I began to feel tired I'd be ok -- that's the wrong way to do it, it's too late then! (And then there's the 10lbs weight gain...) I found that the structure given to me by the dietician has seriously helped me. She can help with weight loss too, if you note that it is a concern.

Good luck on your journey. I hope all goes well, keep us posted!

[tat2missyj]

thanks for the input.
Yeah i have made some serious changes to out diet. I announced to my Dh we would be limiting out refined white flour intake. Eating whole graing breads and pasta, and what have you. He was fine with that, so we are off to a good start.

For my weekly goals, I added eating breakfast by 8 am, and it really helped. It's going to take some time to get used to eating all the time. This week I added the goal of eating a snack between breakfast and lunch. I know it will help, just a matter of remembering to do it.

And last week I ate 4 out of 5 lunches, low carb, high protien, and what an amazing difference. I didn't need a nap. And I didn't have to go to bed early for skipping the nap. It's going to be so wonderful to have those 2 or more hours back in my day.

Missy

[britomart]

Sounds awesome I'm glad you're seeing results so quickly. Doesn't seem to take much, eh? I'm currently eating snacks four times a day (with three meals), which means often I'm eating when I'm not hungry..... But I know that if I eat when I feel tired it's too late to help the blood sugar crash which is imminent!

Good for you in making your lifestyle change!