I guess this is more of a rant than anything. I suffer from chronic hypoglycemia. I've been to my general practioner as well as a holistic doctor & their suggestions were to eat six small meals instead of three big ones, however, if you're on a diet that's not always the way to go!
I fainted in October of last year and it scared me to death. The only thing that seems to bring my blood sugar up is chocolate but that probably isn't the best thing to eat while trying to lose weight. I'm at a complete loss of what to do.
I would suggest eating more proteins and vegetables, no sweets no breads as an experiment with your blood sugar levels. The chocolate probably works short term but must wreck you a few hours later.
I've fainted in public places before and it's definitely terrifying, especially in those moments when you're holding on to consciousness by a slip, not knowing who to ask for help Mind you, I was shown a lot of kindness from the people around me
Souvenir: I'm not hypoglycemic but I have always done better eating 5 or 6 times a day. I was never overweight until I had a really bad accident and gained 65 pounds in 8 months . . . my plan is to go back to eating like I was eating before and take the weight off in eight months. I am approaching 6 months and have taken off almost 40 pounds . . . (average 1.68 pounds per week), I may not make in 8 months, but it's going to be very close
What I do is when I get up I exercise (this may not be wise for you as your blood sugars may already be too low) then I eat:
1. 2 eggs & 1 cup chocolate milk . . . maybe you could drink 1/2 of the chocolate milk before you work out. then about 2 hours later
2. I'll eat a banana, or yogurt (I've just discovered Greek yogurt), or whole wheat toast, graham crakers or an apple with peanut butter, then 2 hours later,
3. I'll eat 1/2 chicken breast & 1/2 a salad, then
4. veggies & hummus, or (See #2)
5. Then small portion of fish & the rest of the salad or 1/2 sweet potato
6. Then another snack, (See #2 & 4)
Many times I'll eat leftovers from dinner the night before for my lunch, then cook something new for supper, then I'm not eating the same thing twice in the same day, (actually this is usually what happens)
I kind of go with what I'm in the mood for, these are just a few samples, you would of course plug in whatever you like to eat . . . I feel like all I do is eat. Oh also of great importance to me . . . I allow myself 5 dark chocolate kisses a day (125 cal) I let them melt in my mouth and the taste lasts a long time (YES, I'M A CHOCOHOLIC) . . . you can't save them up and eat 20 or 30 at the end of the week, it's a use or lose situation each day. I've only eaten 5 one time and this is more of a psychological thing for me, but if you can work it in you could have chocolate milk in the AM and one dark chocolate kiss after each snack/meal . . .
I also exercise EVERY DAY, even if it's only a 20 min walk
GOOD LUCK WITH WHATEVER YOU TRY
Last edited by MadamButterfly; 04-02-2011 at 01:42 PM.
Never fainted but do get hypoglycemic when eating a "regular" diet, (higher in carbs) but have had no problems since going low carb to lose weight.
If you want to have small frequent meals, you have to really carefully count calories, and carbs probably. BTW, the hypoglycemia means you are also at risk for developing diabetes (I am now "pre-diabetic" ) so the weight loss is important to prevent that.
I personally recommend atkins or other low carb dieting, but do it carefully. I was unable to handle and stick to going on "induction" straight from my old way of eating, which was higher carbs. I lowered my carbs a little at a time, (down to about 100 g carbs a day to start, the 60, then finally induction) and it wasn't such a shock to the system. It was still hard, but I didn't have the "atkins flu" people talk about. I didn't lose as much weight or as fast as some people either, but have sustained the lose nicely, and can eat for maintenance at about 40 g carbs a day. I don't have highs and lows, and my sugars are very well controlled, and even when hungry now, they are not low. I really can't handle sweets or grains very well, but can have starchy vegetables without hypoglycemia problems.
good luck finding what works for you.
I too am hypoglycemic. I have to eat about every 2 hours. I find that if I eat some kind of protein every time I eat, it helps my sugars stay level.
Things I like to eat between meals are apple, cheese stick and a handful of nuts; carton of greek yogurt (has more protien); boiled egg; some kind of protein. It's doens't have to be a "meal", just soemthing small.
Hope you find what works best for you.
I HAVE BEEN HYPOGLYCEMIC ALL MY LIFE AND NEVER LEAVE THE HOUSE WITHOUT PEANUT BUTTER CRACKER PACKETS & APPLE JUICE.
MOST DRS RECOMMEND THE PEANUT BUTTER....IT HAS PROTEIN AND SUGAR. PROTEIN FOR LATER AND THE SUGAR FOR THE MOMENT OF THE ATTACK. I GET A WARNING SIGNAL OF "HUNGER PANGS" BEFORE I FAINT AND HAVE TIME TO OPEN THE PACKET. HOPE THIS HELPS AND GOOD LUCK! EATING SMALL AND FEWER "MEALS" IS REALLY THE BEST ADVICE YOU GOT. AN INBETWEEN "MEAL" (snack) CAN BE 1 OZ OF CHEESE AND A FEW TRISCUIT-TYPE CRACKERS.... A PIECE OF FRUIT AND SMALL WEDGE OF CHEESE OR SLICES OF DELI TURKEY. THE WHOPE IDEA IS TO NEVER HAVE A CARB WITHOUT A PROTEIN.
STAY WELL AND HAPPY SPRING!
I'm hypoglycemic as well. I have kept it under control pretty well by balancing carbs/proteins but yesterday I was in a hurry, ate some cereal for breakfast, and almost passed out a few hours later (I was angry at myself because I know better). It's definitely worth it to educate yourself about how best to control it.
The key is prevention....you don't want to let your body get to that point where you get shaky and faint. I try to balance carbs and proteins as much as possible. I will literally count the grams and if I'm high on carbs, I will scarf down some egg whites or sliced turkey just to balance it out. Eating 6 times a day means eating small amounts throughout the day. I typically eat breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, and after dinner snack if I need to.
If you prevent that "drop" you won't have to worry about eating chocolate to bring it back up. Letting yourself get to that point where you feel like passiing out is bad for your body.
I suggest looking around this site and writing down some combinations of protein/carbs you can see yourself eating as meals and snacks. You can start adding to it as you learn more and start looking at nutrition information.
Dieting With Hypoglycemia
