Starving like Marvin at 3 am

[FugNasty]

Omg. At 3 am every morning I wake up famished. I try to fight it. But I can't. I feel like Drew Barrymore in Santa Clarita Diet. I must eat. This just started about a week ago. I've been off gluten for a few weeks now. No more migraines. Most my stomach issues are resolved. I am just feeling so many benefits. But this 3 am hunger is insanity. It is like I am pregnant. And that is impossible. I have also noticed I am sleeping a lot more. I think it has to be diet related. I'm adding more gluten free grain. Do you think I need more red meat? I've never been a big red meat eater to begin with cause my stomach always was dying. But now that it is feeling better maybe I can stomach it better.

[ravenwoodglass]

Glad to hear you are feeling better. In the early stages of healing we can find we are very hungrey. Perhaps because our body is trying to make up for all the nutrition it was missing when we were sick. this should eventually resolve. Until then when do you eat your last meal of the day? Is it calorie and nutrient dense? You might try a substantial but easy to digest bedtime snack. That may help you sleep a bit longer. I found it helpful to eat many small meals a day while healing rather than sticking to the standard three meals a day. Hope this resolves for you soon.

[trents]

You mention not including much red meat in your diet. I wonder if your body is craving some of the nutrients red meat is rich in such as iron, B vitamins and protein. Make sure you are taking a quality gluten-free multivitamin (I use the Costco "Kirkland" brand) and are getting a good amount of protein and fat in your diet from other sources. Yes, "fat". Fat satisfies and helps give staying power against hunger. Doesn't sound like you are a vegetarian or a vegan so look at adding more eggs and cheese for instance to get more B's, protein and fat. Nuts and seeds are also high in fat and have a lot of healthy qualities. I think you are sabotaging yourself by increasing your intake of gluten-free grains as more carbs like that will cause higher fluctuations of blood sugar. We get hungry when our blood sugar drops. Carbs cause it to spike and then plummet. I would suggest eating less carbs and more fat.

[FugNasty]

This acttually makes most sense. I'm also having female issues and having periods every two weeks so that is not helping. I'll have to have to re evalute some things in my diet. I am on B12, folic acid and VD3 per doc orders. All other levels are good as of now. I usually have too much iron in my blood but I'm starting to feel drained and sleeping more. So I. Know something is off. 

[trents]

One potential risk of the gluten-free diet is arsenic toxicity because of all the rice-based substitutes we typically consume in order to compensate for not being able to use wheat. Rice is naturally higher in arsenic than other grains and this can be exaggerated when the rice-based products we use are made from rice grown in areas of the world where there are high concentrations of that mineral in the soil.

[cyclinglady]

1 hour ago, FugNasty said:

Go home trents...your drunk.

What?  Trents is not drunk.  Arsenic is a huge concern especially for celiacs because most gluten-free,  processed foods contain rice as a substitute for wheat.  

Learn more:

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

 

[trents]

5 hours ago, FugNasty said:

Go home trents...your drunk.

I beg your pardon! I hope you will take the time to research the issue of arsenic and rice. Cycling lady has given you some good places to start.

[LilyR]

Wow, I didn't know that about rice and arsenic.  That is good to know. I am giving up rice right now, but hoping to go back to it. I miss the white rice noodles and rice cakes, and some regular plain rice too once in awhile.  Geez, what can we eat?  How do people not get sick of meats, fish, and veggies?  I am trying an elimination diet right now and going bonkers.  I had some plain fish one day and that bothered me (although  had recently been glutened, so maybe was just still healing from that to where anything, even fish, bothered me).  Eggs seem to be the most gently on my stomach, and chicken, which normally I love both. But I am getting so sick of them, they are starting to make me want to just stay hungry rather than eat.  Feeling at wit's end today. 

 

[LilyR]

On 8/20/2018 at 10:44 AM, FugNasty said:

This acttually makes most sense. I'm also having female issues and having periods every two weeks so that is not helping. I'll have to have to re evalute some things in my diet. I am on B12, folic acid and VD3 per doc orders. All other levels are good as of now. I usually have too much iron in my blood but I'm starting to feel drained and sleeping more. So I. Know something is off. 

I hope you see  dr about our female issues.  I had periods starting a week or two sooner than they should, or would have my time of the month last two weeks, and heavy, and needed pills with progesterone in them, no estrogen.  The uterus wall can thicken and cause problems and sometimes you need progesterone to help balance things out.  But I am glad you don't tend to be low in iron though at least.  I was having low iron all the time. 

I hope you can find a way to avoid the 3 AM hunger.  Bedtime snacks or something?  I hope you find a good routine that ends up working for you.