Hypoglycemia - Need Fresh Advice

[VydorScope]

Okay I can not track threads that get to long, so some place here there is like a 20 page thread where I was talking with the awsome ppls here about hypocglycmia and stuff to do with it , how to control it with diet and I am needing help cause I am still crashing. (Just checked my BS its down to 53 and falling... fun!)

So heres what happened, I was eating more , and more often and I thought things were under control , but I was gaining weight, and I do not want to end up overwieght like my father... 10 pounds.. sure, but he is well past "safe limit" heh.

So I started runing 3 times a week ( I need to for my ostoprosisthingymabob and my heart condition anyways), and tried finding ways to balance the diet better. I am still struggling to get my wieght back down and under contorl with this dies. So I am trying to cut back, but its not working out.

Ug jsut lost my self there for a min. Sorry, okay Umm so like a normal day I have something like...

(all is gluten-free )

All I drink is a mug or 3 of decaf coffee, and water till I get home.

Caeral (27 carbs) + bunless Cheese burger -> first meal (4 or 430 am)

one or 2 kraft string cheese things, and kroger carbmaster yogurt as mid morning snack (8ish am)

Yoplait Yogurt, plus more cheese, plus salad, plus chicken for lunch (11ish pm)

By noon I am crashing, verified today with my glucose meter that it was BS issue and not somthing else.

I dont have alot of money for facny foods, and I have to eat at my desk at work, and I carry everything in a lunch bag with an ice pack, and everything needs to be gluten-free for my son's sake, but I do not have celiac disease.

[penguin]

I'd add some grains in with your protein, it'll help to keep you going longer. Strive for balance. I started weight watchers and noticed my BS crashing a bunch, until I realized that I was eating almost no grains. Nuts are also good to keep the BS up, I'm partial to honey-roasted peanuts and almonds.

I had a good BS morning, here's what I had:

Van's waffle

1 tbsp maple syrup

cup of milk with ovaltine

banana

Of course I didn't pack any grains in my lunch (oops ) so my BS is getting wonky now, but I was doing great until lunch!

Lunchmeat is good to keep around, too. The Oscar Mayer deli shaved stuff is very low calorie, but high in protein and not bad on carbs.

[lindalee]

Do you like nuts? They have protein and are easy.

Leftover chicken in container is easy.

faithin science just reminded me that cinnamon stabilized blood sugars. I used to drink cinnamon sprinkled in hot water -add honey or what you use if needed or add to tea.

[AndreaB]

I don't know about stabilized you BS but I do know that dairy can pack on the pounds so you may want to watch either how much you have, or limit it to a few times a week.

[tarnalberry]

You might try using fitday.com to track your protein/fat/carb percentages to see what works for you. What I wonder from what you are describing is if having more high fiber grains would help you, along with more low-calorie density vegetables combined with what you're eating. You just don't have a lot of volume there. It doesn't seem like you have much fat in your diet there, and - for me - if I don't keep enough fat in the diet (and just rely on protein and fiber), I find I crash a bit more often. Of course, that means being a little more careful about portion control, but crashes are no fun. (I could be wrong about the percentages there, that's why I suggest tracking for a few days/weeks, to get some objective numbers.)

[jennyj]

I always have some crackers(gluten-free) and peanut butter at work so if I start to crash they are readily available. We also sell orange juice in our cooler. Also like was stated cinnamon tea. This is kind of contradictory because if your hemoglobin is low the iron institute suggets cutting out tea. I still drink hot tea with honey at times too. Finally, I know you talked about weight but I always keep some jelly beans around just in case. I hope you get to feeling better and find out soon what works for you.

[VydorScope]

Do you like nuts? They have protein and are easy.

I used think I did not like peanuts till my wife introduced me to UNSALTED. I do eat them when I will be driving for a non-trivial amount of time. (mix with rasins and some times minimarshmellows).

I'd add some grains in with your protein, it'll help to keep you going longer. Strive for balance. I started weight watchers and noticed my BS crashing a bunch, until I realized that I was eating almost no grains. Nuts are also good to keep the BS up, I'm partial to honey-roasted peanuts and almonds.

I had a good BS morning, here's what I had:

Van's waffle

1 tbsp maple syrup

cup of milk with ovaltine

banana

Of course I didn't pack any grains in my lunch (oops ) so my BS is getting wonky now, but I was doing great until lunch!

Lunchmeat is good to keep around, too. The Oscar Mayer deli shaved stuff is very low calorie, but high in protein and not bad on carbs.

OKay so your method is load up on grain based carbs first thing? All my carbs at breakfast are from the cearel (corn grains), well copuple from the milk.

Ovaltine?? Isnt that packed with sugar? Maple Syrup? These are things I though I was to aviod?

You might try using fitday.com to track your protein/fat/carb percentages to see what works for you. What I wonder from what you are describing is if having more high fiber grains would help you, along with more low-calorie density vegetables combined with what you're eating. You just don't have a lot of volume there. It doesn't seem like you have much fat in your diet there, and - for me - if I don't keep enough fat in the diet (and just rely on protein and fiber), I find I crash a bit more often. Of course, that means being a little more careful about portion control, but crashes are no fun. (I could be wrong about the percentages there, that's why I suggest tracking for a few days/weeks, to get some objective numbers.)

Please explain "low-calorie density vegetables" , perferably with examples.

Fat... the two things of yogurt and mutliple cheese is not enough then?

"high fiber grains" -- Umm like have ceral more often?

I always have some crackers(gluten-free) and peanut butter at work so if I start to crash they are readily available. We also sell orange juice in our cooler. Also like was stated cinnamon tea. This is kind of contradictory because if your hemoglobin is low the iron institute suggets cutting out tea. I still drink hot tea with honey at times too. Finally, I know you talked about weight but I always keep some jelly beans around just in case. I hope you get to feeling better and find out soon what works for you.

Maybe I should try adding Cininamon to my coffee grounds when I brew it.

[lindalee]

Vincent, actually I do not eat peanuts as they are from the legune (bean) family. I do eat almonds, sunflower seeds, walnuts, cashews - I think almonds and sunflower seeds are best.

I also eat plain yogurt with blueberries, strawberries.

Smoothies- bananas, apples, peaches, whatever I have and put fiber and flax oil in that. Try to drink one very large glass a day.

[penguin]

OKay so your method is load up on grain based carbs first thing? All my carbs at breakfast are from the cearel (corn grains), well copuple from the milk.

Ovaltine?? Isnt that packed with sugar? Maple Syrup? These are things I though I was to aviod?

I wouldn't call it loading up. Look at the portions I had: 1 waffle (half the serving) with 1 cup of milk (full serving, also serves as my protein) with ovaltine (not full of sugar, compared to things like nesquik, and I only use half the serving) and 1 tablespoon of PURE maple syrup (better on the GI index than sugar)

Little bits of sugar aren't bad. It's when you have say, a bag of skittles in a sitting that you come into problems. Natural sugars are much easier on your system, and give you a quick shot of energy.

My method for breakfast is to make sure I get at minimum some carbs and significant protein, preferably also some fruit. That's what I find works for me, I have to have grain of some kind with protein of some kind, or I get thrown off. I strive for balance

Oh, and if I'm not mistaken, corn metabolizes pretty quickly, and especially processed corn in the cereal wouldn't last long in your system.

[CarlaB]

For those of you with blood sugar problems, I would encourage you to read up about adrenal fatigue, especially if you suffer fatigue and brain fog. I'm coming across some interesting information, and my doc even told me that blood sugar is related to adrenal function.

[myserenityprayer]

I actually just recently went to a medical nutrition therapist (without all the mumbo jumbo- a dietition) who told me that I can NEVER eat any kind of starch (fruit, sugar, potato, gluten-free bread/crackers, rice etc.) again unless i have it with some sort of a protein. She also said that I need to eat at least 6 times a day and during each meal have a lot of lean proteins. Looking at your diet it seems like you got that down pretty well. I'm all about eating nuts- walnuts supposedly are the most healthiest followed by almonds, then sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, and peanuts. I always have a handful of nuts on hand and have forever, since I have struggled with insulin resistance/hypoglycemia for as long as i can remember. Peanut butter is my all time favorite. And I get the organic one from Trader Joes which does not have added sugar in it. I was also told to avoid "fake" sugars, artificial or the ones derived from real sugar. Supposedly some people's bodies do not know how to absorb the real (like sucralose) or fake stuff (like nutrasweet) and can confuse it with real sugar. So diet soda or regular soda for that matter should be avoided as well as other products marked sugar free. Alot of the gluten-free processed foods are loaded with sugar which is a big no no for me aparently. And who doesn't love waffles and french toast!!! What I would say with that is to try (try being the key word) to use less syrup and maybe instead have some fresh fruit, pureering it helps to make it more syrupy, and chopped nuts. Fruit smoothies are the best, with maybe some soy protein (if soy is okay for you), added flax meal, and maybe even a huge spoonful of peanut butter. I do love fruit but was also told to have no more than 2 servings a day to keep my sugar levels under control and my triclycerides down. But then again, I am still learning too. I may have my insulinemia under control but god help me with this whole celiac thing!!! One day at a time, right?

[VydorScope]

I wouldn't call it loading up. Look at the portions I had: 1 waffle (half the serving) with 1 cup of milk (full serving, also serves as my protein) with ovaltine (not full of sugar, compared to things like nesquik, and I only use half the serving) and 1 tablespoon of PURE maple syrup (better on the GI index than sugar)

Little bits of sugar aren't bad. It's when you have say, a bag of skittles in a sitting that you come into problems. Natural sugars are much easier on your system, and give you a quick shot of energy.

My method for breakfast is to make sure I get at minimum some carbs and significant protein, preferably also some fruit. That's what I find works for me, I have to have grain of some kind with protein of some kind, or I get thrown off. I strive for balance

Oh, and if I'm not mistaken, corn metabolizes pretty quickly, and especially processed corn in the cereal wouldn't last long in your system.

I think we have Van's mini-Waffles (gluten-free) I could try them but the only syrup we have is the fake kind and I dont have a place to cook them at work. Waffles in a micowave are just not the same

I'll have ot check ovaltine I though it was heavey loaded with sugar.

My method for breakfast is to make sure I get at minimum some carbs and significant protein, preferably also some fruit. That's what I find works for me, I have to have grain of some kind with protein of some kind, or I get thrown off. I strive for balance

What do you do for a mid morning snack then?

[penguin]

What do you do for a mid morning snack then?

Usually string cheese with fruit or nuts or something...

Earlier this week I had skittles as a mid morning snack...not a good idea. Yes, I knew better

and yes I paid for it

[jerseyangel]

I'll throw my 2 cents in here (cuz, well, when don't I )

I have never been diagnosed with Hypoglycemia, but have experienced the cold sweats, shakyness, dizziness and nausea from not eating enough/often enough/the right combinations.

I have fruit for breakfast (can't do grains much), but top them with sliced almonds. Sometimes, I'll microwave bacon on paper towels to absorb the grease and have that, too. Depends how hungry I am, etc.

With my large salad at lunch, I eat a grilled hamburger, or some chicken.

Dinner is always protein (meat) with veggies and potato or sweet potato.

I have found that anytime I eat, meal or snack, I do much better to have both protein and starch or fruit. That protein is what made the big difference for me. It keeps me from getting dizzy and hungry. When I was getting dizzy and hungry between meals, I was really only eating protein with dinner. That's not enough for me.

The big problem for me is that other than meats, the only proteins I can tolerate are nuts (not legumes). But you just need to adjust this to your food requirements.

Hope you get this figured out!

[tarnalberry]

OKay so your method is load up on grain based carbs first thing? All my carbs at breakfast are from the cearel (corn grains), well copuple from the milk.

Please explain "low-calorie density vegetables" , perferably with examples.

Fat... the two things of yogurt and mutliple cheese is not enough then?

"high fiber grains" -- Umm like have ceral more often?

The first item reminded me of something I think I mentioned in the past, but forgot to in my most recent reply - WHEN you eat your carbs may make a difference. I have to be very careful about my first meal of the day, but less careful about my secondary meals. Cereal in the morning (except for the rare occasion) is a recipe for disaster for me - and I use unsweetened soy milk that has fewer carbs than your milk). Of course, I can't do just protein/fat, but I have to be careful about my morning meal moreso than any other meal.

I should have moved my hyphen - it should have been low calorie-density vegetables. Most vegetables are low in calorie density. (Calories per volume of food.) So, spinach and cucumbers and radishes are low calorie-density. Carrots and bell peppers are kinda medium. Beets are higher. I didn't see much in the way of vegetables in what you listed (maybe I just forgot?), but they provide good nutrients to keep your body metabolizing well, and a lot of fiber to help keep the blood sugar impact of your food down.

The effect of lowering blood sugar changes of fiber (and fat and protein) is the reason I suggest the high fiber grains. Gluten free cereal (if you mean boxed/bagged breakfast cereals) is a (pardon my language) piss poor source of high fiber grains. That's my biggest gripe with the stuff. Yeah, if you mix up your own concoction, you can get a good thing going in the hot cereal realm (though you'll probably need to add flax meal or hemp seeds or nuts to it), but in the cold cereal or prepackaged realm? It's craptastic. Look at the fiber content? See much over 4 or 5 grams of fiber, 6 or 7 grams of protein, 3 or 4 grams of fat, and 30 or less grams of carbs per serving? Not so much. I mean unprocessed grains like amaranth and quinoa and millet and buckwheat, especially when combined with fat and protein sources. (There's more than one reason I like stir-fries so much - they're great blood-sugar stabilizers for me. )

Honestly, my blood sugar stabilization improved greatly when I got rid of boxed cereal.

[jerseyangel]

I agree with Tiffany that the first meal of the day kind of sets the stage for the rest of the day. The worst thing I can do is start off with just fruit alone--have to add the protein!

[VydorScope]

Ugh Why is this so hard for me to grasp. Felling pretty stupid.

Okay... My primay veggie source is a couple of salads (tomatotes, carrots,etc) though some times its other stuff ... but not usally till lunch for the first dose

When I get up, dumping ceral in a bowl with milk and tossing a forzen burger on the eltric griddle is about what I can handle. I wake up very poorly LOL

ugh Ill have to re read this thread tommowor befor I crash... hard to focus right now.

[Sweetfudge]

Yeah I am not much of a morning person either, but what I usually eat for breakfast is: a bowl of gluten-free cereal with milk, and a piece of homemade fruit/nut bread (banana walnut, cranberry pecan, etc), along with a glass of OJ. When I was a kid, my mom (also a hypoglycemic) would make me drink a glass of OJ every morning with my wheat toast and cheerios. I guess it helps stablize blood sugar or something. Make sure it's the real stuff! 100% juice Added calcium is a benefit.

Even though I eat a moderately sized breakfast, I usually have to have a snack about 2 hours later. I like to munch on some kind of fruit bread, rice pudding (which I make with lots of cinnamon) yogurt or cheese with nuts. The key is to always be eating some carbs and protein. My mom was a more severe hypo than I am, and she would always make sure to eat something high in the complex carbs before enjoying a sweet (be it fruit or a cookie). That's something I have tried to incorporate into my eating habit. Eating a bit of sugar here and there isn't bad if it doesn't make you feel bad, just so long as I have something else in my system to "cushion" the sugar absorbtion.

Anyway, hope this helps. Feel free to email me if you have any more questions

Good luck!

[tarnalberry]

vincent, you always wonder why I have three rice cakes with two tablespoons of peanut butter for breakfast? it's the 400 calories - 17g fat, 10g protein, and 48g carbs (7g fiber) - and it requires no thinking and one plate. yeah, more protein would be good, but the fat and fiber helps make up for it. (it won't work for everyone, of course.)

I have to say that sweetfudge's bowl of cereal with fruit bread and OJ would send me crashing in two hours. ugh, I can imagine the headache already.

[lindalee]

Ugh Why is this so hard for me to grasp. Felling pretty stupid.

Okay... My primay veggie source is a couple of salads (tomatotes, carrots,etc) though some times its other stuff ... but not usally till lunch for the first dose

When I get up, dumping ceral in a bowl with milk and tossing a forzen burger on the eltric griddle is about what I can handle. I wake up very poorly LOL

ugh Ill have to re read this thread tommowor befor I crash... hard to focus right now.

Vincent I was reading Stealth Health last night. (How to sneak nutrition painlessly in your diet). (Alot of it I avoid because of wheat etc. but don't you have heart issues? I am not sure but I think walnuts are high in homocysteine's. I eat them but am going to try to reduce those and eat more raw almonds.

From the book: Heart Disease and Homocysteine. A growing body of research shows that high levels of Homocysteine in the blood appears to be an independent risk factor for heart disease....a high homocysteine level is related to consuming inadequate B vitamins, particularly folic acid. Three vitamins-folic acid, vit.B6, and vit. B12 are needed to remove homocysteine from the blood. Where there is a deficiency of one of these vitamins, homocysteine levels rise. Ironi cally, homocysteine levels have been measured in the past as a marker to indicate a deficiency of theses vitamins. But of the trio, folic acid appears to be the key player.

The evidence is so strong that some researchers are recommending that homocysteine be measured when a patient is being evaluated for heart disease risk.

The optimal amount for keeping a healthy homosysteine level is about 400 micrograms a day of folic acid or about one cup of beans.

I did a little research on items high in folic acid on google-I think it said walnuts are high in homocysteine.

Since I used to eat alot of beans and until I heal and get off this healing diet ----I am not doing beans right now and also have heart problems in my family ( my father died of a heart attack at age 44) --I am looking to find other sources of folic acid besides beans.

I also believe I am hypoglecemic.

[VydorScope]

vincent, you always wonder why I have three rice cakes with two tablespoons of peanut butter for breakfast? it's the 400 calories - 17g fat, 10g protein, and 48g carbs (7g fiber) - and it requires no thinking and one plate. yeah, more protein would be good, but the fat and fiber helps make up for it. (it won't work for everyone, of course.)

I have to say that sweetfudge's bowl of cereal with fruit bread and OJ would send me crashing in two hours. ugh, I can imagine the headache already.

Peanuttbutter I like.. but UGH rice cakes? I swear even paper have better flavor!

[VydorScope]

Welp I go food shopping tommorrow and my best guess on this thread is try to find gluten-free grains to add in to my early meals, but other then Van's waffles, I dunno what else I can find in my local Kroger.

[penguin]

Fruits, veggies, brown rice, bob's gluten-free mighty hot tasty cereal, grits, polenta, yoplait yogurt, eggs (good quick source of protein, just keep Tim away), almonds, peanuts, peanut butter, string cheese, rice cakes, juicy juice, oscar mayer lunchmeat, easy mac (you can always eat it at work if you're ok with eating gluten outside the house), kraft cheese, Amy's meals, ham, bacon, hot dogs...

Food is pretty easy to find at Kroger, I barely buy anything from wild oats or Whole Paycheck...

[VydorScope]

Fruits, veggies, brown rice, bob's gluten-free mighty hot tasty cereal, grits, polenta, yoplait yogurt, eggs (good quick source of protein, just keep Tim away), almonds, peanuts, peanut butter, string cheese, rice cakes, juicy juice, oscar mayer lunchmeat, easy mac (you can always eat it at work if you're ok with eating gluten outside the house), kraft cheese, Amy's meals, ham, bacon, hot dogs...

Food is pretty easy to find at Kroger, I barely buy anything from wild oats or Whole Paycheck...

I have been including a Yoplait Yogurt with my lunch, the "lite" one. So that at least I can do

Fruit? I been avioding that as sugar.

String Cheese I eat 3 or 4 a day. Usally 1 or 2 with my mid moring snack (2nd breakfast!) and 1 or 2 with my lunch (helps make up for the missing fat in these frankenstien low/no fat yogurts).

Grits.. err I know Im a southerner and all that... but , I;ll pass on those!

Juciy Juice? I though the point was to aviod simple sugars? I am realy missing somthing here...

Amy's Meals? My Kroger does no carry much worth mentioning.

Hot Dogs, I use them as early afternoon snack (one'eys! ) when I get home often. To often prbly.

Soo then what about this...

Breakfast (between 4 and 5am usally) - Vans+Maple Syrup, my morning decaf coffee (add cininamon to grounds maybe?), umm needd a protien... um bunless cheese burger I guess. Or could use the waffles as the bun...

2nd Breakfast (around 8-30am usally)- Umm Banana? they travel well at least, maybe some dry cearal?? Maybe some string cheese? Or maybe a peanut/rasin mix?

Lunch (around 11 usally) Some oscar mayer lunchmeat , Lite Yoplait Yogurt, and a jucicy juice box for lucnh?

2nd lucnch (around 1-130) Umm String Cheese?

I get home around 2-230... and usally if Im not in control by them I am messed up for the day pretty much no matter what.

[tarnalberry]

Welp I go food shopping tommorrow and my best guess on this thread is try to find gluten-free grains to add in to my early meals, but other then Van's waffles, I dunno what else I can find in my local Kroger.

Van's waffles are not a good high-fiber gluten free grain. They're a lovely processed, semi-refined item, I think even with added sugar. But ... ugh.

Not processed! Processed foods are just that much worse for blood sugar issues. Brown rice, beans, wild rice, quinoa... I know you can get all of those at Wild Oats.

I'll try to give a few more ideas, but take a look over my recipe thread too. The sausages with amaranth is great reheated, and has a good protein/fat/carb/fiber mix.