What to do for shakiness/hunger?

Nissi51

Open your food diary! It will be hard for anyone to help without that visibility!

nickijhughes

I've learned there is no reason to go hungry when you are trying to lose weight. Check out the wild rose detox. Even if you are not interested in taking the supplements the diet is amazing. I'm on day 5 of a 12 day cleanse and I've been having trouble eating all my calories and all I feel like I've been doing is eating. I have changed the privacy settings on my food diary so that its public so feel free to check it out. And don't beat yourself up about having a bad day. As long as you continue to make more good choices than bad choices and move your body everyday you will be just fine.

madaboutmitch

This happened to me for the first week on my diet. But it went away. Try eating a "healthy snack" like baby carrots or celery when you start to get shaky. Hopefully yours will go away with time like mine did.

KnM0107

Drink some warm water & embrace the hunger feeling. You could have been eating just for the sake of eating. So many people on here eat just because they see the time of day & think they need to eat at that time. Drink the warm water & wait 20 mins, then do it again. My bet is that you are not hungry at all.

Then wait till dinner, know what hunger feels like so then when you feel it again you know it's real hunger & not just 'time' to eat.

This is very poor advice. Hopefully you are not a healthcare professional.

The OP was shaking. Either she was having a blood sugar reaction or she was genuinely hungry. Either would require appropriate attention.

Besides this, how do you know "people on here just see the time of day & think it's time to eat"? I mean really....

OP, it seems to me you need to eat more, and perhaps more often. I am not diabetic either but if I don't eat smaller meals throughout the day I have been known to get shaky.

Ouch!
Your second concern "or she was genuinely hungry. Either would require appropriate attention."
This is just plain wrong. If you are "genuinely" hungry, you need to eat quick?
What is the rationale behind that?
To successfully keep weight off long-term, a person has to get used to being a little hungry, or maybe even "genuinely hungry."
After a while, you will actually discover that you can function on an empty stomach AND YOU WILL NOT DIE!
Learned behavior.
You have to break the circuit.
What would "fake" hunger be, by the way?

Lets see... I lost 125 lbs and have been maintaining for a year and never felt hungry. Honestly this sounds like something one would see on a pro anna site.

LB2812

Wow! Thank you all for the information, suggestions and sharing your experiences. I did some more research and yes, I do believe my calories are set too low. MFP has me set to 1200 calories which isn't a lot considering I have only been cutting back for a few days and was previously eating way more than 1200 calories a day (and eating lots of sugary snacks - i.e. halloween candy). I took your suggestions and have upped my calories to 1310 for now (and will possibly up more if I continue to feel so hungry or start to lose to fast). I am also going to stock up on some protein bars and other portable sources of protein for snacks. And I will try to eat more protein along with balanced carbs.

This morning I had 1 egg scrambled + 2 egg whites and it is sticking with me much better than yesterdays breakfast meal of a banana/cereal. I also need to try to eat when i feel hungry and not let myself get to that shaky stage. I just had my blood tested and everything was normal. If shakiness continues I will follow up with my Dr.

Thanks again to you all for your thoughts and advice.

Oh, and in the future I will open my food diary. I guess I didn't realize it was not open.

So glad to see you've got the right attitude about this. Finding the right combo of foods and calories and all of that does take some tweaking in the beginning. Also, go slow! If you're used to eating 2000 calories a day and now you're dropping to 1200? Yes, you're hungry! Also if exercising is a new thing, you'll have to account for that. I don't often workout so when I do, I'm starving those days and eat more.

I agree about protein at every meal/snack... it really helps fill you up. I also need to have a protein filled breakfast. On the days I eat something lighter (like cereal or oatmeal or something) I'm extra hungry all day (even if my lunch and snacks are the same). I also know that there's no way I can have lunch at noon and not get hungry before dinner at 7 (my lunches are generally 400cals or so). So I try to account for that and bring another small snack/meal to have in between if I'm hungry. If my lunch fills me up then great!

And if you are caught off guard and hungy - fruits and veggies are certainly better splurges than candy... but try to get some protein in there too if you can. I always have some granola or protein bars stashed away just in case!

SLLRunner

Drink some warm water & embrace the hunger feeling. You could have been eating just for the sake of eating. So many people on here eat just because they see the time of day & think they need to eat at that time. Drink the warm water & wait 20 mins, then do it again. My bet is that you are not hungry at all.

Then wait till dinner, know what hunger feels like so then when you feel it again you know it's real hunger & not just 'time' to eat.

This is very poor advice. Hopefully you are not a healthcare professional.

The OP was shaking. Either she was having a blood sugar reaction or she was genuinely hungry. Either would require appropriate attention.

Besides this, how do you know "people on here just see the time of day & think it's time to eat"? I mean really....

OP, it seems to me you need to eat more, and perhaps more often. I am not diabetic either but if I don't eat smaller meals throughout the day I have been known to get shaky.

Ouch!
Your second concern "or she was genuinely hungry. Either would require appropriate attention."
This is just plain wrong. If you are "genuinely" hungry, you need to eat quick?
What is the rationale behind that?
To successfully keep weight off long-term, a person has to get used to being a little hungry, or maybe even "genuinely hungry."
After a while, you will actually discover that you can function on an empty stomach AND YOU WILL NOT DIE!
Learned behavior.
You have to break the circuit.
What would "fake" hunger be, by the way?

Steve, I may have been a bit harsh but I am not wrong. If you are so hungry you are shaking, you need to eat something.. There is a difference between hunger where you're just hungry and hunger where you are shaking. Doesn't that indicate something is off? Maybe blood sugar, maybe cutting food too drastically when starting to make changes?

The only time I've shaken when I'm hungry is when I've had my blood sugar bottom out and I am NOT a diabetic. Eating a little something, and I'll guess it might have been something with protein, eliminated the shaking.

As for your question about fake hunger--what're you talking about?

SLLRunner

Drink some warm water & embrace the hunger feeling. You could have been eating just for the sake of eating. So many people on here eat just because they see the time of day & think they need to eat at that time. Drink the warm water & wait 20 mins, then do it again. My bet is that you are not hungry at all.

Then wait till dinner, know what hunger feels like so then when you feel it again you know it's real hunger & not just 'time' to eat.

This is very poor advice. Hopefully you are not a healthcare professional.

The OP was shaking. Either she was having a blood sugar reaction or she was genuinely hungry. Either would require appropriate attention.

Besides this, how do you know "people on here just see the time of day & think it's time to eat"? I mean really....

OP, it seems to me you need to eat more, and perhaps more often. I am not diabetic either but if I don't eat smaller meals throughout the day I have been known to get shaky.

Ouch!
Your second concern "or she was genuinely hungry. Either would require appropriate attention."
This is just plain wrong. If you are "genuinely" hungry, you need to eat quick?
What is the rationale behind that?
To successfully keep weight off long-term, a person has to get used to being a little hungry, or maybe even "genuinely hungry."
After a while, you will actually discover that you can function on an empty stomach AND YOU WILL NOT DIE!
Learned behavior.
You have to break the circuit.
What would "fake" hunger be, by the way?

Lets see... I lost 125 lbs and have been maintaining for a year and never felt hungry. Honestly this sounds like something one would see on a pro anna site.

Right. If you're eating well you are not supposed to be hungry. I eat between 1,700 and 2,000 calories a day, have lost 26 pounds, exercise almost every day, eat six small meals a day to keep my blood sugar level, and I have been losing weight consistently. There is no reason to be hungry, especially so much so you get the shakes.

SLLRunner

Drink some warm water & embrace the hunger feeling. You could have been eating just for the sake of eating. So many people on here eat just because they see the time of day & think they need to eat at that time. Drink the warm water & wait 20 mins, then do it again. My bet is that you are not hungry at all.

Then wait till dinner, know what hunger feels like so then when you feel it again you know it's real hunger & not just 'time' to eat.

This is very poor advice. Hopefully you are not a healthcare professional.

The OP was shaking. Either she was having a blood sugar reaction or she was genuinely hungry. Either would require appropriate attention.

Besides this, how do you know "people on here just see the time of day & think it's time to eat"? I mean really....

OP, it seems to me you need to eat more, and perhaps more often. I am not diabetic either but if I don't eat smaller meals throughout the day I have been known to get shaky.

Ouch!
Your second concern "or she was genuinely hungry. Either would require appropriate attention."
This is just plain wrong. If you are "genuinely" hungry, you need to eat quick?
What is the rationale behind that?
To successfully keep weight off long-term, a person has to get used to being a little hungry, or maybe even "genuinely hungry."
After a while, you will actually discover that you can function on an empty stomach AND YOU WILL NOT DIE!
Learned behavior.
You have to break the circuit.
What would "fake" hunger be, by the way?

WHAT???!!!! I am NEVER hungry. You DO NOT have to be hungry to lose weight. That mentality is how diets fail. When you eat, eat foods that fill you up. If you are hungry, snack on vegetables or fruit. Stay well hydrated - thirst is often confused with hunger.

Hunger is a learned behavior or being hungry is a learned behavior - or are you saying you can teach yourself to be hungry and not eat? WHY? Why would you? If you body is hungry, FEED IT!

And to add to this, I'd say that learning how to be hungry to lose weight is that old diet mentality. You're right, diets don't help us at all. I will never diet again.

musicboxes

I don't have sugar issues, but have had my blood sugar drop a few times. Haven't had the shakes but become suddenly fatigue for hours. I have also tried everything, but the only thing that works for me is drinking a cup of MILK, sometimes 2 if really bad & it has almost immediate results.

AmyP619

I also get the shakes if I don't eat for a long period of time. I plan my day in the morning. I plan food for every, at least, 2 hours throughout the day until dinner. Make sure you're making choices that will fit into your day. Try planning in the morning... that helps me. Then I can alter as I go if something changes. I eat breakfast when I first get to work, I have a snack or two about 2 hours later, lunch is 2 hours later, one or two snacks mid afternoon, then dinner.... the only time now that I get really hungry is on weekends because there's no structure. If I'm really busy or out and about all day, I don't eat the way I eat during the week. It isn't planned or structured. I find planning my work days ahead of time really helps in this area.

Also, WHAT you're eating really helps with hunger. Choose snacks that are high in protein. Eat often so you don't allow your body to get to the state of shakiness.

griega

I'm sorry you beat yourself up over the bump on the road of your journey. If you were that incredibly hungry, you need to re-evaluate your daily calorie intake and the allotment of food. You may need to increase your calorie intake for a month by say 200 calories so that your body can adjust. Also, don't just eat meals, have planned snacks. If your not hungry and skip them, that's an added bonus. Changing your diet drastically will definitely make your body scream at you as you described.

Another thing that I am doing that seems to be helping is picking one or two things per month to modify. September was to include 4 servings of fruits/vegetables a day and 8 glasses of water. I am still struggling to hit this every day but am noticeably better. October I added monitoring sodium intake. I started back on MFP November 1st which makes this easier and now this month am trying to limit overtly high sugar content foods to 2 days per week.

My suggestion is to set reasonable goals so that you have changes that stay with you for life. Good luck!

AlisonLosingIt

First thing's first, don't get down on yourself! Getting healthy is a lifelong thing, so you had a moment of weakness, the next moment doesn't need to be the same. When I started tracking my calories I started noticing that I was "wasting" calories on things that weren't satisfying. Try eating smarter. Its hard this time of year, biological processes tell us to eat more, less sunlight and colder temperatures don't make it easy. Going over your calories is not the end of the world, use your food tracking as an educational process and overtime you will change your eating habits overall. Also when I get upset about what I've eaten, I go for that extra walk after dinner or something like that. Exercising earns back calories, so sometimes you can undo the damage. Good luck to you. It can be so easy some days, and so difficult others, but you can do it. Sick with it, I used to have cheat days, now I have cheat meals or snacks, I used to screw up and tell myself that I would start again tomorrow, now I tell myself I will start over that minute. Remember too that weight loss is not something that the body generally likes to do, so you may need to ease into this before your body wants to cooperate.

castlerobber

I had a meltdown this afternoon. About 3 o'clock I started getting really shaky. (I do not have diabetes or any know sugar issues).

I am thankful that I exercised today. Thoughts?

Sounds like low blood sugar, which you can have even if you aren't diabetic. Especially since you reacted instinctively by eating sugar/carbs.

We can't see your diary; but if I had to guess, you're eating a high-carb, low-fat diet, and probably restricting calories quite a bit. Try reducing carbs, especially the ones such as bread, pasta, fruit juices, and sweets, that make your blood sugar go high quickly and low even more quickly. Notice, I didn't say to go low-carb, though that can be a good option. MFP prescribes a fairly high level of carbs by default--I think it's 55%. You could easily drop that to 40%, adding in more healthy fat and more protein to make up the calories.

shunggie

I know there have been a lot of answers on here- but my go to quick stop shaking remedy is dried fruit and nuts. Not a lot- but a handful of nuts with a few cranberries thrown in keeps me even. I too occassionally have low-blood sugar issues and it can be scary. If you do binge like they say, forgive yourself first- you are NOT a monster. Second get rid of the stuff in your house you're binging on and replace with better choices. Good luck sister, we all need it!

33Freya

Find better balance- you let your blood sugar drop too low. Try not to allow yourself to get to the point of shakiness- eat every few hours, and have a snack if you need one. Veggies are especially low in calories, so if you want to binge out on them, it isn't going to kill you to go the 100 calories over for the day on that. Way better to do that than to hit the candy and make your blood sugar spike again, only to crash later. Balance is the key. Good luck!:flowerforyou:

NikiChicken

My initial response would be that you are not eating enough.

Also you should open your diary so we can get an idea of what you are eating.

This. Don't starve yourself because you see what happens. Open your diary so we can take a look and see what you've got going on. Make sure you are planning ahead and getting enough to eat and planning in snacks so you don't get to the point where you are starving and eating everything in sight!

rml_16

Find better balance- you let your blood sugar drop too low. Try not to allow yourself to get to the point of shakiness- eat every few hours, and have a snack if you need one. Veggies are especially low in calories, so if you want to binge out on them, it isn't going to kill you to go the 100 calories over for the day on that. Way better to do that than to hit the candy and make your blood sugar spike again, only to crash later. Balance is the key. Good luck!:flowerforyou:

Complete nonsense!
If you are not on any hypoglycemic drugs, and don't have an insulin secreting tumor, DO NOT WORRY ABOUT A LOW GLUCOSE. You glucose is doing JUST FINE.
Obese people use that myth as an excuse to eat. And then they eat, and eat, and eat.
Learn to deal with the sensations. They will go away.
Serum glucose is NOT a factor that needs to be addressed. Period.
If someone brings this up again, I would like a source, please.
Mine is Guyton's Textbook of Medical Physiology.

There is nothing wrong with feeling a little hungry every once in a while. Nothing at all.

But regardless of weight or stored fuel, if you are light-headed and shaky, your brain needs nutrients and you need to eat something.

Stop being so condescending and ridiculous. You are not correct in this instance.

And you know what? The OP binged when she tried to ignore the hunger, which is what you're suggesting. Had she eaten a few nuts or an apple with peanut butter, she would have felt better and been able to wait for dinner to eat a proper meal.

stealthq

Find better balance- you let your blood sugar drop too low. Try not to allow yourself to get to the point of shakiness- eat every few hours, and have a snack if you need one. Veggies are especially low in calories, so if you want to binge out on them, it isn't going to kill you to go the 100 calories over for the day on that. Way better to do that than to hit the candy and make your blood sugar spike again, only to crash later. Balance is the key. Good luck!:flowerforyou:

Complete nonsense!
If you are not on any hypoglycemic drugs, and don't have an insulin secreting tumor, DO NOT WORRY ABOUT A LOW GLUCOSE. You glucose is doing JUST FINE.
Obese people use that myth as an excuse to eat. And then they eat, and eat, and eat.
Learn to deal with the sensations. They will go away.
Serum glucose is NOT a factor that needs to be addressed. Period.
If someone brings this up again, I would like a source, please.
Mine is Guyton's Textbook of Medical Physiology.

Your reference is either fictional (meaning you're not actually checking the reference not the book doesn't exist), or so poor it's ridiculous. There are many causes of hypoglycemia (see below, obviously some aren't applicable here). And yes, if your blood glucose drops below a certain minimum level it ALWAYS worthy of concern. However, it is possible to have symptoms of mild hypoglycemia and not have your blood glucose drop. Look up postprandial reactive hypoglycemia. Treatment is to have a snack and modulate your diet if it happens frequently.

Causes of hypoglycemia:
Taking too much insulin, skipping a meal, exercising too strenuously, drinking too much alcohol (in people with diabetes)
Critical organ failure (kidney, heart, or liver)
Hormone deficiencies
Tumors
Fasting
Inherited abnormalities
Lack of an appropriate diet, especially with a critical illness
Strenuous exercise
Recovery from gastrointestinal surgery
Certain medications, including quinolones, pentamidine, quinine, beta blockers, angiotensin-converting enzyme agents and IGF
Autoimmune disorders

Source: Hypoglycemia | University of Maryland Medical Center http://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/condition/hypoglycemia#ixzz2k59Q1L31
University of Maryland Medical Center
Follow us: @UMMC on Twitter | MedCenter on Facebook

jonnythan

Mine is Guyton's Textbook of Medical Physiology.

Fascinating. Which page? I've got my copy right here.

Glynneybug

Raw almonds are AWESOME for quick boost and they are long lasting, no rush and crash. Also fruit! I hope you find something that works for you!

~Glynis