Hypoglycemia and cutting calories

newloafofbread · February 2013

Hi everyone!

I just wanted to see if I could get a little advice about the situation I'm encountering. I've just started to change my diet over the last few weeks and add exercise. I started using MFP this week and I'm trying really hard to hit the calories it's recommending. I noticed on the days I ate like I usually do, but counted, I was at 3000 calories or so. MFP is recommending I eat 1870 calories a day before exercise. Yesterday I was able to make this goal for the first time with a margin of like ten calories. However I noticed my blood sugar dropping in the middle of the day. My doctor diagnosed me with reactive hypoglycemia a few months ago (part of the motivation to eat better) and recommended more protein and less carbs. Well yesterday I went over my protein limit, under my carb limit and met my calories, but my sugar was still dipping pretty badly. Usually in that case I eat some peanut butter or something, but I would have been over my calories if I did.

So the question is, how am I supposed to meet this calorie goal if it's making my blood sugar low? I mean the reason I'm trying to eat healthy is to lose weight and have a reduction in health issues like these, but eating less is actually aggravating the problem. Is it realistic to go from eating an average of 3000 calories/day to 1870/day?

Also I did break my lunch up into two parts yesterday, I know that this can help. But it was between lunch and dinner that my sugar dropped, so it didn't help at all.

sissiluv · February 2013

When I was diagnosed with hypoglycemia I was told to eat roughly six small meals a day and not to be afraid of snacking. Something as simple as crackers and cheese can work wonders. Likewise if you're eating good, wholesome healthy foods it can even leave you some room at the end of the day to get that snack in, since the healthy foods tend to also be lower caloric wise and also leave you feeling fuller for longer.

I'd definitely google it just to see what other people have to say. In the meantime here's a couple of links I personally find useful.

http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/hypoglycemia-for-dummies-cheat-sheet.html
http://voices.yahoo.com/great-lunch-food-snacks-hypoglycemia-blood-2517223.html?cat=51
http://www.ehow.com/how_2300982_diet-hypoglycemic.html#page=1
http://www.vegancoach.com/hypoglycemic-vegan.html

mo247x · February 2013

Hi there, I am having similar issues at the moment.... I am trying to stick to 1500 cal a day but i honestly think your body goes through a "detox" phase where it just doesnt know what is going on and it is similar to withdrawal phase when people are on drugs i guess. Your body is use to certain food and a certain amount of intake that cutting it by half is probably shocking it.

I dont know if yours is set up like mine but it also shows the sugar content and on the days I have felt rough I can see that I may be under in cals but am over on the sugar. I am trying to find the balance. Right now I am trying the weight watchers frozen meals and adding veggies to it to see if this helps.

Lets keep in touch to see if we find any solutions :-) . How much are you aiming to loose?
Janine

3dogsrunning · February 2013

MFP's protein goals are very low and it's a higher carb goal. You can manually change them. I have mine set to 40% carbs, 30% protein and 30 % fat. Perhaps next time you see the doctor you can ask what you should be aiming for. MFPs default goals might not be right for you especially if you were told to eat higher protein. I would not worry about going over the protein goal are being under carbs.

ETA - keep on mind even if you go over in calories, unless its by a lot (depends on what your deficit is set at, I thi I yours might be 1000) you are still in a deficit. 100 cal of peanut butter or something else would not kill your weight loss and considering the reason you would be eating t, I definitely wouldn't avoid it in that case.

2nd ETA - can you ask for a referral to a dietician?

newloafofbread · February 2013

I have two goals set up, actually.

Goal one - lose 93 pounds (back to where I was 3 years ago, and I still have clothes for)

Goal two - lose another 25 pounds (back to where I was in high school, as pictured in my profile picture).

But I can say for sure I will not be keeping up 1870 calories a day if it makes me sick and dizzy and cranky. Being hungry I can deal with, but not that.

Also I did actually see a dietitian. It was ... less than helpful. She basically told me to eat more vegetables, less carbs, and gave me a list of "approved vegetables". I didn't need someone to tell me to eat vegetables, that is pretty obvious... :grumble: She also said exact opposite things of my doctor, like suggested when my sugar drops to eat glucose tablets. This is the exact opposite of what my doctor said...

The big problem I'm having is that my doctor actually very suddenly quit practicing medicine. I didn't even find out until after she had left. I haven't even started to look for a new physician yet. My doctor was willing to give me realistic suggestions for eating healthier because I'm an extremely picky eater, and I'm just worried no one else is going to be as understanding.

Edit: Ah I guess I could also mention what I ate yesterday and see where I tripped up? I thought I did pretty well.

Breakfast:
Fit and active yogurt smoothie
4 pieces of turkey bacon
One glass of skim milk

Lunch:
Small lunchbox sized apple
Peanut butter sandwich on wheat bread (natural peanut butter, the kind you have to stir)
10 crackers

Dinner:
A bowl and a half of turkey chili with beans
Two pieces of texas toast
Crackers in the chili

Snack:
Air popped popcorn

I felt like I barely ate all day and I went to bed starving, and as I said before dinner my sugar dropped. And I barely made my calories.

stormydaze_02 · February 2013

I know how hard this is! I have the same issue. I am a large eater, and if i don't eat well and very frequently (2 to 3 hourly) i start to get the shakes and go sweaty. Then when that happens i tend to run off and buy a huge meal which helps initially, but then i feel awful LOL

As suggested, it might be worth seeing a different dietitian for an eating plan. I have traded many foods for lower GI snacks and that's really helping. I exercise quite a lot, so i am able to eat the calories and still lose weight (very slowly, but still losing)

ETA... I've just noticed your intake yesterday. I can't really comment as we don't have some of that food in Australia (or it may be known as something else!), but instead of having the 3 meals and a snack, you could try spreading that over 6 smaller meals. Helps for me

(and i'm always starving too!)

jmoorman83 · February 2013

Definitely try and divide your calories up more then three meals. With 1870 cals a day you could eat 311 cals over 6 meals. Make sure you get plenty of protein. Google glycemic index load and reactive hypoglycemia.

staciarose13 · February 2013

bump because I just found out I have hypoglycemia

NoExcusesFromNowOn · July 2017

I'm in the same boat. Looking for friends and suggestions.

Old_Cat_Lady · July 2017

Always carry snacks in your purse. Such as a baggie of almonds/nuts or a protein bar that won't melt.

MidModJenn · July 2017

I'm hypoglycemic, and the best help for me has been eating Paleo. Cutting out most refined sugar, corn, wheat etc has evened out my blood sugar and I don't get the cravings, blood sugar drops, or shakiness that I used to. It's not a low carb diet -- I still eat potatoes and certain sugars -- but the carbs I do eat are ones that my body can handle.

Hypoglycemia and cutting calories

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