Problems with hubby's blood sugar and eating too much- help?

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jennk5309
jennk5309 Posts: 206 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
What happens is that he doesn't know how to (or like to) cook, and so he avoids it when he's home alone during the day until he's starving, and then he grabs whatever he can and goes way overboard because low blood sugar diminishes his self-control. This has led to weight gain and worsening health.

So we talked about setting an alarm for every three hours for him to eat a small snack that's easy for him to put together before he actually gets super hungry, so that he will have the self control needed to keep his portions smaller.

What I need are blood-sugar friendly snack/small meal ideas that are EASY to prepare. So far I've thought of greek yogurt with fruit and almond slivers, veggies and hummus, almond butter and apples, and maybe pre-portioned leftovers or frozen meals.....other than that I can't think of anything else right now!

Ideas?

Replies

  • climbing_trees
    climbing_trees Posts: 726 Member
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    String cheese
    String cheese/cold cuts roll-up
    Hard boiled egg
    Edamame
    Mini quesadilla with beans/cheese and salsa
    Cottage cheese with fruit or veggies
    Smoked salmon with crackers (or any meat, cold cuts might be easiest but i love smoked salmon~)
    Protein or granola bar (check on the nutrition facts! some of these are basically candy. look for high protein/fiber low sugar)
    1 oz of nuts (almonds are my favorite, check out emerald's cocoa/vanilla/cinnamon roast almonds for tasty low sugar options)

    I suffer from the same thing, and I find that my blood sugar stays stable longer when I eat a tiny bit of carbs with a high protein source.
  • somefitsomefat
    somefitsomefat Posts: 445 Member
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    I feel like it's worth saying that if you're at the point where you're setting alarms to remind him to eat perhaps it's time to have a discussion about putting on the big boy pants and learning to cook. The scenario you're describing sounds like what has to be done for my 4 year old nephew.
  • sumeetg37
    sumeetg37 Posts: 108 Member
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    If pre-packaged is an option I know a number of companies make 100 cal packs of their snackies.... If not my go to snack has always been planters heart health nut mix. Tons of protein and good fat and fiber, one serving is about 180 cal and keeps me full for about 2-3 hours... You could weigh out portions in advance and put them in baggies... Also home made oatmeal or granola bars are a great option, you can control the sugar and other nutritional tidbits, slice them up and wrap them in plastic. Kath eats has a good one that I use as a base recipe.


    I am also diabetic and try to eat frequently and generally control my blood sugar.
  • bologna111
    bologna111 Posts: 57 Member
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    Hard boiled eggs, red pepper slices diped in hummus. I have blood sugar issues also and understand the importance of eating every few hours.
  • Andrea_Alexis_1980
    Andrea_Alexis_1980 Posts: 122 Member
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    Hi, I also have diabetes, when it's low like today i will eat anything, cause i feel starving... " not good " I was told that cheese low in fat , Peanut butter, apples are good to have.
  • Shuuma
    Shuuma Posts: 465 Member
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    I've had hypoglycemia for 30 years and anything sugary is a fast track to an insulin reaction. Avoiding fruits in the morning is best and protein rich snacks are even better.

    Eating every few hours is best, but snacks in the morning should be veggies (like celery with peanut butter or carrots) or proteins like hard boiled eggs, cottage cheese, or string cheese. If he's not counting calories, you can add ranch for the veggies and crackers to cheese slices.

    In the afternoon he could have apple slices, a banana, orange slices, or the fruit of his choice because the little sugar boost will be absorbed better and not cause his insulin to go into overdrive.

    Avoiding carb-heavy snacks like breads, crackers, chips, etc. is best because that kicks the insulin into high gear.

    Hope that helps!
  • Holly_Roman_Empire
    Holly_Roman_Empire Posts: 4,440 Member
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    Are you his mother or his wife? :huh:

    The diabetics in my family take a swig of orange juice (or any kind of fruit juice) to regulate their blood sugar when they're feeling low.
  • RedGreenInBlue
    RedGreenInBlue Posts: 3
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    Hi there - saw your post in the feed on my diary homepage!

    My wife and I are doing the 5:2 diet together. We both need to lose a little weight, and although my blood sugar is fine and I enjoy cooking, I too have a self-discipline problem which leads to me unnecessarily snacking between meals.

    There's one snack which has impressed both of us, from the 5:2 diet recipe book. It's in the "simple breakfasts" section, but split one portion in two or three and I think it would be an excellent.

    Basically, you mix 125 g of low-fat strained yogurt with an equal quantity of water, add 30 g jumbo oats, 20 g of dropped dried apricots or similar fruit, a teaspoon of sunflower seeds and 20 g of chopped blanched almonds, and leave overnight in the fridge to soak. One portion of this comes in at 1210 kJ/289 kcal, and it can keep me going until dinner on my fast days, i.e. impressively filling for its energy content.

    It's so simple that even a non-cooker like your husband might find preparing it not too irritating a task :)

    Hope that helps!
  • jennk5309
    jennk5309 Posts: 206 Member
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    To those saying my husband is childish- He has Attention Deficit Disorder and is forgetful and gets easily distracted. He MORE than makes up for the small annoyances this causes in SOOO many ways. He's a wonderful husband, just is sort of the absent-minded, highly intelligent professor type who has a hard time with the *small* stuff, if you know what I mean.

    Just trying to help him the best I can :)
  • Holly_Roman_Empire
    Holly_Roman_Empire Posts: 4,440 Member
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    To those saying my husband is childish- He has Attention Deficit Disorder and is forgetful and gets easily distracted. He MORE than makes up for the small annoyances this causes in SOOO many ways. He's a wonderful husband, just is sort of the absent-minded, highly intelligent professor type who has a hard time with the *small* stuff, if you know what I mean.

    Just trying to help him the best I can :)

    I'm just taking your other threads about your husband into account as I read this one. What did he do BEFORE y'all got married?
  • bunkahes
    bunkahes Posts: 216 Member
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    Being a diabetic i do understand, I have been there putting alarms at each meal, you can do alot with the small meals or snacks, the amount of calories your husband has divide by how many snacks or meal he has and it will make the sugar stable and not crash. For me, i try to stay 200-400 calories per meal. It would be different for everyone, the other thing is each day or night set aside tomorrow meals, the meals or snack could have alot of different food to make up the amount the calories.
    List of snacks:
    peanut butter and crackers,
    apple with peanut butter,
    sliced apple with crackers
    or Quaker ranch pope,
    dried or fresh fruit, juice,

    List of meals:
    mashed potato-(1/2 cup-1 cup), chicken/pork- (3oz-6oz), veggie
    chopsuey with wheat pasta
    pizza with low calorie chips or crackers

    Whole foods and wheat is good to keep your sugar stable and not crash, if your husband has low sugar orange juice and peanut butter is good, and dont drink coffee because your sugar will drop. salads are good for a snack and you can add anything.
  • jennk5309
    jennk5309 Posts: 206 Member
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    HollyDubs- Admittedly, he was far worse off....Fast food all the time.
  • MuseofSong
    MuseofSong Posts: 322 Member
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    There are great ideas here.

    Stock your house with:
    high fiber carbs
    fruit - fresh and dried
    vegetables - fresh or frozen or canned, whatever you guys like
    protein choices - cold cults, eggs, cheese (just watch out for MAJOR sodium loads from cold cuts and also cheese)
    nuts - a good source of healthy fats
    left overs from well rounded meals - make a large batch of something with a crock pot, and he can have some of it when he needs a meal, etc

    I have PCOS with insulin resistance, so I watch my blood sugar, too.

    One concern I have is that your husband gets distracted so easily and tends to forget things, is he taking his meds in a timely fashion? Is he checking his blood sugar regularly? If he's type II and he's not taking his meds regularly, his blood sugar is not going to be controlled and his A1C is going to suck. If he's type I and forgetting to test his blood sugar, he's going to end up in a coma. Not to mention the daily barrage of glucose assaulting his nerves, eyes, and kidneys.

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