Hypoglycemia and sugar levels.

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laizeohbeets
laizeohbeets Posts: 5
in Food and Nutrition
Hi hi, I'm new, what have you. I find with my food diary that I'm doing quite well with my calories/protein/sodium, etc, but I'm having a big problem with SUGAR! I'm hypoglycemic and find I'm struggling to keep up with the lower levels of sugar I should achieve, per my diary. Most carbs I have available to me are pretty high-sugar as well, so keeping up carbs is fun. I've been hypoglycemic pretty much all of my life, so this isn't a new thing for me and weight loss. I also struggle with adding complex carbs into my diet.

On very bad, low-blood-sugar days, fruit does not help. Apples can absolutely bottom me out. Honey is literally the only thing that works.

Is anyone hypoglycemic and have any tips?

Replies

  • 126siany
    126siany Posts: 1,386 Member
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    Not hypoglycemic, but I ignore the MFP sugar goal. It's set quite low and doesn't differentiate between naturally occurring sugars and added sugars.
  • laizeohbeets
    laizeohbeets Posts: 5
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    I guarantee I'm eating too many simple carbs, because I do love my sweets, but I'm unsure how much to ignore with the calculator.
  • hmaddpear
    hmaddpear Posts: 610 Member
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    I completely ignore the sugar goal on the site - it's completely unrealistic and you're likely counting carbs anyway so there's no point. If trying to stay under the sugar goal is affecting your health, please, please, please ditch it. (I swapped it out for fibre).

    ETA: To swap out the sugar goal for something else, go "My Home" > "Settings" > "Diary Settings" and use the drop downs to tailor your tracking requirements. Good luck!
  • SuperSexyDork
    SuperSexyDork Posts: 1,669 Member
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    Ignore the sugar on the site... but if you're a reactive hypoglycemic you shouldn't be eating many simple carbs anyway as it's cyclical. The more simple carbs you eat, the more insulin your body is going to produce, therefore your sugar will just end up lower.

    I've found that the best way to eat for reactive hypoglcemia is to never eat carbs alone and to eat every few hours. You may find that you need to lower your carb goal here and instead up your protein.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
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    the sugar target on MFP since early this year is in line with the US govt nutritional guidance

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1181259-so-what-s-with-this-sugar-then-revised-faq-jan-2014
  • LoveMyLife_NYC
    LoveMyLife_NYC Posts: 230 Member
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    I had issues with hypoglycemia, and found that I was just eating too many carbs in general. I ate every few hours, increased my protein intake, and always ate protein when I ate a carb (ex. cheese and apple slices).You can't just cut the carbs to fix the problem. Your body is looking for energy and you need to replace the cut carbs with something else.

    What are your macros set to in your diary? 40c/30f/30p is what I use, and it seems to give me the fat and protein I need to reduce hunger cravings.
  • laizeohbeets
    laizeohbeets Posts: 5
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    I do sometimes have a difficulty with hypoglycemia if I have complex carbs, too. I've found the best days are the ones where I have a lot of seafood. Maybe I should up protein levels.

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