RED recovery food ideas?

tryingharder123
tryingharder123 Posts: 17 Member
in Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
I set my daily log to public.. i managed to hit 2100 with help of dietitian. I still feel lightheaded and get weak spells put it off to lower/normal blood sugar and maybe electrolyte imabalnce. my blood sugar likes to hang in the 60's-70's at times from not having enough calories ( i thought it was reactive hypoglycemia but was informed it was "starvation hypo") so this will get better as i progress into recovery. Can anyone look at my log and see if i need to make any adjustments to help better balance the diet for the "hypoglycemia" symptoms. i hate feeling rather weak/lightheaded , and YES I AM working with medical and dietician.. more of what i can add to what i have going on! what are your guy's favorite snacks? what works, what helps. what lifts away the bad feelings? new to all this ... and for any judge-rs.. i track calories to make sure im getting enough not to restrict.. i tried at home written food logs and didnt come close to daily intake. a little background on my ed. It was unintentional and stress induced. then the weight came off i have a bmi of 17.5 and the low blood sugar feelings started and then i developed ocd around what reaction i will have to foods .. as in how much will they make me spike and drop.. the biggest fear lying in how low will i go. makes this recovery difficult but im determined i dont want to be skinny... i want my fluff back, and my health!

Replies

  • nikkit321
    nikkit321 Posts: 1,485 Member
    I have absolutely no knowledge in this area whatsoever but want to encourage you in your pursuit of health! I'm sure someone will come along with some ideas for you. The only idea I have is to balance a protein with a carb (fruit), I think the carb would give you a quick sugar hit but the protein will last longer. Good luck!
  • dawnmcneil10
    dawnmcneil10 Posts: 638 Member
    Please note I am no expert and always listen to the professionals.
    Anyway, here's what pops into my head just from reading through a few days of your food diary. Please don't be offended as I'm not judging just commenting.

    Do you really pretty much eat the same foods every day? If so is that because you have a "list" of foods that you should be eating and just use that? I've seen that happen with friends they get scared to go off list or just don't think to branch out.

    Again check with your nutritionists, doctor, dietician and so on don't just take my word for it but here are my thoughts.

    Add in some fruit to your day, not a ton to shock your system but a little here and there, one of my absolute favorite "snacks" is plain greek yogurt, fresh berries and granola.
    Having salad, add some nuts, avacado and/or dried fruit.
    Having beans of any kind try a splash of pineapple in them.
    Make fruit smoothies, milk, banana, peanut butter and chocolate syrup or powder with a few ice cubes is fantastic and I don't like bananas.
    Start simple, give yourself a goal of adding 1 serving of fruit to your day.

    Something else that has helped me is I eat several times a day. There are days my "snack" totals are higher than my meals.

    I hope this has helped you a bit, good luck getting some fluff back but more importantly for realizing your health is so much more important.
  • tryingharder123
    tryingharder123 Posts: 17 Member
    Thankyou both for the replies! yes i get scared to eat different then what i have been because my blood sugar likes to hang in the 60's-70's and im afraid if i eat the "wrong" food balance that im gonna end up going under 60's and i feel horrible there lightheaded/feeling faint and unsteady in legs/balance.. but dietitian said my blood sugar would get better as i ate more because the lows mean im calorie deficient. I can wake up at 68-72 hang in low 80's after first meal all day and then after my ice cream with peanut butter i spike to 96 at 1 hour and drop to 67-72 at 2 hour mark. so im not sure if i need an extra snack in there somewhere or what. I like the idea of more fruit i will definitely try that! I love me some apples and strawberries! Is it ok to have such a high fat intake? since im under weight.. im 105 @ 5'5" of course i get scared by macros. i feel like when my body is able to find balance my weak spells will go away. its exhausting to feel weak all the time. im giving it my all though, im guessing i will need to up calories some more , maybe the weak feeling is my body asking for more food! and from what i read up on people who are underweight have to take in more calories to do repairs i was told 1900 was my minimal i needed around 2400 to start putting weight on
  • Asherah29
    Asherah29 Posts: 354 Member
    I'm hypoglycemic the major thing I have to try to stay away from (for myself) is sugary foods which will cause a sudden spike and drop. Look for foods high in protein and foods with good fat content. This will keep you away from a dangerous sugar low.
  • tryingharder123
    tryingharder123 Posts: 17 Member
    see thats what i thought.. protein/ fat...dietitian actually said to eat ice cream before bed.. she does specialize in diabetes also and she seemed certain my hypo is from " starvation" lack of calories instead of reactive hypo. i havent had enough faith to try this yet in fear of the spike and fall so i eat only 1/2 cup but during the day so if i fall im aware... i keep my daily sugar intake under 50 in hopes this will help the symptoms but she did say to pair it with nuts.. i add peanut butter!
  • Asherah29
    Asherah29 Posts: 354 Member
    Sugar is a quick fix if I'm spiraling down. ie - passed out in the middle of a mosh pit at a concert because I'd drank one bottle of hard lemonade without having recently eaten (stupid I know but we were planning a big meal after, and ONE couldn't hurt right?), which resulted in a sugar spike and low. I woke up with nurses pouring sugar and orange juice down me and still passed out from low blood sugar again.
    The sugars wont go long term, you need something that wont cause a sugar spike and make insulin be released in large amounts. You want a slow steady burn off of sugar.

    Not saying I know better than your dietitian, but I might get a second opinion. Its probable yours is from your eating issues (because not eating for long periods can cause it) but I don't know that ice cream before bed is the best fix. I might try eating something else before bed time. The peanut butter that you mentioned might be a good start.
  • sljohnson1207
    sljohnson1207 Posts: 818 Member
    Have you had your blood pressure monitored? I'm inclined to think you may have very low pressure and maybe that is what is causing your light-headedness. Get a cuff and start checking it regularly, esp. when symptoms occur. Keep a log. Check with a doctor on it. Could be both BS spikes/lows and LBP. It's common with EDs and in young people.

    Also, it seems you are probably eating enough sodium already, but you may want to slightly increase it if your BP is very low.

    And, btw, you are doing great with recovery food choices. Very healthy looking.

    Two things you may want to add are guacamole and hummus. Dip your veggies and/or fruit, and Ritz crackers. Yummy and full of nutrition.
  • stealthq
    stealthq Posts: 4,298 Member
    Thankyou both for the replies! yes i get scared to eat different then what i have been because my blood sugar likes to hang in the 60's-70's and im afraid if i eat the "wrong" food balance that im gonna end up going under 60's and i feel horrible there lightheaded/feeling faint and unsteady in legs/balance.. but dietitian said my blood sugar would get better as i ate more because the lows mean im calorie deficient. I can wake up at 68-72 hang in low 80's after first meal all day and then after my ice cream with peanut butter i spike to 96 at 1 hour and drop to 67-72 at 2 hour mark. so im not sure if i need an extra snack in there somewhere or what. I like the idea of more fruit i will definitely try that! I love me some apples and strawberries! Is it ok to have such a high fat intake? since im under weight.. im 105 @ 5'5" of course i get scared by macros. i feel like when my body is able to find balance my weak spells will go away. its exhausting to feel weak all the time. im giving it my all though, im guessing i will need to up calories some more , maybe the weak feeling is my body asking for more food! and from what i read up on people who are underweight have to take in more calories to do repairs i was told 1900 was my minimal i needed around 2400 to start putting weight on

    You're still trying to get more calories, right? Why not try adding a snack when you start to feel bad? You might kill 2 birds with one stone.
  • tryingharder123
    tryingharder123 Posts: 17 Member
    Thankyou for reply, my a1c was normal doc said no diabetes, I haven't been diagnosed with hypoglycemia but dietitian mentioned that my numbers are awfully low after just eating and put it off to me eating 1500 calories a day or under for a long time which caused starvation and ultimately weight loss bmi of 17.
  • tryingharder123
    tryingharder123 Posts: 17 Member
    My blood pressure does go low! i ranged from 90/58 - 126/76 I feel so unsteady in my legs when the weak spells happen, im not sure which is causing it, i mean i suppose the bp could feel like low blood sugar. i cant stand very long or walk around long when it kicks up. im eating plenty of salt, fats, cholesterol starting last tuesday, how long does it take for diet changes to take affect on the body? lol im ready to feel better, 24 and having to be sendentary sucks and docs all.. erm anxiety.. . my sodium levels were just in range at 139. range was 136-145 and potassium 3.4 .(1 low) mri was normal
  • sljohnson1207
    sljohnson1207 Posts: 818 Member
    Low blood pressure symptoms and low blood sugar symptoms are pretty similar in some folks.

    You should try to be very careful with standing up too fast, rising to your feet from laying down, and possibly certain exercises....burpees, I think they are called.

    Anyway, get the cuff and keep a log of what your BP is and how you feel. Don't just take it when you have a spell. Take it when you feel well as well.

    Talk to a doctor about this, not just your nutritionist/RD.

Categories