Avoiding the mid afternoon blood sugar drop

dramaqueen45
dramaqueen45 Posts: 1,009 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I'm not a diabetic, but after I eat lunch most days I experience a drop in blood sugar brought on by my body releasing insulin from lunch. I don't eat a high sugar lunch (although I do eat some carbs). Usually lunch is a greek yogurt and a microwave low calorie meal and water. Any suggestions on how to avoid the drop in blood sugar? Some days are worse than others and I have to drink some coffee to get myself through the afternoon. Should I just eat a banana when I feel that coming on or would protein be better? I have started eating a cheese stick or some type of protein in the late afternoon before stopping on the way home to workout because otherwise I want to eat everything in the refrigerator before I can make dinner, and the protein really helps. Today I ate a cheese stick with lunch along with an Arby's roast beef sandwich and a yogurt (regular) and I was crashing really bad. Of course it didn't help that I was in a workshop all afternoon and was sitting and taking notes for most of that time. So any suggestions would be appreciated!

Replies

  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    Two tips. Have a little more protein with your lunch and go for a walk or run right after lunch. That will burn up the small surplus carbs from lunch.

    My daughter who also felt sluggish after lunch started doing stairs after lunch and she saw a marked improvement in her energy level after lunch.
  • dramaqueen45
    dramaqueen45 Posts: 1,009 Member
    Thanks I'll try the protein and when I can- the walk. Some days it's not possible (like today- I am meeting one-on-one with 8th graders out of science and I literally have 30 minutes for lunch, but if I can finish eating in 10 minutes maybe I can squeeze that in). I also thought maybe a mid-morning snack would help because I'm never hungry of a morning and I know that my blood sugar is probably very low by the time I eat lunch (I do eat a high protein granola bar but that's about all at breakfast).
  • Yi5hedr3
    Yi5hedr3 Posts: 2,696 Member
    You need to become a fat-burner. Think Ketogenic Diet.....
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    I used to have this issue too but now I make lunch my biggest meal of the day and it hasn't happened in ages.
  • cbelc2
    cbelc2 Posts: 762 Member
    Does your yogurt have sugar? Check the carbs on your lunch. Some have over 50 grams. And what type of carb is it? Refined grains will have you falling out of your chair asleep. Also, try taking a 15 minute walk after lunch.
  • vrokhfit
    vrokhfit Posts: 55 Member
    Protein shake (25g) for breakfast helps a lot for me.
  • xveer22
    xveer22 Posts: 93 Member
    Yesterday I had a lecture from a professional insitute about sleep. It also told about you biological clock. Your normal rhythm makes you most attent and awake around 9 in the morning and 9 in the evening (if you have a normal rhythm) and your lowest energy point at a day is around lunch time. So your dip probably doesn't come from the food, but is just a normal dip in you daily rhythm ;)
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    You might try adding an egg at breakfast. Even a high protein granola bar is not going to be THAT high in protein.
  • Queenmunchy
    Queenmunchy Posts: 3,380 Member
    When I felt this I used to pack a small snack (veggies/hummus, nuts, a hard boiled egg, some cheese and grape tomatoes) to eat in the last half hour or so before work is over. Now I just eat a small breakfast before work and eat a lunch very late in the day.
  • dramaqueen45
    dramaqueen45 Posts: 1,009 Member
    Yogurt is 9g of carbs, 12g protein; granola bar at breakfast is 10g of protein. Today I tried eating a banana at about 9:30 a.m. and I experienced very little dip after lunch. I think the key is just to keep blood sugar levels steady by eating a carb mid-morning because when I let myself eat on an empty stomach and then eat I think it just releases too much insulin which then causes the crash.

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