Unbelievable Hanger and shaking, and I'm not even dieting yet. (Blood sugars already tested)
Ouiser8
Posts: 10 Member
(30 year old woman).
I am not on a diet right, I eat what I want to eat and when. Mostly unprocessed, healthy-ish foods, just a LOT of it. (And probably more carbs that I should have). Just saw a bunch of recent photos of myself, aaand I want back on the wagon. But I'm scared of my hanger, which is already a persistent problem, in my dieting future. I do plan on upping my calories so I'm not living on 1200 a day.
My first weight loss experience was last year, and it was kind of an unhealthy one (for me). 1200 calories, and mostly frozen food and protein bars. I lost 40 lbs. Five months later though, I crashed because that is an unsustainable, unhappy diet. So I went off of it, and gained 20 lbs. I of course was hungry all the time during this first weight loss journey, but that hunger was entirely manageable because, honestly, I didn't have a job at that time. I slept 12 hour days and drowned my hunger distractions with my computer time.
Things are different now. I have a full time job, a part time job, and university classes. I'm up from 7 to midnight. Even in my current non-dieting state right now, hunger derails my brain and my body. I have eggs every morning, but not even an hour later my stomach starts to rumble and I start to get the shakes. I whip out my snacks (carrots, nuts, rice krispie etc), and they barely make a dent. I have coffee to suppress it, but has no effect. I have a desk job where I'm pretty focused on my tasks, so I'm surprised my hunger pains pop up. (Usually when I'm focused on something I'm too distracted to notice my hunger). I find O Henry bars to be a quick cure for my hunger, and it's def the nuts in it. (God I love O Henry).
Most concerning is not the hunger, but the shaking, the lightheadedness and the faintness. The overwhelming hanger. Like, I legit get angry and turn into a social crab. I went to see my doctor about it (I love my doc and I find her to be very knowledgeable), and we had my blood sugars tested. All came back normal. When I told her I thought it strange that when I was having like a low blood sugar moment and felt like I was going to die, she told me to carry a protein bar around for when I have an attack.
I plan on upping my calories this time around. But I'm scared. Currently I overeat, but even now I feel like I'm dominated by hunger. How is it going to be when I'm dieting?
What do you guys to combat hanger and shaking?
I am not on a diet right, I eat what I want to eat and when. Mostly unprocessed, healthy-ish foods, just a LOT of it. (And probably more carbs that I should have). Just saw a bunch of recent photos of myself, aaand I want back on the wagon. But I'm scared of my hanger, which is already a persistent problem, in my dieting future. I do plan on upping my calories so I'm not living on 1200 a day.
My first weight loss experience was last year, and it was kind of an unhealthy one (for me). 1200 calories, and mostly frozen food and protein bars. I lost 40 lbs. Five months later though, I crashed because that is an unsustainable, unhappy diet. So I went off of it, and gained 20 lbs. I of course was hungry all the time during this first weight loss journey, but that hunger was entirely manageable because, honestly, I didn't have a job at that time. I slept 12 hour days and drowned my hunger distractions with my computer time.
Things are different now. I have a full time job, a part time job, and university classes. I'm up from 7 to midnight. Even in my current non-dieting state right now, hunger derails my brain and my body. I have eggs every morning, but not even an hour later my stomach starts to rumble and I start to get the shakes. I whip out my snacks (carrots, nuts, rice krispie etc), and they barely make a dent. I have coffee to suppress it, but has no effect. I have a desk job where I'm pretty focused on my tasks, so I'm surprised my hunger pains pop up. (Usually when I'm focused on something I'm too distracted to notice my hunger). I find O Henry bars to be a quick cure for my hunger, and it's def the nuts in it. (God I love O Henry).
Most concerning is not the hunger, but the shaking, the lightheadedness and the faintness. The overwhelming hanger. Like, I legit get angry and turn into a social crab. I went to see my doctor about it (I love my doc and I find her to be very knowledgeable), and we had my blood sugars tested. All came back normal. When I told her I thought it strange that when I was having like a low blood sugar moment and felt like I was going to die, she told me to carry a protein bar around for when I have an attack.
I plan on upping my calories this time around. But I'm scared. Currently I overeat, but even now I feel like I'm dominated by hunger. How is it going to be when I'm dieting?
What do you guys to combat hanger and shaking?
1
Replies
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Try spreading your calories out throughout the day so that you're eating every two hours or so-- and maybe up your cals a bit. Even 100 - 200 calories a day can make a huge difference, and I find it to be worth the tradeoff of a slightly slower weight loss if I'm not starving and cranky all day.
I started at 1400 calories, and found that I was really getting cranky in the afternoon between lunch and dinner, and I would also wake up ravenously hungry. Upping my calories to 1500 and shifting around WHEN I ate some of those calories made huge difference for me.
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I find getting more protein at each meal or snack to be helpful. Often that means including dairy or a handful of nuts. I work a desk job and keep some 130 calories tuna salad kits in my drawer and mini Kind bars (80-100 calories each) for times when I need a little boost.1
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@Ouiser8 I was an over eater for 40 years and thought there was nothing that could help. For pain management on a hunch I cut out food and drink containing added sugars and or any food and drink containing any type. Well after two hellish weeks in Oct 2014 my recovery started. It was slow because this time around I said NO to going hungry and have lost weight eating in 3000 calories daily range and have maintained that loss for over three years eating all that I want when I want it as long as I keep my daily carbs down to about 50 grams. Now at age 67 my health is better than in decades because I can stay stuffed eating what I now want. Yes I lost my fear of calories in general. It was just the carbs mainly in my case.
My hunger and shaking is now well managed now that I know I do not have to fear food.
Stay with your doctor to make sure there are not other things going on in your body to be on the safe side.
I hope you find a Way Of Eating that fixes you too.29 -
I feel hungry all the time when I don’t get enough sleep. Maybe try to add an hour or so of sleep per day?4
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How much caffeine are you taking in? For me, caffeine makes me jittery and my brain interprets that as needing to eat. I find it much harder to stick to weight loss calorie levels when I'm taking in too much caffeine.7
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Experiment to find what works best for you. We all have individual needs for fat, carbs and protein to get to satiety.
For me, a very high volume/high fiber diet keeps hunger at bay. Mostly tons of fruits and vegetables. Whole grains like Oatmeal and lots of beans. I try to eat lots of large salads and for dressing mix up hummus and lemon juice.7 -
Sounds very familiar. I like your doc's recommendation about protein.
I found that adding protein into my snacking helped keep hunger at bay and reduced the shake in my hands. Some examples: I added a protein powder shake (I use quest but there are other types as well) along with my celery stalk snack. Mornings after my workout, I like Starbuck's greek yogurt with berries and/or nuts. Their oatmeal is another great option for me.
Seems like adding something more (e.g., cheese, yogurt, protein powder, etc.) to my simple carbohydrate based snacks (e.g., Fruit, veggies, rice crispies) keeps my energy supply steadier and lasting longer, reduces my hunger and the need for later snacking, and reduced my shaking.
Hope this is helpful. Best of luck!4 -
Another food to try (if you're not already) is beans. I find them to be very helpful for satisfying hunger. And it's not like I'm straight up eating plain beans. My favorite way to eat them is either in chili or as baked beans.
Also, you mentioned nuts haven't helped with hunger. Have you tried seeds, like sunflower or pumpkin? For some reason, I get fuller on the same caloric value of seeds than nuts.0 -
I used to have this frequently - at least once a day. For me, it was reactive hypoglycemia mixed with low blood pressure. My BG would rise a fair bit after eating (carbs) and then would plummet below where I started within 90 minutes. My brain realized BG was falling rapidly and sent my body obvious signals to eat again. I used to have to eat every two hours to avoid. It was a PITA.
Now I eat very very low carb. My body no longer uses glucose as its first choice of fuel. No more rapidly falling BG. Even if my BG goes near a low, I do not get symptoms anymore because my body uses mainly fat and ketones for fuel. Changing my diet solved the problem completely - surprising because it started in childhood and grew more frequent in adulthood.
Others find adding fibre and eating more frequently helps reduce symptoms. For me, that was just a stop-gap measure. YMMV
7 -
Wow, I would agree with what @nowine4me said! For me, I had to start eating different foods. I am eating a wide variety of high nutrient plant foods, and have paid particular attention to lowering the amount of sugar in my diet. Once I started eating better food, my food cravings faded and I actually got comfortable eating less food.0
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This contains some useful advice/information as well:
https://www.healthlinkbc.ca/healthy-eating/reactive-hypoglycemia0 -
Protein. And make sure you're getting enough sodium is my 2 cents.1
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Get more protein, I had similar symptoms to you and my doctor said it was hypoglycemia and low blood pressure. Making sure I got my daily recommendation of protein changed my world, it is so great not feeling shaky all the time! Some days I just force down one of those nasty protein shakes if I didn’t get enough and I’m always glad I did after. Hope you feel better soon!0
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(30 year old woman).
I am not on a diet right, I eat what I want to eat and when. Mostly unprocessed, healthy-ish foods, just a LOT of it. (And probably more carbs that I should have). Just saw a bunch of recent photos of myself, aaand I want back on the wagon. But I'm scared of my hanger, which is already a persistent problem, in my dieting future. I do plan on upping my calories so I'm not living on 1200 a day.
My first weight loss experience was last year, and it was kind of an unhealthy one (for me). 1200 calories, and mostly frozen food and protein bars. I lost 40 lbs. Five months later though, I crashed because that is an unsustainable, unhappy diet. So I went off of it, and gained 20 lbs. I of course was hungry all the time during this first weight loss journey, but that hunger was entirely manageable because, honestly, I didn't have a job at that time. I slept 12 hour days and drowned my hunger distractions with my computer time.
Things are different now. I have a full time job, a part time job, and university classes. I'm up from 7 to midnight. Even in my current non-dieting state right now, hunger derails my brain and my body. I have eggs every morning, but not even an hour later my stomach starts to rumble and I start to get the shakes. I whip out my snacks (carrots, nuts, rice krispie etc), and they barely make a dent. I have coffee to suppress it, but has no effect. I have a desk job where I'm pretty focused on my tasks, so I'm surprised my hunger pains pop up. (Usually when I'm focused on something I'm too distracted to notice my hunger). I find O Henry bars to be a quick cure for my hunger, and it's def the nuts in it. (God I love O Henry).
Most concerning is not the hunger, but the shaking, the lightheadedness and the faintness. The overwhelming hanger. Like, I legit get angry and turn into a social crab. I went to see my doctor about it (I love my doc and I find her to be very knowledgeable), and we had my blood sugars tested. All came back normal. When I told her I thought it strange that when I was having like a low blood sugar moment and felt like I was going to die, she told me to carry a protein bar around for when I have an attack.
I plan on upping my calories this time around. But I'm scared. Currently I overeat, but even now I feel like I'm dominated by hunger. How is it going to be when I'm dieting?
What do you guys to combat hanger and shaking?
Not sure we can answer this properly without eliminating the possibility that you might be underweight already.
What's your height and weight?2 -
nutmegoreo wrote: »How much caffeine are you taking in? For me, caffeine makes me jittery and my brain interprets that as needing to eat. I find it much harder to stick to weight loss calorie levels when I'm taking in too much caffeine.
This is true for me too. I've had to change my coffee for cold water in the afternoons.0 -
I agree with @nvmomketo - It does sound like reactive hypoglycemia. There are no tests that your doctor could do in office that would rule this out, so I'm not sure what she meant by saying your sugars were normal. Blood sugar fluctuates moment by moment and unless you drew your blood while the symptoms were occurring there would be no sign of reactive hypoglycemia, which doesn't make your A1c or fasting sugar abnormal.
Get a cheap Walmart relion and some strips - they cost ten bucks. Find out if you are having low blood sugar issues when you feel shaky.2 -
My mum had this. Turns out she had low blood pressure, and due to all the sodium fear mongering she wasn’t eating enough salt. We use pink himalayan salt because it doesn’t affect her negatively. Try looking into your blood pressure as it sounds like it’s too low.2
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rheddmobile wrote: »I agree with @nvmomketo - It does sound like reactive hypoglycemia. There are no tests that your doctor could do in office that would rule this out, so I'm not sure what she meant by saying your sugars were normal. Blood sugar fluctuates moment by moment and unless you drew your blood while the symptoms were occurring there would be no sign of reactive hypoglycemia, which doesn't make your A1c or fasting sugar abnormal.
Get a cheap Walmart relion and some strips - they cost ten bucks. Find out if you are having low blood sugar issues when you feel shaky.
This was true for me.
I have a blood glucose monitor now. I tested when I had symptoms and I was not even hypoglycemic. My BG was just falling so fast that it created hypoglycemic symptoms; I still had normal BG though.
It cam often be a sign of early insulin resistance. BG rises a bit more than it should and then the body finally kicks in enough insulin so BG falls. Fast.
My BG is regularly lower now than it used to be when I had symptoms. It's the falling BG which was the problem.
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I’m going to go out on a limb here and guess that-
A. It’s not a medical issue
B. It’s not because she’s underweight
The somewhat questionable eating choices notwithstanding, somebody who eats two eggs for breakfast and is so shaky, crabby, angry an hour later that a bevy of snacks (including nutrient dense items like nuts) doesn’t seem to help has more going on than a hunger issue.
Whether it’s over-caffeinated, under-sleep, overwork, stress, lack of ‘me time’ or even fear of hunger or whatever, you need, first and foremost (assuming it’s not a medical issue), to figure out what your priorities are and address them. It sounds like something needs to go. You’ll just need to figure out what’s less important and eliminate it from your life. If that’s managing your weight right now, so be it. But embrace your decision, don’t beat yourself up and then plan to revisit this question in a few months. Because priorities do change.
Sadly, you actually can’t have it all.7 -
My mum had this. Turns out she had low blood pressure, and due to all the sodium fear mongering she wasn’t eating enough salt. We use pink himalayan salt because it doesn’t affect her negatively. Try looking into your blood pressure as it sounds like it’s too low.
That is exactly what happened to me. I literally had to get over a fear of too much salt, since I don't like salty foods and I never added to anything. And my blood pressure was always borderline low. Now I still don't like salty foods but I conciously add salt to recipes. At that time I also was not eating enough foods, like meat protein and eggs, that naturally have sodium in them. I was also doing cardio and sweating my butt of in Florida heat.
Though I don't think Himalayan pink salt is different then any other sodium, at most it has some trace minerals. Negligible.3
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