I've spent the past few weeks feeding my body crap and I'm feeling the effects. I'm dragging, tired and sluggish and I don't feel the same vitality that I do when I'm eating a clean selection of foods. And because I've slacked so much on water I'm feeling run down and have had a low grade headache for a week or two now. Unfortunately with the altered holiday schedule I've also missed a lot of doses of vitamins and calcium. So yeah, I've screwed up a lot.
Because of the crappy food I've been eating my Reactive Hypoglycemia has been hitting me hard too. Friday morning after having a protein shake for breakfast, my blood sugar crashed an hour later (count of 43). There was no reason for it and the high protein shake should have kept my levels up -- but I suspect the bad eating on Thursday night resulted in the morning crash. Then later on Friday afternoon after a meal high in protein, I crashed again. It scares me. I don't want to spend my life wondering if my blood sugar levels are going to be fine or drop very low unexpectedly. The fear alone is enough to get me back on track.
So yeah, I had my holiday fun. Ate lots of Christmas cookies and way too many carbs and a bunch of fatty protein choices. But now I'm turning the corner on the New Year and I'm back on the program again. This is not a resolution (because I hate that word) -- but this is what I'm facing as I begin my new day tomorrow:
- Use my FitDay food journal at least 4 days per week to keep me accountable and aware.
- Figure out where I need to be with calorie intake, plan the day's menu and stick to the plan.
- Eat at least 100g good quality, lean protein per day in either protein supplement or meat.
- Limit carb intake to fruits, veggies, dairy, legumes and whole grains only.
- Drink 64oz water per day.
- Take all doses of vitamins and calcium per day.
- Be active.
I'm not perfect and I've never claimed to be. These past few weeks have proven to me that I need to stay on top of my game because it is way too easy to fall back into bad habits with food. I may have the best weight loss tool known to man living right inside my abdomen, but unless I use that tool it isn't going to work for me. Just like a hammer can't drive nails on it's own - it needs a carpenter to use it as the tool it is to get the job done.
~Pam
Good plan, Pam. I've been battling the holiday food demon too. I ate crap for almost a solid month. Back on track as of yesterday.
ReplyDeleteI wish us both luck.
Karen
Glad to know I am not the only one! I have vowed to get the junk out of my house and away from my body too!
ReplyDeleteCan I join ya? After my holiday carb galore, I just feel crappy. I'm back on track today... complex carbs, dense protein, and knitting to save me from myself :).
ReplyDeleteHow's your knitting going?
Do you still use the Go Wear Fit?
ReplyDelete@Sunshine -- I've been seeing your posts on OH - looks like you're on track and doing good so far! Keep up the good work!
ReplyDelete@Anon - Great plan to clear the house of all junk food. It's the perfect way to start.
@Liaazul - Happy to have you join us! Knitting is a great distraction too - keeps your hands busy so you're not snacking. My knitting is sitting right next to my chair in the living room.
@Anon -- Yep, I'm still wearing my GoWearFit. I'll do a post about it soon to let you know how much I still love it. :-)
Boy Pam you are exactly like me. The osteopenia AND the reactive hypoglycemia! I think we could be WLS twins!
ReplyDeleteDawn
www.diminishingdawn.com
Pam
ReplyDeleteI suffer from reactive hypoglycemia and I'm actually finding out that whole grains are worse than refined grains. I don't know why but we people with reactive hypoglycemia don't tolerate too much bulk and whole grains are also higher in carb content, regardless of the glycemic index. I tolerate pasta and meat sauce way more than oat or barley soup or millet or spelt.
I wouldn't want you to run in circles because of trying to follow the common wisdom on healthy eating. Been there, done that and it doesn't work.
After reading and experimenting a lot I have realized that to prevent hypoglycemia that diet must not be low-fat but moderate fat and that focusing on lean sources is not a good idea. Also I have realized that it's important to avoid or decrease or at least balance simple carbs but that most refined starches don't have to be removed at all from the diet.
Also liquid foods are a bad idea: including broths and soups because they increase absorption and act like fast acting carbs.
Most foods that are considered safe for sugar balance are actually the worst for me and this includes oats, chickpeas and sweet potatoes.
I feel better when I stick to minimalist eating or basic foods without nothing exotic or from whole food shops. Speaking of which exotic fruits like papaya and passion fruits and even pineapple are the worst.
So minimalist eating like a basic carb (pasta, bread, wrap, rice, beans) a basic protein (meat, fish, egg, dairy) and liberal enough fat (olive oil, butter, avacado, nut, nut butter) not to mention the fat already contained in meat, cheese and so on since eating lean foods doesn't work well. For exaple whole yogurt is a lot less reactive than fat free yogurt.
@Danny Jimmy
ReplyDeleteYes, you're right -- we are all different when it comes to reactive hypoglycemia. Your story just proves that one solution doesn't fit us all. I know one gal who can't deal with carbs at all and focuses most of her diet on protein and fat (and does quite well with controlling her low blood sugar crashes). Some people crash on coffee, some don't. So use simple carbs to come out of a crash whereas others need complex carbs.
I think the hardest part of this whole hypoglycemia situation is that there is not ONE answer for everyone. We must all pay very close attention to our own bodies, experiement with what it needs in different situations... and alter our lifestyle to accomodate what our body wants from us.
Thank you for sharing your information. The more we know about how reactive hypoglycemia acts with each different person... the better decisions people can make who are just learning about their diagnosis. Sharing is caring, right? :-)
~Pam