MKRG

I was just wondering if anyone else out there is hypoglycemic. The thing is that I could stand to lose 20 pounds and I keep riding but as far as I can tell I just get more muscle in my legs without losing any weight. It's not imperative that I lose the weight but it is something that I would like to do. The problem is that if I don't eat, I get goofy and start running into walls. It's almost like my body has a "set point" and doesn't want to go under that weight. If anyone else has hypoglycemia I would appreciate any advice you could offer as for how to lose a few pounds without running into walls.

lovemyswift

Years ago I was diagnosed with borderline hypoglycemia. I haven't been retested but if I don't eat I seriously bonk. I drink accelerade when I'm riding long rides and still have to eat real food around 30 - 35 mi. If I don't eat I get goofy too, very irritable, shaky and have no energy for riding.

Anything sugary messes me up, I need to eat something like protein, peanut butter, cheese, etc.

I can't help you with weight loss but I stay away from sweets, pop, fast food and just try to eat healthy. I always eat breakfast, that seems to help stabilize me for most of the day.

If you've ever been on a CCC ride and met a small, irritable, shakey woman that was me. That's not my real personality I was hungry.

I went on a DCC ride last year, 66 miles and they didn't have peanut butter at the sag stop. Well, I didn't have anything with me but my energy bar and my acclerade. Some lady working the sag stop gave me her turkey and bagel sandwich.
She saved the ride for me.

Kathi

DnvrFox

My wife (age 65) has hypoglycemia - pretty bad at some times.

Actually, since she has been on the Body for Life program, it has been much, much better. Didn't think about it until your posting, which I guess is pretty good. She eats 6 small meals a day consisting of equal sized small portions of protein and high quality whole grain carbo along with all the veggies she wants.

She has exercised regularly (about 3/4 to 1 hour per day of high intensity cardio on the treadmill and some biking) and now is weight lifting 3 hours per week.

She has lost 9 pounds in the last 12 weeks.

Thanks for posting. It was just a little serendipity for us.

sebring

You probably need to reevaluate what you eat. If you ate more foods that were better for you, you may be better off. Try journaling what you eat on a regular basis. If you take a bite of it, write it down. You may surprise yourself with what you find. Then you may be able to change your diet so that you can lose weight and not go low.

lovemyswift

You gave me a lot to think about while I was riding the trainer. The time went really fast.

In addition to keeping a food diary, determine how many calories you need daily. There are formulas to help you find this out based on activity level, etc. I did this because I was tired of being hungry all the time and wanted to know if I was eating enough.

I found out that I need 1750 calories per day. So I think of food this way. A donut or candy bar at 2-300 calories does nothing for my body I still need the right balance of protein and carbs to keep my blood sugar level and not be so hungry. So I consider those kinds of foods empty calories, useless, doing nothing for me. They put me over my caloric allotment. I don't need them in which case I don't eat them.

Since I need calicum I drink a protein smoothie every morning. I also eat oatmeal instead of cereal. I use real oatmeal, that way I can control the amount of sugar. I also eat vanilla yogurt with fresh fruit, nuts, soy milk, cheese, not much on meat.

Then I just eat normally the rest of the day. Every 3-4 hrs like DnvrFox said. This really is not rocket science, it's just good healthy eating with the right amount of good carbs and proteins.

Also, listen to your body. It will tell you what you need.

DnvrFox

Man, if I did that, I would be 500 pounds.

lovemyswift

I meant that it will tell you what you need to eat, not over eat! My body tells me when I need more protein or carbs. It tells me when my diet is out of whack, not eating enough, for example.

I'm an intuitive eater. I don't diet, have never dieted and maintained my weight for years. If I'm very active, on a bike tour or skiing every day, I have to eat more and consume more carbs. Right now my activity level has dropped off so I'm eating less.

If I start eating a lot of junk, my body lets me know by my energy level or irratibility if I'm not keeping my blood sugar level.

I've just learned to listen to the signs, what I'm hungry for and when I'm hungry and I eat it.

Also, because I don't eat junk food very often I don't crave it, which tells me I don't really need it.

I also think this is due to years of dealing with the hypogylcemic problem. If I don't listen, I'm in serious trouble.

Kathi

Mel

I don't know how much information is readily available about living with hypoglycemia but there's lot of good information available about diabetes. Diabetics using either insulin or oral meds are subject to hypoglycemia if they over medicate or under eat. It can be life threatening!

Carbs, proteins, and fats all raise your blood glucose level. Carbs, especially highly processed/refined products, cause a very rapid increase in glucose level that has a relatively short duration. Proteins are digested more slowly and cause a lower increase in glucose level and a longer time to both increase and decrease. Fats cause an even lower glucose response, longer after eating, and even slower dissipation.

The key to weight loss is burning more calories than you consume. You may find that following a diabetic diet (which is really just a sensible diet that emphasizes “good” carbs with reasonable quantities of proteins and fats) and using proteins/fats before you exercise addresses your hypoglycemia and leads to weight loss.

Just my 2˘ worth,
Mel

lovemyswift

I did some searching on the web. Unfortunately, there's a lot of junk. However, this website was informative and appeared to have reliable information https://www.dietitian.com/hypoglyc.html.

According to this dietitian there is a very specific diet for hypoglycemia. As Mel suggested it is very similiar to one for diabetics. Eliminating simple sugars like candy, pop, cakes, cookies, etc. are very important. The diet consists of 50% of calories in carbs, 20% protein, 30% fat with 6 small meals a day. Also, if your sugar is not stabilized they recommend eliminating coffee and alcohol.

Unlike a diabetic, who needs sugar, if you get a reaction protein such as cheese, lunchmeat, or a hotdog without bread will stabilize the blood sugar.

Apparently, it is not uncommon for someone who is hypoglycemic to be overweight. And I don't know if you've been told this, but many doctors consider hypoglycemia to be pre diabetic.

Now I know why my doc. is more concerned about my sugar than my bones!

Back in the 70's when I was diagnosed it was a fad disease. I got no information on how to control it, except my doc. did tell me to eliminate the sugar. But it sounds like its still very misunderstood.

If you have trouble get a registered dietitian to help you. I'm thinking about it because I have such a hard time when I ride long rides and I might not be getting the right percentages of carbs, protein and fats.

Thanks for bringing this up. It's something that I've ignored, or accepted, for a long time and I really need to know more about it.

Kathi