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Confused About What To Eat

B

B17_Fan

Well-Known Member
Messages
83
Type of diabetes
Reactive hypoglycemia
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
I have pcos and RH. I'm overweight and find losing weight impossible. I take metformin to help.
I've read so many conflicting things about what to eat. Some people say to eat complex carbs, others say low carbs. Some say GI and then there's GL.
Is it OK to eat things like granary bread or wholemeal crackers?
I don't know what to have for breakfast, as eggs, which would be perfect, give me terrible stomach ache. Also porridge doesn't agree with me.
I currently have 2 weetabix with some bran flakes sprinkled on top.
Lunch is usually a brown bread sandwich with cheese, followed by 2 go ahead crispy slices.
Dinner is pretty carb heavy...oven chips or boiled potatoes, chicken steak in breadcrumbs and plenty of veg.
I have a yogurt mid evening, then as I am hungry by about 10pm, I'll have a sandwich or a crumpet with a packet of crisps.
I basically live on carbs to keep me going.
My blood sugar was 5.4 when I went to bed last night, and I felt weird, so I had more to eat, even though I'd eaten a lot for supper.
If someone could give me some advice on the best route forward, I'd gladly listen.
 
Yes, you are living on carbs and carbs, once digested, cause insulin to be released, - with RH either the insulin is ignored for a while, and the pancreas pumps out more, or the pancreas overreacts anyway - with the same result, when the insulin is finally effective your blood glucose drops rapidly, you feel hungry and a bit off or strange, so you eat more carbs and that starts the rollercoaster ride all over again.
The trick is to eat things which are fairly invisible to the glucose control system - roasted chicken thighs for instance, sausages, bacon or any meat really - or fish, shellfish, cheese - eggs are usually OK but maybe not for you, but there are lots of low carb foods salads and veges which produce only minor reactions.
You must be eating hundreds of grams of carb as sugars and starches, and although we are told that it is the healthy option - it is the same sort of diet used to fatten up animals so I don't see the logic in advocating it for people who want to live long lives and not get fat.
Atkins was the first way of eating I saw in print which backed up my ideal that it was the carbs responsible for my inability to lose weight. I have tried to eat low carb since the 1970s, but someone always knew better about what I ought to eat. They were wrong.
When I was still lowering my blood glucose levels I got the same symptoms I had when at school and in my early 20s, which I now am sure were RH but were ignored and I was told things would settle down - which they did but not until I cut out the carbs.
 
Welcome @B17_Fan. I am sue that someone will soon be along with experience of RH. If I were you I would get myself a blood glucose meter and see what is going on inside. You may feel strange when your bg drops to 'normal' levels because your body has got used to running on high bg. If you need to lose weight then low carb is definitely the way to go, it leads to controlled weight loss while not feeling hungry. Have you tried some plain yoghurt with a few berries as an alternative for breakfast? While it is not as low carb as eggs it keeps me going until lunchtime, and if necessary into the afternoon. All of your meals look carb heavy to me and I would not call myself very low carb.
 
Hi, I have RH, and from what I have read, your diet would probably make me very ill.
From the very first bite you have in the morning, your blood glucose levels will be bouncing up and down all day, the symptoms you describe are because of this.
If your condition was not made difficult because of the pcos, I would advise stopping the amount of carbs you have.
You need to lower the amount of carbs, eventually cutting them down to under 20g per day. It is the reaction on your pancreas that is causing this.
RH has to be controlled, this is only by diet.
You should read the threads on RH in our forum, also the low carb forum for ideas on what to eat and drink.
If you continue not to get control, you will continue to go through the really rough time you are having.

Best wishes, I do know what you are going through, this was me over four years ago, I lost a lot of weight and stopped the rollercoaster ride of hypers and hypos. It can be done.
 

your breakfast suggestion sounds great. Although as i'm used to such large portions, i worry i'd feel hungry if i ate just that. But i really need some alternatives to egg based breakfasts.


That makes a lot of sense. It is a vicious cycle and i am getting SO fed up of feeling tired every day. I can fall asleep within 20 minutes of eating lunch sometimes! I really need to overhaul my diet. I would so love to be slimmer. I'd be so much more happier.

Thanks everyone else for your replies. It's been really helpful
 

Thanks Lamont D. I do feel like from after breakfast, i can feel a bit tired and not much energy. Which can sound quite bizarre as carbs are meant to give you energy! I shall definitely look at the low carb forum. I need to get this under control.
 
I found that I had lost three stone from the heaviest weight I had recorded before giving up writing them down - I found the book in the bathroom a bit hidden away.....
Low carb is the only way of eating which has ever allowed me to lose weight - and it is almost effortless for me I do not need to restrict calories - in fact after the low calorie diets I have been put on it is essential that I do not give my metabolism even a hint of restriction or it slows down right away.
It might seem crazy to eat every twelve hours and have all the things which are supposed to be bad for us but none of the healthy carbs - and then feel great, be full of energy and feel so much younger too. One could suspect that the accepted wisdom is totally wrong.
 
B17_Fan said:
Thanks Lamont D. I do feel like from after breakfast, i can feel a bit tired and not much energy. Which can sound quite bizarre as carbs are meant to give you energy! I shall definitely look at the low carb forum. I need to get this under control.
Click to expand...

That is a complete myth! Carbs make you tired!
I am in ketosis, which means know am permanently in normal levels for the majority of the time, if you fast, and your energy from glucose which is derived from carbs, has no more glucose, your body will switch to getting the energy from ketones. It is your natural state in times of famine. We are able to go without food for quite some time,, we need water, but we can fast for quite a while.
This energy is for me, is what keeps me fit and healthy. A full time job and do all the chores and shopping. I do get tired but not the tiredness, lethargy, you are talking about.
Do read up about doing a ketogenic lifestyle. It has given me my life back.

Best wishes
 
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