New to the forum and really confused

[penfitzspike]

Hello
I am a complete newby.
I am 49 and have never really consistently looked after myself. I grew up eating too much toast and wine mainly - inbetween going on diets. I was anorexic in my teens...

All my life I noticed that if I ate something really sweet like a chocolate biscuit I feel a bit dizzy and shaky afterwards. But only if I have not eaten for a few hours. If I consistently eat rubbish food and drink wine I feel fine (but get fat!). I have developed weight gain around my middle.

As soon as I try to eat healthily - e.g. a vegetables and a small amount of apples or berries and almond milk (no added sugar) and protein powder smoothie (no added sugar or weird ingredients), then perhaps a tomato soup at lunch....I feel awful all afternoon (shaky, tearful, light headed, anxious etc). Why would this be? I thought that low GI would be good for someone whose blood sugar levels fluctuates? I find that I am fine if I don't eat, but when I do then BAM - I feel awful for hours.

I know that juice fasting is awful for me (because I have tried that), but it seems so is low carb.

I'm totally confused.
I had a HbA1c done and it was normal.

What is going on?

I want a diet that can help me lose weight but not make me feel awful. Where do I start?! Thank you

 

[NoCrbs4Me]

Try this: https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb

 

[JoKalsbeek]

Hello
I am a complete newby.
I am 49 and have never really consistently looked after myself. I grew up eating too much toast and wine mainly - inbetween going on diets. I was anorexic in my teens...

All my life I noticed that if I ate something really sweet like a chocolate biscuit I feel a bit dizzy and shaky afterwards. But only if I have not eaten for a few hours. If I consistently eat rubbish food and drink wine I feel fine (but get fat!). I have developed weight gain around my middle.

As soon as I try to eat healthily - e.g. a vegetables and a small amount of apples or berries and almond milk (no added sugar) and protein powder smoothie (no added sugar or weird ingredients), then perhaps a tomato soup at lunch....I feel awful all afternoon (shaky, tearful, light headed, anxious etc). Why would this be? I thought that low GI would be good for someone whose blood sugar levels fluctuates? I find that I am fine if I don't eat, but when I do then BAM - I feel awful for hours.

I know that juice fasting is awful for me (because I have tried that), but it seems so is low carb.

I'm totally confused.
I had a HbA1c done and it was normal.

What is going on?

I want a diet that can help me lose weight but not make me feel awful. Where do I start?! Thank you

Low GI doesn't help, low carb/high fat probably does. What you're describing sounds like Reactive Hypoglycemia, though I'm only guessing here. (Besides, we're not allowed to diagnose on the forum anyway, we're not doctors!!!). BUT, this is something that can be tested for with a Glucose Tolerance Test, which you can ask your doc for! Something measurable, they like that. And so do we, because answers are good. (Might have to convince your GP to check for it though, as it is relatively uncommon). You'll drink a load of sugar, they check your bloods every hour, and look whether your bloodsugars go way too low after two, three, four hours.... ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reactive_hypoglycemia ). Basically, if it is reactive hypoglycemia, your insulin response is a bit more than you actually need, so you hypo soon after you eat carbs. Then you eat more carbs to get out of the dip, and keep the whole thing going indefinitely. I don't know if this feels familiar, but this is what what you're describing sounds like to me. I've had hypo's, have had the shakes, the wobbly knees, sweats, dizzyness, wonky heartbeat, hair standing on end... Not fun, especially not if that becomes your daily reality, I imagine! If you go low carb, you don't have bloodsugar spikes (as practically all carbs turn to glucose once ingested), and your pancreas won't have an overreaction with the insulin then either. Things just stay nice & calm, as no spikes means no dips. That's how I've always understood it anyway. Plus, low carb/high fat helps you lose weight. (I lost 25 kilo's/50 pounds/a third of a human).

It's something to look into anyway... I hope you'll find your answers soon!
Jo

 

[Pinkorchid]

So you have actually not been diagnosed with diabetes as you say your HbA1c was normal. We can't really say what you should do as what you are experiencing if it is not diabetes needs to be investigated by your doctor