For reasons I’m not going to get into in this blog (maybe I’ll get into it another day, but I don’t want this post to be miles long), I have been going through a struggle with hypoglycemia. That essentially refers to having blood sugar levels that are lower than normal. It’s something like the opposite of diabetes.
That said, while you might think that having low blood sugar will help you to lose weight far more than would be the case if you had diabetes, that’s not the case at all. Hypoglycemia comes with a whole line of symptoms that can make weight loss a serious challenge.
For example, it’s easy to become light headed or feel weak when your blood sugar drops below where it should be. It can also lead to sugar cravings that aren’t comparable to any other sensation. At least, not any other sensation in reality. I sometimes think that if vampires craved sugar, this is what they’d be feeling.
Because of the weakness, lightheadedness and sugar cravings, it can make weight loss a challenge. After all, when you’re not high on energy, it’s tough to exercise. When all you can think about is having something sweet to eat, it can be nearly impossible to try to control what you eat and how many calories you take in during the day.
Honestly, if one more person recommended that I try to follow a low carb diet, I think I might have screamed. Not only were carbs the only thing I could think about, but my hunger levels were going from fine to absolutely starving in the blink of an eye. I couldn’t believe it. I would be absolutely comfortable and fine, and then I’d be so hungry I’d have to eat something (usually apple sauce or a piece of fruit) just to get me through the wait while my dinner was cooking. Apparently this is a common low blood sugar symptom, too.
As a result of all this, there is a different kind of diet that needs to be followed for low blood sugar when compared to people in a healthy blood sugar range. My doctor recommend that I eat lots of tiny meals throughout the day while paying attention to the combinations of foods that I’m eating. To avoid shakiness, weakness, feeling hungry, feeling faint and other symptoms, I pretty much needed to plan my day of food and graze on it all the live-long day.
In this way, I have been able to keep my blood sugar more steady, keep my symptoms under control and therefore lose weight slightly more easily. The balance of foods was the biggest challenge because every meal starts with a small portion of something high in carbs to bring my blood sugar levels up, then follow it with protein so my body would have energy to carry it over time.
Things are balancing off again so I won’t have to follow this type of diet as strictly for much longer, but I thought I’d share this bit of experience for anyone else out there going through low blood sugar and who is struggling with weight loss.
