Hypoglycemia and dieting.

[#8]

I have never actually been diagnosed as a hypo but Im pretty sure that I am. Are there any real dangers if one is hypo and steadily starts reducing carbs in their diet?

How does one get tested for it? A regular blood test will find it if they are looking for it? My last blood work up showed no blood sugar issues, but Im assuming that is for diabetic diagnoses only.

Any help is appreciated.

:flowers

[tiramisu]

To be tested they have you fast for 12 hours and then run a blood test. I went in after a 12 hour fast. I was shaking, in a cold sweat and almost passing out. My blood tests came back within normal range.

blood sugar and insulin sensitivity are odd things. You can be completely ****ed and still within "normal" ranges.

[tiramisu]

Carbs are the enemy of the hypoglemic. I am far far far more stable on a heavy protein based diet.

[kloan]

same, i feel better with fewer carbs. i am hypoglycemic... this bulker has been hell on my energy level.

[Ritch]

^^^ Hate to point out the obvious, but don`t you think he`s already on a high protein diet?

[#8]

I find that if I even reduce carbs on 2 meals a day I get light headed and a bit shaky. Very much dependent on my activity level also. I think I am a "carb tolerant" person for whatever that phrase is worth, I dont ever seem to gain THAT MUCH weight even when I eat a shitty diet. Beer gets my gut going a bit, but I can hop on some cardio for a week and its completely gone plus improvements. Ive always had a harder time gaining weight than I did losing it. Counting stubborn fat as well.

I never drink juice or pop or any sugar beverages. If that makes any difference with anything. Im not sure what really im talking about anymore but.....yeah.....hypo?

[#8]

^^^ Hate to point out the obvious, but don`t you think he`s already on a high protein diet?

lol yeah true. i eat a substantial amount of red meat and fish every day. i cant stand chicken anymore really, its so bland and dry. plus i dont like cooking so minimal prep tastes better with fish and beef.

[Ritch]

^^^ Been doing the exact same thing. Plus chicken is disgusting when you take it out of the package all slimy shit... The talapia at costco is individually packaged and so easy to prepare. Steak is cooked in like 10 minutes...

[#8]

i heart talapia also. good in salads too. i work at the keg now so i get VERY good cuts of meat for about 1/4 what they cost in the grocery store. maybe even less than that. so many perks.

[kloan]

i dont know enough about it to offer any suggestions... ive been told i am hypoglycemic, and reading up on it i certainly get those symptoms if i dont eat anything for a while... but at the same time, i dont respond well to complex carbs... im confused.

are there different levels of hypoglycemia?

[tiramisu]

You need to do a little reading on hypoglycemia and diet. I have no idea what you mean by "respond". Just because your blood sugar crashes occasionally when you abuse yourself doesn't make you a hypoglycemic.

I started having blood sugar issues post puberty and have managed them with diet for the last 30 years. If I eat a high protein, medium to low carb diet then I generally have no issues whatsoever. If I eat according to the food guide, carb dominant diet, then I'm essentially ****ed and end up sweating, confused, and physically uncoordinated on almost a daily basis. Yet, my blood tests come back within a normal range. I have learned not to worry about the blood tests and just eat properly for me.

Carb cycling for example is almost assuredly not going to work for me. :)

[kloan]

Listen man, I was told by my doctor when I was 8 that I am hypoglycemic. I don't "abuse" myself, nor do I go many hours without eating. Recently, I had to fast when I got blood work done, and that's when I experienced the very same symptoms I just read about. When I was a kid it was a lot worse, probably because I didn't eat like I do today.

What you described is exactly what I was referring to when I said "I don't respond well to complex carbs", becauase I am on a bulking diet, I am eating a LOT of complex carbs. Much more than I normally do. My normal (not bulking) diet consists of fewer carbs. When I eat high protein, low carbs (fruits, vegetables and small amounts of oatmeal, rice) I feel much better than I do when I eat a ton of carbs.

Whether or not this is truely hypoglycemia, I don't know. It's been many years since I even asked a doctor about it. All I know is my body doesn't respond well to carbs.. it makes me tired.

[tiramisu]

... hypoglycemia without diabetes is quite unusual. I have a first cousin who has the same symptoms and issues as I do. For most people hypoglycemia without diabetes is a sign that there is something seriously wrong. My symptoms (and my cousins) occur while blood sugar is still considered within normal range so there's something else going on with us. Probably related to insulin sensitivity but I've never worked it out nor did she.

[tiramisu]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reactive_hypoglycemia
http://www.alfediam.org/media/pdf/RevueBrunD&M5-2000.pdf

[kloan]

good god man, thanks for the links but that pdf is way over my head... even if i had the patience to read through it, i'm not sure if i'd really understand what it means, and how it should affect the way i look at this.

i am very interested to know how and why my body responds the way it does, because i actually think it could be very helpful in achieving better results with bodybuilding. somehow i think this bulking diet probably isn't very good for me, considering how shitty i feel day to day. definitely has something to do with insulin response, there's no doubt about that. but what exactly it's doing, and how it negatively affects me, i have no idea.

simple solution is to eat fewer carbs, but that's counterproductive to gaining weight. what can we do?

anyway, sorry to hijack your thread number 8.

[tiramisu]

Why do you think that you can't up the fat rather than the carbs?
If you were "very" interested you would read.

[L3]

Carbs are the enemy of the hypoglemic. I am far far far more stable on a heavy protein based diet.

from personal experience i agree...with a ultra high carb diet, if i didnt have a solid meal 1hr past my PWO shake, i would go hypo - chills, shaking, nasuea, panik attack

[kloan]

Why do you think that you can't up the fat rather than the carbs?
If you were "very" interested you would read.
Never said I didn't think I could up the fat, however I have NEVER seen anyone suggest a high protein/fat low carb diet for bulking. Everyone, EVERYONE says to eat lots of carbs while bulking.

Read what Tiramisu? That PDF you linked to? How about something a little more comprehensible? I don't understand blood level readings and medical/scientific studies. If you can suggest something that would actually be beneficial for me to read that is helpful, by all means please do. Otherwise, perhaps you can keep your condescending attitude to yourself.

[tiramisu]

Look at the palumbo template for adding weight. Or look at praetorian's recommendations.

per pound ...

1.5-2.0 grams protein
1.5-2.0 grams carb
20 grams fat per meail

8 meals per day

.... Mauro Di Pasquale and his anabolic diet.
Even less carbs and no carb ups pwo.

... Lyle Mcdonald UD2 Mass

..... You need to read. That's not condescending it's simply true. No one is going to go out and do your research for you.

[Ritch]

when you guys talk about high carbs, can you please state how many grams of carbs per meal you consume? Same with protein and fats.

[#8]

I thought hypogycemia was the opposite of diabetes.....? Hyperglycemia is diabetes no?

[kloan]

Look at the palumbo template for adding weight. Or look at praetorian's recommendations.

per pound ...

1.5-2.0 grams protein
1.5-2.0 grams carb
20 grams fat per meail

8 meals per day

.... Mauro Di Pasquale and his anabolic diet.
Even less carbs and no carb ups pwo.

... Lyle Mcdonald UD2 Mass

..... You need to read. That's not condescending it's simply true. No one is going to go out and do your research for you.
What's condescending is the tone of your replies to me. Putting "very" in quotes as if somehow by me not wanting to read that PDF, it negates my interest in knowing what causes the issue. It also implies that you are in a position of knowledge above me because of it. Maybe you're not aware of the tone of your posts, but that's how you come across.

Reading a bunch of speculatory medical journals and various hypothetical arguments isn't going to shine the light on what is happening with me specifically. Sure, it can give me a little more insight into how the body can respond to carbs when there are different imbalances in the body from thyroid, adrenals, pituitary, etc. I am willing to read to learn what is the cause, but without a starting point it's of little help to read a bunch of journals that might or might not pertain to me specifically. The only way I'm going to truly know what is going on in my body is to see a doctor and have a bunch of tests run. Even then, who knows..

I'm not interested in doing that at this point in time, but I am still "very" interested to know the explanation. Does that not make sense?

1.5-2.0 grams protein
1.5-2.0 grams carb
20 grams fat per meail

That doesn't look like a low carb, high fat diet to me. That looks pretty typical for a regular bulking diet. In fact, pretty damn similar to what my diet is right now.

[tiramisu]

What's condescending is the tone of your replies to me. Putting "very" in quotes as if somehow by me not wanting to read that PDF, it negates my interest in knowing what causes the issue. It also implies that you are in a position of knowledge above me because of it. Maybe you're not aware of the tone of your posts, but that's how you come across.

Reading a bunch of speculatory medical journals and various hypothetical arguments isn't going to shine the light on what is happening with me specifically. Sure, it can give me a little more insight into how the body can respond to carbs when there are different imbalances in the body from thyroid, adrenals, pituitary, etc. I am willing to read to learn what is the cause, but without a starting point it's of little help to read a bunch of journals that might or might not pertain to me specifically. The only way I'm going to truly know what is going on in my body is to see a doctor and have a bunch of tests run. Even then, who knows..

I'm not interested in doing that at this point in time, but I am still "very" interested to know the explanation. Does that not make sense?

1.5-2.0 grams protein
1.5-2.0 grams carb
20 grams fat per meail

That doesn't look like a low carb, high fat diet to me. That looks pretty typical for a regular bulking diet. In fact, pretty damn similar to what my diet is right now.

I will not respond to your questions again. good luck.

[tiramisu]

I thought hypogycemia was the opposite of diabetes.....? Hyperglycemia is diabetes no?

Yes, "real" hypoglycemia is the opposite of diabetes. Low Blood Sugar. Reactive Hypoglycemia is similar but the symptoms issues can be caused by epinephrine sensitivity, glucagon issue, and some wierd stomach problems.

There are people with anxiety issues who think they have hypoglycemia.

"real" hypoglycemia - chronic low blood sugar levels - is a symptom of something seriously, as in oh **** you are in serious shit, wrong with the body.

Reactive Hypoglycemia of the type my cousin and I put up with is relatively rare, seems to have a genetic basis and sits somewhere within the epinephrine, adrenalin, glucagon and insulin sensitivity area. These things are all kind of interlinked so sorting it out without an endocrinologist is pretty much unpossible and as the solution is diet the actual root cause isn't all that important as there's not much that can be done to resolve the wierdness.

I've noticed that I often have problems with anesthesia so I wouldn't be surprised to find an epinephrine sensitivity as a key part of it but again the hormones are all so tightly interrelated that sorting out cause and effect is tough.

[kloan]

I will not respond to your questions again. good luck.

that's probably best. thanks

[BBbox]

i heart talapia also. good in salads too. i work at the keg now so i get VERY good cuts of meat for about 1/4 what they cost in the grocery store. maybe even less than that. so many perks.

lol what are the perks other than cheap meat? You make amazing tips or something? Theres very few perks when working at a restaurant I find. I hate serving.

[devo09]

Its common to have lower blood glucose levels throughout the day when you start dieting because you body begins to rely on internal glucose/glycogen stores to meet energy needs rather than what is ingested. Obviously the body isn't stupid and will adjust fairly quickly but you just have to tough it out for a few days; also the more dramatic of carb/calorie drop the more dramatic the hypoglycemic episodes will be. Just try to sandwich your carb intake pre-workout so that you can still have extremely effective training sessions.

[#8]

lol what are the perks other than cheap meat? You make amazing tips or something? Theres very few perks when working at a restaurant I find. I hate serving.

i think having a part time job that pays $20+ an hour is not bad when im in school. i dont really want to bartend again because im sick of going to bed at 4am. walk into any keg and tell me you dont see any perks there....silly goose.

[BBbox]

^^ oh... the ladies... of course... try not to sleep with all of them, jealousy in the workplace is never a good thing!

[natenator]

that's probably best. thanks
I'm going to agree with tiramisu.

[kloan]

I'm going to agree with tiramisu.

I'm shocked

[deletedandgone]

Wow, this thread is a damn good read.

I always had low blood pressure (yes, I measured it) and needed to eat on a constant basis, otherwise I would get headaches like there's no tomorrow. Apparently, coffee solves the problem, even though if you read wiki it is not recommended for someone who's hypoglycemic.

As a rule of thumb, as soon as I see the veins on my arms sinking in - I need food, now! Otherwise the headache starts coming on.

I don't have an issue with carbs, apart from the fact that although I feel awesome on a high complex carb diet, I get fat. Keeping medium carbs (200-250g a day) and eating lots of meats works for me. I get enough energy for workouts and the fat is slowly coming off. Coffee helps bigtime too, I think I'm wired on stimulants for life now...

Any comments? Is this normal? Or should I go get checked out by a doc?

[tiramisu]

Darn good question... You may want to start a thread titled low blood pressure and see who pops up with similar challenges.