Hypoglycemia page

[Pebbles67]

I wish that I could change that title to read Hypoglycemia and Hypothyroid symptoms after long term VLC eating.

I have just been diagnosed hypoglycemic after having a couple of weeks of odd and scary symptoms. I actually thought it was my thyroid, but that tested fine.

My background in short...Primal 1.5 yrs. 60lbs lost. 50lbs more to lose. I have tried eating Primally in many different ways. At the beginning I was doing 50-100 carbs, high fat, and I was doing well.
I stopped losing due to a worsening binge eating disorder which could have been a result of the hypoglycemia or conversely the hypo could have been caused by the sugar bingeing. The last 6 months, I have been playing around with VLC, calorie counting, Leptin Reset, higher protein, higher fat, IF. I have also been over-exercising.

I know better than this. Primal should be simple and intuitive, not deprivational or insanity inducing. I think in my quest for continued weight loss, I have lost my way.

So here's my plan...For now, I have to treat the hypoglycemia by eating small meals or snacks every 3 hrs otherwise I feel terrible.

Each meal will include Protein fat and primal carbs (aiming for 75ish). Snacks probably just protein and fat.


This change scares me, but what I have been doing is not working. Any cheerleading, encouragement or sane advice appreciated. Thanks

[Pebbles67]

I talked to my chiropractor about the whole situation. He was the one to introduce me to the Paleo lifestyle.

He agreed that I had under eaten and over exercised. His quote, "You turned your body into a Ferrari with Paleo eating, then started messing with the fuel so you had an acute crash." His suggestion is to add lots of vegetables to every meal, especially the higher carb root vegetables. He believes that the hypoglycemia and all of my other symptoms will go away as soon as I get
re balanced. Fingers crossed.

He has always preached more veg.; I'm finally listening. VLC is not for me.

It's funny how now that I have gotten really ill, weight loss seems secondary.

I'll report back in a week or so to let you know how it goes. Even if no one reads this now, it may help someone later.

[sunnykist]

Thank you for posting this. I've been VLC for a long time. Your story sounds very similar to mine. Hypoglycemia causes me to binge too. I overtrain as well. i'm beginning to IF but I'm finding that sometimes, especially hard training days, the hypoglycemia is worse. I've just started to add sweet potatoes of 30 grams worth of carbs at the break of my fast (or when I do eat breakfast and skip fasting). I sometimes finds it helps but it takes me longer to register I'm not hungry since I'm cutting down on the fat. I'd much rather have 100 calories of fat than sweet potato or the satiation. I hate having to eat every few hours - just inconvenient, especially when I'm with a group of people or have to run errands. I just with the hypoglycemia would go away. I currently taking ALA and gymmena to help. Gymmena really does work! I'm subscribed to this thread to read your updates. Thanks so much for posting!

[Pebbles67]

Hi sunnykist, I am glad you posted.

So far, I haven't cut the fats. I have around 100 grams of fat/day. 80-100g of protein and 75-100g of carb. I add coconut milk and HWC to my coffee, cook with healthy fats etc. My calories still come in around 1700.

I have cut my exercise back to 3 LHT workouts and 1 cardio/sprint session. I am also starting yoga because I suffer from anxiety due to the breathing, hr issues I have been experiencing.

This weekend was tough. I ate completely non primal and drank a lot. It was kind of stupid for a person with my health issues. I would love to get to the point where being healthy and feeling good is more important than food pleasure.

[J_walking_jonny]

I was 8 months into VLC before I started some pretty worrying symptoms. Since I added potatoes for dinner and more fruit during the day I feel much better. It helped my sleep a lot as well, although the first few weeks I was sleeping too well and feeling sluggish the next day. So there was definitely an adjustment period just like there was going low-carb.

[Danielle5690]

I've been hypoglycemic my entire life. Primal eating fixed it... I haven't had a single crash since I started at the end of September, and I used to have several crashes a day - but I have never gone VLC. I never stopped eating fruits and lots of veggies, and after I lost all the weight I wanted to, I added potatoes and rice back in. I never counted carbs or calories, but I'm sure I rarely if ever went as low as 50g of carbs per day.

I hope that regaining some balance will solve your issues. Hypoglycemia sucks.

[jb0055]

I've been VLC for 9 months and started working out last 3 months and just recently I've had 3 hypoglycemic episodes in the last 2 1/2 weeks. The first crash was just awful, I passed out at a restaurant and it took me 2 days to get over it. The other two episodes weren't as bad because I could feel the symptoms and ended up drinking some OJ or a Coke. I've lost 40 lbs since going primal and I don't want to lose anymore weight so I am re-introducing more dairy,fat and carbs into my meals. I hate having this happen to me I've been relatively healthy all my life and I just want to get back to being normal again. Any helpful tips would be greatly appreciated!

[Pebbles67]

Yes, My hypoglycemia came on when I added a "Bootcamp" style class in addition to my LHT and sprint days.

Just find the right carb level for you. I have lost 60 lbs, but still have 40+ to go. My best carb level is 75-100. Depending on your size, you may be able to eat more and maintain.

One way to do it is Figure out your Basal Metabolic Rate. Then add in activity with the Harris Benedict Equation. See link below.

BMR Calculator

Then decide how much protein you need in grams. Protein grams x 4 then subtract from ttl calories. Do the same with carbs. I would start with 100-150. Carb grams x 4 then subtract from calories left after protein is subtracted. The rest of you calories can come from healthy fats.

Me: BMR + Harris Bene 2600 cals ( I aim to eat 1800)

100g protein x 4 = 400 1400cals

100g carb x4 = 400 1000 cals left for fat

I don't track now but did in the beginning to make sure I was hitting my targets. I hope you can use this info.

[MarissaLinnea]

I am extremely active and am used to doing strenuous workouts every day. In reading the PB, I have learned that I really need to scale my workouts WAY back. I don't think it's healthy to be VLC if you are exercising beyond just going for walks. My theory is once you give your body more calories and a little more healthy carbs and maybe exercise less, your weight loss will probably continue. I have had weight loss stall in the past before when I was under eating and over exercising.

I hope it gets better for you!! Let us know how the smaller meals work out.

[Pebbles67]

At this point I am eating 3 Primal meals, about 100g of each macro/day. The hypoglycemic symptoms have disappeared. The smaller meals were only necessary until things balanced out.