The Hypo Foodie

To tell you the truth, my fellow hypofoodie, the reason I didn't write for a really long time is a feeling of guilt. It didn't feel right to write or suggest anything to someone else on the web when in fact, I had to counsel myself first. I am coming clean now: I have been (and still am) struggling with carbohydrate addiction. 

"What on earth is that? Another fad diet? Come on! Everybody's gotta eat, even carbs!"

My egocentric belly.

Hear me now: I am not saying I want to cut on carbs to loose weight; I am saying I have been binge eating refined carbs too long to ignore it anymore. I understand now that it has been a way to cope with emotions and poor diet, hence the guilt on writing a blog on how to deal with hypoglycemia.

"Booo ya! For Ambrosia`s sake! Carbs are good! You love them; pasta, corn chips, salsa, potato chips! Even the boring soda and Ritz crackers! Those are your comfort foods!"
My (surpisingly) greek-mythology-schooled belly.

Comfort food alright. But comfort from what? That is a good question, one that I haven`t completely answered yet on this journey I have undertaken, but it is of a clearly psychological and physiological nature.

"Hey there! You are hypoglycemic! You need to eat in the evening or else you wake up at night in sweats!"
My gut feeling belly.

Wrong. Or rather, half wrong. An evening snack might be required, but not the amount of refined carbohydrates I let myself ingest in front of the tv or a good book. And, get this: if my husband wanted some, I was "hangry" ( you are familiar with the hypo pun, I assume ) because "I need it in order to sleep well"! Plus, I really couldn`t control myself; I had to have the whole huge bowl of popcorn to "binge" myself to sleep. I even sometimes hid in the car to eat potato chips undisturbed. Those are certainly the signs of an addiction.

If you are hypoglycemic and suffering from a food addiction, read on to see the experience and understanding I have gained of how the two of them mesh together.

Quite frankly, when hypoglycemic, it is rather obvious, or at least predictable, that you will fall in a pattern of eating the "wrong" foods to pick yourself up and get am energy high. It is also very probable that the symptoms will put you in a depressive state, either fleeting or permanent. All of this puts you at a very high risk of falling in for the very foods you should avoid.

Being my own subject of a somewhat scientific study, I am amazed to see how unaware I was of my subconscious's grasp on my habits. What made my condition difficult to discern is the fact that I was on track all day: lots of vegetables and no sugar anywhere near me. I only had the occasional fruit, and lots of fibers. But all this went down the drain in the evening, when I let my guard down. What triggered my suspicions is the 2 weeks I took my blood sugar level daily. I was surprised to see how high it went after eating what I thought was a healthy hypoglycemic snack: multi-grain pretzels with a good amount of protein. I grudgingly tried not snacking in the evening for a week to see what would happen. I expected to wake up at night because I felt hungry (which has happened a lot in the passed years), but actually, I slept rather well, and on the occasions that I woke up, I just tried to relax to calm down and went back to sleep.

So, that "digestive coma" I slept in wasn't helping me regulate my blood sugar level, but just numbed me from the things that hindered my sleep in the first place (enters the emotions). I also later perceived that when I needed a nap in the afternoon, if a bit hungry, I would refrain from eating because nothing woke me up better than to snack on some fruit and protein. So instead of adressing the low I was in ( which made me feel tired and in need of a nap ), I postponed the snack and encouraged a bigger blood sugar spike.

So, I sat down and talked to my husband about what I had come to understand. I suppose you will not be surprised if I explained that 4 years ago, that "self medication" took the form of regular alcohol intake. I simply could not stop. I was addicted. Even though it was a struggle, I stopped drinking altogether after a conversation with him. But 3 months ago, I told him that I still had an addiction because my body made me crave those carbs I would eat every evening. We decided I would cut all evening snacks for a month and get through withdrawal symptoms with walks and talks. It has been life changing.  

I will finish this long post by saying that I friend of mine, also hypoglycemic, was a huge help when she inadvertently mentioned her reluctance to join hypoglycemics groups. Her own experience was that a lot of the people she met excused their addiction by blaming the fact that they were hypoglycemic. She simply could not accept this as a reason to have no self-control. This idea stuck with me a couple of weeks and made its way into enlightment; she was absolutely right. This is not to say that it is wrong to meet with people suffering from the same condition (such as hypoglycemic groups) but it is better to associate with an empowering attitude, not helpless defeat.

If you are hypoglycemic and struggle with an addiction, don't blame it on your body's reaction to sugar or blame yourself for that matter. Just aknowledge that it makes perfect sense that this is what your body will make you crave, but don't let it control you anymore. Take command of your own ship. Gradually recognize the patterns you fall into, and grow out of it one day at a time. We can do it because our bodies are smart, but our wills are stronger. Indeed, haven't you noticed my belly isn't talking anymore?

To live with hypoglycemia, knowledge is not sufficiant; practical applications are crucial. Many ressources supply ample information on the physical and mental impacts of this condition, but offer very little down to earth know-how. Here is compilation of 10 day-to-day pointers that eases life.

1- Always carry something to eat. 

I suggest that people on-the-go get a snack bag that is not only sturdy, but good-looking too. It gives that extra motivation to carry it and not forget it.

2- keep a food log.

At the very least, do it for some time at the beginning. A food log helps identify patterns and pinpoint responsible foods if we have a tough morning or worst: a bad day. 

3- Exercise. 

Exercise has many benefits to digestion, it stimulates the metabolism, eliminates toxins and helps with stress management. The optimal exercise time for both diabetics and hypoglycemics is 1 hour 6 days a week.

4- Eat lots of vegetables.

Prepare ahead one or two big salads a week ( with no dressing beforehand, it will preserve longer ) and eat it before most meals. You may also make "veggiefruit" ( see this post ) and add it to your breakfast. Vegetables are full of fibres, a good carbohydrate that slows digestion and helps to supply longer-lasting energy. Furthermore, they contain vitamins and minerals essential to healthy living. Eating vegetables, regardless of their origin ( organic or not )  is supperior to taking supplements for at least two reasons: they provide calories and nourish, which reduces appetite for other things; they are accessible to everyone and now more than ever, anytime of the year.

5. Eat fruits.

Fruits with a protein as a snack is a great way to fill up the tank. Even thought they are sweet, they are a good nutritious treat that nourishes just like vegetables. Hypoglycemics should still be carefull and reduce the amount they eat, never eat them alone and avoid them in the evening ( some believe that any food absorbed in the evening is more difficult to transform, which put hypoglycemics at risk of nightly crashes ).  

6- Drink lots of water.

When we eat more fibres, it is essential to drink lots of water to stay hydrated. Moreover, studies show that we sometimes missinterpret thirst for hunger. Drinking before snacks and meals reduces overeating.

7. Favor the flavor. 

We are increasingly aware that the food industry offers products full of fats, sugars and salt to add taste. Choosing better quality food that is flavorfull in itself is a good way to satiate and reduce the quantity, thus cravings.

8. Cheat " smartly ".

Temptations to eat rich and sweet foods are plentifull and difficult to fight. When we cut on their consumption for a while, we reduce the tolerance for sweet taste, which results in needing less to give satisfaction. Nevertheless, when we cheat regularly, we maintain that desire instead of loosing it. It is then prefferable to stray and eat a whole cake instead of having a little piece everyday. This means that the smart way to deal with temptations is to recognize our weakness and "plan" to yield in on a progressively longer laps of time. 

9. Be accountable, not radical.

On the same note as the previous suggestion, one has to agree that a sugarless regimen is difficult to maintain for a long period of time. It is still possible to improve our health by understanding which foods triggers negative effects on our well-being and eat less, if none of them. That being said, if we are overly anxious or obsessive about those negative effects, it is as dammaging to our health, mood and happiness as eating them in the first place. If we keep in mind that we know how and can do our body right, being accountable for the choices we make is what we should aim at instead of punishing us with guilt when we don't do so good.

10. Eat at regular hours.

Skipping meals impedes sugar stability, same as skipping snacks. Planning our daily schedules around our needs is crucial to keep a constant flow of energy. If we establish those habits, our internal clock gets used to it, and if we don't let too much time separate those intakes ( for most it is around every 3 hours ) we limit the risk of overeating because our brain does not tolerate to be starved and switches in stocking-mode, or jumping on the first thing that we get: often junk-food.

What are your own tips? Do you have any questions on mine? Support from people living the same thing is a factor in staying motivated. Don't hesitate to comment, I cannot wait to read you.