to have no sympathy for people who suffer from low sugar

[roisin]

OK, here's the scenario. Perfectly medically fit and healthy person claims they are trying to lose weight, but every 2 hours or so they 'have to eat' something high-sugar because otherwise their 'blood sugar levels drop' and they feel unwell.

Now in my rudimentary understanding of the biology of weight loss your blood sugar levels have to drop, as that is precisely the point at which your body realises it needs to start converting body fat to sugar to supply energy; so that is exactly the point where you will start losing weight. And if you eat at that point then you won't lose weight.

Clearly I don't suffer from low blood sugar levels. As I generally have 3 meals a day, and rarely snack at all inbetween those meals.

So AIBU? Is this something 'real' that I should have some real sympathy for?

My dh has been tested for diabetes because there really is a marked difference in him when he doesn't eat. Everything appears OK though and he's perfectly fit if a little overweight.

roisin isn't criticising people who suffer from diabetes just medically fit people who can't/won't learn to keep their blood sugars stable.

Why be pissed off with a colleague who cannot control her weight due to lack of knowledge about how to do this due to a medical condition? Knowledge is not easy to come by about this.

Surely sympathy is more appropriate? What is wrong with you?

thanks all very interesting
I have to dash off now, but will be back later to read more fully and respond if appropriate.
Cheers,
R

Buy her a Low GI cookbook for Christmas!

bracingair, I would agree. If I have a bar of chocolate or similar I can really feel the after effects. Basically it satisfies the immediate hunger but I then get hungry again very quickly, leading to more food.

When my diet is bad I have low energy, my memory gets poor and I find it difficult to cope. But with low GI foods, fresh veg etc I am full of energy.

It just takes discipline really. Now I now the reasons it just means adjusting the diet. No need for a big song and dance about it at all. It really is just a healthy, normal diet, frankly.

OK, pissed off is harsh I agree, but I would find it very annoying I am afraid.
I had a housemate who announced she was going on a diet and stocked the fridge with quiches to accompany her salad .
I think there is loads of information out there, but perhaps there is too much and therefore it is confusing.....
But you have to admit eating high sugar snacks whilst trying to lose weight is a bit of a daft thing to do.

My mum is diabetic and despite medical advice she doesn't eat breakfast but manages various chocs/biccis mid morning because she 'needs' something and then crap lunch and more snacking (we call her nosebag) and then tea follwed by more crap. I have given up talking to her about it as she just does what she feels like.

I get hungry every couple of hours but try to eat fruit or if being really good some seeds which are hundred times better for stabilising your body.

I suffer from low blood suagr if I don't at properly...
But eating a hig sugar snack every 2 hrs will crucify your levels - they will peak and drop and that is no good for your pancreas/insulin reactions.
I eat a low GI diet, avoiding anything high in suagr unless I've also eaten a low GI proper meal or snack just before it - otherwise I could collapse...

I'm underweight and eat every two hours, possibly more if I have time. I get low blood sugar if I'm not careful. Try to eat, carbs, dairy or smoothies, but a fair few choc bics get eaten too

Mind you, if someone overweight was claiming low blood sugar and scoffing mars bars I'm not sure I'd be very sympathetic.

Gosh......you really care about other peoples blood sugar levels.......have you seen whats going on in the world.

are they diabetic?

i don't suffer from low blood sugar that i know of, but i really do need to eat every couple of hours or i do feel very ill.

i cannot eat very much at one sitting, but i do graze all day.

we can't all have the same eating patterns, same as sleeping patterns.

it doesn't bother me that some people can eat 3 meals a day and not snack in between.

i do not and have never had a weight problem or been on a diet.

I must have hypoglaecemia then; have long suspected it but haven't had any tests.
for the record I'm still size 8-10 after 4 pregnancies. I NEED to eat every 2 hours - 3 would be stretching it - otherwise I get faint, dizzy, sometimes see spots in front of my eyes in a pre migraine kind of way, plus i become clumsy and irritable and tasks like driving become tricky.

I won't say i never eat cakes or chocolate, but I faithfully do the porridge/ unsweetened muesli/rugged multigrain bread thing,. not to mention bacon/egg breakfast once or twice a week. Cupboard is also full of nuts and seeds for snacks, along with plenty of veg (curly kale AGAIN anyone ?). Vegetable wise, i even steer clear of too many peas and carrots as they are at the more sugary end of the veggie spectrum. generally it's the more bitter brassicas and dark leafy greens all the way here (sorry, dh !).

i also eat plenty of meat, fish and pulses.

Actually feeling a bit miffed that op (whom I remember as a generally civilised and intelligent person) could be prone to such an intemperate "analysis" of what for so many of us is a real problem.

hang on, this type of "hypoglycaemia" is absolutely NOTHING to do with diabetes.

Diabetes is a LACK of insulin, which causes HIGH blood sugar levels. The only way a diabetic can get a hypo is through too much insulin (or other hypoglycaemic agent) or not enough food, when treatment has been taken.

This type of problem, with symptoms suggesting hypoglycaemia in a person who is NOT diabetic is completely different. It is probably due to the body's sensitivity to blood sugar levels- your inner "thermostat" for want of a better word is set too high, and if your sugar levels fall too low (due to lack of food)then symptoms will occur. It can be controlled by keeping blood sugar levels steady, and wholefoods are better at this than junkfoods with high sugar levels. Yes porridge is great as it is "slow release". Shame it tastes so foul!!

aah but i have just made bircher muesili so it is yummy!

soak porridge oats overnight in milk. Also add then grated apple, banana, yoghurt & tbs of honey. leave in fridge and all ready next morning. Absolutely delicious. Doesnt have that stodgy feeling you get with fresh cooked porridge.

I think it depends on whether they really have energy problems, or whether they have just heard about hypoglycemia and think this is a good excuse for not losing weight (like people claiming they are allergic to something when in truth they just dislike it). If the former you should be a little bit sympathetic, I guess, but as I assume you are talking about an adult then really they should have learnt to cope better than by sugar spiking all day long. If the latter then you shouldn't feel the need to be sympathetic. But either way a good diet should not make you feel really hungry. Starving yourself is a very poor way to lose weight in the long run, and not good for you (or anyone around you either!).

Oh, and I have been hypoglycemic, but now rarely get blackouts. I'm still wary of running low on energy though (and I'm fairly skinny).

Try carrying a banana with you, or there are some biscuits which you can get from the supermarket or health shop, called 'Nairns' they are a oat biscuit and they come in different flavours they have a low gi to keep your blood sugar levels, level. Try eating porrige with blueberries or with half an orange for breakfast or fresh fruit salad with 1 slice of toast with marmalade. Carry a Kellogs nutri-grain bar with you to have at 11:00, (the oaty ones) and Try and have a jacket potato and beans for dinner, or a chicken and salad sandwich on a granary roll, and have a good meal in the evening like tuna pasta bake or lasange with a side salad. Try not to fill up on bread, and make sure you eat supper. Even if its just some plain nairns with a bit of butter on, make sure you eat four light meals a day. You will loose wait, but gradually as you should, but as the body gets use to the new healthy diet, the wait loss will slow down and the body will stay at the right weight. Beleive me i've tried it. It wont happen over night, so dont expect it to.

Yes YABU. What an ignorant post.

I have blood sugar problems and I cannot let it fall too low or I feel quite ill and sick. The only thing you say in your post that is reasonable is that sugary snacks are not the right solution. They help temporarily but not permanently. Protein snacks such as cheese or nuts are a better solution.

I don't usually need to snack but only because I make sure I have protein with most meals or have slow release carbs like porridge.

There is another post in the conversations about someone concerned about her child with low blood sugar. It would not be very nice if she came across this thread.

YAB(very)U

I have to eat at certain points of the day or I get dizzy and weak and will faint if I dont. My dad is the same, and his father. I have always had it. Always carry bananas/nuts/museli bar with me. Its scary and I dont know what it is but guess its genetic.

I am sympathetic to other people's conditions - dont know why you are so harsh about this.

YABU because it is a known condition -my blood sugar can drop so low I should be unconcious -but I just get a headache and fuzzy vision instead, so I eat a lot of complex carbs to stabilise my sugar levels
YANBU at your colleague -if she had a genuine problem she'd know that cramming sugar only makes it worse -just an excuse for eating cake and biscuits in my book

I would love some affordable but tasty snack foods with low GI...how come sweet, refined carb stuff is cheaper? Was looking at a magazine earlier with lunch ideas in it, advertising slabs of various cakes for 79p, but a nice healthy fruit salad or a sandwich at £2.50...why? I would (yes, i admit i am overweight, a bit) love the fruit...but you just know i'm gonna go for the cake cos it's cheaper!
I do reach for the dried apricots at home though...hey are quite nice, but i'm getting a bit bored with them.

Could it be to do with bashing someone who may have a weight problem? Am sooooo bored of that.

Your contact/colleague/friend whoever is clearly not going the right way about losing weight but you've taken that as a cue to launch into an attack on something you obviously know nothing about.

If you are an hour late eating, do your hands start to shake? Does your vision go wobbly? Do you get a headache? Start to feel sick? Become giddy? No? You do not have low blood sugar. Suggest you focus on a topic you have something informed to say on.

Oh and none of us are/were overweight

Godzilla, steer clear of the apricots! They are very sugary. Or have them with some nuts at the same time to stabilise the sugar-release.

The only person I know like this is as thin as a rake.