Why do I get shaky-hungry, even after eating sometimes?

[BertieBotts]

Had a bit of a late lunch today, and okay, I hadn't had breakfast other than a few biscuits and a cup of tea, but for lunch I had scrambled egg on toast, 2 eggs, lots of butter, 2 slices of toast and milk in the egg as well, and I still felt hungry and shaky afterwards. I ate some more biscuits in case it was to do with my blood sugar levels and helped a little bit, but then I was/am still a bit shakey or "buzzy".

What causes this and how can I avoid it?

dunno but I get similar so will lurk :)

Bump :)

Hi. I'd get your blood sugar levels checked at the GPs.

I had this and couldn't figure it out as it happened sometimes when I hadn't eaten, sometimes when I had so had lots of tests inc blood sugar/diabetes etc and eventually the doc put it down to anxiety/stress. Now I pride myself on not being a stress head but once I was told that by the doc I realised that it was definitely connected to what was going on at the time (often after a conversation with my boss ) or sometimes even if I was thinking about something a little stressy!

try eating more regularly and see if this happens - if you've just had sugar based snacks in the morning and then nothing for over 4 hours and then also carbs for lunch or so it's going to send your blood sugar levels wonkt, and in turn cause a drop in blood pressure. sometimes it just takes a little while longer to work themselves out.

does it happen on days when you have a more balanced diet?

I've recently had blood tests because I was feeling tired all the time and that didn't throw anything up.

I suppose I did get a bit stressed today. I was trying to install a new monitor and it wouldn't work!

Honestly, I know that I'm rubbish at eating properly and controlling my blood sugar, I thought that eggs were good though, because they're protein? I know the bread counts as carbs but what else are you supposed to eat it on? I feel really frustrated when I have what I think is a good lunch and yet I still feel crappy after eating it. And yet some days I just snack all day and feel fine

I can't eat unless I'm relaxed & can sit quietly.
I get dizzy spells too, when I stand up too quickly. Right falling apart old lady.
But I used to get the exact same dizzy spells when I was a ravenous always-eating teen, so I think it's normal for me.

Blood sugar & anxiety could be causes. Have you considered egg or milk allergy? Sometimes when you are allergic to something you get a sort of high after eating it, then feel dizzy or woozy, then the visible reaction: eczema, itchy nose/face, coughing, that sort of thing. Can take up to a couple of hours to get through the whole process.

Try cutting down your carbs. And eat more frequently. You had carbs not only in the form of several slices of toast but also your biscuits - your blood sugar was spiking all over the place!

You can quite easily have scrambled eggs without the toast. I eat these regularly!

Does this describe how you felt?

Bertie, if you snack all day then your blood sugar will remain pretty high - hence feeling better on those days. However, as BIWI says, cutting down on carbs will stop you feeling like you have to snack all the time. It's a vicious circle - you eat carbs/sugar and then need to keep eating more to feel well, which means it is easy to put on weight...(I don't know if you worry about your weight or not, but if you do, then carbs are definitely the enemy!)

Not at all - quite the opposite, I struggle to keep weight on, I'm usually bordering on underweight.

That link describes the feeling TeamGBIWI, and I get the night time/waking up feelings too. However when I had blood tests fairly recently I'm pretty sure they tested blood glucose levels so I would have thought it's unlikely to be that - unless it's just bad diet management which it could well be. I have no idea what food groups I'm supposed to seek out/avoid and I know from experience I'm rubbish at keeping my blood sugar controlled, when it's hot, I'm prone to blacking out and almost fainting

What kinds of foods are good to keep blood sugar levels stable?

Answer same as before - eat protein and fat, not carbs. Carbs cause your blood sugar to keep spiking, so if you eat a diet high in protein/fat, then your blood sugar remains steady. Try reading John Briffa Escape The Diet Trap - it's primarily concerned with eating healthily to reduce the risk of diabetes, heart disease etc, not with weight loss, and he cites a lot of research. Mark's Daily Apple is a site about paleo/primal eating, and I was struck by the fact that people use that way of eating to reach a healthy weight, whether that means losing or gaining.

It's the carbs, Bertie. Avoid easily accessible (by which is meant 'digestible') carbs like bread, pasta, flour, rice, potatoes, fruit and sugar. Eat more protein and fat - so eggs for breakfast are fab. If you can't contemplate scrambled eggs without toast, then have a couple of boiled eggs, or hard-boiled eggs mashed with bacon and mayo.

If they did one test for your blood glucose they will have taken only one measurement, which is pretty meaningless. The symptoms you describe are of rapidly rising and falling blood glucose levels, and it's the carbs which end up creating this.

Agree with TooImmature - if you can get hold of Briffa's book it explains it really well.

Actually, the other book that is worth reading is Zoe Harcombe's book, "The Harcombe Diet" - not for the weight loss stuff but because she describes hypoglycaemia really well.

you could research adrenal fatigue. it can give you unstable blood sugars, dizzyness on standing and general fatigue. your GP won't recognise this condition though.

That would make sense. It's just that I'm not keen on fatty foods, am allergic to cheese and protein is always so expensive compared to the carbs that you list here. Also anything requiring too much preparation in the mornings just doesn't happen! I'll definitely try to see if I can shift what I eat though.

Protein isn't necessarily expensive - eggs, for example, are very good value.