Hypoglycemic

This post is by request. I've had a handful of Facebook & Twitter direct messages asking me what sorts of things I am eating while trying to "train" myself to eat healthier as I try to get my blood sugar back in check. So here you go...

Let me start with a little background info. I am hypoglycemic. If you don't know what hypoglycemia is, it's essentially low blood-sugar. This is caused by the over production of insulin which sends my blood-sugar plummeting. When my blood sugar drops, I experience an array of symptoms. It starts with the shakes, then morphs into a headache and nausea. If I let it go on too long my symptom progress into fatigue, faintness, dizziness, tingling in my hands & face and in rare cases I experience heart palpitations. Oh, and mood swings. Ryan & my parents wouldn't let me forget those. ;) And if things get really bad, I pass out cold. Of course, a spike in blood sugar is just as dangerous/scary/uncomfortable as a drop. And finding the happy medium can be tough.

When I was officially diagnosed as hypoglycemic, my doctor spent a good 45 minutes explaining the importance of my food choices and that every single one of the food groups is important in my diet. In order to regulate and stabilize my blood-sugar, I need protein, carbs, fruits & veggies, good fats and, yes, even sugar.


I have a few "go to" foods that quickly and safely get my blood-sugar back to a normal level. For example, I eat a banana everyday. Bananas contain specific nutrients that naturally help to stabilize and maintain a healthy blood sugar level. Another is a "trail mix" granola bar. My favorite is Nature Valley's. It's whole grain oats with almonds, raisins, peanuts and cranberries. This is an "all-in-one" snack; I get protein, carbs, fruit/natural sugar and good fat. I also try and eat every 2 hours or so. I generally start my day with a carb like oatmeal or multi-grain cheerios. Then I'll have a mid-morning snack of a banana, followed by lunch (it changes daily but I aim for a balanced meal), then two snacks in the afternoon, generally one fruit or veggie serving and one dairy serving.

I am faaar from perfect, but every day I try to make better choices than the day before in an effort to truly stabilize my sugars.:)