I may have finally found my answer!!!

Over the past year, even though I work out extremely hard 6-7 days a week and watch what I eat, I have slowly gained 10 lbs.  I've been to doctors, had every test imaginable and nothing was wrong.  One doctor even told me to take diet pills.  Nice.  I was convinced I wasn't working out hard enough even though I was taking 2 1/2 hour bike rides 3 days a week (oh, I do triathlons.  Guess I should mention that). 

Anyway, I finally went to a well known nutritionist in my area.  I had been avoiding it because I know he's very expensive.  He took a look at the blood work results i had submitted to him.  Asked me some questions about my eating habits, where I've gained the weight, etc. and he said he knew exactly what was wrong.  I'm hypoglycemic (but not diabetic because i know that is rare). 

The irionic thing is that about 3 years ago, my old doctor (not the one who told me to take diet pills) had done some bloodwork and said I had that problem, but that's when I started eating 5 meals a deal and it corrected itself. 

I was still eating 5 meals a day, but then I started getting concerned about cutting calories, etc. and started to stretch the time out between my meals longer and longer.  Apparently I need to eat every 2 1/2 hours all day every day.  This is a huge pain and where my problem comes in.  If I want him this nutritionist to lay out a plan for me, it's going to cost me a whole bunch of money that I don't have right now. 

My question is, has anyone else experienced this?  What do you eat?  Any suggestions anyone could give would be greatly appreciated!

I had a bad IBS flareup a couple years ago, and my doctor had me eating every 3 hours. Basically, I would plan my regular 3 meals/day, making sure that each meal had a balance of carbs, protein and fats. Then I would just divide them each in half, and eat a half of the meal every three hours. So my day would look something like this:

7 am - breakfast 1
10 am - breakfast 2
1 pm - lunch 1
4 pm - lunch 2
7 pm - dinner 1
10 pm - dinner 2

I found this approach easier than thinking of something different to eat for each of the 6 meals. In your case, you would just divide your meals into smaller portions (like thirds) or add in a couple snacks. I hope this helps!

Well, I'm hypoglycemic and have been probably forever.  But I finally got it confirmed about 9 years ago.  I did meet with a nutritionist because I also have PCOS.  She gave me a "PCOS diet."  It's on my profile.  It works for my hypoglycemia as well.  I do not eat every 2.5 hours though, for me, that just doesn't work.  The key for me is adequate protein and lots of low carb veggies along with 1 serving of carbs per meal.  The balance is crucial and if I don't do it right I will not feel full.  If I do eat right for lunch, then I don't need a snack before dinner.  It I do need a snack, I eat carrots with light ranch or a low sugar yogurt.  The key is to combine your carbs with protein.  So if I have an apple, I need a little peanut butter as well.  I'll never be a vegetarian either becase I dont' find most plant proteins (beans for example) filling enough.  I must admit that I'm a little bad about breakfast, I have low sugar, high fiber cereal like Kashi along with skim milk.  I really should have an egg or something, but I hate messing up my kitchen in the AM. 

Thanks so much!  Have you found that you have lost weight because of the new diet?  The nutritionist explained that basically my body is turning my muscle into fat with all this insulin in my body. 

I have always eaten protein with everything so I don't just crab a piece of bread without a peice of chicken, peanut butter, etc. with it. I guess that was one thing I was doing right.

Are there any "DON'T" foods?  What about diet pop?  I sometimes have a diet Mt. Dew. 

I'm hoping all these changes help melt the pounds off.  I seriously can't do anymore exercise. I think my legs will fall off if I try to do more!

Thanks again!

Yes, I lose weight on the PCOS diet.  I lose weight as long as I limit my food intake and if I eat this way I am not hungry.  With your activity level though, you'll have to eat more food than what I eat. 

I don't have any "don't foods," just "limited foods."  I drink diet pop and it's not a problem.

I'm confused, if you've already seen the nutritionist why is an eating plan a lot more $?

The nutritionist does a free initial consultation.  He measures your body fat, your metabolic rate, etc.  Talks to you about what he thinks is going on in your body and then says "pay me and I"ll make you skinny."  I know tons of people who have had tremendous success with him so he does know what he's talking about. 

As far as limited or off limit foods, what's the consensus on sweets.  I don't gorge myself on desserts but I like to have a cookie once a week or some ice cream occasionally as a treat.  I figure if I'm doing cardio for 71/2 hours a week plus lifting I should be able to have some small joy in my life.  Right now I"m scared to death to eat any of that stuff.  I really want this to work!

Personally I think I'd be wary of a nutritionist that told me I was 'turning muscle into fat'

He didn't say exactly that.  He explained how the insulin levels increase and then what the body goes through to combat that and what happens with the sugars, etc. That was the essence of what he said.  I don't remember all the details because my head was spinning with all the information he was telling me. 

I get it now, basically it's a loss leader, you get the tantalizing bait for free, but the real info is gonna cost you.  Do any of the people you know who have had successes with him have an eating plan that they're willing to share with you?

Hey arclipper. I want to find out if I'm hypoglycemic. I Googled it and realized that I experience all the symptoms. Do I just have to go to my doctor to find out?

They get you in their and make you feel like you have no choice but to go to him.  I really did feel like he cared about "fixing" me.  I know he works, it's just something I don't know that I can afford right now.  I have thought about talking to some of my friends about the eating plan, but my situation is pretty unique.  With training for triathlons, some days, I literally do cardio for 3 hours.  I really need to know what to eat to power me through workouts while not overindulging in "bad" foods.  It's really a vicious cycle.  Unfortunately, there really aren't any other nutritionists in my area.  I looked them up online and in a 30 mile radius there are only 2 others listed.  I guess that's the price I pay for not living in the big city!

As for how to get tested, yes.  Go to your doctor and request a blood test.  But you want to make sure they do the "fasting" blood work.  When I had my bloodwork done in November, I had eaten within the past hour so it wasn't accurate  (They didn't think they were testing for the sugar level.  More focusing on hormones, thyroid, etc.).   I think they can even test this with the finger prick test (or however diabetics test their blood sugar).  Hope that helps!

Wow, I read your post, did some research, and I'm pretty convinced that this is my problem. I've gone one further. Here is a link with diet info...

http://www.hypoglycemia.org/diet.asp

I already know that frequent snacking, elimination of sugars and carbs, and eating many meals of protein and veggies or fruit helps me tons. When i don't eat frequently enogh, I feel my body literally shut down and I have no choice but to fall asleep. I also easily run the risk of overeating and gaining weight for fear of the dizziness from not eating. Thanks for the post!

I was diagnosed with reactive hypoglycemia one month ago after spending most of my adult life feeling shakey and headachey.  I was sent to a nutritionist (for free) who laid out my plan.

The best thing she reccommened was that any food I eat (other than natural fruit) has to have 8 grams of sugar or less.   All carbs are to be eaten with a protein, and eat every few hours.

Wow everything has sugar!!! And lots of it.   I am now not allowed to eat fruit juice, apple sauce, and flavored yogurt among other things.

So instead of a nice big bowl of "end of the week ice cream treat", I can have 1/3 of a cup of the brand I buy which equals 8 grams of sugar. 

I have been eating like this for a month and a bit, it's been interesting figureing out how to re-figure my food choices but I am now finally losing weight after trying for 16 years after the birth of my first daughter.  I have lost 9 pounds! 

Good luck to you!

Wow!  9 lbs!  That gives me hope!

What did the nutrionist say about eating fruits?  I've been reading up on several different websites and each one says something different.  Did she also give you advice on artificial sweetners?  I've gotten different answers on that too.

Thanks for sharing your story.  I hope I can write that i've had that kind of success in a few weeks.  I'd be ecstatic if I lost 9 lbs total not just in one month!

I personally don't want to use artificial sweeteners and I also stay away from glucose/fructose like the plague!!  She didn't say I couldn't have them though. 

The only fruit I eat are apples, pears, blueberries, raspberries and the occational small banana.  Fruits are generally OK beccause they come with handy fibre.  But she did say to keep it to 2 a day.  She was happy with my fruit choices but a strict no-no to dried fruit like raisons and apricots (which I used to put on my oatmeal) (oatmeal withour sugar is dire!)

She also said to make sure I get enough good carbs when I eat my "big salad" at lunch. It has veggies, spinach, walnuts, chicken and olive oil.  I guess the veggies were not enough carbs, so I add a piece of low glycemic index bread.(Stonemill - I live in Canada, don't know who makes it)

Just for extra info, I'm 5'5" at 143lb now.  I eat about 1450 -1850 cal a day.  I do light weights for all body twice a week.  Decent cardio twice a week.  And the rest of my time measuring food and being a sugar hunter.  (I think my teenagers are worried, what no more sugar!!!!!) If you want anymore info, super glad to help!

Fruits are going to be hard for me.  I absolutely LOVE fresh fruit.  Apples, oranges, blueberries, but especially grapes and strawberries (seriously I'm addicted to these).  I have a feeling I'm overdoing it on the fruit side but the summer is going to be really tough.  i live right smack dab in the middle of 5 really good fruit farms.  i mean REALLY good!  I also have recently started eating a lot of raisins which I never liked before.  I don't mind plain oatmeal.  I usually make mine with skim milk and put blueberries on it so it's pretty good. 

I am going to cut out the artificial sweetners.  I usually eat sugarfree jello, sugar free pudding and then a diet pop about every other day.  I'm definately cutting out the diet pop and will ween myself off the other stuff.  I completely gave up sugar for 3 months and I did lose weight so I'm thinking that's my down fall.  I will pay attention to the 8 grams of sugar thing.  That seems to be a good measure (although my power bars I eat on my long bike rides have 9). 

As far as the glycemic index goes, how do you find out what each food is?  What's a good number and what's too high?

Thanks so much for all of your help.  This is great and I finally feel like I have some hope!

WOW. I have been diagnosed with PCOS and hyperinsulinemia (leading to hypoglycemia) for almost 10 years now.  I am also in medical school and am graduating soon.

I eat tons of fruit. I drink diet soda (well occasionally, but yea I do). I eat anything I want.

Being hypoglycemic means low blood sugar, hence you need to keep your sugars UP.  I have fainted numerous times, had really bad runs (marathoner here), etc. It is very easy to gain weight as a hyporglycemic because your body keeps going into starvation mode and conserving everything. 

My 2 cents: EAT. I eat 3 meals a day with 3 or more snacks. usually it breaks down like this:

7am: big bowl of cereal or oatmeal

10am: big apple

noon: lunch-salads, tuna, soup, sandwiches, whatever with a piece of fruit-always

3-5: more fruit, granola bar, yogurt, frozen yogurt, raw veggies, crackers, pretzels and hummus, anything really

7: dinner followed by tea

9: dessert-fruit and hot chocolate (ice cream or cake or something if im in the mood/affordable in my calories limit)

hope that helps

I'm hypoglycemic and for me balance is the key.  I need protein, at least 2 ounces at a meal, and it needs to be meat.  I also need some carbs, a serving or so, then I add in 2 to 3 servings of low carb veggies.  That keeps my blood sugar on track.  If I snack in between, it needs to be either low carb veggies (carrots are okay) or a combo of a fruit and protein, like an apple with peanut butter.  I'll eat yogurt sweetened with splenda as well including smoothies that I make myself.  Popcorn seems to be a good filling snack also.  I can eat sugar, but I need to have protein as well.  So as long as I ate a decent meal, I can eat a cookie and will be fine. 

My bf and I always eat 5 - 6 meals a day - he runs ultras and Ironmans and well I'm working up to it :) A good plan for us is to have whole grain cereal for breakfast and a whey protien shake. For a morning snack, some light cottage cheese, fat free yogurt and mixed berries. Then take what you would have for lunch and dinner and split each meal in 2. Lunch is often a bison burger with salad and dinner usually fish of some sort with wild rice and veggies. Stick to lean meats of course and try to limit fats as much as possible.

Good luck!

Well so far this isn't working.  I have gained 4 lbs in one week.  I know that your body fluctuates weight, but it seems like I gain 4, lose 2, gain 3, lose 2, etc. Any idea what the deal is?  I've been eating 5-6 mini meals a day.  I never have what someone would consider a "full" meal.  I had so much hope.  I know it's only been a week but this has been over a year struggle and I"m losing my mind. 

I work out for a minimum of 70 minutes of cardio a day (running, swimming and biking).  I lift 3 days a week and I often do 2 a days which adds an additional 30 minutes minimum to my cardio.  What gives? Is my body just readjusting to eating habits?