I love my dietician Cynthia! She is always there for me and answers all my questions (even if I think they are silly!!!!) She was super helpful today and I found out some new stuff, so I'll share it with you all.
1. What is a target amount of calories should I be aiming for daily? Now that I am 18 months out I should be shooting for 1000 to 1200 calories a day. I'm not to focus on calories, but this is good for me to know when meal planning and making choices.
2. How do I prevent this sugar drop and my blood sugar bottoming out without relying on carbs? There is no way to prevent sugar drop without some type of carbs! I have been diagnosed as a reactive hypoglycemic and therefore need to have some complex carbs in my diet at each meal or I will "forever chase my sugar" - More on this in a bit
3. I'm at a plateau - is there anything I can do to change up my diet to help burn more calories? On the diet end she wants me to focus on working my plan. I might not be eating enough! So make sure I'm eating the right amount of calories and intake. I'm also going to change up my work outs.
4. Are there any foods I should add? Any foods should I avoid? I'm free to eat what my tummy can handle. No more foods are "off limits" except the sugars still. If my tummy can't handle it I dont' eat it, but if I can - welcome to the diet!
5. I'm going to go over the way I eat (splitting meals into two to eat more often) etc. - Because I am a reactive hypoglycemic, I need to eat every 3 to 4 hours. So I have been doing something right already! I eat breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, snack - need to keep my blood sugar up!
6. I also want to ask her about why my body might now process low fat cheese well...i'm good with dairy overall it is just low fat cheese that doesn't do well. I don't want to eliminate cheese - If my tummy won't handle it - eat the real stuff. She told me not to feel bad about it because if cheese is a go to food for when I need protein or need to eat and I'm not hungry go for it! Makes me feel a ton better.
7. any ways to add fiber to the diet to avoid constipation - i'm over oatmeal! - She gave me some suggestions of adding benefiber to my liquid or to take fiber gummies. This is a huge issue for WLS patients and she told me to just try and figure out what would work for my body. If I don't feel better overall in a month to call her back in regards to this.
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Reactive Hypoglycemia - that scares me, but then Cynthia spent some time to explain it.
I found this over at a blog that explains it pretty well: What is Reactive Hypoglcemia?
Reactive hypoglycemia or Postprandial hypoglycemia (low blood glucose after meals), is a medical term describing recurrent episodes of symptomatic hypoglycemia occurring 2–4 hours after a high carbohydrate meal (or oral glucose load). Symptoms vary according to individuals' hydration level and sensitivity to the rate and/or magnitude of decline of their blood glucose concentration. Some of the food induced hypoglycemia symptoms include: [i bolded the ones I was feeling on a regular basis]
Mild Hypoglycemia
Increased or sudden hunger
Feeling shaky, dizzy or nervous
Pounding heartbeat
Drowsiness, feeling tired *** [this was happening daily and it stunk!]
Sweating (cold and clammy)
Numbness or tingling around the mouth
Headache or stomachache
Moderate Hypoglycemia
Any of the above mild symptoms, plus:
Headache
Personality change
Irritability
Confusion and/or difficulty concentrating
Headache or stomachache
Slurred or slow speech
Poor coordination
So what does this mean for me? I have to figure out what works for me. I need to use the foods I can tolerate well and work with them to incorporate complex carbs. I need to educate myself on carbs that aren't in the pasta world and not be scared to eat them! It is ok for me to do it. I also need to make sure that along with my drinks that I carry and sip all the time that I have my snacks and food source right beside me too. I also need to track my sugar, follow my food diary, and figure out when the crashing is happening.
Who would of thought that the diabetic now has the opposite problem! It is a good issue to have, but one I need to figure out so I feel better and have more pep in my step.
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