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Atkins diet and hypoglycemia?

Thread Status: Hello , There was no answer in this thread for more than 60 days.
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J

JCooke

New Member
Feb 24, 2008
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I have a question that I have no idea why the things that happened to me recently have become but here I go.

I have had hypoglycemia for about 10 yrs now and recently (due to a long winter) put on some weight, Im a ectomorph, 6'2",174lbs, have a very active job and overall very healthy, 40yrs old, non smoker..etc.

Because of the 5-7 lbs I gained over the winter I thought I would try the Atkins Diet to see if It could help. I have never had to diet ever in my life, mostly Im been very thin could eat anything i want, but I think being 40 has changed me a little.
After starting the food diet phase of the program within 2 days ALL of my hypoglycemia problems have come to a flat stop.???. i have even tested myself and not eaten for a 12 hr stretch with no body shakes,sweats,thought confusion,etc. And did a 1000 cal workout to really push the limits. And Im completely fine....

This is a major blessing for me and ill take it but does anybody have any idea why?


Thank You
Jason
 
Did you ever find out the cause of your hypoglycaemia Jason? Maybe some of the foods you used to eat were causing your body to release too much insulin? Could it be that high-GI foods are causing your problem?
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Jason,

After 12-24 hour of eliminating dietry carbs from your diet, your body goes into a state of ketosis. This is where your body brakes down fat and protein and converts it into glocose keeping your blood sugar nice and stable.

The lack of carbs means that your pancreas is no longer releasing large amounts of insulin which would have been causing your hypoglycemia after a large carb meal in order to control your blood sugar level.

I would advise you to get most of your fats through omega 3,6 & 9's for optimum health. Include in your diet, plenty of fiberous carbs such as brocolli, asparagus, cabbage, spinage etc, these will not impact blood sugar.

Every 7-10 days, it might be avantagious to eat a large carb meal to keep your thyroid active.

Tim
 
Thank you for the insight.

Im not sure what foods were the problem or diet in general. My carbs usually consisted of brown rice or potatoes. No wheats because of a Gluten allergy.
Now I do have at least 1-2 salad dishes a day and fish and/or beef protiens. Right now my carb intake is about 30-60g per day,large amounts of water,a daily multi vitamin. I also noticed my energy level are flat line constance level all day, no highs and lows...evan after meals.

Im in the "cant believe it" phase still and this was a big problem when diving or life in general. I would have to eat right before the dive and as soon as out of the water eat something imediately.
I will be watching my weight and overall health for any signs of problems. Im guessing that the things i was eating to control the hypo crashes was the problem. I would bring granola bars or fruits...etc... easy trail foods with me everywhere. I also dont get crazy hungary anymore or have any cravings. Im just bewildered at the huge change in my body and mind over all this....haha.

I hope and believe this will help my diving.

Thank you
Jason
 
No doubt that very high protein diets can work in many ways & have many different effects on certain people.
My sister tried the diet & soon released it was to have an effect on her diabetes problem!
She no longer had to daily inject & also noticed a huge improvement with her high blood pressure.
I tried the diet & actually, quite enjoyed the food, it seemed to suit me.
I lost some fat but also felt a feeling of well being, hypertension is a family trait, I was taking two tablets a day for this problem.
My blood pressure fell to very low levels & I stopped taking the medication!
However after 18 months living on this diet I gave it all up - now I am back on two tablets a day.
I just could not keep it up due manly to social reasons but also the general inconveneace & maybe even the expense!
My sister however still maintains a slightly softer version of the diet & still maintains very good health.
 
I remember reading a while back that Dr. Atkins died from heart disease attributed to his own diet and that the family tried to keep it on the down low so they could continue making money of the product, If you have a health problem that benefits from this then I guess its good but I think for a healthy person you need carbs especially for freediving you just want them from healthy sources and not junk food
 
I heard about that and take very little information from media and the press and also rumors. There are so many variables to a 72 yr old man passing away that speculating that the diet had something to do with it may be one in a 100 possibilities. And thats why Im asking here and not googling it. The internet is a sea of misinformation. Also the trade off "if" this diet is somewhat unhealthy to daily battles with hypoglycemia........... ILL TAKE IT. I have learned that if the body doesnt like something it will tell you to "stop doing that". Im monitoring my self carfully also.....bp,hr,weight,etc I used to have to eat a min of every 2 hrs and now i can go up to 12 hrs if i had to...sleeping I also had to eat before bed to get through the night without a crash and sleeping on a full gut was aweful, up every 2hrs restless and sometime waking soaked in sweet, which has stopped. Im now sleep through the night. The dark circles under my eyes have subsided my wife said.

I guess I just got lucky so far.

Thank you for your concerns
Jas
 
I think one of the important things on a high protein diet is to make sure you get sufficient fibre. Vegetables and some fruit should provide enough without noticeably increasing your calorific or glycemic loads. Beans & nuts are good too.
 
I think the system requires a small quantity of vegetables that grow above ground level like cabbage, cauliflower or fresh beans but to avoid root veg.
I will find out more from my sister but I think she lives on 80% protein & fat & 20% carbs but the carbs have to meet a certain criteria?
 
Morning,

Lettuce, red cabbage,carrot,califlower,almonds,chicken,beef,cheese,cream cheese,milk,peppers,berries and lots of water are mainly all im eating. 50%veg 50%protiens. My treats are cooked almonds with a touch of honey,a diet soda,20oz.
I starting simple first.
Then i do a 1000 cal workout(eliptical until pool time)and my job is very active(loading and unloading frieght from 8-14hrs (mon,tues,thurs fri).
So far in 5 days wieght loss is only 3-4 pounds, i believe with the workout change Im puting on some muscle right now also.

0 sugar crashes for the last week, a new record.

Thanks
Jas
 
Here is a little information about the founder:[ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Atkins_%28nutritionist%29"]Robert Atkins (nutritionist) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia@@AMEPARAM@@/wiki/FilerRobertAtkins.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c1/DrRobertAtkins.jpg"@@AMEPARAM@@en/c/c1/DrRobertAtkins.jpg[/ame]

It says:
On April 8, 2003, at age 72, a day after a major snowstorm in New York, Atkins slipped on icy pavement, suffering severe head trauma. He spent nine days in intensive care, before dying on April 17, 2003 at 11:01 a.m.
Click to expand...

I followed this diet for a month and found that after the first week or so, freediving was actually ok. I did some long dynamics and they felt quite nice. Managed about 90% of my pb in DYN and DNF. No samba.
I had at least expected that my muscles wouldn`t work properly, but they did. Long trainingsessions would be hard though.
 
Just a update, I reintroduced more carbs last night, and noticed my BP is around 138-141/80 which is high for me. Had some side effects, I could feel the BP higher, thinking would be fizzy some times. -10lbs. No sugar issues still..

Jason
 
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