I’m sure I’ve mentioned this before but once upon a time I had trouble with blood sugar (remember my glucose test disaster while I was pregnant with Hailey?). It runs in my family but when I first had troubles with it, I didn’t know how to handle it well besides needing something to eat. Immediately.
I can still remember this one time while David and I were dating. We were on our way to lunch and hit traffic. Well, I went from gosh I’m hungry to unable to handle it. I was shaky, got a pounding headache, felt nauseous. I literally was bent over in the passenger seat almost unable to to talk. I remember not really even being able to explain it and just telling David I need to eat.
All the drama, right? He thought so too.
Luckily since that time, I’ve come to better control my blood sugar levels. Over the past couple of days I noticed I felt a little shakier than normal, so I’ve done a little back-to-the-basics boot camp for myself that includes the following.
1. Eat breakfast. I usually do this anyway, but making sure breakfast is a good balance of carbs (bananas are one of my favorite high glycemic foods to boost blood sugar quickly- love them before work outs!), protein (egg) and fat (butter/oil/avocado). Fats helps slow down the absorption of glucose, which leads to blood sugar rising more slowly.
2. Eliminate/decrease caffeine. This is slightly more of just a personal preference. Though science has shown caffeine can interfere with blood sugar, it’s not hard enough evidence to suggest quitting coffee. For me, though, I am sensitive to caffeine as is. It gives me the shakes but my gosh, I have gotten hooked on sipping it in the morning. I’ve been focusing on breaking away from it and drinking tea instead.
I’ve been opting for this lightly (naturally) caffeinated green tea, but even regular tea averages 50 mg of caffeine per 8 ounces compared to coffee’s 135 mg.
3. Exercise. Even something as simple as walking after a meal helps your body bring down and balance blood sugars. On the other side, I am working on eating more immediately after my boot camp, something I’m not always good about.
4. Avoid sugar, refined carbs and artificial sweeteners. I do this on the regular (lucky me, no sweet tooth, remember?), but even keeping an eye on fruit consumption is a good idea. When I do have fruit or refined carbs, like sandwich bread, I am eating it with other foods that are high in protein and/or fat which helps slow the elevation of blood sugar to equal out a more slow and steady rise and fall.
5. Eat four meals a day. Science appears to be split on whether more mini meals (which helps keep blood sugar levels steady because you are constantly attending to it) or three set meals (which some argue helps you to reset your hunger hormones). I’ve found a good balance that works for me is four meals, then following my hunger cues if I am still hungry.
I split this over-sized smoothie with the girls and balanced the natural sugar high of the frozen mixed berries and banana with whole milk, whole milk yogurt and a little protein powder. I also ate a handful or two of almonds.
6. Protein at every meal. This doesn’t have to be a meat, but by adding in a nut butter, beans or other form of protein, it helps pull sugar into your cells so your body can use it for energy.
7. Adequate sleep. Not getting enough sleep can lead to your cells having trouble taking in the glucose, which leads to higher blood sugar levels. Sleep is important for so many aspects of overall health, so just add balancing blood sugars to the list.
With these tips and the help of ACV and cinnamon (which can help balance blood sugars too), my hypoglycemic tendencies stay in check!
Do you have to pay attention to your blood sugar?
Have you ever gotten the shakes from it being too low?
What helps you?
Jennifer says
This happens to me as well. If I wait too long to eat I get shaky and jittery. Over the past 2 years I have been learning to listen to my body and eat intuitively. I have my good moments and bad, but I have been learning a lot. I hope to only keep improving.
I try to make really balanced meals (especially dinner) and I always have some form of protein.
Eating intuitively has really helped during my last trimester or pregnancy, I can really tell what foods are great for me and what foods bring on the aches and pains.
Heather@hungryforbalance says
I absolutely agree with this! I have struggled with blood sugar instability for years. It is always confusing to my friends and family when I go from kinda being hungry to full on Hangry and dizzy in such a short amount of time. I used to be really terrible about only eating a piece of fruit when I was hungry but I quickly realized that it was a recipe for disaster as far as my blood sugar was concerned.
Brittany Dixon says
Oh my gosh yes, it used to drive David crazy that I’d go from 0 to STARVING in like 2 minutes. It was frustrating because I couldn’t explain it either. Glad to see I’m not alone though 🙂
Morgan @ Morgan Manages Mommyhood says
I haven’t had any issues with blood sugar, thankfully, but I do notice that I get cranky and hungry very fast if I don’t add protein to my meals.
Melanie says
Long time reader, first time commenter here! Love your blog, Brittany, and this post spoke volumes to me, Low blood sugar is something I deal with all.the.time. I get dizzy, shaky, can’t focus, etc. I know what to do (i.e. everything you listed!) to prevent it but tend not to. Prioritizing it now! I’ve also found it to get worse when I drink coffee in the morning (by lunchtime I’m a mess) so it’s comforting to know that that might be a real trigger for me!
Thanks for this post!
Brittany Dixon says
Hi Melianie! I’m so glad you commented 🙂
It’s so funny that you think coffee affects you too. It was something I thought was just in my head, but when I cut it out I definitely feel a million times better and have more sustained energy. It’s actually comforting to hear I’m not alone (or crazy!).
Juliet says
I’m a Type 1 Diabetic, so feeling low is a huge part of my day! Your tips are awesome, but I also wanted to point out that cinnamon really helps stabilize blood sugar. Throw some in your smoothies and coffee and it will help balance out the highs (that lead to the lows)!
Brittany Dixon says
What a fantastic tip! I will definitely try adding cinnamon to foods. Thanks Juliet!
Kate says
Yup. I’ve been there- shaking, feeling light headed, and then when I do eat I feel like I can’t get it in fast enough. I always joke that I am nice until I go too long without eating. This usually happens to me in the morning a few hours after breakfast. A balance of macros is the best way to prevent it for me.
I really like these tips!
Cassie says
I am dealing with gestational diabetes right now actually. Luckily, it is fully in control with just diet, but I definitely have to eat every couple of hours instead of big meals 3 times a day. Here’s hoping I go back to “normal” once baby girl gets here.
Brittany Dixon says
Sorry you are dealing with this Cassie! Pregnancy can do such crazy things to the body. I’m glad you are able to control it with diet though! And I hope it goes back to normal for you afterwards too!
Julie says
I’ve never had any blood sugar issues (that I was aware of), but coincidentally this past Sat. I had the exact experience you described. It was just slightly past lunch time, but I hadn’t had a whole lot for b-fast & had run & done Body Pump that morning. We were running errands, & I wanted to finish before stopping for lunch. It seemed like in less than 5 min. I went from slightly aware it was past lunch time to having a bad headache, feeling nauseous & just overall crummy… and I knew I just really needed to eat! I grabbed a mini Clif bar out of the glovebox. It was only 3 bites, but I felt better w/in minutes.
Alyssa @ Life of bLyss says
I have totally been there — I get the shakes when I’m due for a mini meal!
I kind of snack throughout my day. I’d say I have about 6 meals a day (on your typical weekday), which keeps me from gorging on a huge meal at the end of the day.
#foodallthetime.
Erin @ Her Heartland Soul says
Sleep is huge for me! Great post!
Kara says
Uggh. Blood sugar crashes are the worst. I remember one time when my boyfriend and I were first dating and I was driving to a weekend out of town. I guess I didn’t do a good enough job of balancing my car snacks because about half an hour before we got there suddenly my sugar crashed. It was like I couldn’t think to change lanes or figure out how to pull over. After that my boyfriend kept a bag of peanut M&Ms stashed in my car.
Keeping an eye on my protein, adding fats, and drinking plenty of water have made the biggest differences for me. I still occasionally have issues, but nothing like I did before.
Ruth says
I start to zone out and get hangry when I haven’t eaten for a couple of hours. Even more so with feeding a newborn!!! I try and eat a good mix of things but carbs always win as a quick fix. Especially a toasted bagel smothered in butter. Mmmmmm
Alyssa@renaissancerunnergirl says
This has always happened to me since I was a little kid, and the difference in my energy levels and ability to handle the uncontrollable headache and stomach churning hunger has been MAJOR since I cut out caffeine and started trying to eat protein at all meals. I’ve struggled with insomnia my entire life too, and the no caffeine plus not eating after 8pm or so has done wonders for that too. I’m not sure what it is about my body, but I just need a steady intake of good nutrients to do well! It was so clear to me the past week since I was hiking in the English Lake District with a college friend. On the first day we didn’t pack enough snacks – and she could see me physically crashing. We didn’t make that mistake again!
Emma Lymn says
Wonderful tips! My dad’s a diabetic and he has penchant for exercise, except golf. That’s what he considers his exercise although as he gets older he doesn’t play as much which minimizes its effects. I’ve found the easiest way to is to make it simple for him, via diet.