Hypoglycemia while doing 6wc...help please?

[Athenae]

Hello all ^^)/ I am new here but have been lurking for a few weeks. I have experience with low-carb eating before but after a health scare, I went off the plan and gained back 15lbs over ~8 months. I have since returned to low-carb and decided to try out the 6 week cure as a high-protein jump-start.

I have been following most of the plan for one week now, and while I felt a little stronger and better (I have an undiagnosed but suspected auto immune disease), my carbs averaged out to <10/day. Yesterday I got a bit busy and only had ~300 calories and <5 carbs--I forgot to eat anything but one shake. In the afternoon I suddenly became very tired and couldn't keep my eyes open, so took a two hour nap. When I woke my heart was racing, my head dizzy, I felt weak and almost as though I'd been drugged, then sick to my stomach.

I think it was hypoglycemia. I ate a few life savers, drank some water with a shake, and ate a small dinner; it went away and I began to feel better.

My question: does this seem like hypoglycemia as prompted by unintentional fasting? Is less than 30-40 net carbs a day a no-no for someone who weighs 130, is 5ft2, and only wants to lose 10-15lbs?

Any guidance is appreciated. I'm not sure what to do besides maybe eat some fruit and more veggies every day to stay in a higher range?

[laughingW]

Hi and welcome, Athenae. Yes, it looks like hypoglycemia to me.

Well I am 5'2" and *want* to weigh 130. Take my opinion with a grain of salt but this is what I see.

That first week of low carb, you depleted your body of excess insulin and also stored sugar (glycogen). But, your body has been used to running on higher carb (am I guessing right?) and hasn't had time to adapt to getting energy from fat. So on your low carb/low calorie day, your blood sugar ran down, you had no stored sugar, and your body is set up to run on sugar. Hence the crash.

What to do? Before I would add more fruit I would definitely have plenty of protein during the transition - because protein can provide sugar via gluconeogenesis. And I would include enough fat to allow your body plenty of material to start running on fat. You don't mention how much protein or fat you are having? I think those are more important to count than calories.

[NaeMo]

You should have at least 2 of your shakes. This happened to me if I didn't have the first shake early enough. If I went back to bed, I would just get weaker and weaker and sleep. After the second time this happened to me, I figured it out. LOL!

You should be all right if you drink your shakes in a timely manner. One every 3-4 hours is what I go with. If you still have problems, you may want to see your doctor.

[mcsblues]

Athenae, welcome from me as well and my 2 cents ... ;)


I have been following most of the plan for one week now, ... my carbs averaged out to <10/day. Yesterday I got a bit busy and only had ~300 calories and <5 carbs

I think you have pretty much answered your own question right there ;) - following "most' of the plan ... only having 300 calories until late in the day ... less than 10 g carbs ...

IMHO you should reread the book and follow it a bit more closely. While your carbs are low (even for 6W) I don't think that is the problem. Give us an example of your 'real' meal. Also your shake recipe including the WPI you use. What sort of extra fats are you adding? 6W is not designed to be an ultra low cal crash diet - it is all about resetting your body (and your eating habits) to get the best health outcome out of the beginning of a lasting low carb plan ... so the details are important ... right? (Like what supplements are you taking?)

Yes, you probably had a hypoglycaemic episode, but if you adopt low carb properly you will find that it resolves any tendency to hypoglycaemia (as many others have found) not the opposite.

So post some menus and recipes - while it isn't specified in 6W I would expect you would be on 1500 cal+ from day one and yes, spaced fairly evenly throughout the day! If your calories are too low and you are getting at least your minimum protein requirements, then add some extra fat to your shakes (coconut milk or heavy cream are good options).

Stick with it, and you will feel MUCH better, and then you can start concentrating on weight loss. Ok?

[Athenae]

Hi and thank you for responding!

I have been averaging ~100g protein and ~45-50g fat. I have been focusing on two shakes a day and two small meat meals; I do two meals instead of one because I can only stomach food in small amounts at a time (~3oz of meat and I'm too full to eat veggies/fruit/drink). My calories were averaging ~800, and I am now bringing them up to 1000-1100 and working up slowly.

Today I added some strawberries and broccoli and spaced out my eating more...feeling much better today.

[laughingW]

Congrats. Sounds like simply a day with not enough energy.