Let me tell you a story. There was a woman once, famous for her hunger. That woman was me. My friends, family and even coworkers all knew about my sudden, unbearable hunger episodes. I wasn’t just hungry, I was close to fainting. I couldn’t do or think about anything else until I have food.
Now here is the twist- I was doing my best to eat healthy, I was counting calories and I wasn’t putting weight.
So you would ask – what was the big deal then? For starters I had to eat every 2 hours. If I didn’t, I would feel dizzy, get a headache and even heart palpitation. After lunchtime, I was feeling completely exhausted. I used to drag myself around the office trying to find hidden stashes of snacks.
I used to have 4 coffees every single day to be able to get any work done. But by the 4th cup of coffee I was starting to feel shaky and would toss and turn at night. And in the mornings? I used to wake up with a sharp feeling of hunger.
I know you are ahead of me: I had low blood sugar levels, unrelated to diabetes. The constant blood sugar dips were causing all the symptoms of uncontrollable food cravings, dizziness and low energy to the point of exhaustion.
Bu let me pause for a moment:
I promised you a book review. You probably want to know: Did “Glucose Revolution” by Jessie Inchauspe change my life? Not entirely (but keep reading to find out what I mean).
Would it change your life? Very likely yes!
The reason why it didn’t change mine is because I started making changes to my eating habits few years before I discovered the brilliant Glucose Goddess Instagram account. I made changes intuitively, purely based on what made me feel better. But I had no explanation or strategy behind what I was doing.
I only realized how the changes I made fixed my low blood sugar problem once I read “Glucose Revolution“.
If you also struggle with low blood sugar unrelated to diabetes, keep reading for the list of changes I made and why they matter as I later discovered in the book.
Back when I was having my hunger crisis episodes, my daily menu was something like this:
Breakfast: milk with prepackaged musli/granola/cereal
Mid morning snack: grapes
Lunch: salad with pasta, dressing, fruits and dried fruits (I love sweet and savory combinations)
Mid afternoon 1st snack: green apple
Afternoon 2nd snack: digestive biscuits from the office pantry or cereal bar and freshly squeezed fruit juice (this one makes me cringe the most)
Dinner: pasta or rice or salad or eating out whatever
After dinner snack in front of the TV: rice cakes or lentil chips or popcorn
Are you thinking: What is the problem with this menu? I wasn’t seeing it either. 80% of the foods were healthy by my understanding back then and I was pretty much within the calorie recommendations.
Let me give you my simplified explanation the way I understood it. (And if you want a real scientist’s fact based explanation then I definitely recommend reading “Glucose revolution”).
Most of the foods I was eating were packed with glucose and many with fructose too. Especially the packaged ones from which I had a lot. Each meal was making my glucose level shoot through the roof, only to crash down in an hour or two. Once it crashed, I was experiencing my famous I-need-to-have-food-right-this-second episodes. It was a viscous cycle that I couldn’t get out of.
What changes did I make:
1. The main one was that I started eating protein with every single meal. And I mean every single one. If you want to know why and what to add, check out: How to get fit by eating more, not less.
2. I started embracing healthy fats in my diet. Why they are important and how limiting them impacted my body and showed up on my face you can read in: My struggle with hormonal acne and how I fixed it for good.
3. I started having veggies 3 times a day (hello fiber)
What changed and why I have stuck with these principles for the past few years now:
1. I went from eating 7-8 times a day to having 4 meals only (sometimes even 3)
2. I only have 2 cups of coffee per day. I just don’t feel a need for more to keep my energy up
3. I sleep like a baby (except when my actual baby wakes me up in the middle of the night but I can’t blame my glucose level for this, can I)
4. I just feel better, have more energy and I am not a victim of the constant need to find and consume snacks
It took me a lot of trial and error to find what worked. I didn’t have a clue at the time that glucose spikes were at the heart of my struggles.
If only there was a book that explains complicated terms in a simple language. And shares useful and easy to remember tips on how to manage glucose levels. You know where I am heading with this one.
Even though I was already intuitively eating for a flat glucose curve at the time, reading “Glucose Revolution” was eye opening for me. The book is totally worth reading for anyone struggling with constant need to snack, uncontrollable cravings, acne prone skin, inability to lose weight despite trying to eat healthier and so much more.
I hope you find it as useful as I did and that it will help you on your journey to better health, lots of energy and less dependency on coffee and sugary processed foods.
Disclaimer: This article describes my personal experience with low blood sugar. I have no medical background and as always you should discuss any drastic changes that might impact your health with your doctor.
