I was getting these really bad hunger attacks since being on prednisone. I assume it is an insulin problem. Have had glucose checked and everything is fine. Since going on very low carbs (about 9 weeks) I have been getting less of these attacks. Yesterday I had a rare attack of hunger and shaking . I decided to try a eating a few more carbs and a little sugar without going overboard on them. Too my surprise everything settled down. Today I am back to low carbs and am having no problems with hunger. Hope this holds for awhile. I checked my sugar level just to make sure and it was normal.
Interesting. Any thoughts?
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Linny3
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As per advice from my daughter, when you eat carbs, have protein at the same time. At one point there was a diabetic on our family, my stepmother's final husband, and he would keep something with sugar in it on hand in case he experienced feelings like you describe. it is something to do with insulin and sugar spikes, and I suppose pred can cause these unpredictable sugar spikes or collapses, even when we aren't actually diabetic. I know I've had instances of feeling really shaky and needing to eat something to recover. I've also had similar sensations if I eat breakfast then don't move around at all - used to happen in church. So now I eat less before heading to church (not that often I confess) and make sure I've had even a little exercise, and it doesn't happen any more. So, who knows why these things happen?
Cravings are usually in response to a low blood sugar level, often after having eaten something fairly carby and inducing insulin release, particularly I suspect these days when there is a lot of artificial sweetner as well which makes it very sweet and the body is conditioned to expect lots of sugar so it pumps out lots of insulin. The insulin makes the blood sugar fall to too low a level - and you crave sugar/carbs to get the blood sugar level back where it should be. It tends to result in a roller coaster pattern. Eating low carb should make it better.
Pred causes the liver to release random spikes of glucose into the bloodstream - and they will trigger release of insulin too, and cause the overshoot. Low blood sugar causes the effects you describe. That may be what happened. But it is impossible to know for sure.
I find the more slack I am with my low carb/sugar/salt diet, the more cravings I get. If I stick to the (loose) plan, my body seems to adjust and not have as many cravings. Ate more carbs for about 3 months, didn’t gain back any of the 30 pounds I lost, but just didn’t feel as good.
Monday I start a 10 day online group my daughter is running totally eliminating refined sugar, white starches and processed foods in general. It’s only meant to be followed for a short duration, but I am hoping it will spur me to get back on track. Now that summer is here I devour a big salad and grilled protein of some sort, often. Yum! I also find full fat Greek yoghurt very filling, satisfying and long lasting.
I’m sending you good vibes as you navigate the world of food while on pred. The fine folks on here steered me to some great resources and recipes.
Make sure you drink more , inflammation and medication causes alot more dehydration.
Often internal dehydration gives off confused signals and we think we are very hungry when it's actually fluids we need.
When you are hungry and it isn't a meal or snack time drink a cool drink in sips or a cup of tea first before heading for the cupboard , you will be surprised how often your hunger is quenched or at least reduces.
Having smaller meals but more portions in a day can help .
Prepare healthy high protein or slow burning snacks into little portions in tubs so you find it easier to grab them instead of high carb processed foods.
Try boiled eggs , rolls of chicken or low salt ham , veggie sticks and hummus or yoghurt based dip, fresh roasted nuts like almonds , Brazil's and hazelnuts often eating foods that take more work to eat as well as digest stave off hunger.
I wrote a post with a link to a kale chip recipe which are suprisingly good recently you could try them if you miss something crispy.
Making a good homemade vegetable soup and keeping it in the fridge helps too. Then you can just quickly heat it in a mug in the microwave . It's packed with nutrients and the process of eating it fills you up and stages the hunger.
If you have a sweet tooth , try making mini portions of jelly , have probiotic yoghurt with nuts and fruit, use frozen fruits with some yoghurt in a blender and it makes an ice cream.
Don't drink diet sodas or drinks , as they can make you feel hungrier . It is because the sweeteners convince the stomach to expect food , then when you don't deliver it craves food and makes you feel hungrier.
The same is true of alot of the low sugar foods or sugar substitute.
A little bit of local or Manuka honey ( which is also good for the immune system) or natural Stevia or vanilla can sweeten with less sugar content but the full sweet taste in desserts.
If you really want a chocolate or sweet fix , don't put it off or feel guilty though , as long as its the odd treat enjoy it, because you deserve it and often the craving makes eating healthier more difficult , or you end up eating alot of unsatisfying substitutes and then give up and eat what you wanted anyway which defeats the purpose.
Just keep experimenting and you will get the right balance for you
As I have said before , Let them eat Kale and the occasional slice of cake xx
Do you have a hungry time. No matter what I have for breakfast I get acutely hungry around 11:30 every day. So I have a normal but early lunch. I can then go right though to evening without getting hungry again. I also crave a sweet at lunch time but at no other time of the day. So I have something small like a yoghurt with a teaspoon of honey or a small cake or biscuit. It is only once a day after all. I reckon it is something to do with the absorption of the Pred that I take around 8 am. I didn't diet but ate carefully. I didn't use salt prior to pred. I only put 2 kilo on but it looked like more because the wobbly pred fat is water mostly. At 3.5mg the weight is dropping off without worrying too much about what I eat.
I also used to have (pre low-carb diet) frequent episodes of low blood sugar. My son is a type 1 diabetic, and I was concerned that low blood sugar = diabetes. But not so, my doctor says.
I make hummus on a weekly basis and keep it in the fridge with cut-up celery for when I get hungry between meals. It’s good for you, has protein in it, and satisfies my need for something crunchy.
My sister and her daughter get low blood sugar and have to get food inside them. They look like they are going to faint. I have to diabetes and if I don't want food at all I know my blood sugar dropping. I want food or feel ravenous I know my blood sugar is on the high side.
Was on just diet and exercise since diagnosis, but since taking Preds know that my blood sugars have raised - I don't test since the NHS have taken diabetes control away from Type 2s ( no testing strips or testing supplied).
Am long overdue an HaB1c which will probably change my game.
I often keep a bar of 85% dark chocolate in the cupboard. A small piece of this, I find satisfactory. Sometimes I splurge and have it with a sugarless piece of shortbread or sugarless oatmeal biscuit. I steer clear of sugar as I have found that it is the worst thing I can eat. It has caused a serious flare up.
"sugarless piece of shortbread or sugarless oatmeal biscuit" still very carby which then breaks down into sugars in the body.
Though eating an oatmeal biscuit with cheese last thing at night is a trick that some people with Type 2 diabetes use to stop their morning blood sugars from being raised (the cheese slows down the absorption of the sugars in the oatcake)
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