I’m not eating between meals and I’m not taking seconds. Just Today.e And I’ll try this for a year to see what happens.
If you’re trying to control your weight and haven’t found a permanent solution that works for you, try this experiment for yourself. Try it for just today to see how it works.
I think you’ll be impressed.
18 Comments
Just for today I’m not eating between meals, although I’ve about decided that I’m a four-meals-a-day person. I eat supper early, like around 5 or 5:30 p.m., so I’m really hungry before bedtime, and I don’t sleep as well if I go to bed hungry. (A fact that millions of children in the world know a whole lot better than I ever have.)
What you might want to consider is eating a small meal in the mid-afternoon so that you can eat dinner closer to 7:30 or 8. They say that you shouldn’t eat within 2 hours of going to bed. It’s true for a lot of reasons.
And I’m wondering if now that we know how we grow while we sleep & we create cholesterol while we sleep if we pull calories out of fat while we sleep. If that’s the case, going to bed a little hungry might make it more likely for us to burn fat.
Because I’m going to bed really hungry & I’m losing weight like crazy.
I should mention that I’m starving right now. And it’s only 11:15. I’m going to hang in until 12 or 12:30. But, wow. shudder.
(just so you know I am not the magically strong katiebird)
Thanks for the good suggestion. On many days I could do that.
Also, on the day’s when you eat that mid-afternoon meal, you probably shouldn’t eat until 7:30 or 8. Meals are much better when you are hungry. And eating again at 5 or 5:30 is probably to soon to be hungry enough.
What do you all think about drinking orange or other fruit juice at night? I started making my breakfast orange juice because I just can’t stand to wake up and eat.
But lately I have been having it occasionally at night, if I have eaten a lot during the day. But does juice also fall under the nothing for 2-3 hours before you go to bed rule?
In the early 1990s I drank so much orange juice, I came close to destroying my stomach with the acid. I can’t drink it at all anymore for the pain.
Kb, your orange juice consumption reminds me of how for much of my pregnancy about the only thing I could keep down were bananas. To this day, my son loathes them, and I tell him that’s why.
Ha! I just happened to mention to my mom how I can’t stand the sound of a vacuum cleaner. And she said that the sound used to put me to sleep, so she ran it all the time when I was a baby. Isn’t that weird?
I wish I loathed orange juice. I still love the flavor. It’s the acid, my stomach goes crazy if I drink it now.
My mother, who was diabetic, would keep a very small glass of OJ by her bedside at night in case she woke up with a sugar low or insulin high whichever it is.
Drink OJ before bed? I don’t think so. That will leave you with a pile of sugar in you system screaming for insulin. That doesn’t sound very restful.
Have you seen a nutrionist yet for help in getting stabilized on a diabetic diet? We can suggest a lot of stuff, but everyone is different and everyone’s metabolism is different and I feel like I’m seeing a lot in your writing about what you’re eating that is sending a lot of red flags (relating to what my mother went through to get stable). I’d love for you to find a professional nutritionist to help you get started.
I don’t mean to be nosey….I’m concerned….red flags…
Me? Redflags? I go through diabetes education every year (almost) just to get up to date.
And like I said, I haven’t had orange juice for over 10 years. I just meant I love the flavor. Juice is out for me because of the sugar. And I don’t really regret it.
What other red flags? I haven’t caught my sugars above 140 even right after a meal in over 2 years.
And, 1/2 hour after eating, my blood sugar is 84. (what have I said?)
No, No!! Red Flags belong to Ductape Fatwa. Sorry, KB. I should have prefaced my comment with {{Ductapefatwa}} to be clear. Now I wish I had that [edit] option on comments.
Oh, Ductape. Sorry Puget4 — I missed Ductapes comment.
Ductape, Puget4 is right, juice right before bed (unless you are having a very low sugar thing going on) is not a good idea. And does break the 3 hour rule.
A couple of ounces of juice is a good way to boost a dangerously low blood sugar, but it does the same thing if it isn’t dangerously low. And who needs that?
Half an orange or apple is better, because the fiber boosts the effectiveness of your insulin and helps get rid of the carbs. You don’t get that boost with juice.
And (jumping into someone else’s business) I know that Ductape has been in close contact with Diabetes specialists. And been reading and absorbing a lot of new and alien information. I also remember that it took months before the medication really kicked in and kept my sugars at a reasonable level.
And he is going into this with no honeymoon period. He’s right to make the changes as he can, in ways he can live with. We can’t completely cut carbohydrates as we can cholesterol. They’re too basic and important to our diet.
So we have to conduct these little experiements to understand the effects of certain foods and amounts in our own systems.
I think he’s doing a very good job. But I would be interested in hearing what are the red flags. Because, all of us could do better.
Did it take months for you? That meakes me feel better. I have begun to see a bit of effect but I still am in that stage where I feel that the only way to be sure to keep them down is to not eat.
But now that I have gotten to 80s and 90s in the morning, I can’t do that.
Thanks for dashing my hopes about my evening orange juice.
I will switch to an orange instead. OK, half an orange. Poo.
And no, I have not seen a nutritionist. It is on the list. After the podriatist, the dermatologist and the opthalmologist, and probably, at some point, the dreaded neurologist.
A nutitionist is just going to give me some menu thing about melba toast and unsweetened fat free yogurt with spelt flakes in it, and broiled salmon and broccoli. I have to learn ways to eat things I will actually eat. I am already struggling with the urge to skip meals because the meal is not going to involve chicken korma and black forest cake. Spelt flakes and salmon will not diminish this urge.
You all are my nutritionists and the internets are my education class, at least for the moment.
Actually, the nutritionists have a little gem or two that can be helpful (although if you’ve read the kind of stuff I’ve read — and I think you have — you’ve probably picked up a lot of it already).
Things like:
* Fiber. Normally after eating a meal, your blood sugar rises rapidly. But when you eat a meal containing soluble fiber, your blood sugar rises more slowly. You may not need as much insulin. Oats, barley, fruits and vegetables contain soluble fiber.
Insoluble fiber provides bulk or roughage to your diet, but you don’t digest it. Insoluble fiber has little effect on how rapidly your blood sugar rises after eating. Wheat bran and the skins of fruits and vegetables are sources of insoluble fiber.
(From the Mayo Clinic) – This means if you have a lot of fiber in your meal, your sugars don’t go up as much.
**And that drinking a lot (a liter or two) can bring your blood sugar down FAST if you think it’s too high.
**And that exercising after eating will also bring it down (unless it’s really too high, then the water is better).
**And how many grams of Carbs are ok in a meal (15 is a serving, 30 to 45 grams in a meal — and really they say 30, but I’ve never been able to stick at that)
**And they show you little models of food to give you an idea of serving size. And tell you things like a cup is about the size of your fist and a serving of cheese is about the size of your thumb from the tip to the knuckle (of course they don’t take into account my tiny hands).
Stuff like that — a visit or two is good, but you really can pick it up here probably.
I hated every nutritionist I’ve ever talked to. One of them a gigantic woman –well over 6 feet tall and weighing easily 300 pounds (I know tall people have a right to weight problems too. But it seems unfair) gave me a lecture about how horrible it is for regular people to live near large families. That the children of large families are out of control and dangerous to know. This was her response when I told her I was the oldest of 8 kids. I let her go on (I was so shocked) for 5 minutes, then I got up, walked out and never went back.
Have I babbled long enough?
You do not babble nearly enough katiebird. I will show you babbling. Watch and learn.
I got all excited at the drink a liter or two part, but then I realized you were not talking about Clos de Vougeout.
But I do tend to not drink enough fluids, since the fluid is no longer coca-cola, and now sadly, no longer even the humble orange juice, so I will make an effort to increase my water consumption.
Regarding exercise, the other day I read a medical study that found that laughter gives the same cardio vascular benefit as exercise.
You can imagine how delighted I am to hear that! And it also explains why I have not had cardio vascular problems, despite my diet and fitness counselor’s worst nightmare lifestyle.
I will look up the study and post it here, for the pleasure and relief of all.
I am devastated to learn what is considered a serving of cheese. I am a serial offender in cheese serving. It is so good with olives, which I suppose are bad, because no one ever talks about them. I consider them a vegetable.
And it always seems to come back to vegetables. Soluble fiber. Vegetables. Fewer carbs. Vegetables. Potatoes do not count. Corn does not count. Peas, PEAS, do not count. For God’s sake, peas are GREEN! Rice, the staple starch of the diet of billions, including me, does not count.
I had so hoped that the “9 servings of fruits and vegetables” requirement could be fulfilled with orange juice.
I shudder to think what a nutritionist would say to me, most likely they would run screaming from the room even before I did.