Hypo Rules

When I was first sentenced to this diet the rules made me very upset. (That's partially because I'm a control freak, and partially because I'm bossy.) It's gotten easier to listen and follow directions, but these are some important (and some bullshit) rules to follow.

I finally believe that the doctors who made up these rules weren't doing it to torment me. For awhile though it did feel like an evil joke.

#1) No sugar... never ever ever. 
 For me, moderation is key. I can handle a small piece of dessert when I'm at dinner at someone's house, BUT I need to make sure I have a snack about 2 hours later because it does affect me. I've also found that different sugars effect me differently. I can tolerate maple syrup better than I can a cookie, but I still use artificial sweeteners when possible.

#2) No alcohol. 
Wine and beer are a big no, but Vodka and I are still BFFs. I've personally taken measurements of my blood sugars throughout evenings of drinking (for scientific purposes only) and found minimal changes with highly distilled liquor. I'm not going to encourage binge drinking, but occasional drinks with friends haven't caused me issues. Pay attention to what you are mixing together and the possible sugar content of what you could order at a restaurant. Also, a huge helper here is a snack. I find that having something as simple as cheese and crackers helps tremendously.

#3) No caffeine. 
LOL, yeah right. The reasoning behind this is because caffeine intolerance can exaggerate or mimic symptoms of hypoglycemia. I haven't found much of a difference, but I am also careful not to over do it.

#4) No white at night.
This is a hard one to follow sometimes.White bread, white pasta, white potatoes...all those things are delicious, but they lead to crashes for me. I can generally get away with it for lunch, but I need to make sure I have a snack about 2 hours later. It's much better to stick with the more complex forms of carbohydrates such as whole grains breads and oats throughout the whole day.

#5) Eat on schedule.
This does make a difference. Now, my weekend schedule is much different from my work day schedule, but the a schedule is still important. It's not so much the time of day, as the time between meals. This takes planning, and carrying snacks is important. My doctor suggests those crackers with peanut butter, but there are a lot of options out there.

#6) Get your fiber.
At least once a day eat a veggie that is high in fiber. This is easy enough to do, but hard for me to remember. High fiber veggies you should include are celery, cabbage, lettuce, broccoli and cauliflower.

So there you have it... the hypo rules I was given and the rules that I use to guide my eating choices everyday. 
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