So last school year I increasingly fell apart and was pretty sure I was suffering from some kind of depression. Actually it turns out it's more likely I simply wasn't eating enough.
I've had my blood tested for a thyroid problem and for hypoglycemia, but it came back apparently normal. I'm a 130 pound, 5'11 guy (I lost five pounds last year despite eating more than most people I know), with pretty muscular arms and legs and a visible ribcage when I inhale. I'm pretty active physically, I spend a fair amount of time practicing acrobatics and stuff.
Anyway, maybe I am still "normal" but this totally sucks. These days I find that I literally HAVE to eat something every two and a half hours. I know that's good practice anyway, but the consequences seem a little extreme. At 3 hours since last meal, I get a headache, slow wits, and extreme feelings of guilt, anger, and fear. If I eat something that's primarily carbohydrates, I'll be okay for about 45 minutes, then worse off than I was before.
I'm learning to cook, keeping leftovers from restaurant meals, and making a point to carry high-protein snacks like almonds everywhere. But the low blood suger can appear out of nowhere, seems to come faster when I'm under stress, and requires a lot of planning to manage without relying on expensive foods like the aforementioned almonds.
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Is it likely that I have a psychiatric or medical condition my doctor's missed? Failing that, what can I do long-term to get my body to a point where It doesn't go into panic mode every three hours? Does anyone have any advice for coping with this in the short-term?
The hunger... the hunger
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I don't think I had any especially comprehensive testing, though I couldn't say for sure. All I know is that my blood came up "normal," and specifically no evidence of thyroid or blood sugar problems.
This summer I worked on a farm in rural Vermont and had to buy form an organic co-op, spending like $9 a pound on almonds, which, fortunately, I was able to make my employer reimburse. After that my mom bought me a couple bags form the local grocery, I don't remember the price.
Once those run out and I have to buy my own, I'll be able to tell you what they cost from the stores I have access to in Chicago.
This summer I worked on a farm in rural Vermont and had to buy form an organic co-op, spending like $9 a pound on almonds, which, fortunately, I was able to make my employer reimburse. After that my mom bought me a couple bags form the local grocery, I don't remember the price.
Once those run out and I have to buy my own, I'll be able to tell you what they cost from the stores I have access to in Chicago.
I suppose it's possible that you're diabetic, I don't know if that shows up on a blood test.
and definitely try to find a cheap place that sells almonds in bulk. You probably have a Whole Foods by you. Stay away from it. The food's great and all, but it's obscenely expensive. Try to find a winco or the like.
and definitely try to find a cheap place that sells almonds in bulk. You probably have a Whole Foods by you. Stay away from it. The food's great and all, but it's obscenely expensive. Try to find a winco or the like.
Diabetes shows up on blood and urine tests.
I used to have to eat that much. Frank can prolly attest to how much I could put away... Though since I've moved to the suburbs, and gotten older (and other things) my metabolism has crashed.
Just be happy you can eat, and eat. It's taken me years to turn down the hunger to the point that it matches my current expenditure of calories and metabolism. So I've spent a few hungry years where anything would go to my tummy ;-;
-Crissa
I used to have to eat that much. Frank can prolly attest to how much I could put away... Though since I've moved to the suburbs, and gotten older (and other things) my metabolism has crashed.
Just be happy you can eat, and eat. It's taken me years to turn down the hunger to the point that it matches my current expenditure of calories and metabolism. So I've spent a few hungry years where anything would go to my tummy ;-;
-Crissa
Last edited by Crissa on Sun Sep 27, 2009 10:52 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Same, Crissa. I used to be able to eat anything and everything (and won a pancake challenge), and my doctor was worried I was anorexic from my appearance. Then I started eating less when under stress, and my friends would joke that I was anorexic, and now... now my BMI puts me on the cusp of average/healthy and overweight and it's a battle between my hunger and my desire to not become immensely fat.
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The deal with almonds is that a few years ago, a few were contaminated with salmonella, so almonds now must be pasteurized before you eat them. Price is determined by whether they're actually raw (you can only get them from a farm this way), whether they're organic, and what store you're shopping at.
They're a fairly pricey protein, though, coming in around $3 per pound when they're cheap (you can buy a 3 pound bag at someplace like Costco for about $10). If you're willing to spend that much, I might consider dropping a dollar or two more on walnuts - they have the added benefit of omega3s, which are just awesome. But seeds - sunflower, pepitas, etc -tend to be cheaper while also having protein in them... Pepitas, unlike many other nuts and seeds, have more protein than carbohydrate in them which makes them a bit more stabilizing and long-lasting.
They're a fairly pricey protein, though, coming in around $3 per pound when they're cheap (you can buy a 3 pound bag at someplace like Costco for about $10). If you're willing to spend that much, I might consider dropping a dollar or two more on walnuts - they have the added benefit of omega3s, which are just awesome. But seeds - sunflower, pepitas, etc -tend to be cheaper while also having protein in them... Pepitas, unlike many other nuts and seeds, have more protein than carbohydrate in them which makes them a bit more stabilizing and long-lasting.
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I'm the same way most of the time, though mostly its just sudden explosive hunger when I don't make sure to keep myself fed more or less constantly and less emotional response(though there is a little of that). Three things are likely to blame; A: You've gotten your body used to constant intake, which is good for you, if you can fit it into your life and budget, B: You're highly active and your activity is high impact. Body weight exercises, acrobatics, gymnastics, anything frenetic that focuses on moving lots of the body within the context of a single exercise, and C: Stress. Stress makes everything worse.
I suggest replacing some of your workouts with Yoga and/or Tai Chi. It will cause your stress levels to plummet, and lessen the amount of metabolism boosting exercise you do. After you've done that for a while slowly ween yourself off of constant intake, which you should be craving less strongly anyway. I'm still in the same boat you are, but my best friend did what I described and it worked swimmingly for him; I often joke with him about how little and how rarely he eats, "working hard to kick that calorie addiction, eh?", while managing to stay so healthy in spite of Lymes disease.
I suggest replacing some of your workouts with Yoga and/or Tai Chi. It will cause your stress levels to plummet, and lessen the amount of metabolism boosting exercise you do. After you've done that for a while slowly ween yourself off of constant intake, which you should be craving less strongly anyway. I'm still in the same boat you are, but my best friend did what I described and it worked swimmingly for him; I often joke with him about how little and how rarely he eats, "working hard to kick that calorie addiction, eh?", while managing to stay so healthy in spite of Lymes disease.
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So I've taken to purloining food from the dining hall, bringing peanuts everywhere, and accepted being five minutes late to my second class so I can get something from the cafe.
I suppose I really ought to take up Yoga -- right now I'm doing several varieties of dance, weights, and acrobatics.
I'm living with the hunger pretty well but can't shake the feeling that it's abnormal or a bad sign. Some of my friends said false negatives on tests for thyroid condition are pretty common and I should consider getting retested.
I suppose I really ought to take up Yoga -- right now I'm doing several varieties of dance, weights, and acrobatics.
I'm living with the hunger pretty well but can't shake the feeling that it's abnormal or a bad sign. Some of my friends said false negatives on tests for thyroid condition are pretty common and I should consider getting retested.
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Judging__Eagle
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If you can get hemp hearts, In Canada they're available, and I buy them at a few places, my local bulk foods store (Bulk Barn specifically); and in their proper plastic containers (with all of their nutrional information).
Specificially this product.
The Bulk Place buys cases or pallets of stuff; then opens a few of those plastic containers into each of the bins that they used. Most other stores just sell each 1lb container at about 12.50-15.00$ CDN (aka. 1 for 15$; 2 for 25$).
Ordering a case of 9 online is about 108$ USD. So, the online places are charging about 12 per 1lb container. But you're obviously buying 9 of these, so saving 4.50 might not be that big of a deal, but then again, if you plan on eating it for a long time, and you have the space to stow the containers, then it's not a bad idea to do.
In any case, hemp hearts are pretty expensive (about twice the cost of peanuts x_x); but they're very flavour neutral, so you can add them to pretty much everything you eat, and get about 50 grams (at most) per day (at that rate, 1lb (454 g) will last 9 days; so you buy about 3 a month, at most. Usually I eat an average of 10-20 every day, but not every day. So your consumption will go down over time, as your body fills up on what the hemp hearts provide a lot of (Omega 3, 6, 9 make up about 40% of the Hempheart's mass; Protien makes up about 40% as well; given how beef has about 20% protien of mass, it's easy to see why you will crave hemp hearts, when we really don't get a lot of protien, unless you are seriously eating meat every day (I can't do that, I just get sick after a while; I like some meat in my diet, but not all the time.
A brief rundown of the 'list' of benefits of these things over other foods is as follows:
You probably need lots of slow-burn foods. Whole grain bread has a lot more complex carbs, and has protien as well.
Peanuts, Tofu, Brown Rice, and other whole grain stuff like say pasta, are all slow-burn foods. They either have protien, or slow-burn carbs.
Don't neglect water, and fresh fruit/vegetables when eating this stuff though; this diet is lower in salt, so you might not feel thirsty, but you will need water.
You can still eat other stuff. You just shouldn't eat it all the time. I eat meat at some meals, but usually, it's in a pasta sauce, or in a sandwich (and honestly, there are some days that there is no meat at all in the fridge; so my whole family is like this). Some days I don't eat anything non-vegan (no meat, eggs, dairy), some days I barbeque three steaks for me and two other people for lunch.
Honestly, you sound pretty skinny. I'm 5'11", and I'm still able to see my ribs if I expand my ribcage, and I vary between 150-160 (average 155) throughout the course of a month.
If you wanted to put on more weight, you could do something like bring some peanuts, and eat them at every meal, or something. I heard of a guy who was using chocolate syrup; peanuts is much more sensible, and less likely to be disgusting in the long run.
Specificially this product.
The Bulk Place buys cases or pallets of stuff; then opens a few of those plastic containers into each of the bins that they used. Most other stores just sell each 1lb container at about 12.50-15.00$ CDN (aka. 1 for 15$; 2 for 25$).
Ordering a case of 9 online is about 108$ USD. So, the online places are charging about 12 per 1lb container. But you're obviously buying 9 of these, so saving 4.50 might not be that big of a deal, but then again, if you plan on eating it for a long time, and you have the space to stow the containers, then it's not a bad idea to do.
In any case, hemp hearts are pretty expensive (about twice the cost of peanuts x_x); but they're very flavour neutral, so you can add them to pretty much everything you eat, and get about 50 grams (at most) per day (at that rate, 1lb (454 g) will last 9 days; so you buy about 3 a month, at most. Usually I eat an average of 10-20 every day, but not every day. So your consumption will go down over time, as your body fills up on what the hemp hearts provide a lot of (Omega 3, 6, 9 make up about 40% of the Hempheart's mass; Protien makes up about 40% as well; given how beef has about 20% protien of mass, it's easy to see why you will crave hemp hearts, when we really don't get a lot of protien, unless you are seriously eating meat every day (I can't do that, I just get sick after a while; I like some meat in my diet, but not all the time.
A brief rundown of the 'list' of benefits of these things over other foods is as follows:
If you can get them, they're awesome. If you can't, there's still other things. Peanuts, Tofu, Brown Rice, whole grain bread.Hemp Hearts in comparison with other foods:
* Contains more required amino acids (proteins) than milk, meat or eggs.
* Is a complete protein rich source, much more balanced and digestible than Soy products.
* Contains about 47% oil, 78% of which is omega 3 and 6 , the essential fats.
* Has all the essential or omega fats required for human health.
* Contains several times more omega 3 essential fat than any fish.
* Provides more energy than energy bars, without their sugar and with much less saturated fat.
* They are suitable for those unable to eat gluten, sugar, nuts, and meat.
* Excellent for those troubled with constipation.
* Perfect for those avoiding carbohydrates.
* A 42 g serving (4 tbsp) contains 240 calorie energy from 15 g protein,15 g polyunsaturated fats (11.4 g omega 6 and 3.6 g omega 3), 2.7 g mono-unsaturated fats, 2.1 g saturated fats, 2.5 g fiber, 4.5 g carbohydrates,
2 mg iron, 31 mg calcium, 3.8 mg sodium, 3.8 mg vitamin E, 956 IU vitamin D, .42 mg vitamin C, .05 mg B6, .58 mg vitamin B1, 1.6 IU vitamin A.
You probably need lots of slow-burn foods. Whole grain bread has a lot more complex carbs, and has protien as well.
Peanuts, Tofu, Brown Rice, and other whole grain stuff like say pasta, are all slow-burn foods. They either have protien, or slow-burn carbs.
Don't neglect water, and fresh fruit/vegetables when eating this stuff though; this diet is lower in salt, so you might not feel thirsty, but you will need water.
You can still eat other stuff. You just shouldn't eat it all the time. I eat meat at some meals, but usually, it's in a pasta sauce, or in a sandwich (and honestly, there are some days that there is no meat at all in the fridge; so my whole family is like this). Some days I don't eat anything non-vegan (no meat, eggs, dairy), some days I barbeque three steaks for me and two other people for lunch.
Honestly, you sound pretty skinny. I'm 5'11", and I'm still able to see my ribs if I expand my ribcage, and I vary between 150-160 (average 155) throughout the course of a month.
If you wanted to put on more weight, you could do something like bring some peanuts, and eat them at every meal, or something. I heard of a guy who was using chocolate syrup; peanuts is much more sensible, and less likely to be disgusting in the long run.
Last edited by Judging__Eagle on Sat Oct 03, 2009 7:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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