Okay - so I am taking out all chocolate, fats, salts etc out of my diet. I wrk shift work - many of you have heard me complaining about not getting my breaks when I need them. Recently I have been avoiding hypos by eating chocolate bars while on shift.
Today I had a hypo, so had to have the glucose tablets. What other things can I have at work, which I can sneak in my pocket to eat while on shift should I not get a break?
Rebekah, if you are doing low-carb, you don’t need to cut out all fats. In fact, you can replace some of the carbs with extra fat and maintain better BG. Except for trans fats, fat is much better for you than carbohydrates. I eat a pretty high fat diet, which stops me from feeling hungry and helps keep my BG very steady, no major ups and downs.
Hello! my dad and brother ride bikes all the time. And they gave me some gu its like liquid and its carbs are only25. They come in different kinds. its a energy gel. So far i had vannilla and i have tri berry also. Take care diabeticidol94
those little tubes of cake gel are pretty popular with a lot of people. just go down into the baking isle of any grocery store to the cake decorating stuff and pick up a few tubes. they’re nicely poceket sized which works well for carrying around a tube or two in a pocket or purse.
How are fats better than carbs?
Eating a balanced diet that includes enough of both is best.
I like Kashi TLC granola bars because I can tear a piece off and sneak it subtly when necessary. The wrappers are quiet and they’re high in protein, fiber, and good fats. Each is around 19g of carb. I found they were good for me during workouts at the gym and easy to carry.
Jelly beans also work well in a pinch because they keep for a long time and each jelly bean is usually 1g. You can buy them in bulk, and if you’re like me and a chocolate freak, jelly beans aren’t the type of thing you’ll binge on if you have a bunch of them around.
I use hard candies for lows. 3 regular peppermints are 15 carbs. For quick portable snacks, I like the packs of PB crackers, Nature Valley Crunchy granola bars, and the packs of 100 calorie cookies/crackers which mostly seem to be 14-17 carbs, depending on the type/brand. To add a little protein, I’ll eat a string cheese. I’ve carried them around for several hours before eating them, and they don’t go bad or anything. Just make sure they’re refrigerated if you end up not eating them. Cheese is more flavorful and is supposed to be served at room temp anyway. If you can eat an apple or pear, that’s a good choice too. The fiber modulates carb absorption.
I love chocolate too. I used to try and buy the bags of minis/snack size, but I’d end up eating half the bag, completely defeating the purpose. Now I buy regular sized chocolate bars. I keep them in the fridge, and I have one maybe once a week. There was a time when I wouldn’t have been able to even manage that - I would’ve eaten however many I had all in one sitting - but now I’m able to just have my one treat and be satisfied.
I eat a low carb diet to control my BG. Since I am not trying to lose weight, I need to replace the carb calories with either fat or protein. I find that a higher fat diet is the best way for me to maintain BG in the normal range.
I gave up juice boxes a couple years ago (not very portable) for raisins. My grocery store has them in a small box 33g carb, and a super small box that I haven’t tried. I like Kashi TLC granola bars too! Either lets you have a little or a lot, and eat the rest later.
I always carry a package or two of cheese (or peanut butter) and crackers with me. Have about 22 or 23 carbs in a package of 6. Works pretty good.
I love those. I have been eating them all week. LOL
Kashi can be hit or miss. For instance, for me, the dry cereal is like squirrel food (hubby loves it though). But the granola bars (crunchy or chewy), the soft cookies, and the crackers are delicious (best granola bars EVER). The hot cereal is passable, as are the frozen dinners and the nutragrain type bars. But I wouldn’t give up on Kashi yet - high fiber, high protein, good fats. I’m admittedly a Kashi convert since I met my husband.
They have different kinds of cereal. I buy the Go Lean Crunch with flax, and it’s really good.
Snickers Marathon Bars If you can find these, they are great. This website has nutrition info on them… Fairly low in carbs for a snack bar, high in fiber, vitamins and protien. The Kashi bars and South Beach bars are good as well, but I find the Snickers better because they are not full of sugar alcohols like the South Beach bars. The Dark Chocolate Crunch Nutrition bar and the Chewy Choc peanut energy bar are my favs! I eat them at work all the time.
I keep Skittles on me. They don’t smush or melt like M&Ms or spill like juice. And they don’t have the texture of chalk (GlucoTabs), and you don’t look weird for eating them…like with a tube of frosting, which I have also considered but decided against because of the addiction factor and because once they’re open, they’re open. I can twist the Skittles bag shut and not worry too much about them escaping into my purse/pocket/desk drawer. If they do, I still eat them because I really don’t mind being a little gross.
I take a berry smoothie with me to work, made with almond milk. I have it in a nalgene bottle and find it’s really easy to get a quick carb infusion (about 10g) when I don’t have time to eat.
I don’t know if any of you have tried the “Extend” brand items. They have bars and “chips” (which are really more like popcorn cakes). Low carbs, supposed to help keep blood sugars under control for up to 9 hours.
Both come in various flavors, including peanut butter, chocolate, apple cinnamon, and others. Most of them are really good. A couple of them I didn’t care for, but that may have just been my personal preference.
The Detour Bars are great! They are 16g of carb with 2g of dietary fiber and 15g of protein. They taste great. I buy them by the case and use them for quick snacks at work.
I often use skittles to treat my low blood sugars. Because I can buy them anywhere and they seem to be a simple sugar that breaks down quick… Althought chocolate bars are delicious they are a bit complex to us for treating a low Blood Sugar. Good Luck