beejay10

Thank you for your response! Your suggestion is working so far. Even though I don't feel hungry between 3:00 and 4:00, I've been eating a cup full of protein & fat (some tuna or chicken salad, usually) and this prevents the blood sugar crash. It still feels odd to make myself eat when I don't want to, but I guess there are worse problems to have.

Looking for some help theorizing about why I go from zero to blood sugar crisis mode in the late afternoons. I've tried eating a bigger lunch, but after a sweet potato + chicken or tuna with mayo + broccoli (or some other version of a perfectly Whole30 lunch plate) between 11:30 and 1:00, I'm so full I don't even think about snacks or want food ... until I'm driving home at 4:30pm and feel a sudden blood sugar drop that makes it hard for me to even think straight, much less calmly get dinner on the table for everyone. Should I set a timer and force myself to eat a snack around 3:00 or 3:30, and if so, what should it be? Eating when I don't FEEL hungry seems silly, but clearly my body is in the process of GETTING hungry without sending my brain any signals. The crisis mode is awful and puts my willpower to scary daily tests.

We drink gallons of seltzer/carbonated water, so I was worried when I saw this headline ("Is Seltzer Harming Your Teeth?), but as the article says, although it's not clear how much it may actually harm enamel, it's definitely way better than soda and other sugary or acidic drinks. The tips at the end of the article are helpful: e.g., don't brush right after drinking seltzer, and try not to drink too much of it without food. We're not giving it up!

I remember learning somewhere that body fat retains estrogen. Maybe as we draw energy from our fat stores, estrogen levels decrease -- or at least fluctuate and need time to rebalance (or find a better balance than before)? Leslie Beard's story about her friend, above, is hopeful.