[TemporalAgt]

Hey, I'm pretty new to being a diabetic and I have a question. I hear a lot of talk about "eat to your meter". What does that actually mean. Does it mean you should wait to eat until your bgl falls to a normal number, then eat? Or is it that you eat and change until your bgl stay within normal ranges. or both? Thanks

 

[naynay]

Welcome to the forum TemporalAgt! You have come to the right place for understanding on all things "living la vida low carb"! HAHAHA
Eating to your meter means you test your bg's before you eat, and then test one hour and at two hours after you eat to see how the food you ate affected your bg's (blood glucose). If you have a high spike in numbers from preprandial to postprandial, then you know that the food you ate spikes your blood glucose level quickly. Therefore, you can avoid eating that type of food until you are better under control and add it back in slowly. It does require alot of poking of fingers, and they will get sore and perhaps build up a callus on the sides, but it is well worth it to know what works well with your body and what doesn't. Every diabetic is different as far as what they can eat and not eat, so eating to your meter is your best weapon to finding what works for you personally.
If you have any other questions, just ask. Someone on these forums will answer your question, and trust me, you will learn alot about being a Type 2 diabetic here. Most observe a low carb/high fat diet and has had great success with it. I have recently adopted this lifestyle of eating, and it is working for me as well. Let us know what you are doing to help your Type 2, and what your numbers look like. Many great people here who have wonderful words of wisdom to live by.

Again, welcome to our family!

 

[jwags]

In the beginning when you start to test your bgs may be quite high and almost everything may cause a spike. Do before meal and 2 hours after readings. Look at the different, that is your bg spike. Eventually you are aiming for 120-140 or lower. So you experiment with the carb portion, the fat portion and the protien portion. Usually as you decrease your carbs you will want to increase your fat. You may have to test the same meal a lot of times before you start to see consistent results. You may also see the same meal may affect bgs differently at different times of the day. It is a lot of trial error. By using this method I have eliminated certain food groups from my diet like bread, crackers, most fruit and of course sugar.

 

[TemporalAgt]

Thank for the information. I've been trying to do that and I have made some progress in that are below is last weeks numbers

fbgl afterbr belunch aflnch bedin aftdinn
190 177 290
211 189 209 193
239 185 176 198 135 207
228 197 226 197 130 183
165 152 139 141 108 159
172 169 133 114 119 169
163 127 113 110 111 132
128 138 129 122 148
151 145 132

Considering what they were at this looks like good progress.

 

[naynay]

Thank for the information. I've been trying to do that and I have made some progress in that are below is last weeks numbers

fbgl afterbr belunch aflnch bedin aftdinn
190 177 290
211 189 209 193
239 185 176 198 135 207
228 197 226 197 130 183
165 152 139 141 108 159
172 169 133 114 119 169
163 127 113 110 111 132
128 138 129 122 148
151 145 132

Considering what they were at this looks like good progress.

By looking at your numbers, you seem to also have Dawn Phenomenon. If you don't know what this is, it is when your numbers are higher in the morning than they were the night before. Alot of diabetics have this. Also, what are you eating for breakfast because your numbers in the morning and then numbers after breakfast seem high. overall though, considering your A1C was at 11, not bad.

 

[TemporalAgt]

By looking at your numbers, you seem to also have Dawn Phenomenon. If you don't know what this is, it is when your numbers are higher in the morning than they were the night before. Alot of diabetics have this. Also, what are you eating for breakfast because your numbers in the morning and then numbers after breakfast seem high. overall though, considering your A1C was at 11, not bad.

I usually only have scrambled eggs. 2-3.

 

[Shanny]

I usually only have scrambled eggs. 2-3.

Do you add milk to the eggs?

 

[moon]

Congrats on your progress TemporalAgt, and also on your dedicated testing. You're off to a terrific start.

It looks like you're sailing along pretty well, coming down nicely during the day, then getting a significant spike from dinner. What is a typical dinner like, or do you have notes as to what you ate on those evenings to give you that big bg rise?

 

[TemporalAgt]

Sunny - No I do not add anything except maybe salt and pepper.

Moon - No I don't specifically but I do know it was too many carbs. Which is what I've been cutting back on.

Naynay -- So what if anything can be done about the Dawn Phenomenon?

 

[naynay]

Sunny - No I do not add anything except maybe salt and pepper.

Moon - No I don't specifically but I do know it was too many carbs. Which is what I've been cutting back on.

Naynay -- So what if anything can be done about the Dawn Phenomenon?

Well TemporalAgt, THAT would be the million dollar question! Everybody is different with Dawn Phenomenon. If you look it up, there are several things you can try, but I have not found one of them to work for me yet. Of course I am a difficult case (as I'm sure everyone here thinks they are!), but again, what might work for me will not necessarily work for you. I have not been able to master the DP thing yet, but I continue to try. Oh, and something might work one night/morning, and then it stops working. It's, no pun intended, a phenomenon! :/
In any case, I'm sure others here can suggest what has worked for them, and then it is just a trial and error situation. Good luck with it though and keep posting as to what may have helped. Cutting back on carbs at dinner time is a must; those ugly, but yet delicious little carbs can really reek havoc on our systems. Perhaps you could switch your carbs to mostly mid-day rather than morning and dinner? Again, it's a trial and error thing. See what works best for you. My bg's were rather high yesterday, and I'm not sure why since I ate very little carb, but again it can go day by day (that's what I'm learning anyway). I hope today is better for me. It is deflating when you see some really great numbers and then you hike back up again. I have to study what I did differently to cause those spikes. Ah! like I don't have enough to do in this world right?

 

[TemporalAgt]

Well TemporalAgt,

I hear you I've been experimenting around and had a good after dinner bgl of 144. This morning my bgl was 118 and before lunch it was 107. A personnel best for me. Looks like it's getting under control. Just got to keep up the good work and quit eating anything good. lol

 

[naynay]

I hear you I've been experimenting around and had a good after dinner bgl of 144. This morning my bgl was 118 and before lunch it was 107. A personnel best for me. Looks like it's getting under control. Just got to keep up the good work and quit eating anything good. lol

*Clapping!!!!!* Congrats on those wonderful numbers! Obviously the DP didn't get you this time! Yes, do keep up the good work, but you do NOT have to quit eating anything good! LOL! You just need to find a different food that doesn't spike your bg's to substitute that tastes really good!

 

[TemporalAgt]

*Clapping!!!!!* Congrats on those wonderful numbers! You just need to find a different food that doesn't spike your bg's to substitute that tastes really good!

Thanks, for the congrats. it's been really hard but it's getting there. But you did bring up the "rub" finding those things that doesn't spike your bg's to substitute that tastes really good. I just recently last couple of days figured out that splenda doesn't spike my blood. So I'm holding out hope. Maybe a small splenda Twinkie?

 

[naynay]

HAHAHAHAHA...I really don't think there is a Splenda Twinkie in production anywhere! HAHAHAHA...that Twinkie, even if made with Splenda, still contains white flour. A big time NONO for us diabetics!

I unfortunately cannot use Splenda as I am one of those that suffers from the gastrointestinal problems it can cause for some people. Splenda, or Sorbitol, or anything ending in ...tol causes horrible, horrible situation with intestines and bathroom use! I use Equal, and I know it is Aspartame and it is another big NONO, but it's the only sweetener I like and it does not spike my bg's either. If you look up Blood Sugar 101, it will give you a website that contains many recipes for low carbers that are actually pretty good. I made a chocolate pecan torte the other day, and although it probably could have used a little more sweetness to it, wasn't bad. It was made with pecan's that were made into meal through food processor rather than using any type of flour. I wonder if it would do as well with say Almond Flour or Coconut Flour? I'll have to try that as well. But, it did satisfy my sweet tooth and was moist and chocolaty. What more can you ask for? Oh, and of course some regular Cool Whip added as a garnish didn't hurt either.

 

[TemporalAgt]

HAHAHAHAHA...I really don't think there is a Splenda Twinkie in production anywhere! HAHAHAHA...that Twinkie, even if made with Splenda, still contains white flour. A big time NONO for us diabetics!

I unfortunately cannot use Splenda as I am one of those that suffers from the gastrointestinal problems it can cause for some people. Splenda, or Sorbitol, or anything ending in ...tol causes horrible, horrible situation with intestines and bathroom use! I use Equal, and I know it is Aspartame and it is another big NONO, but it's the only sweetener I like and it does not spike my bg's either. If you look up Blood Sugar 101, it will give you a website that contains many recipes for low carbers that are actually pretty good. I made a chocolate pecan torte the other day, and although it probably could have used a little more sweetness to it, wasn't bad. It was made with pecan's that were made into meal through food processor rather than using any type of flour. I wonder if it would do as well with say Almond Flour or Coconut Flour? I'll have to try that as well. But, it did satisfy my sweet tooth and was moist and chocolaty. What more can you ask for? Oh, and of course some regular Cool Whip added as a garnish didn't hurt either.

Well I know that the twinkie would not be a production one. but I was thinking of making one with almond flour or Coconut flour and cool whip for the filling?

 

[naynay]

Sounds good to me! If you make one and it comes out good, send one to me! Not really. I don't even like Twinkie's! hehehehehe
In any case, I'm sure you could come up with a flourless, or almond/coconut flour type sponge cake and perhaps use cool whip as the filling. I don't know if cool whip will work? But it is definitely worth a try!

 

[TemporalAgt]

Well I might have found a solution to my Dawn Phenomenon. Last night my bgl was 146 after dinner. Before bed I took an Apple Cider Vinegar pill. My morning FBGL was 103! the lowest it's ever been since this began. I've seen these pills really bring down my bgl. So I am wondering how often I can or should take then it's about 600mg of Vinegar.

 

[naynay]

Well I might have found a solution to my Dawn Phenomenon. Last night my bgl was 146 after dinner. Before bed I took an Apple Cider Vinegar pill. My morning FBGL was 103! the lowest it's ever been since this began. I've seen these pills really bring down my bgl. So I am wondering how often I can or should take then it's about 600mg of Vinegar.

:clap2:WoooHoooo TemporalAgt! That is awesome! Maybe I will look into these vinegar capsules. I know I have tried drinking the vinegar and that was horrible! I've tried it in water too and it's just too hard to gag down. I am on my way to the health food store to look for some quality apple cider vinegar capsules! I'll try tonight for sure! But, wonderful wonderful wonderful for you that you found something to help those DP numbers! I had a bg before bedtime of 110 last night and awoke to a 217! Keep up the great work!

 

[TemporalAgt]

Well I got mine at GNC, here is the link Natural Brand™ Apple Cider Vinegar - GNC NATURAL BRAND - GNC

It also has
Amount Per Serving % DV
Apple Cider Vinegar 600.00 mg **
Cayenne Pepper Fruit Powder (Capsicum frutescens) 100.00 mg **
Ginger Root Powder (Zingiber officinale) 100.00 mg **
Garcinia cambogia Fruit Extract 100.00 mg **
** Daily Value (DV) not established

 

[optimist]

Vinegear is great!
I often use 1 ss vinegear and 2 ss olive oil, adds a little salt and pepper and use this over my salad, beans or veggies. If I makes this an hour before I eat it, there is no bad taste from the vinegear.

Cocosa also seems to lower my bloodsugar. My favourite way of using cocosa is to heat 1/3 litre fat cream, 100 g sugarfree dark chocolate and 50 g green extra virgin cocosa. I keep this mix cold over night, whip it into cream and put it in the freezer for a couple of hour. Best icecream ever! All of it is 11 carbs, but I share with my family, and then it`s just a little over 2 carbs in my icecream.