[SecretAgent]

How critical is the timing of meals and snacks?

I tend to get bogged down with details.

I thought the timing was about every 2 hours, but I cannot make that work with my schedule. Please help me figure it out. Thank you!

If I follow the two hours rule, the schedule should look like this.
Breakfast 8:30
Snack 10:30
Lunch 12:30
Snack 2:30
Dinner 4:30
Snack 6:30

That schedule doesn't work well with my lifestyle. This is what would work better for me.
Breakfast 8:30
Snack 10:30
Lunch noon
Snack 2:00
Another snack 4:00
Dinner 6:30
Snack 10:30
I go to bed about midnight to 1:00 am.

Is this ok? How to I figure out adding a second snack between lunch and dinner. Do I use some of the carb allowance from dinner? I don't think I can go 4.5 hours without eating anything. I always feel like I get lightheaded at around the 2-2.5 hour mark. (I don't know what the numbers are as I just started testing this morning.)

The carb allowance schedule I am starting out with is as follows.
Breakfast 30
Snack 15
Lunch 30
Snack 15
Dinner 45
Snack 15

 

[Patdart]

Sorry I can't be of help since I don't eat to a schedule, nor do I snack often. I will say I couldn't dare eat that many carbs, but you may do fine. I sure can't tolerate many carbs in the morning...so please report how this works for you!

Good luck and welcome,

 

[smorgan]

Same here. My rule number one is never eat if not hungry. I mostly don't snack between meals and sometimes skip a meal entirely without harm. Ditto, too, on the carbs. I usually eat 20 - 40 grams for the whole day and rarely more than 6 for breakfast. Carbs are what make you hungry which is perhaps why those two go together (eating that many carbs and needing to eat every 2 hours). I don't believe that lots of meals even if small ones is healthy - at least not for me. Extended periods of no food give your system a rest and allow your glucose to return fully to normal. At least that what works for me.

 

[jwags]

I tend to eat when I get hungry. When I wake up I usually eat about 3 carbs and then about 11 am will eat something more substantial 15-20 carbs. I then don't eat until late afternoon, about 5 hours. I will eat some cheese, nuts or veggies. I eat dinner around 7:30 which I keep around 10 carbs. In all I eat somewhere between 30-50 carbs most days. If I am exercising or hiking more than 5 miles I will eat a few more carbs to give me energy.

 

[PowerPumper]

Wake at 6 and eat by 7, usually high fat only: coffee w heavy cream and maybe nuts and coconut oil or peanut butter. Low quantity.

11am meal #1. Today it was high fat grass fed salami.

snack: hopefuly another coffee with half & half.

7pm meal #2. Probably a hamburger fried in EVOO and butter with onions and mushrooms. Probably eat some local strawberries with HFLC Balkan (Greek) yogurt.

Snack might be cheese, nits, more yogurt, and maybe some veggies. Been trying some semi-dried tomato slices with cheeses, onion, and fresh herbs nuked or broiled.

 

[ThoseBackPages]

OH my thats a weeks worth of carbs!

I eat three times a day because it is required. Wish I could get away with one meal a day, but I cannot.

 

[diabetes86]

I assume you were told to fallow that time table, why?

 

[beefy]

I tend to eat as I need it, depending on what I'm doing... But I NEVER go more than 3.5hrs without eating, or I liver dump. (After high-intensity exercise I'll eat every 90 to 120 minutes to prevent a dump now... I carry little bags of home-made trail mix with me).

I hate liver-dumping just before a snack or meal because that causes much higher than necessary (or healthy) blood glucose readings for me. It's better to eat a big meal starting at reading of 5.0 (90) and peak at 6.5 (117) than to liver dump and start your meal at a 6.5 (117) and go up to 8.0 (144)...

Regarding timing and carb intake ...

On days where I ride (usually Monday through Saturday) I eat anywhere from 15g-40g of carbs roughly 1.5 to 2hrs before my bike ride. (Of note: The more I plan to ride, the more carb and fat I eat). If riding more than 75 minutes I also take in carbs DURING my rides, in small quantities, every 15 minutes or so - In the form of bites of powerbars or clif bars, gatorade-type drinks, etc.

For the rest of my meals, I slowly reduce the amount of carbohydrate in my meals/snacks as the day goes on. (Unless it's the meal after a big ride, then I eat carb to replenish glycogen stores... but I only do those once a week or so.) So while breakfast may have 30g of carb, lunch will likely have 25g, and supper maybe only 20g. My nighttime snack is usually 15g or less, and almost always with fat to slow it's digestion... (I usually have a piece of sprouted-grain toast slathered in natural Peanut Butter now at night... seems best for me for good morning readings.)

If I remember correctly, you mentioned you're pre-diabetic and need to lose about 50 pounds... if that's the case, you may want to reduce your carb intake even further. What you list above gives you 150g per day, which is a significant amount for someone that wants to lose weight (I eat 150g a day only on days where I do like 4hrs of intense exercise... and I'm 225lbs but only 10-15lbs overweight or so). You may find more success with lowering the amounts of carb you eat. When I first started I ate about 60g-75g of carb daily (but ate a healthy amount of calories for my size), and exercised as much as I could (sometimes only 10 minutes a time, twice a day), and the weight just melted off. As I increased the intensity / duration of my exercise, (once I was over one hour of heavy exercise a day) I found the need to add more carbohydrate into my diet in order to fuel my activity level.

 

[SecretAgent]

Thanks, everyone. The diabetic nutritionist at the endocrinologist's office to me to eat that amount and the timing.

I decided to not follow that schedule for the time being, just eating when I feel hungry or lightheaded or nauseous. I'm down to just eating 0-5 carbs in the morning, and 0-10 for lunch and dinner. Snacks trying to keep at just a few. Things not looking good right now I will post a different thread about it though.

 

[meezers2]

What is a liver dump?

 

[HardBackStrider]

Beefy at what level do you think your liver gets a Q to release. I just got back from a long walk and tested 4.1 and of course I ate. Just hoping the old liver does not release any glucose into my system.

 

[Gizmo]

What is a liver dump?

Meezers, here is a link for you that will explain liver dumps.

By the way, welcome to the forum.

 

[Diyabetli]

That page answer alot of questions in my mind Gizmo. Thank you so much....