[diabetes40]

I'm recently diagnosed with Type 2. I am not taking medication yet, as I'm trying with diet. I was wondering if some experienced members could tell me what they think about my readings.

I'm also not sure how many times a day I should be eating. Today I didn't feel like eating much. I didn't eat in the morning, but I had lunch and dinner.

9:45a 6.5 Morning (117)
12:45p 6.1 No Food (110)
1:45p 6.4 No Food (115)

2:45p 6.0 BEFORE MEAL (108)
3:45p 8.6 1 HR After Meal (155)
4:45p 6.2 2 Hrs After Meal (112)
7:20p 6.5 no food - and felt light-headed
8:20p I eated chocolate ...(it was good)
9:20p 8.2 (1 hour after the chocolate)
9:50p I Ate Dinner... I know late!
10:50p 8.1 (1 hour after meal)
11:50p 6.6 (2 hours after meal)

Would some be so kind so as to suggest where I went wrong today? When I should be eating? At what reading? I'm trying to beat this without taking drugs. But I am only at the beginning. :smow:

 

[carbcrazydog]

Look up the carb content of whatever u eat- a google search usually yields the best result. Then see how much carbs ur body tolerates per meal. You will know that when you see a 1 hour reading below 120 and 2 hour back to your fasting level. Dont keep urself hungry for so long. Snacking every 2 hours usually helps me. Maybe some cheese or a bolied egg or you can pick anything from the recipe section.

Good luck. Your meter is your best guide. Walk the path oit shows you.

I loved reading your chocolate line Dark (85% cocoa (or higher) chocolates are usually less dangerous than the sweet ones so if u have to have one, try that and then check ur meter.)

 

[diabetes40]

Thanks so much Carbcrazydog

 

[skb]

You will come across the "eat to your meter" suggestion a lot here. What it basically means is that you eat only when you have reached your baseline number. Usually that coincides very well with feeling hungry. And then carb count your food for better & better BG control like Paulomi said. Lower the carb content of your meals, lower your BG swings. Keep a tight and narrow range throughout the day & lower your A1c into the 5s. Good Luck.

 

[John.in.France]

With this condition I've found that it's better to get into a regular meal routine. I don't tend to snack but some find it useful to do so.

What is important is that you don't allow yourself to get very hungry. That will prompt you to nibble at things and frequently those "things" will be high carbohydrate rubbish - i.e. the worst possible things for us to eat.

As the others have said, you are looking for low carbohydrate, high fat items, so for snacks (if you decide to go that route), think of a handful of nuts - walnuts, Brazils , hazelnuts, almonds - not peanuts or chips.

On testing, for my first six months I settled on a pattern of six tests each day. Fasting in the morning, One hour after breakfast, just before lunch, one hour after lunch, just before dinner and finally two hours after dinner (effectively just before bed). For a couple of weeks at the very start I did slot in some two hour tests, morning and afternoon but having satisfied myself that my two hour numbers were below my 120 target, I stopped doing them as routine.

Exactly when to eat? That's for you to decide but I found getting into a regular pattern helped and the odd time I shift from the pattern that my body expects, I do get some interesting numbers.

 

[smorgan]

Just my personal suggestions:

Eat when hungry and eat until "full", but NOT "stuffed"
Don't eat when not hungry.
Keep carbs as low as possible.
Keep protein low at 10-15% of total calories max. Protein produces glucose, too, but more slowly. It won't show up in post-meal tests but at other times, especially waking.

Make up for carbs and protein reduced (or kept low) with fats, mostly saturated.

Watch your numbers drop with your meter.

 

[VeeJay]

The first few months on LCHF require a lot of testing as you determine what you can safely eat (i.e. what doesn't spike your BG) and what you must now avoid eating (i.e. - sends your BG up above 140 at 1hr - my personal goal is 120).

But the most important thing is to reduce carb consumption - around 30g a DAY (that's about 10g per meal) and test to see how your BG does with that.

For me, what I have for breakfast will pretty much determine when and how much I eat for lunch (if I do). I can't always eat a lot that early in the day, but if it's very high fat, low protein and next to no carbs, then I'm not at all hungry until mid afternoon.