[traughber]

Hi everyone,

I'm a 38 year old male with Type 2 diabetes. I was diagnosed about 2 years ago but was recently put on insulin earlier this year. I do understand correct nutrition in general, which is a balanced diet of quality proteins, carbs, and fat in the form of lean meats, vegetables, fruits, high fiber starches, and unsaturated fats. I have struggled with weight-loss my entire adult life, but only because of emotional reasons, not for a lack of knowledge. In the past, I have lost up to 45 pounds in a slow and correct manner.

Currently, my girlfriend and I have been trying to lose weight together. Our current routine is that we eat healthy Monday through Friday and eat what we want on Saturday and Sunday. I have always believed in having one cheat day a week and that has worked for me in the past when I've eaten right and exercised the other 6 days. Despite the second cheat day, my girlfriend has lost 25 pounds since January. She is on the Weight Watchers plan and is very disciplined throughout the week. I haven't really lost anything due to my lack of trying. I eat healthy foods during the week, but don't keep my calories to an appropriate level. I eat good things but too much of it. It's pure and simple emotional eating.

I said all that only so you'll have some context around my questions. Since being on Lantus insulin (30 units, once at night), Metformin, and following the eating routine described above, I have noticed a pattern. When I check my glucose in the mornings, I notice that is pretty high on Monday (around 275). And then it gradually goes down every subsequent day until it reaches about 150 on Friday. Now I know 150 is still high and my doctor is adjusting my dosage accordingly, but the question is why does it take my body so long to adjust after a weekend of eating what I want? Is that the case for a non-diabetic person only with lower numbers? Shouldn't the insulin and Metformin keep my sugar within a more constant range?

 

[onaughmae]

Not necessarily. You are taking Lantus. Lantus is a long acting basal insulin. You dose is slowly absorbed over 24 hours. What is likely happening is that you are having high post-meal blood sugars after meals which is taking your body time to recover from. The Lantus does not work quickly in the same way a normal pancreas does. A normal pancreas secretes a small amount of basal need insulin all the time (such as your Lantus does). A healthy pancreas will then secrete more insulin when you eat. Sort of like a bolus of fast acting insulin. Are you checking your blood sugars after meals also, or only fasting in the moring? I imagine if you check after meals also you are going to notice a spike that takes a long time to come down. So, on your "free weekend" you are probably getting really high. Do you check your blood sugar on those days also? The best control for an insulin using diabetic comes from using basal insulin (Lantus or Levemir) and a fast acting insulin (Humalog or Novolog) to cover meals and snacks. This most closely duplicates what a healthy pancreas is able to do. As much as an occasional treat really isnt so harmful...an entire weekend of free for all eating will just set you back from the good you did during the week. Sounds like you know what you need to do...its easy to take a weekend off from dieting...its hard to take a weekend off from being a diabetic Sucks, I know...but we all struggle with it. Maybe it would help if you trade that whole weekend for just one good, go out to dinner date night

 

[traughber]

Not necessarily. You are taking Lantus. Lantus is a long acting basal insulin. You dose is slowly absorbed over 24 hours. What is likely happening is that you are having high post-meal blood sugars after meals which is taking your body time to recover from. The Lantus does not work quickly in the same way a normal pancreas does. A normal pancreas secretes a small amount of basal need insulin all the time (such as your Lantus does). A healthy pancreas will then secrete more insulin when you eat. Sort of like a bolus of fast acting insulin. Are you checking your blood sugars after meals also, or only fasting in the moring? I imagine if you check after meals also you are going to notice a spike that takes a long time to come down. So, on your "free weekend" you are probably getting really high. Do you check your blood sugar on those days also? The best control for an insulin using diabetic comes from using basal insulin (Lantus or Levemir) and a fast acting insulin (Humalog or Novolog) to cover meals and snacks. This most closely duplicates what a healthy pancreas is able to do. As much as an occasional treat really isnt so harmful...an entire weekend of free for all eating will just set you back from the good you did during the week. Sounds like you know what you need to do...its easy to take a weekend off from dieting...its hard to take a weekend off from being a diabetic Sucks, I know...but we all struggle with it. Maybe it would help if you trade that whole weekend for just one good, go out to dinner date night

Thanks Pam. That makes a lot of sense. I wonder what a normal person's levels look like after meals on a routine like mine. Any ideas?

 

[onaughmae]

Thanks Pam. That makes a lot of sense. I wonder what a normal person's levels look like after meals on a routine like mine. Any ideas?

A non- diabetic would look perfectly fine. Such is the beauty of how the body works correctly when it is supposed to. For instance, hubby and I ate at Mcdonalds last night. I had a chicken salad and a diet coke. I dosed it accordingly with my insulin and 2 hours after dinner I was at 91 and just fine. Hubby had 20 chicken nuggets, a large order of fries and a huge milk shake (a total of 247 carbs). He has me check his blood sugar when I did mine and his was 86. I would have needed so much insulin to cover that meal it would have made me sick! And I probably still would have been high and required a second bolus.

 

[traughber]

A non- diabetic would look perfectly fine. Such is the beauty of how the body works correctly when it is supposed to. For instance, hubby and I ate at Mcdonalds last night. I had a chicken salad and a diet coke. I dosed it accordingly with my insulin and 2 hours after dinner I was at 91 and just fine. Hubby had 20 chicken nuggets, a large order of fries and a huge milk shake (a total of 247 carbs). He has me check his blood sugar when I did mine and his was 86. I would have needed so much insulin to cover that meal it would have made me sick! And I probably still would have been high and required a second bolus.

Interesting. Thank you so much for the great info. Just one more question. On my cheat days, if I were to consume more protein than carbs (within reason of course, knowing that I do need some carbs), do you think that would help with the sugar spikes?

 

[onaughmae]

Interesting. Thank you so much for the great info. Just one more question. On my cheat days, if I were to consume more protein than carbs (within reason of course, knowing that I do need some carbs), do you think that would help with the sugar spikes?

Actually having some healthy fat with it might help. Your blood sugar will still go up...it will just do it more slowly since fat will slow the digestion of the carbs. Really the best alternative is to either ask about using fast acting insulin also ( which will mean you will need to start counting carbs) , or find something on your cheat days low in carbs that you still enjoy. The only way to tell if you are consuming too many carbs for *your* body is to test after meals. Best to test at one hour, then 2. But at least test at 2 hours. By 2 hours after a meal, your blood sugar should be back to what it was pre-meal. If it isnt....then you are eating more carbs than your body can safely handle.

 

[Shanny]

Just dropping into this thread to welcome you, traughber, and to say that from my standpoint of a person with diabetes but not on insulin, I usually have to spend 2-3 days getting my levels back under control after going off the wagon for a meal or two. As I said on one of our other threads last week - it better be a truly awesome wonderful "cheat" if it's going to be worth my while to struggle that long getting back under control.

Thank you for joining us - it's good to meet you & I hope you'll be coming here often.

take care,

 

[traughber]

Actually having some healthy fat with it might help. Your blood sugar will still go up...it will just do it more slowly since fat will slow the digestion of the carbs. Really the best alternative is to either ask about using fast acting insulin also ( which will mean you will need to start counting carbs) , or find something on your cheat days low in carbs that you still enjoy. The only way to tell if you are consuming too many carbs for *your* body is to test after meals. Best to test at one hour, then 2. But at least test at 2 hours. By 2 hours after a meal, your blood sugar should be back to what it was pre-meal. If it isnt....then you are eating more carbs than your body can safely handle.

Pam, once again, thanks for the info. At least on the weekends, I'll start checking my sugar before and after meals to see what the trend is.

 

[traughber]

Just dropping into this thread to welcome you, traughber, and to say that from my standpoint of a person with diabetes but not on insulin, I usually have to spend 2-3 days getting my levels back under control after going off the wagon for a meal or two. As I said on one of our other threads last week - it better be a truly awesome wonderful "cheat" if it's going to be worth my while to struggle that long getting back under control.

Thank you for joining us - it's good to meet you & I hope you'll be coming here often.

take care,

Thanks for the welcome Shanny.

 

[onaughmae]

Pam, once again, thanks for the info. At least on the weekends, I'll start checking my sugar before and after meals to see what the trend is.

That would be a great idea. At least when you see exactly what you are eating and the result on your body, it can help you make better choices.