I have chosen to test myself to see if I am getting it right with the changes I am making....those being reducing carbs to less than 30...exercising and eating more fat and protein. I have no clue when to test to start off with. Any suggestions please?
Everyone has their own preference for testing routines, but perhaps initially, it is a good idea to try and get a pattern covering of all times of the day - some tests before and some after eating. So work out a routine that means over the course of a few days that you'll cover every possible testing time.
So - for example - if there are 8 or 9 core times in the day to test, do three each on three consecutive days, so that over a three day period, you do a test at each potential time once. As you form a pattern and can maybe see times that need greater attention, you can then do tests in pairs before and after eating for example, especially if wanting to learn about specific foods and their affect on you. I know whenever I change meds or something, the DN likes to see a regular pattern of that nature as an overview for trends. We've changed the timing of meds etc. on this basis.
Your 8 basic times might be on waking, before breakfast, after breakfast, before lunch, after lunch, before dinner, after dinner and at bedtime. I also consider a regular pair to be before and after exercise, depending on how much you do. If you put your readings in a spreadsheet or use an app to record them, you can easily see patterns and trends. I bet I'm like others, in that it's always easier to remember to do tests at some times than others. I find between breakfast and lunch to be the hardest to time and remember as I get my head down working.
Maybe the current thinking differs from this, but this was how I was taught to do it - many years ago now - and my DN still asks questions like "what was the range of your readings after breakfast?" and "what was the average difference between bedtime and the following morning readings?"
Others will no doubt have suggestions too.