Diagnosed T2

[breadman]

My first post so go easy hello all.

So I just got diagnosed T2 and against the advice of 'the health care professional' I went and got myself a meter.
After reading the forum and other resources I soon realised the importance of finding out which foods do what to my levels, but I'm struggling to understand why the same foods under the same circumstance are giving vastly different results ?

My now go to breakfast ( 2 weetabix with semi-skimmed) are giving the most concern. Yesterday morning 2 hours after I blew a 10.2 , today same food same circumstance I blew a 6.4 .

Is this just a glitch or something I need to work on ?
I'm liking weetabix and would like the advice of you good people.

 

[serenity648]

what were your pre-breakfast numbers? Good or bad is more about the rise after two hours, rather than the actual figures, when calculating foods its ok to eat.

are you on any meds?

Some of us can eat only certain types of carbs. For example, I can eat a couple of slices of homemade wholemeal toast, but not oats, for breakfast.Great that you are testing, and welcome to the forum : )

 

[Resurgam]

I think you have the wrong end of the diet advice stick - weetabix and skimmed milk is a high carb meal, and even if you get an acceptable reading sometimes - over 10 is not something you should risk.
As you are just starting out changing to a more low carb approach, coffee with cream and an omelette is a more diabetes reducing option.
I've had such brilliant results eating low carb foods that I tend to recommend them to everyone - certainly if you want to reduce your blood glucose and Hba1c - once it is lowered then experimenting to see what you can and can't cope with is all to the good, but my first aim was to stay below 8mmol/l and then to get only a 2 whole number difference between pre and post meal readings.
Over time my numbers have gone down, so I could have decided to increase the carbs, but I need to lose weight so have stuck to what I like. More exercise would also increase what carbs I could cope with, but I am getting normal numbers so it remains an option rather than a necessity.

 

[breadman]

My starting figures on both days are more or less the same (5.8 & 5.9 respectively)

I did nothing different activity wise so I'm struggling to understand why the massive difference in BS ?

No Meds and hoping not.

 

[Guzzler]

As has been said, Weetabix is high carb so try switching to a lower carb brekky and keep a diary.
Other things can affect bg such as sleep, temperature or infection etc. Keep testing and recording to see which are your trigger foods. You will be aware of the high carb foods but it is worth repeating, bread or anything made with flour or grains, pasta, rice, cereals and potatoes will spike most people who are T2.
Good luck.

 

[Ross.Walker]

Morning

As suggested perhaps Weetabix are not your friend now.

Testing is great, you will find out what is good, what is bad and what you can have the occasional treat with, you are at the start of your journey so take notes of everything, expect oddities, learn and ask lots of questions. Test a meal more than once, work out what is safe.
I went back to absolute basics, no booze for 9 months, no white processed foods , , no wheat, no sugar, a tonne of veg, chicken, salad, tuna, and a lot of spices to make it all taste better
This allowed me to create a base line to work from. When it was stable I introduced lots of other foods to see what happened. I now have what I consider to be a lovely diet.

Keep a food diary that shows you what the make up of the foods are, you will be surprised how many contain more carbs than you thought. You do need carbs, just not the volume we once ate. you will work out what is good for you, take your time.

things that will impact results include the following, (not an exclusive list)
hot
cold
de/hydration
sleep
illness
tiredness
exercise

 

[Grateful]

Welcome @breadman!

As you are not taking any meds, you will probably need to stay low-carb or very-low-carb (time will tell) to get good control.

Grains in general, including breakfast cereal, are high-carb. Part of the issue is that pre-prepared breakfast cereal from Kellogg or just about anywhere else usually has added sugar and other ingredients.

One serving of Weetabix has 25g of carbs. Plus, there are carbs in the milk you are pouring onto it: 12g in one cup of milk.

Some low-carbers will advocate eliminating breakfast cereal altogether. I took a different route. I eat home-made granola (muesli) with no added sugar, in very small quantities (one tablespoon at breakfast). I mix that with one tablespoon of pure wheat bran (this is very high-carb but greatly helps with constipation, which is a known side-effect of low-carb diets). I mix this with a very small quantity of milk, just enough to cover the cereal.

The net result is that most of my carb load comes at breakfast, but it is still much lower in carbs than a single conventional serving of Weetabix.

Others will just give up on cereals altogether. We have been brainwashed to believe that cereals are a really healthy food, which they probably are, but that's if you don't have diabetes....

 

[bulkbiker]

Others will just give up on cereals altogether. We have been brainwashed to believe that cereals are a really healthy food, which they probably are

Very healthy for the profits of the companies that manufacture them... not very "healthy" for any humans if eaten.

 

[Daibell]

If I'm away from home I will sometimes have just one Weetabix knowing it has carbs. At least Weetabix doesn't have any added sugar.

 

[Salvia]

Hi @breadman, and welcome to the forum. In an attempt to answer (in part) some of the variance in the ranges you've found, it's worth remembering that meters are calibrated to give a 15% +/- tolerance of accuracy (at least, I think it's 15%). This won't explain the whole of the reason for differences, but it will be the reason for some of it, on occasion. It's best not to expect absolute accuracy, so just use the meter readings as a way of tracking the general trends - your records of foods, timings, and readings will show your general trends over time, and indicate what sort of foods spike your blood glucose, and when, and you can then decide what you want to do about it - if anything. (e.g. stop eating that food item, eat less of it, have it for lunch but not dinner, or any other combination that suits your body and your lifestyle).

Best of luck with your journey of discovery on whatever new way of eating you choose - hope you enjoy it


edit: spelling!

 

[Grateful]

Very healthy for the profits of the companies that manufacture them... not very "healthy" for any humans if eaten.

Did you know that John Harvey Kellogg, the founder of the company, was an extreme proponent of sexual abstinence? Among other things, he believed that "plain foods" would help achieve that goal (and he believed in punishment of transgressors).

I had no idea about this until my daughter did an MA at Kellogg College and found out about the views of its eponymous founder.

There are a lot more Kellogg details I could give here, but they are not suitable for a family forum. The Wikipedia article is entertaining: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Harvey_Kellogg.

From these weird beginnings sprang a Western obsession with cereals at breakfast!

 

[bulkbiker]

Did you know that John Harvey Kellogg, the founder of the company, was an extreme proponent of sexual abstinence? Among other things, he believed that "plain foods" would help achieve that goal (and he believed in punishment of transgressors).

I had no idea about this until my daughter did a one-year course at Kellogg College and found out about the views of its eponymous founder.

There are a lot more Kellogg details I could give here, but they are not suitable for a family forum. The Wikipedia article is entertaining: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Harvey_Kellogg.

From these weird beginnings sprang a Western obsession with cereals at breakfast!

Yet another reason, if needed, to despise the man...

 

[Rachox]

If you want to go low carb at breakfast time @breadman, you might like to try this low carb coconut ‘porridge’ (not a grain in sight!). I have it every morning with cream and strawberries. Only raises my blood sugar very slightly at the 2 hour mark, sometimes my reading is actually less than before. Here’s the recipe incase you’d like to try it:
https://www.dietdoctor.com/recipes/keto-coconut-porridge

 

[Bluetit1802]

My first post so go easy hello all.

So I just got diagnosed T2 and against the advice of 'the health care professional' I went and got myself a meter.
After reading the forum and other resources I soon realised the importance of finding out which foods do what to my levels, but I'm struggling to understand why the same foods under the same circumstance are giving vastly different results ?

My now go to breakfast ( 2 weetabix with semi-skimmed) are giving the most concern. Yesterday morning 2 hours after I blew a 10.2 , today same food same circumstance I blew a 6.4 .

Is this just a glitch or something I need to work on ?
I'm liking weetabix and would like the advice of you good people.

Have you considered the possibility that either one of those post breakfast readings could have been a rogue reading? We all get them from time to time. If ever you see a reading that is unexpected and outside the range you were expecting, it is always worth a re-test. This includes lower numbers as well as higher ones.

I do agree with the others that Weetabix and all breakfast cereals are far too high in carbs to be eaten regularly, and especially in the mornings.

 

[Jo_the_boat]

Yet another reason, if needed, to despise the man...

 

[Jo_the_boat]

I have posted this quick link before and nobody has shot me down in flames, but weetabix is a bit of a carb monster..
http://www.low-carbdiet.co.uk/carbcount.asp?id=23

 

[bulkbiker]

I have posted this quick link before and nobody has shot me down in flames, but weetabix is a bit of a carb monster..
http://www.low-carbdiet.co.uk/carbcount.asp?id=23

Thats interesting the supermarkets seem to have it as 69% carbs.. maybe that one includes the milk.

 

[Kentoldlady1]

Hello, breadman and welcome. Its all a bit of a minefield at the beginning!!

I agree that bgls dont seem to make much sense to start with. I am another fan of the diary. Not only to record food nd bgls, but also stress levels, illness, sleep etc. These things also can change bgls and make a food that is absolutely fine one day seem dreadful the next.

Have you looked at the dietdoctor website? And if you search google there are several very good low carb recipe sites.

I have to agree that breakfast cereals are not good if you are aiming for low carb. But we are all different and it may be that you can tolerate them. Eat, test, record and look for patterens.

 

[Catlady19]

My starting figures on both days are more or less the same (5.8 & 5.9 respectively)

I did nothing different activity wise so I'm struggling to understand why the massive difference in BS ?

No Meds and hoping not.

Welcome to the wonderful world of T2D! There is sometimes no rhyme or reason. I think this is why some professionals say not to test too often as sometimes you get high readings for no particular reason (could be illness, stress, exercise - all sorts of things) and it can drive you insane trying to work it out. I can have a high reading - go for a 10 minute fast walk and drink some water and it is back down again. However, as others have said, Weetabix is high carb. My advise would be to try it again over a few more days and see what happens. Always test before and two hours after - if it is rising over 2 points, then probably not ideal. Good luck

 

[Jenniewren1958]

Hi it could be something on your hands cause high readings, I also can’t eat weetabix