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Whats the best way to reduce BG levels

H

heli2010

Well-Known Member
Messages
72
Type of diabetes
Type 2
ok T2 on no meds have been hitting 5.8 in the mornings and early evening but now seem to be hitting constant 7s with no change in diet, which is moderate carb 120g per day, Excerise consists of 2 20 to 30 min fast walks per day on top of the usual shopping trips etc.
I dont really want to go lchf at the moment so what would be the most effective way to get down to low 5s
I read drink more water, 16/8 fasting, lose weight, trouble with the last one my bmi is 26 and weight nearly ideal
my 2hr post prandials are 9.2 to 11s
any help would be appreciated
 
well if you can´t go low calorie , and won´t go low carb , the 16/8 fasting and upping your excercise to the double seems to be what you can do, and maybe go to a fitness and start weightlifting and getting all your muscles into an optimal fitness and a bit bigger..

If you are considering medication metformin is a good choice if you can take it without too much trouble...

your numbers are rather high, and if I had those numbers , I would seriously think of going lower in carbs.. and taking medications... when thinking of the long term consequenses
 
Thankyou for your reply I have tried metformin but had severe muscle cramps I will be aiming to do weights starting in the comming week
so is the aim to get fasting levels down to the low end of the recommended levels at 4 or 5 or to keep the post prandials under the 8.5
 
I have run out of blood testing strips now, but eating a low carb diet I was seeing my post prandial levels dropping, the last one was 6.9. Average levels were going down gradually, week by week, but the variation was becoming less - which I thought was good as an indication that my control was improving. I do have the urine testing strips, every one of which has shown negative.
 
Resurgam said:
I have run out of blood testing strips now, but eating a low carb diet I was seeing my post prandial levels dropping, the last one was 6.9. Average levels were going down gradually, week by week, but the variation was becoming less - which I thought was good as an indication that my control was improving. I do have the urine testing strips, every one of which has shown negative.
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when you say low carb how many grammes per day and are you low carb high fat diet
 
no more than 40 gm of carb a day now - that is far lower than previous low carbing for controlling weight, but something is different now. I had difficulty in getting into ketosis, felt hypo - though it was probably just a 'this is lower than I'm used to' reaction when my blood glucose levels began to drop. If I can get back to exercising and going about as I used to do a few years ago then I hope to return to the higher amounts - I could lose weight on 80 gm, but I used to go and exercise on the trampoline twice a day and would go out on my bike or walk to the shops.
I don't add fats to the extreme, but I do eat the skin on chicken, don't cut off fat from meats, I use oil and vinegar salad dressing or mayonnaise, and eat full fat versions of foods.
 
This is just how I do it. I'm also not medicated T2. I use a tablespoon of apple cidar vinegar, dilute in water till it is drinkable... don't try it straight, whatever you do. That and just casual peddling on an exercise bike for 30 seconds. And casual does still require effort.

As an example. In the course of an hour my bg level can drop from 10 to 5... I will probably get on the bike maybe 5 or 6 times and complete 30 seconds of casual peddling each time per hour. So there is plenty of time for rest between sets. The idea is to not make my legs feel the burn each 30 seconds, but I do feel just a little bit of that.

How this approach would affect other people, I don't know. So, I'm not saying go do this, just that it works for me, but owning an exercise bike is one of the best things I've done for BG control.
 
kokhongw said:
This may be where the problem lies. It is possible to have post meal glucose reading in the 5-6...when the meal has little to no carbs... :D
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are you saying BG can jump 5 to 6 points with a low carb meal, how can I counter this?
 
Have you ruled out a lurking infection, stress, illness? These all cause rises. There is also carb creep - it is so easy to eat more than you think you are doing, just by having an extra spoonful. I know, I've done this and wondered why I spiked.

Diet is the key. As we all know, all carbs convert to glucose once inside the system. There is no argument about that from any source. The fewer carbs we eat, the less glucose in our blood stream, the lower our levels will be.

I can only talk of myself.
My BMI is 21 and has been for over 2 years.
The only starchy carbs I eat are a few potatoes most days - no more than 2 small ones with a meal or 6 to 10 chips. I eat Lidl rolls instead of bread as they are low carb. I don't touch rice, pasta, or cereals, and avoid things made with flour as much as possible.
I am never hungry. I don't snack - I never have done.
I drink a lot of water and tea.
I eat butter, full fat yogurt, real mayonnaise, cream, dozens of eggs.
I don't like fatty meat so chose lean and I eat a lot of salmon.
My exercise is 2 x 20 minute dog walks a day plus normal housework etc. and I find it does very little to my levels, in fact the trend is upwards rather than downwards. It certainly doesn't lower them.
My levels are normal. They rarely vary by more than 1.5mmol/ post meal, often less than 1mmol/l. Pre-meal levels are all 4s and 5s.
I don't take any meds.
 
hi Bluetit1802 carb creep doesnt happen at the moment Ive gone all OCD about recording everything, the stress you mention I did notice the other day made a jump in my BG the same a 1 mince pie on christmas day
I figure I will have to go lchf in the not too distant future as I just cant find anything with calories to replace the carbs I have cut out
so once you went ultra low carb how long was it before your BG was normal?
 
Avocado is awesome for blood sugar if NOT eaten with chips of course. Celery is perfect and it keeps the fat, fiber and calories up. I eat 1/3 with every meal. Keeps everything low and slow.
 
If you want low blood glucose levels then mince pie can't be on the menu - not even one.
I couldn't eat so many carbs and keep my weight stable, even with daily exercise, and I was often envied by other low carbers being able to eat up to 80 gm of carb a day - but that was with two half hour sessions exercising every day. Eating low carb but having oils and fats in your diet should give you enough calories to maintain your weight if you keep track of what you are eating and an eye on your weight week by week.
As I wrote, two hours after eating I was seeing glucose readings only slightly elevated, being about 7 and even dipping under that. The averages were going down each week as I kept my carb intake low and spread out through the day.
 
It's worth being aware that too much protein (in the absence of carbs) can also be turned into glucose so it's sometimes necessary to watch that too.

Robbity
 
heli2010 said:
are you saying BG can jump 5 to 6 points with a low carb meal, how can I counter this?
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Well, I read his comment as saying that his blood glucose sits happily at 5-6 mmol/l after a low carb meal, because there is no significant rise.

My own experience is that with a well formulated low carb diet my blood glucose stays between 5 and 7 mmol/l at all times, only reaching 7 for a few minutes a couple of hours after food. I don't use medication for my T2, so consider myself 'diet controlled'.
 
Well I thought I had a low carb meal when we went out last night. Parma ham with coleslaw, sea bream with creamy celeriac and green beans. Full fat milky coffee to finish off with. Two hours after 8.7! I suppose I could stop eating altogether, that would certainly bring it down. But fed up today. So not going to check this morning.
 
heli2010 said:
hi Bluetit1802 carb creep doesnt happen at the moment Ive gone all OCD about recording everything, the stress you mention I did notice the other day made a jump in my BG the same a 1 mince pie on christmas day
I figure I will have to go lchf in the not too distant future as I just cant find anything with calories to replace the carbs I have cut out
so once you went ultra low carb how long was it before your BG was normal?
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I don't consider myself ultra low carb. I just eat to my meter and keep a close eye on my weight. It's difficult to say how long it took because I took things slowly, reducing my carbs bit by bit over the first year or so until I was happy with my post meal levels. My average pre-meal and fasting levels have never been high. My aim was to reduce the variation in my levels, and I found using the Freestyle Libre sensors very helpful with this.
 
A super huge thankyou for all the help peeps I found a link on this forum for some rather tasty looking lchf meals so going to try some of them the one I cooked last night only raised by 1.7 and I even had a go at baking fat bombs
the mince pie was a one off point of weakness/experiment
the apple cider vinegar didnt work too well but thats probably because I have always suffered with heartburn so could be too acidic
 
Speedbird said:
Well I thought I had a low carb meal when we went out last night. Parma ham with coleslaw, sea bream with creamy celeriac and green beans. Full fat milky coffee to finish off with. Two hours after 8.7! I suppose I could stop eating altogether, that would certainly bring it down. But fed up today. So not going to check this morning.
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The coleslaw might have been a low fat version, there could have been a starch 'stabiliser' in the ham - the celeriac could have been mashed with milk, I always need to limit green beans, and if it was milk in your coffee rather than cream there would be more sugar there.
If you do not prepare the meal you can never be sure that you are eating low carb foods. Even then you need to check the packet ingredients and nutritional information.
 
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