-
Guest, the forum is undergoing some upgrades and so the usual themes will be unavailable for a few days. In the meantime, you can use the forum like normal. We'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »
How long for metformin to start working?
- Thread starter Jen74
- Start Date
Art Of Flowers
Well-Known Member
Metformin does take a few days to work. It reduces appetite, so people tend to eat less. In terms of reducing blood sugar, it may not drop much. From 18 mmol/l it might drop to only 16. To drop blood sugar significantly down to the 4-7 range, you need a low carb diet.
A blood glucose level of 18 is very high. What are you eating?
A blood glucose level of 18 is very high. What are you eating?
Freema
Expert
well when it comes to metformin it only helps like 10% the main road to a lower blood glucose is to count ones carbs and try keep under 100 grams on the whole day.. and also upping the amount of exercise one does
but there are people with a very servere insuline resistance that do need to go under 50 grams of carbs in a whole day or even much lower than that.
the most easy way to lower the carb intake is to eat a breakfast totally without carbs like for instance :
ham and cheese , or eggs and bacon or nuts all kinds except peanuts (especially macadamia nuts )and avocado
the foods to avoid especially untill one do gain total control is : avoid bread, rice, potatoes, corn, cakes all kinds of sugar all kinds of sugary drinks , fruits almost all kinds .... flour and grains
what one can eat in moderation (but every gram of carbs do count in ) are peanuts, legumes (if they do not skyrocket your blood glucose) roots except potatoes.. berries all kinds with cream
what one can eat in huge amounts ; cucumbers, all kinds of meat and fish and eggs and sea fruits, and most vegs grown over ground . LIDL´s protein rolls instead of all other kinds of bread... olives and bacon and coconut
there are lots of very nice recepies to be found other places in this forum with deicious treats and healthy food meals that one can learn to make and enjoy ...
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/category/food-nutrition-and-recipes.3/
but there are people with a very servere insuline resistance that do need to go under 50 grams of carbs in a whole day or even much lower than that.
the most easy way to lower the carb intake is to eat a breakfast totally without carbs like for instance :
ham and cheese , or eggs and bacon or nuts all kinds except peanuts (especially macadamia nuts )and avocado
the foods to avoid especially untill one do gain total control is : avoid bread, rice, potatoes, corn, cakes all kinds of sugar all kinds of sugary drinks , fruits almost all kinds .... flour and grains
what one can eat in moderation (but every gram of carbs do count in ) are peanuts, legumes (if they do not skyrocket your blood glucose) roots except potatoes.. berries all kinds with cream
what one can eat in huge amounts ; cucumbers, all kinds of meat and fish and eggs and sea fruits, and most vegs grown over ground . LIDL´s protein rolls instead of all other kinds of bread... olives and bacon and coconut
there are lots of very nice recepies to be found other places in this forum with deicious treats and healthy food meals that one can learn to make and enjoy ...
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/category/food-nutrition-and-recipes.3/
Last edited:
DavidGrahamJones
Well-Known Member
You will probably get different answers because it affects different people in different ways. As for results, give it a bit longer, it's not going to happen overnight. The chicken in tika sauce sounds lovely except a 5oz chicken breast in tika sauce is 580 calories and nearly 50 gms of carb and that's without rice if you had any. I recommend that to get a more accurate idea of what you're eating, weigh everything (if possible) and google the nutritional values. It can be an eye opener. Best Regards.
Hi Jen,
It's great you have a meter & using it to gauge the effects of what is on the menu.
I would have to agree with @DavidGrahamJones . You would be absolutely blown away by the ingredients & carb content of some "innocent" favourites...
Ye im begining to realise that im totaly lost i never knew half the stuff i should have been avoiding, i dont know where to start! 42 years of bad eating habits to try and break
Thank you great advice feel i need a live in dietician till i get a handle on all this lol
Freema
Expert
after a short while you´ll know how much is in the different kind of foods and then it will clear up and be much easier and if you get some habits of eating the same amount for the different meals you won´t have to measure all the time ... I asure you it will get much easier in a while
Hey, don't beat yourself up! Probably not as bad on the "eating habits" as you think?
Diabetes just happens, then puts a different "perspective" on it. You will get there!
Have a look in the low carb section..
Freema
Expert
it is also allways a good idea to do more gym or fitness or longer walks ... so try to find some kind of exercise that do appeal to you and you´ll get much faster progress... the best would be at least 1 hour every day.... and when your blood glucose comes down you´ll also feel much better..
I usually have 3 bowls of nuts on the sofa table so I am tempted by something I may actually eat.. macdamia nuts are my favorite .. olives on a stick with cheese is also a very fine treat or cellery with peanut-butter
I usually have 3 bowls of nuts on the sofa table so I am tempted by something I may actually eat.. macdamia nuts are my favorite .. olives on a stick with cheese is also a very fine treat or cellery with peanut-butter
Last edited:
Jen - This site runs a 10 week Low Carb Programme for T2 diabetics, which walks folks through reducing their carb intake over time, whilst allowing you to record what you're eating, how you're feeling and so on. It has had some great responses.
This is a recent presentation by Charlotte to an international conference on the impact of the programme:
DavidGrahamJones
Well-Known Member
One that does the cooking as well . . . . . . . and the washing up.
I've always thought that being type II has actually helped me be much more careful about eating. I'm now considered to be a fussy eater because I don't eat rubbish. But even avoiding carbs hasn't stopped me from eating out when I want, there's always something on the menu.
Thank you where do i find the 10wk programme u mention?
I must be honest im not a very healthy person have weight to loose also but this is a wake up call but so stressful knowing where to start and retraining my whole way of thinking and living
Here you go, Jen.
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/lowcarb/
As you are already a forum member you should select the Log In option at the top right hand side of the page, as opposed to the Join option. It is also available in App form, and I believe synchronises across your devices.
I do hope you find it useful, and can become one of the many positive anecdotes in due course.
Freema
Expert
I do eat peanuts as well but there are a lot more carbs in peanuts than in all the other nuts .. that´s why I think one should be awareof the amount of peanuts one do eat combined of cause with what other carbs one do eat on a daily basis
Fleegle
Well-Known Member
Ok - good - as long as there wasn't something else going on with them, I was worried as those and almonds are my go to when I miss breakfast.
I think there are three categories of nuts - Cashews - should probably avoid those I think.
Peanuts, pecans, hazelnuts which are all about 1g carb per 15g.
Then walnuts and macadamia nuts which are excellent at 1g per 30g.
