I've been really struggling with blood sugar control in the last couple of months. The timing has coincided with starting to do a huge amount of walking in Snowdonia at the weekends, and stopping counting calories.
It's been very frustrating because on the surface, I'm living a healthy lifestyle - if someone tells you they've quit alcohol and junk food, radically reduced carbs, often goes for an hour's walk after work, and clocks up 15-20 hours walking in Snowdonia at the weekends, you'd probably think they are on the road to improving health.
But my blood sugar has been at chronically high levels and, tellingly, my weight has gone up quite considerably (7kg) in those two months. I'm confident that some of that will be muscle, but most of it will be fat. I'm pretty sure I'm a classic case of over-eating after 'big exercise' - if I eat what 'feels right' after the big days in the hills, I gain weight - apparently a well known and studied phenomenom. And in all my experiments last year, I realised that calories are a massive influence on my fasting blood sugars the next day, regardless of macro nutrient ratios.
My next HbA1c test is in 3 weeks, and, considering the regularity with which I've been getting 9.5 mmol/l readings, I'll be straight back on medication.
So I've become very calorie-conscious again, and have started a concerted effort to lose weight and get the bg down. Finding a balance whereby I can do my supposedly healthy hobbies at the weekends but not gain weight and get constantly damaging blood sugar levels is clearly going to take some work.
I've been doing some experiments with fasting recently. So far I've found:
* My first fast (quite some time ago now, before this 'difficult period') involved eating 'breakfast' a couple of hours after I woke up, on a non-work day, then nothing till the next day. I was really surprised to end up with a fasting bg of 3.9, even before the fasting day had ended. 3.9 turns out to be my low-point, which is apparently common. So my bg had 'bottomed-out' within a day.
* Many times I have 'fasted' in the sense of not eating after 7pm, then having breakfast over 12 hours later. This doesn't seem to make much difference.
* I recently did a 36 hour fast (no food at all one day) which involved quite a bit of walking in the morning of the no-food day. Not a bad result by the next morning - about 5.5 I think, but considering the effort was a lot more than when I'd got a 3.9, it was a bit disappointing. However this was in the recent period where I've been struggling with bg generally.
* Realising that I could combine fasting with walking quite comfortably, I tried fasting while on one of my 'big walk' days in Snowdonia. I gave up after a couple of hours, because I was exploring new terrain and doing a lot of navigation. I find using an OS map and a compass very mentally taxing and I always struggle mentally when fasting. I had something to eat and within an hour I was enjoying things again and knew exactly where I was (in more than one sense!). The previous 36 hour fast was far more manageable because the walking I had been doing then didn't require any mental alertness, I'd just been plodding along on routes I knew well. I could 'push through' the waves of mental fog with no issues.
* I tried skipping breakfast on a work day. This was a disaster. My job involves sitting in front of a computer and thinking. I was hopeless, frankly it didn't feel right to be claiming a wage. I over-compensated with food at lunch time, but could work very well in the afternoon.
So, so far (and I gather this may change), with fasting, it seems that I can't combine it with any activity that requires mental alertness. But I can combine it with surprising amounts of exercise.
However, the best result I got with fasting was the first one. What were the potentially important factors there? I don't know, but possibly:
* Having breakfast in the morning.
* It was not during a period of over-eating - I'm pretty sure I was in a period of weight loss.
* It involved very little movement during the day - just lounging around at home.
* There was no need for mental alertness.
So I've been busy the last few days trying to recreate this scenario. Calorie counting and exercise leaves me in no doubt that over the last 3 days I've been considerably 'in deficit' and hopefully the liver is getting cleared out of fat and all that stuff.
Yesterday morning I woke with a bg of 7.3 mmol/l. Really not great, but better than the 9.5's I've often got recently. So the effort has worked to some extent, but nothing dramatic. Now time to try to repeat the 'successful fast'...
I had breakfast a couple of hours after waking up, like the first time. And it was similar in calories (600-700) and macro nutrients (lots of protein, fat, and 10-20g carbs). Then I lounged around the rest of the day. I did 'have' to go on a 30 minute bike ride to get some shopping as my car has broken down, but I took it very slow as I wanted to avoid 'exercise' as such.
Mental fog was present as always, so I watched the new series 'Lost In Space' on Netflix which is actually much more enjoyable when you've lost the ability to think critically
I also slept on the couch on and off - the previous day's exercise and reduction in food, combined with the fasting, were taking their toll. Or was it 'Lost in Space'? I was worried the sleeping may screw things up. What does the liver do during/after a siesta? I don't know.
Anyway before I finally went to bed yesterday, I was at 4.9 mmol/l. Not bad. I was actually quite hopeful that I may be able to get a 3.9 by the morning.
This morning I woke up and felt very weak and shaky. I got a reading of 4.2. It was a special occasion so I took another one for accuracy and got a 3.7. So I'm going to call it 3.9! I'd 'bottomed out' again and, after months of awful readings and feeling certain I'd be back on medication, it has given me hope.
It's just a first step in trying to get back on track, but a very good one. Now I need to go back to carefully monitoring what I eat. In particular if I can find a way of still doing the big walks at weekends and keeping weight and blood sugar on track, then I may have this problem 'solved' enough for now.
Breakfast this morning was 2 eggs, 1 sausage, mushrooms, 2 slices of bacon, a cup of tea with a bit of milk in, and, just because I could, some guacamole The guacamole was with the food, not in the tea. That's an experiment for later
580 calories, 7g carbs. Two hours later, my bg was 6.5. I'm going to call that 'not horrific', at least it's well within the guideline of 7.8. It may well have included an element of 'liver dump' as well, since my bg started off at rock-bottom and I'd just woken up. This is the first time in a long time I've woken up with a non-destructive blood sugar level, have eaten a very satisfying breakfast, and am still possibly not in damage territory. And I'm no longer weak and shaky. I may even go for a nice bike ride to my local walk as the weather looks lovely outside.
So anyway, re fasting, it doesn't look like I will be able to incorporate it into my lifestyle very often, but it can be a very useful tool to help get things back on course!
It's been very frustrating because on the surface, I'm living a healthy lifestyle - if someone tells you they've quit alcohol and junk food, radically reduced carbs, often goes for an hour's walk after work, and clocks up 15-20 hours walking in Snowdonia at the weekends, you'd probably think they are on the road to improving health.
But my blood sugar has been at chronically high levels and, tellingly, my weight has gone up quite considerably (7kg) in those two months. I'm confident that some of that will be muscle, but most of it will be fat. I'm pretty sure I'm a classic case of over-eating after 'big exercise' - if I eat what 'feels right' after the big days in the hills, I gain weight - apparently a well known and studied phenomenom. And in all my experiments last year, I realised that calories are a massive influence on my fasting blood sugars the next day, regardless of macro nutrient ratios.
My next HbA1c test is in 3 weeks, and, considering the regularity with which I've been getting 9.5 mmol/l readings, I'll be straight back on medication.
So I've become very calorie-conscious again, and have started a concerted effort to lose weight and get the bg down. Finding a balance whereby I can do my supposedly healthy hobbies at the weekends but not gain weight and get constantly damaging blood sugar levels is clearly going to take some work.
I've been doing some experiments with fasting recently. So far I've found:
* My first fast (quite some time ago now, before this 'difficult period') involved eating 'breakfast' a couple of hours after I woke up, on a non-work day, then nothing till the next day. I was really surprised to end up with a fasting bg of 3.9, even before the fasting day had ended. 3.9 turns out to be my low-point, which is apparently common. So my bg had 'bottomed-out' within a day.
* Many times I have 'fasted' in the sense of not eating after 7pm, then having breakfast over 12 hours later. This doesn't seem to make much difference.
* I recently did a 36 hour fast (no food at all one day) which involved quite a bit of walking in the morning of the no-food day. Not a bad result by the next morning - about 5.5 I think, but considering the effort was a lot more than when I'd got a 3.9, it was a bit disappointing. However this was in the recent period where I've been struggling with bg generally.
* Realising that I could combine fasting with walking quite comfortably, I tried fasting while on one of my 'big walk' days in Snowdonia. I gave up after a couple of hours, because I was exploring new terrain and doing a lot of navigation. I find using an OS map and a compass very mentally taxing and I always struggle mentally when fasting. I had something to eat and within an hour I was enjoying things again and knew exactly where I was (in more than one sense!). The previous 36 hour fast was far more manageable because the walking I had been doing then didn't require any mental alertness, I'd just been plodding along on routes I knew well. I could 'push through' the waves of mental fog with no issues.
* I tried skipping breakfast on a work day. This was a disaster. My job involves sitting in front of a computer and thinking. I was hopeless, frankly it didn't feel right to be claiming a wage. I over-compensated with food at lunch time, but could work very well in the afternoon.
So, so far (and I gather this may change), with fasting, it seems that I can't combine it with any activity that requires mental alertness. But I can combine it with surprising amounts of exercise.
However, the best result I got with fasting was the first one. What were the potentially important factors there? I don't know, but possibly:
* Having breakfast in the morning.
* It was not during a period of over-eating - I'm pretty sure I was in a period of weight loss.
* It involved very little movement during the day - just lounging around at home.
* There was no need for mental alertness.
So I've been busy the last few days trying to recreate this scenario. Calorie counting and exercise leaves me in no doubt that over the last 3 days I've been considerably 'in deficit' and hopefully the liver is getting cleared out of fat and all that stuff.
Yesterday morning I woke with a bg of 7.3 mmol/l. Really not great, but better than the 9.5's I've often got recently. So the effort has worked to some extent, but nothing dramatic. Now time to try to repeat the 'successful fast'...
I had breakfast a couple of hours after waking up, like the first time. And it was similar in calories (600-700) and macro nutrients (lots of protein, fat, and 10-20g carbs). Then I lounged around the rest of the day. I did 'have' to go on a 30 minute bike ride to get some shopping as my car has broken down, but I took it very slow as I wanted to avoid 'exercise' as such.
Mental fog was present as always, so I watched the new series 'Lost In Space' on Netflix which is actually much more enjoyable when you've lost the ability to think critically
I also slept on the couch on and off - the previous day's exercise and reduction in food, combined with the fasting, were taking their toll. Or was it 'Lost in Space'? I was worried the sleeping may screw things up. What does the liver do during/after a siesta? I don't know.
Anyway before I finally went to bed yesterday, I was at 4.9 mmol/l. Not bad. I was actually quite hopeful that I may be able to get a 3.9 by the morning.
This morning I woke up and felt very weak and shaky. I got a reading of 4.2. It was a special occasion so I took another one for accuracy and got a 3.7. So I'm going to call it 3.9! I'd 'bottomed out' again and, after months of awful readings and feeling certain I'd be back on medication, it has given me hope.
It's just a first step in trying to get back on track, but a very good one. Now I need to go back to carefully monitoring what I eat. In particular if I can find a way of still doing the big walks at weekends and keeping weight and blood sugar on track, then I may have this problem 'solved' enough for now.
Breakfast this morning was 2 eggs, 1 sausage, mushrooms, 2 slices of bacon, a cup of tea with a bit of milk in, and, just because I could, some guacamole The guacamole was with the food, not in the tea. That's an experiment for later
580 calories, 7g carbs. Two hours later, my bg was 6.5. I'm going to call that 'not horrific', at least it's well within the guideline of 7.8. It may well have included an element of 'liver dump' as well, since my bg started off at rock-bottom and I'd just woken up. This is the first time in a long time I've woken up with a non-destructive blood sugar level, have eaten a very satisfying breakfast, and am still possibly not in damage territory. And I'm no longer weak and shaky. I may even go for a nice bike ride to my local walk as the weather looks lovely outside.
So anyway, re fasting, it doesn't look like I will be able to incorporate it into my lifestyle very often, but it can be a very useful tool to help get things back on course!