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Prediabetes trying to understand blood results

L

Libbaloo

Well-Known Member
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As a newbie, I am trying to get to grips with testing. My fasting blood glucose was 6 this morning. I had a nectarine late last night and I have no idea if this has boosted my levels or if 6 might be normal for me. Just glanced at the thread about fasting glucose levels and am confused by all the results. I am prediabetic and I suppose I need to get familiar with my own patterns.
A couple of days into Low carb high fat and still wondering if I should be entering a ketosis type eating way of life.
Help!
 
:)Hi I'm new myself. Fasting 6 seems to be good. You need to test 2 hours after you've eaten and see what it is then. If you look at the "Newly Diagnosed' section and open up the Administrator posts, you will find some information there. Watch your fruit, an apple would be better.

You should get a few people replying to you. Post in the Newly Diagnosed section. Everyone is very supportive and helpful ;)
 
Eating a nectarine on its own won't be doing you many favours, and won't be helping you reach ketosis. Tropical fruits have a lot of sugar. However, sugar spikes quickly and is unlikely to have caused the 6 the following morning. You will probably have had a sharp spike within an hour after eating it. To get the best results out of fruit, they are best eaten with a meal. Berries are best (delicious with cream) or a small apple, but not on its own.

Try testing immediately before bed and then immediately on getting up. See what your levels are doing over night.

Normal fasting is 4 to 5.9 for non-diabetics, so 6 isn't so bad.
 
Fasting levels are tricky and there are various reasons why they may be up or down unexpectedly. Usually the cause of unexpected rise is the "dawn dump" when your body gets a boost of glucose to get you moving. Mostly people on here say not to worry. Don't try to see patterns or significance until you've been testing regularly for some time.
 
Thanks you KimG. I have watched your newbie posts with interest. I am new to site and new to thoughts about my prediabetes. I must have been spiking through the the day over many years due to my love of all fruits... And thinking I was eating healthy diet with low fat etc... But perhaps not as much exercise as I should. Consequently, the visceral fat I must be carrying around my middle is having an effect although I am size 16 -18 .
Thank you for your encouragements. I just had to eat the final nectarine in the fruit bowl... But no more!
It takes a while to understand all this but as you say, people on site are very helpful.
Like you, I a, getting used to testing but need others to explain the significance of different readings.
Not easy to do all this and watching my teenage children continuing with their snacking and student pasta etc. what I know now, I have learned so much in the last two days of research online.

All the best to you on your journey.
 
Bluetit1802 said:
Eating a nectarine on its own won't be doing you many favours, and won't be helping you reach ketosis. Tropical fruits have a lot of sugar. However, sugar spikes quickly and is unlikely to have caused the 6 the following morning. You will probably have had a sharp spike within an hour after eating it. To get the best results out of fruit, they are best eaten with a meal. Berries are best (delicious with cream) or a small apple, but not on its own.

Try testing immediately before bed and then immediately on getting up. See what your levels are doing over night.

Normal fasting is 4 to 5.9 for non-diabetics, so 6 isn't so bad.
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Thank you for those insights. I realise what has probably made me spike through out the day for many years and that is the snacking on pieces of fruit of all kinds.. In addition to not thinking much about carbs.
I'm a bit worried about ketosis eating from now on... But everyone on this site seems to support it.
In ketosis, does the body think it is 'starving' so looks to burn fat and muscle instead of carbs? And if I lose sufficient weight round middle, could I relax my food intake and have a bit more carb eventually? Trying to get my head round insulin with resistance.
I really appreciate the online support in these early days.
 
Yes, basically ketosis is the body burning fat in the absence of glucose.

There is no answer to your question about being able to increase your carbs when you have lost weight because everyone is different. We all have different degrees of insulin resistance, different amounts and types of damage to our pancreas, and different metabolisms. Some lucky people on here have managed to get their levels right down to well within non-diabetic levels and stayed that way. Some do introduce more carbs, but they have to keep checking and testing. They can't relax totally or they may find themselves on a slippery slope back to where they started. Just remember what put you in this position in the first place and ask yourself if you want to risk that happening again, or maybe you will be one of the lucky ones.

Also, personally, my BMI is now 20, down from 30. Size 10, no tummy bulges, yet I still have insulin problems and struggle with carbs. My weight has gone but my insulin doesn't work as it should. My BS levels are fine, but definitely are not fine when I eat carbs. My meter tells me this.
 
Thank you. I am going to make appointment with GP for next week. I got results over phone two weeks ago when she said in a vague way that my blood glucose were a bit up and down ( as far as I am aware, I've only been tested for glucose twice in past year) she suggested a re test in January 2016 and in meantime I should try losing some weight to reduce my BMI ( currently 31.5)
I realise from this forum that in effect, the phone call was actually a diagnosis of prediabetes as my levels are in that range.

I recently lost a stone from cutting out cheese and some bread, biscuits, cakes etc but was also eating increased porridge, lentils and she was very pleased about my cholesterol levels ... Good and bad lipid results were much better than in past.

I hope I am being safe in eating all the full fat and that I'm not risking cholesterol problems.

I feel I've been given a window of opportunity to get things back in control. I do hope I can start to see signs of visceral fat going when I get on the scales.
 
Libbaloo said:
I'm a bit worried about ketosis eating from now on... But everyone on this site seems to support it.
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I was able to lose a large amount of weight without ketosis eating. I just lowered my carbs without reducing them to a strict level. I think you will find this is the approach most here follow. Those who are into ketosis eating seem to be a minority. Personally I would find it too strict to live with, but I think if I person has been genuinely low carbing for a while and their weight loss has really plateaud then it is worth a try.
 
CatLadyNZ said:
I was able to lose a large amount of weight without ketosis eating. I just lowered my carbs without reducing them to a strict level. I think you will find this is the approach most here follow. Those who are into ketosis eating seem to be a minority. Personally I would find it too strict to live with, but I think if I person has been genuinely low carbing for a while and their weight loss has really plateaud then it is worth a try.
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Do you still eat a lot of fat though?
 
Libbaloo said:
Do you still eat a lot of fat though?
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I didn't eat much fat while I was losing the weight, no. I have recently regained some of it, so am starting to low carb again, and this time I am going to increase my fat intake, but only enough to help fight carb cravings. This is based on what I have been reading here. I'm lucky in that I don't have cholesterol or gallbladder issues, so I feel like I have more leeway with fat intake.
 
Libbaloo said:
Do you still eat a lot of fat though?
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Also, I think of ketosis eating as about 5% of your food (or less) being carbs. Whereas the LCHF eating that I am starting to do is more like 20-30% carbs.
 
Thanks... I feel very strange adding full saturated fats to my intake when I have spent years trying to avoid it. And I will miss the fruit varieties.
 
Libbaloo said:
I hope I am being safe in eating all the full fat and that I'm not risking cholesterol problems.
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Libbaloo said:
Thanks... I feel very strange adding full saturated fats to my intake when I have spent years trying to avoid it. And I will miss the fruit varieties.
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Very understandable. I lost too much weight by eating low-sugar, low-fat to start with but it didn't do my blood sugar levels much good. I've now thrown caution to the winds, stopped taking statins despite a slight rise in my overall cholesterol level (but keeping good HDL and trigs) and am heartily into what I hope are good fats. Time and the next cholesterol & HbA1c tests will tell. Can it be wrong to feel so well?
I miss the very sweet exotic fruits but berries are fine and I can grow most of them or pick them from the hedgerows.
 
DeejayR said:
Very understandable. I lost too much weight by eating low-sugar, low-fat to start with but it didn't do my blood sugar levels much good. I've now thrown caution to the winds, stopped taking statins despite a slight rise in my overall cholesterol level (but keeping good HDL and trigs) and am heartily into what I hope are good fats. Time and the next cholesterol & HbA1c tests will tell. Can it be wrong to feel so well?
I miss the very sweet exotic fruits but berries are fine and I can grow most of them or pick them from the hedgerows.
Click to expand...
Interesting.... The fridge is full of appetising food with lots flavour and all the family is enjoying that. However it is only me who is doing the LCHF thing. I have discovered the lids protein rolls and am being much more intentional. My husband is being very patient and supportive as I seem to be spending a lot if time online and talking or thinking about all this as well as the testing and recording. I think my levels are confirming I am I the prediabetic band but I hope see blood glucose better controlled.
I was interested to read your comment about the low sugar end low fats and the impact on blood glucose. I a, hoping to get the weight down by a stone or two and maintain it and also keep to the food regime.
Thankfully here in Kent, we have come to the end of the cherry season. I can't imagine what my levels must have been when buying punnets on a regular basis from the stall near our house. A roller coaster of ups and downs. Blackberries ripening on the dog walk but unless I can eat with crime fraiche, I'm not interested I grazing.
 
I'm a grazer. An hour on the allotment and I've had a two-course lunch :p
Good luck with the food balance. Obviously it can be done.
 
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