high morning levels

[numan43]

Hello everyone
I've been low carbing for over a year now but still cant get my morning numbers under control.
No matter what I've tried over the past 14 months my typical day is morning between 7-9mmol, lunch around 1pm 6mmol then 5pm 4-5mmol.
My hba1c has been steady at around 40ish over the year so although I feel I'm doing well overall the morning numbers really get me down.
Any new advice out there I may have missed?

 

[himtoo]

just bumping for you as no response yet

all the best !!!

 

[kokhongw]

I would have suggested intermittent fasting, except that your BMI looks ok.

Still that was what I found helpful to normalize my fasting glucose to ~ 5.5 mmol daily.

 

[bulkbiker]

I just did a four day fast which ended with a FBG of 4.5 and late afternoon before I ate of 4.1..
I'm usually in the low 6's so that brought mine down.. but back up pretty fast too after a couple of days of eating LCHF.
Next time will try a 7 day fast and see if that helps with some sustainable results.

 

[berylc]

I just did a four day fast which ended with a FBG of 4.5 and late afternoon before I ate of 4.1..
I'm usually in the low 6's so that brought mine down.. but back up pretty fast too after a couple of days of eating LCHF.
Next time will try a 7 day fast and see if that helps with some sustainable results.

4 day fast? What meals do you skip with that, same question to 7 day fast

 

[KevinPotts]

Now that I'm doing a weekly 42 hour fast, can you tell me bulkbiker, how challenging and beneficial it will be to double up + a bit? Thanks Kevin


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[bulkbiker]

4 day fast? What meals do you skip with that, same question to 7 day fast

skip all meals.. just have tea with soya milk and coffee with double cream and soya milk and the guilty pleasure of a mouthful of double cream when feeling peckish (not very often maybe once a day). Oh yes and water too although I drink so much tea that water isn't very prominent.

 

[bulkbiker]

Now that I'm doing a weekly 42 hour fast, can you tell me bulkbiker, how challenging and beneficial it will be to double up + a bit? Thanks Kevin


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Well my weight loss had stalled a bit after losing 4 stone so wanted to give that a boost also was finding that I could go without food for longer than I imagined so decided to try longer fasting. Brought my bloods down nicely (4.1 just before I ate) and am now in the low 6's and 5's rather than between 6 and 7. Also I had a rather gluttonous relationship with food which is now more under control.. I don't think so much about what my next meal will be more about whether there will be a next meal.
In short it seems to work for me on a number of levels so I may stick with it for quite a while. Am thinking of 1 week per month just on drinks and see how it goes. Have also just started swimming in the open air pool near us and did at least 1km a day while fasting so no lack of energy...

 

[PenfoldAPD]

@numan43 are you monitoring your carbs strictly? I find that when I go off course a bit the hidden carbs sneak in. I'm back using My Fitness Pal http://www.myfitnesspal.com/ to monitor everything. Use on your computer or as an app. It covers most foods and really helps you to see the carb content of everything you eat.

 

[numan43]

my problem is that I dont need to lose any more weight, in fact my doc says I should try and gain some as I'm looking a drawn and too skinny.

 

[bulkbiker]

You could maybe try upping your fat intake. That may help with gaining a few pounds whilst helping your blood sugars down.
You are on a lot of medication, does your doc think that may be keeping your levels higher? Might be worth asking depending on his level of diabetes knowledge (mine is useless).

 

[numan43]

this morning is a prime example of my frustrations

5:00am 5.6
nothing eaten and only water taken

8:30am 9.2

I think "go figure" is the horrible phrase I should use

 

[KevinPotts]

Bulkbiker, 1km per day whilst fasting, that is truly impressive.


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[KevinPotts]

Could it still be the tail end build up if the Dawn Phenomenon folks? If so a bit of protein/ fat before bed (cheese, nuts) maybe with apple cider vinegar..


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[RetroHelen]

Dawn phenomenon explained here: https://intensivedietarymanagement.com/dawn-phenomenon-t2d-8/ The way to increase weight on LCHF diet is to build up muscle tissue by small weight reps and resistance type exercises on alternating days. Checkout retired marathon runner Mark Sissons website or Olympic Athletes' Doctor Joshua Axe for ideas - both on LCHF diets. Dr Richard Bernstein is Type 1 diabetic and is in his eighties and maintains his weight by doing weights followed by rest days for muscle building and recovery in between.

 

[KevinPotts]

Helen, a brilliant, well written article. Thanks


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[AndBreathe]

this morning is a prime example of my frustrations

5:00am 5.6
nothing eaten and only water taken

8:30am 9.2

I think "go figure" is the horrible phrase I should use

As others have suggested, I'd be going for Dawn Phenomenon, and there's not much you can do about that. The upside is its a short timeframe rise, usually.

If you want to actually see if this is the case, with your very own eyes, then the Abbott Freestyle Libre gives a great insight to 24-7 patterns. It's not cheap - a starter pack being c£140, if I recall, but that gives you the reader, with inbuilt meter, which is reusable for many sensors, plus 2 sensors, each with a 2 week duration, so a months 24/7 tracking, plus meter for future use. Additional sensor packs come it at c£100 for 2.

Personally, I would have wagered a lot of my pocket money I didn't experience any Dawn Phenomenon, but the Libre says differently. I learned a lot about my profiles using Libre. Many would call it an indulgence, but me? I think I'm worth it.

 

[satkins]

Wish we could get that in Canada. All I've been able to find is a few news articles about the Abbott Freestyle Libre. Health Canada won't even say if they are testing it yet. Is someone willing to ship one to me you can just bill Health Canada. I'm sure they wont' mind paying

 

[Shaul Dror]

Hello everyone
I've been low carbing for over a year now but still cant get my morning numbers under control.
No matter what I've tried over the past 14 months my typical day is morning between 7-9mmol, lunch around 1pm 6mmol then 5pm 4-5mmol.
My hba1c has been steady at around 40ish over the year so although I feel I'm doing well overall the morning numbers really get me down.
Any new advice out there I may have missed?

 

[Shaul Dror]

Hello everyone
I've been low carbing for over a year now but still cant get my morning numbers under control.
No matter what I've tried over the past 14 months my typical day is morning between 7-9mmol, lunch around 1pm 6mmol then 5pm 4-5mmol.
My hba1c has been steady at around 40ish over the year so although I feel I'm doing well overall the morning numbers really get me down.
Any new advice out there I may have missed?

Its not only about fasting but about knowing and understanding your body.. You need to get to know and understand more about the effect of the size of your meals, the carb content and the benefit of exercise in making yourself more receptive to the insulin that you are still producing. You need to know about how your body and metabolism is able to cope with what you put in your mouth.

I monitor myself 3 to 5 times a day. As a consequence I have observed and learnt what size meals my body can cope with and what happens when I exceed this. Same for carb content. I now know how much carbs I can tolerate and what happens if I exceed this.

The benefits of frequent self monitoring for Type 2 diabetics are huge and very few Type 2's monitor themselves as often as I do.

In my case monitoring myself this frequently is no problem as I have a non invasive monitor and don't need to prick myself to monitor.