HOW LONG?

[bulkbiker]

For supper I had charcoal & rye crackers x3 @ 2.9gr per cracker

I realise that they are probably small but they are still 77% carbohydrate ....eating them late at night won't be helping... can't you just have the cheese maybe a couple of extra slices on its own?

 

[xfieldok]

I would ignore your fasting level for now. It is usually the last number to come down. Concentrate on getting the lowest rise after eating.

Personally my eating is done by 7pm. I have to take morning tablets with food, so I have some cheese on waking. Brunch is around 11ish.

This is a marathon not a sprint and really you are only just starting out. Any error you make, don't let it get you down. Treat it as part of your education.

Stop with the crisps and crackers. Be a good boy and make those cheesy snacks I mentioned. No carbs

 

[Bluetit1802]

Can you work on this with me please? I haven't eaten since around 11pm last night so fasted until 14:53pm today and my bgs test was 9.9.

I'm beginning to wonder there's something more going on that I can't work out. For supper I had charcoal & rye crackers x3 @ 2.9gr per cracker, I usually have 2, I topped them with Cheddar cheese and tomato and felt a bit low last night so had a small bag of 'real crisps' I had two cans of Pepsi max to drink. So diminished eating about 11:15pm last night.

Is there any truth in the saying dont eat after 9pm?

I dont feel hungry today and this often happens, other days I'm looking for something to eat all the time, I'm not doing very well really most mornings after at least a 7 hour gap my night fast bgs are 8.9.

As always, thank you in anticipation of a reply. Q.

@xfieldok hit the nail on the head as regards testing. Testing whilst fasted can lead to variable results that are very little to do with food. Stress, anxiety, sleepless or restless nights, a virus starting, and also activities and exercise. You would do better to test before a meal and then again 2 hours after your first bite. Keep a food diary that includes portion sizes and record your levels alongside the food. Look at the amount of the rise from before to after - that is what is important at the beginning of your journey. It should always be less than 2mmol/l and preferably a lot less than that. More than 2mmol/ l and there were too many carbs for your body to process efficiently. Get that right, and the rest will follow.

There is a saying don't eat after 9pm but in my book the last meal should be well before 9. A supper such as yours is not helping. Can you have more for your main evening meal no later than 7pm and then just water after that? Then have a breakfast of fats and protein, no carbs or next to no carbs. The usual advice is eggs, eggs and another egg for breakfast. Omelettes with cheese or mushrooms, or eggs and bacon with one tomato and mushrooms.

If you are hungry between meals it is probably because either you are not eating sufficient calories at each meal or you are not eating enough fat. Instead of diving for a snack, try to manage any hunger with fluids - a decaff coffee with double cream is very satisfying, or even just a cup of tea. When you reduce your carbs it is essential to increase fats and/or protein.

Can you tell us exactly what you have eaten today and what you have planned for the rest of the day? We may have some ideas.

 

[Q007]

@xfieldok hit the nail on the head as regards testing. Testing whilst fasted can lead to variable results that are very little to do with food. Stress, anxiety, sleepless or restless nights, a virus starting, and also activities and exercise. You would do better to test before a meal and then again 2 hours after your first bite. Keep a food diary that includes portion sizes and record your levels alongside the food. Look at the amount of the rise from before to after - that is what is important at the beginning of your journey. It should always be less than 2mmol/l and preferably a lot less than that. More than 2mmol/ l and there were too many carbs for your body to process efficiently. Get that right, and the rest will follow.

There is a saying don't eat after 9pm but in my book the last meal should be well before 9. A supper such as yours is not helping. Can you have more for your main evening meal no later than 7pm and then just water after that? Then have a breakfast of fats and protein, no carbs or next to no carbs. The usual advice is eggs, eggs and another egg for breakfast. Omelettes with cheese or mushrooms, or eggs and bacon with one tomato and mushrooms.

If you are hungry between meals it is probably because either you are not eating sufficient calories at each meal or you are not eating enough fat. Instead of diving for a snack, try to manage any hunger with fluids - a decaff coffee with double cream is very satisfying, or even just a cup of tea. When you reduce your carbs it is essential to increase fats and/or protein.

Can you tell us exactly what you have eaten today and what you have planned for the rest of the day? We may have some ideas.

Thanks for the reply, my 12 year old made me some lemon drizzle cake she'd made, I had to try it as she'd made the effort and came to visit me, no surprise 15.9 came in.

I had chicken, with different peppers, soy sauce and my bloods were 7.4. I'm hungry again now so now I know this meal has a great result for me I'll eat a bigger portion next time.

At the moment its eating to the meter is the path I'm taking to try to find out what suits my bgs.

I'm really pleased with my 7.4, still to high but a start.

I've designed a form and populating all the data, dates, times, bgs and what I've eaten.

7.4 WOW!

Thanks for your time, regards, Q

 

[Mike d]

Soy sauce? Usually very high carb

 

[HSSS]

Where are your fats? If you cut carbs (if I ignore the crackers crisps and cake!) then you must get energy from somewhere else and you aren’t. I’m not surprised you are hungry. Have fewer, larger, fattier meals which will allow you to go longer between them without hunger or the need to snack. It’ll take a while but not eating carbs will in time reduce the craving for them.

 

[VioletViolet]

Depends if you want to beat diabetes or manage it. If it’s the former, then it isn’t about making it from one meal to the next. It’s about the cumulative effect of everything you put into your body over time. The sugar load in your system is elastic, and doesn’t reset between meals.

If you prefer to manage the condition - which is fine if that’s what you choose - then you should probably wait until your blood glucose is at least below 7 before eating again. If that’s achievable for you of course.

"the sugar load in your system is elastic"

What do you mean Mr Lahey?

 

[Member496333]

"the sugar load in your system is elastic"

What do you mean Mr Lahey?

I mean it doesn’t reset between meals. You’re either topping up or letting some burn off. It’s accumulative. Stop putting it in, keep burning it off, and in the fullness of time the burden is lowered, but it doesn’t happen overnight.

 

[VioletViolet]

I mean it doesn’t reset between meals. You’re either topping up or letting some burn off. It’s accumulative. Stop putting it in, keep burning it off, and in the fullness of time the burden is lowered, but it doesn’t happen overnight.

Ah Ok thank you , I get it now. Thank you!

 

[Q007]

Soy sauce? Usually very high carb

Yes I thought so too, it wasnt drizzed over but cooked with some, you know like a stir fry. Q.

 

[Q007]

Where are your fats? If you cut carbs (if I ignore the crackers crisps and cake!) then you must get energy from somewhere else and you aren’t. I’m not surprised you are hungry. Have fewer, larger, fattier meals which will allow you to go longer between them without hunger or the need to snack. It’ll take a while but not eating carbs will in time reduce the craving for them.

See, I m so glad this question / response came in.
What fats? What fats would you have with a chicken breast stir fry?

As a back drop to anything I right and anything you're kind enough to reply with, I'm working backwards here and getting stern opposition from the NHS.

I missed a step with this meal, the portion was too small, that's me listening to the NHS still with smaller portions where with a pretty much carb free meal it was child sized.

But I still would like any thoughts of what fat I would have as I quite like stir Fry's. Please let's not forget the 7.4 with my last Hba1c of 101.

Note;
That was two days ago, I had steak green beans and peppers for dinner last night and I was 6.7. I'm really trying

Meal choices are a hurdle coming around the corner, I'm never going to be into lentils and chia seeds and stuff. Id be grateful for what fats to add.

I tripped over 'off-forum' reading on the web warning of the dangers of saturated and trans fats, site after site said the same and, of course the NHS.

Still unsure on what target of carbs to aim for, I'm 6' tall and just under 14 st so some mass to fill here. My fighting weight was 12 st 7 lbs, trying to get back there. I've seen 25gr 35gr and 70gr from friends on here and 100gr on the interweb last night. I'm coming off being used to a heaped bowl of granola.
Hoping today is a good day for you, Q.

 

[Q007]

I mean it doesn’t reset between meals. You’re either topping up or letting some burn off. It’s accumulative. Stop putting it in, keep burning it off, and in the fullness of time the burden is lowered, but it doesn’t happen overnight.

That makes sense Jim thanks. Q

 

[wiflib]

You’ve made this complicated for yourself yet you’ve been given lots of the same info over the years.

Eat animal protein, dairy, eggs, sat fat and above ground veg with almost impunity and test.

 

[HSSS]

See, I m so glad this question / response came in.
What fats? What fats would you have with a chicken breast stir fry?

As a back drop to anything I right and anything you're kind enough to reply with, I'm working backwards here and getting stern opposition from the NHS.

I missed a step with this meal, the portion was too small, that's me listening to the NHS still with smaller portions where with a pretty much carb free meal it was child sized.

But I still would like any thoughts of what fat I would have as I quite like stir Fry's. Please let's not forget the 7.4 with my last Hba1c of 101.

Note;
That was two days ago, I had steak green beans and peppers for dinner last night and I was 6.7. I'm really trying

Meal choices are a hurdle coming around the corner, I'm never going to be into lentils and chia seeds and stuff. Id be grateful for what fats to add.

I tripped over 'off-forum' reading on the web warning of the dangers of saturated and trans fats, site after site said the same and, of course the NHS.

Still unsure on what target of carbs to aim for, I'm 6' tall and just under 14 st so some mass to fill here. My fighting weight was 12 st 7 lbs, trying to get back there. I've seen 25gr 35gr and 70gr from friends on here and 100gr on the interweb last night. I'm coming off being used to a heaped bowl of granola.
Hoping today is a good day for you, Q.

Obvious answer with stir frying would be to use coconut oil to cook in. Maybe use thighs not breasts. Add nuts in to it. Or have a fatty dessert like strawberries and cream or a plate of cheese afterwards. With steak add a creamy or cheesy sauce and cook in butter (garlic butter maybe).

Many of us get the same warnings and read the same stuff. We ignore it.

Everyone has their own level of carbs. It’s trial and error.
Option 1. Work out roughly what you were eating either at each meal or daily or both, set a level lower than this and see where it gets you then reassess.
Option 2. Go for it. Go as low as you possibly can (keto even maybe). See where it gets you. Reassess.
Option 3. Go meal by meal. Test before and after sticking to foods that don’t cause spikes. Build up a range of safe foods. See where it gets you. Reassess.

 

[Q007]

Obvious answer with stir frying would be to use coconut oil to cook in. Maybe use thighs not breasts. Add nuts in to it. Or have a fatty dessert like strawberries and cream or a plate of cheese afterwards. With steak add a creamy or cheesy sauce and cook in butter (garlic butter maybe).

Many of us get the same warnings and read the same stuff. We ignore it.

Everyone has their own level of carbs. It’s trial and error.
Option 1. Work out roughly what you were eating either at each meal or daily or both, set a level lower than this and see where it gets you then reassess.
Option 2. Go for it. Go as low as you possibly can (keto even maybe). See where it gets you. Reassess.
Option 3. Go meal by meal. Test before and after sticking to foods that don’t cause spikes. Build up a range of safe foods. See where it gets you. Reassess.

Thank you indeed, a dish of strawberries would be such a treat, what cream single OK? Is garlic butter expensive to buy and finally (sorry) what nuts would almonds be OK are they good for me too. Thank you. Q.

 

[Bluetit1802]

It isn't a whole punnet of strawberries. It is 2 or 3 strawberries, chopped up and covered with either double cream (proper cream, not pretend Elmlea, or a plain full fat Greek yogurt. Or you can also try raspberries instead of strawberries and have half a dozen). What about high cocoa dark chocolate - one piece melted in cream or yogurt with your strawberries..

Avoid any vegetable oils - they are inflammatory and will not help your heart problems one bit. Personally I avoid all liquid oils and use animal fats instead. Do you like fish? Salmon is especially good for the heart, either fresh or tinned. Olive oil on salads. Avocados. Plenty of eggs. Butter. You can add butter to your veggies. You can cook with it. Mushrooms fried in butter are delicious.

 

[HSSS]

Thank you indeed, a dish of strawberries would be such a treat, what cream single OK? Is garlic butter expensive to buy and finally (sorry) what nuts would almonds be OK are they good for me too. Thank you. Q.

A small portion of strawberries. The thicker the cream the better. I use double. Add garlic to normal butter.

Take a look at some low carb websites. I’ve previously given you links to. Eg dietdoctor.com or ditchthecarbs.com or one of loads out there for recipe ideas and safe food lists. You do need to learn how to do this and how to work out the carbs in foods (or which ones are safe at least) for yourself really. Or just google search any food you fancy and add the words low carb or keto. That will get you to yet more low carb sites and ways to make alterations to “normal” recipes.

 

[wiflib]

Thank you indeed, a dish of strawberries would be such a treat, what cream single OK? Is garlic butter expensive to buy and finally (sorry) what nuts would almonds be OK are they good for me too. Thank you. Q.

Just like you did with the rye crackers you ate, read the carb content of the nuts on the packet and decide if you want to eat them.

Garlic butter is butter and garlic mixed together.

 

[Resurgam]

I put chicken thighs on a rack in the halogen oven or in the Tefal hot air fryer, then use the liquid which they release - it is chicken juice and fat, to do the stirfry.