BS 9.7mmol after breakfast??

[Mrsg11]

Hi, so have diagnosed just over a month ago and trying low carb diet & started monitoringy blood sugar levels, so on waking this morning they were 7.3mmol, had breakfast of 2 slices of nimble wholemeal which is about 16g carb & 1g sugar with black coffee tested again after 2 hours and am at 9.7!!!

Is the carbs too much?

I am trying to limit them to less 100g per day.

Also had same reading after a dinner of fish & broccoli last, also am taking metformin with every meal

Where am I going wrong??

 

[bulkbiker]

Is the carbs too much?

For you yes.
Maybe try some eggs and bacon and certainly ditch the sugar.

Edit to add morning is usually the worst time to eat anything with carbs as you are simply adding to the boost provided by the dawn phenomenon.

 

[ianf0ster]

Hi @Mrsg11

Trying to limit your carbs to less than 100g per day is a good thing in general, but we each have different carb tolerances and this includes to different foods at different times of day.

Some people (probably most) are more sensitive to carbohydrates in the morning and so for them that is a really bad time to eat bread or cereal. Eggs , bacon, cold meat/fish , cheese or even full fat Greek style yogurt with q few berries (and nuts) make for a better breakfast for those Type 2s.

Also 100gms of carbs per day while considered to be 'Low Carb' is a long way from the absolute minimum carbs you need per day - which is theoretically zero! Though if you are taking Glic or Insulin or other T2 diabetes medicine (except for Metformin) you will need some car4bs in order to avoid your Blood Glucose going Hypo.

Once I got my BG meter, I started 'eating to the meter' by adjusting what I ate and my portion size so as to keep my BG readings down below 8.0 (on almost every reading). I don't mind having a rather repetitive diet and so had boiled eggs for breakfast (no toast) every day until I became 'fat adjusted', after which I started skipping Breakfast (aka Time Restricted Eating or Intermittent Fasting).

My BG meter told me that my personal limit on carbs is around 40g per day. So I usually eat between 20g and 40g per day - which is not quite low enough to be continuously in nutritional Ketosis.

 

[Mrs T 123]

Yes sounds like it - the 2 slices of bread and sugar in your coffee would be too much for me too - a guide is usually if your BS have gone above 2 at the 2 hour mark (after 1st bite) then it is too carby. I also try to keep all my food under 7.8 at the 2 hour mark.

 

[Freema]

most type 2ś have very high numbers in the mornings, so breakfast without any carbs would be the best way to level out blood sugar levels all over the day, like ham and cheese and olives, or bacon and eggs, beef with green veggies

 

[Mrsg11]

For you yes.
Maybe try some eggs and bacon and certainly ditch the sugar.

Edit to add morning is usually the worst time to eat anything with carbs as you are simply adding to the boost provided by the dawn phenomenon.

Thanks bulkbiker, I forgot to mention I dont take sugar in my coffee, will change my breakfast now to some eggs & see how that goe!

 

[bulkbiker]

Thanks bulkbiker, I forgot to mention I dont take sugar in my coffee, will change my breakfast now to some eggs & see how that goe!

Ah that was 1g of sugar from the nimble?
in fact it would be all 16g which is converted once ingested.
Double cream in coffee also can help with feeling fuller though.
I don't have breakfast in the morning any longer just coffee with cream

 

[Mrsg11]

Thanks @ianf0ster will try reducing the carbs again to see if it makes any difference, don't know how I will cope on that tbh but nothing else for it I suppose!!

 

[Oldvatr]

Metformin is one of those meds that takes a while to 'bed in' a couple of weeks or so. Even so, it is quite limited in any glucose reduction effect and is given to diabetics mainly to provide heart and plumbing protection, I look at how my levels do over a period, and note which direction the figures move. Rising = bad, falling or static = good. My glucose meter gives me a daily average value for the previous 24 hours and that is a useful feature since it helps flatten out the peaks and troughs. Some meters provide graphs.

It takes a month or so for Low Carb to show benefits too since our livers hold years of stored glucose gunk that needs to be emptied out before we normally start to get good results. The liver tries to keep blood sugars high, and uses the liver stores to bolster the bgl when a drop is detected. It takes a while to readjust to a new low level.

 

[Mrsg11]

Ah that was 1g of sugar from the nimble?
in fact it would be all 16g which is converted once ingested.
Double cream in coffee also can help with feeling fuller though.
I don't have breakfast in the morning any longer just coffee with cream

I know I have naively thought the 16g carbs was too bad, lesson learnt, will try the double cream in coffee, thanks

 

[Mrsg11]

I know I have naively thought the 16g carbs was too bad, lesson learnt, will try the double cream in coffee, thanks

Sorry meant wasn't too bad!

 

[Mrsg11]

Metformin is one of those meds that takes a while to 'bed in' a couple of weeks or so. Even so, it is quite limited in any glucose reduction effect and is given to diabetics mainly to provide heart and plumbing protection, I look at how my levels do over a period, and note which direction the figures move. Rising = bad, falling or static = good. My glucose meter gives me a daily average value for the previous 24 hours and that is a useful feature since it helps flatten out the peaks and troughs. Some meters provide graphs.

It takes a month or so for Low Carb to show benefits too since our livers hold years of stored glucose gunk that needs to be emptied out before we normally start to get good results. The liver tries to keep blood sugars high, and uses the liver stores to bolster the bgl when a drop is detected. It takes a while to readjust to a new low level.

What meter are you using @Oldvatr?

 

[bulkbiker]

Sorry meant wasn't too bad!

That's ok I got the gist..
But carbs in the morning are often the worst.. although I aim for fewer than 10g per day most days so your breakfast was more than my daily amount.

 

[Oldvatr]

What meter are you using @Oldvatr?

I am using a Caresense Dual from Spirit Health. It is not the cheapest, but it can measure ketones too if I buy the strips for it. I find it to be pretty reliable with few misreads. The same supplier sells the TEE2 meter which is a cheaper straightforward glucose meter but not sure if it averages like the Dual. The Dual also has bluetooth connectivity, and a software graphic program to get graphs. I do things the old-fashioned way in a spreadsheet along with my food diary and weight tracker.

It has just recorded my 2000th day (5.4 years) of Low Carbing, taking at least 3 tests a day and I am on my third battery. The screen lights up to display readings in the shade or at night. The display uses large high-vis numerics, so is easy to read. It's very friendly since it says HI when I overshoot the upper limit or LO if I am feeling low. It has other tricks, I believe, but I don't need them so cannot say what they are.