Caleb Murdock said:
Sid Bonkers said:
I think that most people, myself included, would say that postprandial readings are the most important as if they are high (spikes) that will have a direct effect your HbA1c but if they can be levelled out then the A1C comes down as a consequence, where as a fasting reading tells you very little other than to pat yourself on the back if they are low or to worry if they are high. Everything is dependant on your postprandial readings.
That's not my opinion. I don't think the experts are certain about it.
Which is better, a BS level that is constantly 8.0, or a BS level that ranges from 6.0 to 9.5? I don't think we know. Certainly, BS spikes after meals aren't good, but it is also important to get your BS down between meals. A person who is able to get down to 6.0 between meals probably isn't having spikes to 9.5 anyway (unless he or she is taking insulin, which can result in sharp spikes if a shot is missed). Thus, focussing on your fasting BS levels isn't a bad strategy because it will probably bring down your post-prandial levels also.
I agree that all BG readings are important, but from what I have found, the consenus seems to be that post meal readings are the most important ones. My pre meal and after meal readings I have no problem with, I know what to eat, and I can keep it under control. But I have never been able to control my fasting readings (saying that, they range from 6.5 7.9 so not too bad) so I have researched this area of liver dump and "Dawn phenomenon" more than other areas, and I have tried every scenario, eg not eating before going to bed, eating before going to bed, eating cheese before going to bed, eating carbs before going to bed etc etc, and nothing works. the only time I would have low Bg in fasting, would be after a few beers the night before, and I really don't want to do that every night. Again just reading things on here and other web sites the only sort of conclusion I can come to is that I train 5 days a week, first thing in the morning, and whether my body is saying I need extra sugar to compensate this activity every day and starts dumping sugar into my system. Its not ideal, but if every other aspect is under control, I can live with it
Sid, as for your regime of eating a bit of everything but in small portions, probably works for some people, but as i said I train 5 days a week, and I need to eat bigger portions, and if I ate any more carbs than do now, I know I would lose control of my BG levels, so I eat a LCHF diet. But as we all know, each to their own, and if what you are doing works for you, keep working at it.