BG levels not coming down

[Ken Cowley]

I seem to be having difficulty reducing my BG levels even after following my specialists dietary advice.
I have reduced my refined sugar to nothing, and am only eating slow release carbs. However the levels
still appear to either remain the same or get even higher.

I don't seem to know what I am doing wrong, if anybody could shed some light on this or has had
similar issues please let me know.

Thanks

Ken

 

[Totto]

You could try to reduce carbs as such, not only the refined ones. And all starchy foods like grains as in bread, pasta, rice and cut out fruit and potatoes.

Read labels carefully. It is the carbs content that counts. You want to go as low as possible.

Eat more fat instead.

 

[SamJB]

Hi Ken, medical professionals would like us to control our diabetes by eating a so-called healthy, low fat diet. Many diabetics find that reducing the amount of carbs you eat help to bring down their levels. If you think about it, it makes sense; if you eat fewer things (carbs) that raise your glucose levels, then your glucose levels will be better.

Many people on this forum, including myself, follow a low carb diet where we avoid starchy foods such as bread, rice, pasta, potato etc. It's not for everyone, but all diabetics should be considerate when deciding on their carb quantities.

 

[Pollylocks]

.....what affects one diabetic doesn't affect another...I have found it all very individual since I was diagnosed, there's no comfortable blanket which covers us all....if you can .. test, test, test so you can find out which foods best suit you...

 

[carraway]

Hi

Why dont you post a few sample meals/drinks and we can take a look over it and give you some tips.

Lower carbs, weight loss and increased exercise has cleared up all my symptoms.

Cara

 

[Ken Cowley]

Example of a usual days eating;

Breakfast: eggs and 4 weatabix with milk
Meal1: chicken and rice
Meal2: chicken sandwich
Meal3: protien shake
Meal4: meat, potatoes and veg
Before bed glass of milk

There is also an additional shake post training and fruit during the days.
Fruit is normall apples or oranges

 

[Andy12345]

Example of a usual days eating;

Breakfast: eggs and 4 weatabix with milk
Meal1: chicken and rice
Meal2: chicken sandwich
Meal3: protien shake
Meal4: meat, potatoes and veg
Before bed glass of milk



There is also an additional shake post training and fruit during the days.
Fruit is normall apples or oranges

hi

oh dear..... weetabix, milk, rice, bread, potatoes apples and oranges are all very carby you may need to look at these foods and look for alternatives

if you would like a list of less carby foods we can help? or have a read of the forum at what folks tend to eat, crbohydrates turn into sugar once eaten, this may be bad news for you as carbs are a staple for people who train alot, but it can be done without them or with less of them anyway imho

 

[SamJB]

Sounds like a lot of carbs to me, Ken. Don't forget, all those carbs will be converted into glucose. Fruit is naturally high in sugar so you might need to be careful with it. Berries are low in sugar, so are the best source of fruit for diabetics. Some diabetics also find that milk sends their levels high.

A lot of people assume that you need carbs for energy when you do exercise, but your body is perfectly capable of creating glucose all by itself via a process called glucneogenesis, where protein and fatty acids are converted into glucose.

Have you got a meter? The best thing would be to test before and two hours after a meal to see what foods your BGs can tolerate.

 

[Totto]

I suggest you cut out rice ,weatbix, potatoes, bread and fruit but add fat, good quality fat like coconut oil, oliv oil and butter, preferably organic due to the better fatty acids in organic butter compared to conventional stuff.


Chicken can be nice but it is very lean. See if you can find some fat bacon instead! And beef.

Cant advice you on protein shakes, but in my opinion you get more than enough of protein but very little fat in your diet. And protein, when taken in excess, turns to sugar in your blood, so go for fat. That is the healthy option imo.

 

[Ken Cowley]

Thanks for all the advice it really helps. Have been testing with a meter and the results have been worrying hence the question.

Have had very little carbs today and will test in the morning to see if the results have come down at all.

 

[Andy12345]

at first things can take while to settle down, it took me a couple of months to get straight, test as you start to eat then 2 hours later, make a food and bg diary, you will see a pattern as to which food make your bg go up to high and therefore you will know which foods to eat, there is an app called myfitness pal and one called carbs and cals if you have a smart phone, this helps alot with the diary.... you can track your training too

 

[emily.harrison.13579]

Are you type one or type two?


Sent from the Diabetes Forum App

 

[2christine]

Come on Ken lets know how you are today.

Sent from my KFTT using Tapatalk HD

 

[Yorksman]

Many people are surprised at how realively simple foods, a humble chicken sandwich for example, will raise their blood sugar levels. Complex carbs are much better than highly refined carbs but carbs are rarely easily separated into good or bad. Oats for example are classed as complex but they are easily digestible and many people find that they raise BG levels substantially. If you want to eat them, you really need to eat groats or steel cut oats, not rolled oats and certainly not quick cook oats.

To know all the different types for all the different foods is not something you learn quickly but fortunately there is a system called GI, Glycaemic Index, which is a good rough guide. Portion size is also a factor and there is another system called Glycaemic Load. But to start with, start looking at tables of GI values for various foods and stick to the lowest ones and see how you get on over time. Your body does adjust but it does take some time to do so. For me it seems to be about 2 to 3 weeks.

This quick list of the GI of various foods is a starting point, but you can read much more widely if you find that it works for you:
http://www.weightlossresources.co.uk/diet/gi_diet/glycaemic_index_tables.htm

Whole milk is a good example of why you might need GL as well sometimes. Whole milk is low GI but if you drink pints of ice cold milk, something which is easy to do if you like the white stuff, it certainly does add up.

 

[Yorksman]

Thanks for all the advice it really helps. Have been testing with a meter and the results have been worrying hence the question.

Have had very little carbs today and will test in the morning to see if the results have come down at all.

It may be higher than you expect. Your body has many fuel rich sources, fatty acids, which can be converted to glucose to fuel the brain. If you don't eat carbs, your blood sugar levels will drop but, once they get low, it starts to produce glucose from the fatty acids. So, you you get a high reading without haven't eaten, this is where it is coming from.

On the positive side, it means you are losing weight.

See Gluconeogenesis

 

[Squire Fulwood]

You don't have to keep this up but for a week alter this menu like this to see how it goes.

Breakfast: eggs and 4 weatabix with milk - there are two too many weetabix here.

Meal1: chicken and rice - Have some extra chicken and halve the rice.

Meal2: chicken sandwich - Leave out the bread and have a side salad with the chicken

Meal3: protien shake - I have no idea if that's good or bad.

Meal4: meat, potatoes and veg - Presumably an evening meal so have more meat and veg and no potatoes.

Before bed glass of milk - OK

There is also an additional shake post training and fruit during the days.
Fruit is normall apples or oranges[/quote]

Remember these are only my suggestions: Other diets are available.

 

[carraway]

Hi Ken

I agree, much too carbohydrate heavy. I f you cut out/cut back the carbs over a few days you will get much lower numbers. My symptoms cleared up within a week!

Let us know how you get on.

Cara

 

[Ken Cowley]

Morning all,

Are you type one or type two?


Sent from the Diabetes Forum App

I'm type 2.

After yesterday's very low carb intake my BG levels have come down dramatically. Will take all the advice given here and reduce my carb load during the week and add more good fats to my diet.

Thanks to all

 

[xyzzy]

Hi some simple things to try.

Cut out the sugar and try at least halving starchy foods like rice pasta bread potatoes cereals and anything else made from flour. Replace with extra green veg meat cheese eggs.

Look at the labels on packets and be increasingly wary of foods with a total carbohydrate of more than 10g per 100g.

Depending on how many carbs you've been eating it can take a few days for things to start to settle down.

Sent from the Diabetes Forum App

 

[Daibell]

HI. From your avatar you look a bit overweight (or is it just muscle!). If you are a bit overweight, then carb reduction will help with that and reduce any lurking insulin resistance. That should all help with the blood sugar. If after doing all this you blood sugar continues to rise then querying your T2 diagnosis would be relevant but I suspect you will come under good control with all the advice from the posters