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3 Months Low Carbing, Still Not Much Improvement

N

nsh2111

Well-Known Member
Messages
321
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
its coming to almost 3 months since I have cut away any grains, potatoes etc and have been low carbing with high fat intake. Also regular exercise, which I have done all my life anyway. I dnt count calories but a typical day contains only carb from vegetables and yogurts, nuts etc. It must be only around 25 gram - 50 gram

Though , my next hbac test is not till September, I am monitoring multiple times myself with code free.

I am slightly disappointed that I am not seeing anything lower than 6.5 unless I fast. As soon as I eat anything , i am back in 6.5 - 8 range.

I have had insulin antibodies test done at GP on advice from various forum members. It came back negative as per the surgery, not sure what i means. I am guessing it means i don't have antibodies destroying beta cells.

I have also lost weight and I am now in lower ranges of normal BMI, My local gym has one of those machines and it gave me these results.

Weight = 64 Kg
% Fat mass = 13.6%
Fat free mass = 55.3 Kg
Muscle mass = 52.5 kg
BMI = 21.9
Basal Metabolic Rate=1588 kcal
Total body water = 40 kg
Body fat mass = 8.7 Kg
Bone mass = 2.8 kg
total body water = 62.5%

I am not sure if these are good stats or what can I do to help with having better blood sugar control/numbers. Any suggestion/ follow up to be done , please let me know.

N
 
Are you testing your blood sugars in a systematic way and keeping records? The most useful way to test is immediately before each meal and then two hours after first bite, recording these readings and what you ate. What are you eating when you go from say (using your range of figures) 6.5 to 8.9? We try to make a rise of 2 an absolute maximum. Avoid any snacks between meals.

You say you can go below 6.5 if you fast. How long a fast is this? Is this simply your overnight fast?

Your readings don't sound too dreadful, perhaps just some tweaking is needed.
Sally
 
nsh2111 said:
its coming to almost 3 months since I have cut away any grains, potatoes etc and have been low carbing with high fat intake. Also regular exercise, which I have done all my life anyway. I dnt count calories but a typical day contains only carb from vegetables and yogurts, nuts etc. It must be only around 25 gram - 50 gram

Though , my next hbac test is not till September, I am monitoring multiple times myself with code free.

I am slightly disappointed that I am not seeing anything lower than 6.5 unless I fast. As soon as I eat anything , i am back in 6.5 - 8 range.

I have had insulin antibodies test done at GP on advice from various forum members. It came back negative as per the surgery, not sure what i means. I am guessing it means i don't have antibodies destroying beta cells.

I have also lost weight and I am now in lower ranges of normal BMI, My local gym has one of those machines and it gave me these results.

Weight = 64 Kg
% Fat mass = 13.6%
Fat free mass = 55.3 Kg
Muscle mass = 52.5 kg
BMI = 21.9
Basal Metabolic Rate=1588 kcal
Total body water = 40 kg
Body fat mass = 8.7 Kg
Bone mass = 2.8 kg
total body water = 62.5%

I am not sure if these are good stats or what can I do to help with having better blood sugar control/numbers. Any suggestion/ follow up to be done , please let me know.

N
Click to expand...
Would you like to be more specific about a day's eating? Carbs from vegetables, yoghurt and nuts all add up and I suspect you may be eating more carbs than you think. Another possibility is that you are LADA. What readings do you get when you fast?
 
A typical day breakfast will be eggs and spinach or yogurt with protein powder. Both don't cause much rise based on last few months readings.

Lunch is generally some meat with some salad. Some times it can be green leaf , pepper , cucumber with chicken and pesto dressing. Other days it could be grill enchicken with courgwtco and broccoli and carrot.

Dinner is generally some fish with salad or cocobut flour tortillas with veg like auburgien or cauliflower etc.

How do I check for lada. I did insulin anti bodies test and was negative. What else can I ask for ?


If I fast for 20 hours or so, I get into mid to low 5.s
 
Those meals look good, but sometimes it is the hidden things that make the biggest difference. Sauces, drinks, snacks, stir fry additives - that kind of thing. Are you eating any of those?

And (sorry to ask the question again, but you didn't give a clear answer) are you testing before you eat and then 2 hours later, with your meals and snacks, to monitor how much of a blood glucose rise you get from each meal?

The reason I ask is that we get quite a few people who have been told by their healthcare professionals that morning fasting tests are all they need to do. And that is so misleading. All fasting blood glucose tests do is give a snapshot of morning levels, which can often be affected by get-up-and-go morning hormone rises, stress, and a few other variables. The only way to actually discover what is happening to your body as as result of eating is to test before and after food, and if the blood glucose rises more than 2mmol/l from that food, then the portions or types of food are causing the rise and need tweaking. Sometimes that is as simple as adjusting portion size, and sometimes it means swapping the food for something else. The result is a tailor made way of eating that suits you and your blood glucose responses.

Having said that, it is perfectly normal for the blood glucose to rise a bit after a meal. If your bg started at 4.5 and rose to 6.5 aft3er 2 hours, then that is OK. Equally, if it started at 5.5 and rises to 7.5 then that is also fine. But if you are starting at 4 and rising to 9, then that is when you could look at what you are eating and adjust if necessary.

Hope that helps.
 
Sorry, I was not clear. Yes I am testing , hopefully, the right way. I test in morning, before I eat any meal and then 2 hrs after that meal. So a typical day I will have 8 to 9 readings. I also sometime test randomly when I am still above 7.5 after 2 hrs to see how long it takes to come down.

Good point on sauce etc, most of my lunch comes from various eateries around London city so most do have some sort of sauce on them. I will try to avoid any sauce for few days and see what it does to me.

I don't snack apart from nuts or coconut chunks but one positive I have seen of low carb is that I don't feel that need any more now and I can easily go from lunch at 12 till dinner at 8 with just coffee in between.
 
If your in and around city, try some places like M&S food. Noticed they do more fat type stuff. Like salami/ham wrapped around cheese. slides that have spinach, end mine beans etc. Cheddar cheese bar. I found I purchased a few things to make a meal. Also look at Pure food branches (London Bridge). Some of there stuff is Low Carb. If they put in rice, I just eat minimal amount of it. Plus also Leon branches have some low carb options. Chicken with Kale salad. I am learning to get creative. Stocking up on few cheese bars from M&S to add to Leon box for example.

It frustrates me these places add sauces sometimes rather than leaving you to add.

Comment on your measuring. First thing in morning may be the morning natural spike. I am newer to this, so will leave others to comment.
 
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