Any comments re fasting/small meals?

[Pink&Perky]

I'd be interested in comments on the links between fasting - that is, waiting a long time between meals and/or having very small meals - which according to some reports was "a good way to reduce BG levels" - and raised blood glucose.

I was once convinced of the benefits. However, I've now gone to the opposite opinion on it. I have a feeling that my and my husband's eating pattern has in fact caused a rise in BG for us both, rather than a drop.

We got into a pattern of only having coffee with cream in the morning and having a full (but low-carb) breakfast later on, around noon, then having one more meal around 6pm and perhaps a snack before sleeping.

Judging by a number of things, like, a slow rise in BG, and a "dawn phenomenon", and the BG actually dropping after a meal instead of rising, I have the distinct feeling that our bodies have learned to react to the need for energy (in the absence of food) by pumping out more glucose rather than less. Is this feasible, and have others noticed this?

Regardless, we intend now to adjust this behaviour by eating more frequently - and also adding more exercise.

 

[Pink&Perky]

No replies? Surely somebody has some experience of this??

 

[Nikkig]

I am also looking at how my body reacts to different mealtimes. Before diagnosis, I could not face brekkie and survived on coffee until midday, sometimes later. Since diagnosis, I have eaten brekkie, because I find it lowers my BG levels. For example, last night I went to bed with a reading of 6.8 and tested at 9 on waking this morning. Very small helping of porridge for brekkie (silly considering my waking reading but I wanted something different!) at 2 hrs 6.8 and very surprised :crazy: so I think the DP really effects me. On other mornings when I have had readings like this (it's rarely below 7.8 first thing) I have tried no food and my BG continues to rise!
So now I am testing to see when my BG rises to establish if eating a small meal brings it down.....time will tell.

 

[GraceK]

To be honest with you I've been aware for a very long time that my diet is probably OK, I've always known what was good for me and what isn't and I'm by no means an angel but I've never overdone the naughty things except for my passion for Ginger Nuts which I've now got under control.

But my eating pattern is definitely NOT doing me any favours because I don't actually HAVE an eating pattern. My appetite varies so much from one day to another. I have very hungry days where I want three good meals and more and then I will have days when I just do not feel like eating at all and can't force myself to either.

I never know whether I'm doing right or wrong by not forcing myself to eat whether I want to or not, but there's just a definite absence of hunger so what can I do? Then the days when I feel hungry, that sort of feels like normality, like how a properly functioning body should feel, like the signals are working correctly if you know what I mean.

This is such a confusing condition to have and I think we could go nuts trying to work out what's best in terms of diet and meds so I've decided to go by FEELING. If I FEEL OK then I'm going with that IS OK.

I know that I need a decent amount of protein at each meal and that if I get that down me I don't need so many carbs. I know my good carbs from my bad, naughty, non nutritional carbs so I tend to avoid them but not cut them out completely because I'd hate to be caught short without a sliver of chocolate in the house. But I'm being as sensible as I can be and I'm congratulating myself for that otherwise I could go on a neverending guilt trip where food is concerned.

Not sure about fasting, but small meals I find easier to cope with than large meals. Fasting scares me, I'm scared of having a hypo. My mouth tingles every morning when I wake up, which is supposedly a sign of hypo, so my calculation is if a night without food makes that happen, then a whole day might make it even worse. But I'd like to hear about other T2s who fast and see what they have to say.

 

[Defren]

At the moment I am doing the 5:2 fast. It may be a little extreme for what you're looking for, and although today is a fast day I haven't tested. I do know last weeks fasting levels were all at the low end of my normal. The week before I hit a 4.1 on a fasting day, so it certainly has some effect on BG.

 

[Superchip]

I eat when I'm hungry, the body knows what is right, listen to it.