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Anyone fasting this Ramadan?

F

FADM2

Active Member
Hi, I have been fasting this ramadan and plan to continue the whole month. It's been one week into ramadan and for the very first time today I got a low fasting BG in the morning- 6.3 Previously, it used to be 8 or 9. I break my fast around 7pm with dates, lime drink (with sweetener). Then followed by chickpeas salad, some fried items, chicken, daal, rice etc. I stay away from the dessert items.

After the meal, I go for brisk walking for 20-30 mins and don't eat anything before bed. I don't eat anything in early morning as well.

It's frustrating that my fasting BG level is so high despite the long fast. Could it be dawn phenomenon? Anyone else experiencing this?
 
Maybe you should avoid the high carb items such as dates and rice if you want to keep your blood sugars down. I do intermittent fasting at the weekends and find that my blood sugars are lower as a result.
 
What AOF said.....dates, rice, chickpeas, daal - all just as bad for your BS as the sugary stuff. Do you eat breads as well?
Are you allowed to eat just meat (no batter if fried), eggs, cheese - that sort of thing?
 
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Hello fadm2

I am not fasting for Ramadan, but do do intermittent fasting so often skip breakfast and / or lunch, as the others have said the spike in your bg levels could be down to the rice, chickpeas and dates you are eating, not sure about daal but assume it's quite high in carbs.
 
I have often wondered about this as a non Muslim? It would really sort out your T2D if you lived north of the Arctic Circle in Norway and Canada/ Alaska? D.
 
thanks for your thoughts. I'm going to skip the date. I thought chickpeas are good source of protein and thus good for maintaining healthy BG level! Didn't know it could spike BG.

Just searched the GI food chart. chickpeas are only 35.
 
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The glycemic index is how fast the carbs raise blood sugar. No matter fast or slow they will still raise your blood sugar. The only way to know how they affect you is to test with a glucose meter. We are all unique and there is no chart that will tell you how something will react with your system. You are eating quite high carb. I would look more at total carbs in the foods you choose and test how they affect you.
 
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I can't eat peas or beans other than a small serving of garden peas or green beans, they cause me to spike, just like potatoes or grains, but I go high with seeds too.
You need to eat what your glucose meter shows you will not make your levels spike, even though there are traditional foods for Ramadan, you're probably going to find that scrambled eggs and cheese suit you better now, particularly as the fast is in hot weather. You can get dehydrated if you don't drink after a spike, not good for the kidneys. Keeping the post breakfast glucose spike as low as possible would be a good idea.
 
Happily I can tolerate a small portion of chick peas without a spike. Rice is an absolute no for me though! We are all different and that's what great about having a meter and testing to see how you react to different foods
 
Ok, last evening I had a meal of chickpeas salad, couple of mango slices, 2-3 lychees, half cup white rice, beef curry, and some fried stuff (skipped the date). After 2 hrs, at 10pm, my BG was 8.3 which I think was quite good for the amount of carbs I had. Didn't check BG in the morning. But it left me total perplexed as I eat almost the same amount of food everyday and same level of physical activity. Was it only the small date which made this difference?!
 
Possibly. Dates have a huge carb content for their size.

Nutrition Facts
Dates, deglet noor

Amount Per 100 grams
Calories 282

Total Fat 0.4 g
Saturated fat 0 g
Polyunsaturated fat
Monounsaturated fat
Cholesterol 0 mg
Sodium 2 mg
Potassium 656 mg
Total Carbohydrate 75 g
Dietary fiber 8 g
Sugar 63 g
Protein 2.5 g
 
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