Blood Glucose reading- decimal point numbers

Saur

Well-Known Member
Messages
160
What I'm reading here is so different from my personal experiences, I don't know how to respond.

After posting here, I spent some time looking at the research on diabetes and walking. The research is all over the place. Most of it made no sense to me.

A lot of it was done on walking before meals or immediately after, which in my experience isn't real helpful.

The timing of the walk is very important. I try to give myself a minimum of 30 minutes to digest my food before heading out. Additionally, when I first started walking, it was very difficult for me. In the beginning, I could only walk short distances, and walking's effects on my glucose levels were all over the place, but I stuck with it and eventually built up to walking 3 miles. I still remember the joy of accomplishing that goal.

Today, I walk anywhere from a half mile to 3 miles a day, but always after meals, to maintain good control of my glucose levels.

I think though the battle ground initially is with fatty muscles and fatty liver, also inflammation. It took months and months of eating low carb and walking before I was able to significantly knock glucose levels down consistently with walking.

Last week, I had 4 days to get a house ready to be sold and used muscles I normally don't use, and also ate higher carb foods than normal. It really wreaked my body. I gained 3 pounds, I'm stiff, inflammed, and in pain so I'm walking only short distances temporarily to give my body time to recover. Today, I'm going to try to walk 30 minutes after lunch to see how I do.

Thinking about this more, I sometimes walk up to 3 times a day, and I sometimes don't walk at all for a few days because I'm fasting or eating fewer meals or resting.

I guess for me, with time and experience, I've gotten better at knowing when to walk and when not to.

Walking is the only means I have to control my glucose levels. My plan is to add resistance training too, hopefully this year.. Walking also thins my blood, something that becomes increasingly important when we become older. Staying adequately hydrated is equally important.

When it comes to walking, I really believe you need to do it for three months to evaluate whether or not it works for you. That said, if you're carrying a lot of extra weight, walking may not be possible in the beginning. My friend, who is very obese, is starting with resistance training instead with a fitness trainer at a local gym.

We each have to find our own way. Another friend who is recovering from surgery for chariot foot uses a rowing machine alternately with exercising in bed with stretching bands.
Thankyou for your input.
 

Rutb

Newbie
Messages
4
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi all,
I would just like to get clarification and find out the significance of the decimal numbers. If. For e.g my blood glucose reading shows as 6.1 & then at 6.9. I don’t know how many decimal points make a whole. Would you count 6.9 as a 7. If it it was 6.6 and would would that we classed close to 7.
If my blood sugar is high, would walking bring it down or it is controlled by taking low carb food?
 

Jon K

Member
Messages
6
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
That’s interesting. So why is it that everywhere you read exercise is recommended. It’s not very clear if it is on an empty stomach or after eating.

Your BG is going to go up after eating regardless of whether you exercise or not. If you are excising then it will go up less.

If you watch your meter reading you'll see them rise after 20 minutes or so when the easily digested sugars start to take effect, then the simple carbs after and hour, and the complex carbs may well be having an effect 3 to 4 hours after eating them.

Exercising just softens the spike a bit and generally improves your health and well being. Diabetes causes a lot of side effects, many of which are lessened by regular exercise so generally you should eat less carb, ideally complex carbs, and regularly exercise for 30 minutes a day with two strength sessions as well somewhere in the week.

I do go for a walk about 90 minutes after eating just to pull the numbers down, and that does work. I can get from a 6.4 down to 5.5 or so with 10 minutes of effort.

However - exercise can make your numbers go up as the body reacts to a need to metabolise fat into glucose for your muscles to work. I can get down to 4.8 or so if I fast and sit in front of the TV, but when I'm moving about I rarely get below 5.4.

Jon.
 
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Saur

Well-Known Member
Messages
160
Your BG is going to go up after eating regardless of whether you exercise or not. If you are excising then it will go up less.

If you watch your meter reading you'll see them rise after 20 minutes or so when the easily digested sugars start to take effect, then the simple carbs after and hour, and the complex carbs may well be having an effect 3 to 4 hours after eating them.

Exercising just softens the spike a bit and generally improves your health and well being. Diabetes causes a lot of side effects, many of which are lessened by regular exercise so generally you should eat less carb, ideally complex carbs, and regularly exercise for 30 minutes a day with two strength sessions as well somewhere in the week.

I do go for a walk about 90 minutes after eating just to pull the numbers down, and that does work. I can get from a 6.4 down to 5.5 or so with 10 minutes of effort.

However - exercise can make your numbers go up as the body reacts to a need to metabolise fat into glucose for your muscles to work. I can get down to 4.8 or so if I fast and sit in front of the TV, but when I'm moving about I rarely get below 5.4.

Jon.
I normally have a carby meal in the evening, and try to balance by eating less carbs in the day. I find my fasting sugar in the morning to be around 6.9. I then exercise before breakfast and it goes up to 7.2. I don’t know if it will help if I exercise in the afternoon maybe. I try to walk for hour an hour as well, not too fast I am afraid.
Thankyou for your input.
 
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Winnie53

BANNED
Messages
2,374
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Yes, walking before breakfast would not work for me. If I'm rushing to get ready for work first thing in the morning, I will experience a significant spike in glucose. The problem is cortisol I believe, that tells your liver to release glucose into the blood stream.

I agree with everything Jon said. Additionally, I don't think exercising before meals is helpful.

Over time your glucose levels will continue to improve. If you eat more carbs with dinner, you'll definitely need to walk after dinner. :)