• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

Can anyone help shed some light on what's happening please!l?

Hi @Starfish18 all the advice on here has been great and I don’t really have anything to add just wanted to also say you’re doing fab and you are only at the start of your journey. As hard as it is try not to get obsessed with the numbers - you feeling anxious and worked up at seeing others lower readings, or feeling you aren’t where you want to be all equals stress - stress is also a factor in making our BG rise so perhaps that can also be a factor in readings at the moment :)
 
Hi @Starfish18 all the advice on here has been great and I don’t really have anything to add just wanted to also say you’re doing fab and you are only at the start of your journey. As hard as it is try not to get obsessed with the numbers - you feeling anxious and worked up at seeing others lower readings, or feeling you aren’t where you want to be all equals stress - stress is also a factor in making our BG rise so perhaps that can also be a factor in readings at the moment :)
Thank you. You're right I do need to stop stressing so much, over everything diabetes related!
 
I found, through testing, that not eating in a morning was not a good idea, so I eat when I get up, though still stick to about 1/3rd of my carbs in the morning as that was when I was most insulin resistant.
In the evening I have protein and veges plus dessert if I feel like it.
I just don't need to eat at other times. I usually have two mugs of coffee with cream, usually close to my meal times.
 
I found, through testing, that not eating in a morning was not a good idea, so I eat when I get up, though still stick to about 1/3rd of my carbs in the morning as that was when I was most insulin resistant.
In the evening I have protein and veges plus dessert if I feel like it.
I just don't need to eat at other times. I usually have two mugs of coffee with cream, usually close to my meal times.
Im starting to think that maybe I should try eating something for breakfast see how I go!
Im trying not to snack between meals but I get full with my meals and a often get peckish later on!
 
@Starfish18. It is hard not to panic. My Hba1c came down in three months but I still have really bad days. I’ve been up and down for three weeks now without having changed anything, and slightly worried but it’s happened before and I’m sure it will again. Just because you get some high readings doesn’t mean your Hba1c won’t have improved. Keep at i. I also find that I’m better eating in the morning. Good luck
 
Last edited:
@Starfish18 please don’t worry. It’s early days and you are doing all the right things. It’s taken me about a year to get my fbg to a decent level and my daily readings were similar to yours for ages. It’s taken a lot tweaks and fiddling around with to find what works for me, and that won’t necessarliy be what works for you.
Just for the record I’ve had to increase my exercise considerably ( I knew I wasn’t doing enough beforehand) plus a bit of intermittent fasting, which others have mentioned. I don’t really enjoy it as I do get hungry but it works. I’ve done 30hr fasts as recommended by Jason Fung in his book The Diabetes Code and more often just eating 2 meals a day - late morning and afternoon seems to help. The earlier in the day I finish eating the better my results usually are.
As I said, it may well be different for you but as others have also said, try not to snack. Stick to meal times and keep your eating window as narrow as you reasonably can.
Good luck and don’t despair, other people are struggling too, even though it may not seem like it. You’re not alone.
 
@Starfish18. It is hard not to panic. My Hba1c came down in three months but I still have really bad days. I’ve been up and down for three weeks now and slightly worried but it’s happened before and I’m sure it will again. Just because you get some high readings doesn’t mean your Hba1c won’t have improved. Keep at i. I also find that I’m better eating in the morning. Good luck
Thank you for your reply. You're right, it is hard not to panic. I guess I need to learn I need to take things day to day and just try and relax
 
@Starfish18 It's something I suffer from as well, my levels have gone up in the morning probably due to stress but as long as you're not punching 7.8 and above in the face constantly then you're doing well by all accounts. Just keep at it and flush out all that glucose and try to relax a little, it's the best medicine along with food!
 
@Starfish18 please don’t worry. It’s early days and you are doing all the right things. It’s taken me about a year to get my fbg to a decent level and my daily readings were similar to yours for ages. It’s taken a lot tweaks and fiddling around with to find what works for me, and that won’t necessarliy be what works for you.
Just for the record I’ve had to increase my exercise considerably ( I knew I wasn’t doing enough beforehand) plus a bit of intermittent fasting, which others have mentioned. I don’t really enjoy it as I do get hungry but it works. I’ve done 30hr fasts as recommended by Jason Fung in his book The Diabetes Code and more often just eating 2 meals a day - late morning and afternoon seems to help. The earlier in the day I finish eating the better my results usually are.
As I said, it may well be different for you but as others have also said, try not to snack. Stick to meal times and keep your eating window as narrow as you reasonably can.
Good luck and don’t despair, other people are struggling too, even though it may not seem like it. You’re not alone.
Thank you for your reply It is reasurring that others have been through what I'm going through I guess it will just take time for me to work out what does work for me I will try not to snack in between meals. Does that mean I should stick to having coffee with double cream with meals too or is that OK to have on it own at a later time?
 
@Starfish18 It's something I suffer from as well, my levels have gone up in the morning probably due to stress but as long as you're not punching 7.8 and above in the face constantly then you're doing well by all accounts. Just keep at it and flush out all that glucose and try to relax a little, it's the best medicine along with food!
Thank you, just looked at my recorded levels and I don't hit 7.8 or higher very often so that's reassuring I will try and relax a little. Thanks again
 
Thank you, just looked at my recorded levels and I don't hit 7.8 or higher very often so that's reassuring I will try and relax a little. Thanks again

As long as you're not spiking all over the shop and it was what I read from Jenny Ruhl where a majority of the damage starts to occur around that number not the 8.5 that is quoted in guidelines.
 
Probably reiterating the same point but just try to remember it’s not all about the glucose - it’s about insulin and insulin resistance. For me personally I really turned the corner by stopping the obsession with meal-to-meal blood glucose. Counterintuitive perhaps, but it worked for me. I switched my focus over to minimising insulin secretion at all times irrespective of what my meter was telling me I might be able to get away with when I next ate. Once I did this my body really kicked into overdrive in burning off all the excess sugar. A laser focus on insulin was the key that unlocked my diabetes code.

Keep doing the right thing and your body will reward you. It wants to get better, and if you give it the right tools with which to do so, it will :smug:
 
As long as you're not spiking all over the shop and it was what I read from Jenny Ruhl where a majority of the damage starts to occur around that number not the 8.5 that is quoted in guidelines.
Oh right. That's interesting. Thank you. I'm hardly ever spiking luckily.
 
Thank you for your reply It is reasurring that others have been through what I'm going through I guess it will just take time for me to work out what does work for me I will try not to snack in between meals. Does that mean I should stick to having coffee with double cream with meals too or is that OK to have on it own at a later time?

I don’t know about the coffee - part of me thinks like you that it should probably be at meals or a meal replacement when fasting, but I’d be miserable if I had to limit it. I love coffee and would have a lot more difficulty giving it up than bread or pasta etc.
What I do now is measure out my cream for the day, I allow 100ml which is 1.5 g carbs and allow myself as many coffees as that lets me have. I think some people have found caffeine in coffee can raise their bg but I’m not going there!
 
I don’t know about the coffee - part of me thinks like you that it should probably be at meals or a meal replacement when fasting, but I’d be miserable if I had to limit it. I love coffee and would have a lot more difficulty giving it up than bread or pasta etc.
What I do now is measure out my cream for the day, I allow 100ml which is 1.5 g carbs and allow myself as many coffees as that lets me have. I think some people have found caffeine in coffee can raise their bg but I’m not going there!
I have decafe coffee/tea due to me sensitive to Caffeine.
That's a good idea weighing out a certain amount cream per day You've made me think how much cream I have a day I have about 2 coffees with cream I make scrambled eggs with cream and I have SF Jelly with cream so Im having about 250-300ml per day some days.:nailbiting: eeek! I have found a love for double cream since diagnosis
 
I have found a love for double cream since diagnosis

Me too. I’m making up for lost time having thought it was very very bad for me for so long!
I get cream from Sainsbury’s and their pots have 50ml markers down the side so I usually just use them as a guide rather than pouring into a separate container.
 
Me too. I’m making up for lost time having thought it was very very bad for me for so long!
I get cream from Sainsbury’s and their pots have 50ml markers down the side so I usually just use them as a guide rather than pouring into a separate container.
Ha ha same The cream from Morrisons has markers on the side too. Its 100ml markers though which I find useful.
 
Probably reiterating the same point but just try to remember it’s not all about the glucose - it’s about insulin and insulin resistance. For me personally I really turned the corner by stopping the obsession with meal-to-meal blood glucose. Counterintuitive perhaps, but it worked for me. I switched my focus over to minimising insulin secretion at all times irrespective of what my meter was telling me I might be able to get away with when I next ate. Once I did this my body really kicked into overdrive in burning off all the excess sugar. A laser focus on insulin was the key that unlocked my diabetes code.

Keep doing the right thing and your body will reward you. It wants to get better, and if you give it the right tools with which to do so, it will :smug:

Jim can you please run through how you did this and how long it too to show significant results. Thanks
 
Jim can you please run through how you did this and how long it too to show significant results. Thanks

Sure.

Ruthless elimination of all carbohydrate besides overground vegetables. Sensible protein intake. No sugar, no grains, no seed oils. No snacking. No ready meals. Plenty of intermittent fasting. Never using my meter to enable justification of anything (no eating to the meter). Walking. Resistance training.

I guess it took around a year of this to reach the stage where I’m totally happy, although much of that time was spent experimenting. I’m certain that all of that will seem obsessive to some, but I don’t care...it’s what I decided to do and it worked for me.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Back
Top