Eating times

[larzie30]

Hi my mum has just been diagnosed and she is on metformin we are trying the low carb diet and I just have a couple (hundreds) of questions

1. Should she be having regular mealtimes and is there an ideal time between meals.

2. Over what period should she see improved bg levels. She's been on metformin 2 weeks now 1 tablet per day for one week then changed to 2 slow release a day last week

Any advice appreciated

Thanks

Lara

 

[srobertson06]

My experience was some improvement was within hours others took weeks - as in blood glucose levels dropped after I ate Greek Yogurt for breakfast and this happened almost instantly. Overall the one that took the longest to fall was my overnight readings.

I took advice from this site and purchased my own testing kit and began testing - I then needed to work through testing before a meal and 2 hours following a meal to learn about my reactions to foods. It took months to do a thorough testing and working out good and bad options - but I feel it was worth it.

I have also learnt that stress pushes up my blood glucose readings regardless of what I eat - now beginning to consider fasting as a possible option but need to learn more about it.........

I wish you well with the future.

 

[larzie30]

My experience was some improvement was within hours others took weeks - as in blood glucose levels dropped after I ate Greek Yogurt for breakfast and this happened almost instantly. Overall the one that took the longest to fall was my overnight readings.

I took advice from this site and purchased my own testing kit and began testing - I then needed to work through testing before a meal and 2 hours following a meal to learn about my reactions to foods. It took months to do a thorough testing and working out good and bad options - but I feel it was worth it.

I have also learnt that stress pushes up my blood glucose readings regardless of what I eat - now beginning to consider fasting as a possible option but need to learn more about it.........

I wish you well with the future.

thanks so much for the advice. Are you too on the low carb? I am doing that same eating plan to support my mum and we love our greek yoghurt in the morning lol x

 

[Ultramum]

I don't know what my glucose levels were before starting the LCHF way of life.

My last Hba1c was 68 ish - I'm using a free app called MySugr to keep a note of what I'm eating and my BG levels - the app estimates your Hba1c and after three weeks of readings it is estimating mine at 51 so definitely some improvement after 4 weeks on LCHF.

I've found that if I go more than 4 hours between eating my BG starts to creep up - I now have a piece of cheese (15-20g) or 1/3 of an avocado to tide me over.

You and your mum may find that it's different - we are such complex pieces of machinery!

Measuring BG before and after eating is the best way to find what affects you.

 

[larzie30]

I don't know what my glucose levels were before starting the LCHF way of life.

My last Hba1c was 68 ish - I'm using a free app called MySugr to keep a note of what I'm eating and my BG levels - the app estimates your Hba1c and after three weeks of readings it is estimating mine at 51 so definitely some improvement after 4 weeks on LCHF.

I've found that if I go more than 4 hours between eating my BG starts to creep up - I now have a piece of cheese (15-20g) or 1/3 of an avocado to tide me over.

You and your mum may find that it's different - we are such complex pieces of machinery!

Measuring BG before and after eating is the best way to find what affects you.

Thanks for the reply, I know what you mean about it being different for everyone, it's such a complex disease, I have coeliac and I thought that was complicated but compared to this its a doddle haha. It's nice to know other people experiences though so I really appreciate your reply x

 

[Bluetit1802]

I have been diagnosed over 3 years now and started low carb eating a couple of months after that.

I haven't changed my meal times at all. I doubt it is necessary, and at the end of the day we have to live our lives and not be dominated by diabetes. Maybe you are thinking of the old days when Type 1s had to eat at regular times because of the type of insulin that was available in those days? It is different now, and your mother isn't on insulin. Just eat when you normally eat, but try to avoid snacking as much as possible.

I am retired and don't get up very early. My breakfast (just a coffee with cream) is about 9am. My lunch is about 1-30pm. My tea is about 7pm. Other than that all I have are a couple of cups of tea and lots of water.

Most Type 2's are insulin resistant, and this is known to be more of a problem in the mornings. For this reason I have no carbs at all until lunch time. I used to have a Greek yogurt with flaxseed and very few berries but found even the small amount of carbs were too much for me. My meter told me this. Since skipping breakfast apart from my coffee with cream, my pre-lunch levels have dropped by over half a mmol/l consistently, every day.

As for Metformin, it does hardly anything to blood sugar levels. It helps with insulin resistance and reduces the amount of glucose your liver produces, but all to a limited extent. It is by no means a miracle drug and shouldn't be relied on to lower blood sugars. It is mainly an appetite suppressant so can help with weight loss. A correct diet is the key.

Has your mum got her own meter? If not, I strongly advise her to buy one as without one she will be working blind. Meters aren't expensive and you only need one. However, you need thousands of test strips, so you need to check out the prices of these before you buy. They range from about £7.50 for 50 up to almost £30 for 50.

 

[larzie30]

I have been diagnosed over 3 years now and started low carb eating a couple of months after that.

I haven't changed my meal times at all. I doubt it is necessary, and at the end of the day we have to live our lives and not be dominated by diabetes. Maybe you are thinking of the old days when Type 1s had to eat at regular times because of the type of insulin that was available in those days? It is different now, and your mother isn't on insulin. Just eat when you normally eat, but try to avoid snacking as much as possible.

I am retired and don't get up very early. My breakfast (just a coffee with cream) is about 9am. My lunch is about 1-30pm. My tea is about 7pm. Other than that all I have are a couple of cups of tea and lots of water.

Most Type 2's are insulin resistant, and this is known to be more of a problem in the mornings. For this reason I have no carbs at all until lunch time. I used to have a Greek yogurt with flaxseed and very few berries but found even the small amount of carbs were too much for me. My meter told me this. Since skipping breakfast apart from my coffee with cream, my pre-lunch levels have dropped by over half a mmol/l consistently, every day.

As for Metformin, it does hardly anything to blood sugar levels. It helps with insulin resistance and reduces the amount of glucose your liver produces, but all to a limited extent. It is by no means a miracle drug and shouldn't be relied on to lower blood sugars. It is mainly an appetite suppressant so can help with weight loss. A correct diet is the key.

Has your mum got her own meter? If not, I strongly advise her to buy one as without one she will be working blind. Meters aren't expensive and you only need one. However, you need thousands of test strips, so you need to check out the prices of these before you buy. They range from about £7.50 for 50 up to almost £30 for 50.

Thanks so much for your reply, she has indeed got a meter and is testing away, I probably am harking back, just want to be doing as much as is possible, she feels so rough that I want to try to help her feel better as soon as possible (who doesn't). thanks again for your reply

 

[Bluetit1802]

Thanks so much for your reply, she has indeed got a meter and is testing away, I probably am harking back, just want to be doing as much as is possible, she feels so rough that I want to try to help her feel better as soon as possible (who doesn't). thanks again for your reply

I'm sorry she feels so rough. Is this because her levels are high? What sort of levels does she see before and after food? On a low carb diet any high levels should reduce fairly quickly. The fewer carbs eaten, the lower the levels. Has she reduced/cut out bread, pasta, rice, breakfast cereals and potatoes? Also other root veg like carrots, and of course anything made with flour? We also need to be very careful with fruit and milk.

 

[larzie30]

I'm sorry she feels so rough. Is this because her levels are high? What sort of levels does she see before and after food? On a low carb diet any high levels should reduce fairly quickly. The fewer carbs eaten, the lower the levels. Has she reduced/cut out bread, pasta, rice, breakfast cereals and potatoes? Also other root veg like carrots, and of course anything made with flour? We also need to be very careful with fruit and milk.

thanks, just still learning about the low carb, all of the obvious ones have been taken out but didn't know about milk :-( so than you

 

[Bluetit1802]

thanks, just still learning about the low carb, all of the obvious ones have been taken out but didn't know about milk :-( so than you

Yes, its the lactose in milk. Full milk is better than skimmed or semi skimmed, but you can buy lactose free milk if you wish. (most things that end in "ose" are sugar.)

 

[Freema]

in Denmark the lactose free milk is only added an enzyme that breaks down the lactose to another level which lactose intolerant people will not be able to themselves... but the full carb content is still left in the milk, so no better for diabetics than normal milk actually... don´t know of english milk how it is processed to be called lactose free milk.