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Eating to your Meter... Literally !!!!!

rab5

Well-Known Member
Messages
842
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
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My Diabetic nurse
I have just been reading a couple of articles I found on the 'tinternet' in relation to using your BGM as a fuel gauge.

Basically you test your BG and only eat when your testing 'set point' is below your predetermined personal score..... thats when you eat.

So for talk sake lets say your BG set point is 5.0 .
You test and your 5.8 . You dont eat
Lets say you test and your 4.8. You eat. (Only if hungry)

Here are a couple of links I found, it sounds interesting to me

https://optimisingnutrition.com/2016/02/15/how-to-use-your-glucose-meter-as-a-fuel-gauge/

https://nutritionandmetabolism.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12986-015-0017-2

Please feel free to comment. Any views welcome. Im sure this has been done before, however its new to me

Rabby
 
Interesting and effectively fasting until your sugars are at the level you want them to be... sounds like a reasonable idea. I guess the hard bit would be choosing the right level.
 

I'd thought about this myself, funnily enough. It seemed like a good idea, but based on a 36-hour fast I tried once, combined with walking, I realised that may mean going without food for a very long time and wasn't sure I could fit it into my lifestyle, certainly not while at work anyhow.

I imagine there's a lot to take into account to make that sort of idea work safely - such as knowing whether raised bg levels are due to a liver dump (could be either a morning one or due to exercise) or being ill. I'm pretty sure my bg only bottoms out when I'm stationary and fasting. If I tried walking in the hills and waiting till it was less than say 5 before I ate, I might find myself on the news!
 
In that case you would probably need to set a higher level to start with and maybe then slowly lever it down over time? Maybe start at 5.5 and go from there. Without knowing your average levels its hard to say.
 
That is fine if what you have just prepared isn't on the table going cold. Especially if someone else cooked it for you.
 
I should also add that when my pre-meal level is low (low rather than normal) my rise after eating is greater. I put this down to me going low before I eat, the liver then dumps before my food hits my stomach. It happened this lunch time, and I checked both readings. I went up by 1.7mmol/l after a meal where the ONLY carbs were a few cherry toms, and the same meal rarely gives any rise.
 
If you take your average as a set point and eat below that it should in theory bring your BG levels down. Or you could starve lol
 
What about DP?
 
bulkbiker said:
DePends ...if your bloods go up if you don't eat or not I guess.. or you never have breakfast and fast until they come down?
Click to expand...
Worth a try for those that can fast.
 
I need to think what my set point is and I’m going to try this. It appeals to my control freakery
 
I'm sure that I've seem a post on the forum fairly recently from someone who posted about using their glucose level to determine when they ate. It wasn't a name I recognised.

It seems an interesting idea, but like @Bluetit1802 I can't see it being very practical though, particulary for anyone who has a work schedule or has a family to fit in with.

Robbity
 
Robbity said:
It seems an interesting idea, but like @Bluetit1802 I can't see it being very practical though, particulary for anyone who has a work schedule or has a family to fit in with.
Click to expand...

My hubby is the cook chez nous. He would not be a happy bunny if I refused to eat the food he had prepared simply because my meter said I was 5.5 when it is normally 5. In my opinion it is all a bit OTT.
 
rab5 said:
I need to think what my set point is and I’m going to try this. It appeals to my control freakery
Click to expand...

I'm really interested in your observations on this, I'll check this thread with interest!

At the moment I don't even know what my average is, I've just been in the habit of morning readings for a while.
 
AdamJames said:
At the moment I don't even know what my average is, I've just been in the habit of morning readings for a while.
Click to expand...

Then if you intend trying this theory out, you need to start before and after meals, otherwise how will you know if the theory is working with nothing to compare it with?
 
Bluetit1802 said:
Then if you intend trying this theory out, you need to start before and after meals, otherwise how will you know if the theory is working with nothing to compare it with?
Click to expand...

I don't intend trying it out just yet. What little I have noticed about my blood sugars leads me to believe it wouldn't work, especially on days in the hills. But if @rab5 reports back with encouraging stuff maybe I will.

I think if I were to seriously consider this, I'd want to get a continuous glucose monitor, see what happens for two weeks of my normal routine, to get a feel for what to aim for, and then see what happens for two weeks while trying out the 'theory'.
 
Bluetit1802 said:
My hubby is the cook chez nous. He would not be a happy bunny if I refused to eat the food he had prepared simply because my meter said I was 5.5 when it is normally 5. In my opinion it is all a bit OTT.
Click to expand...

I 'ate numbers.
 
I have a family and a busy work schedule. I also have T2 Diabetes. Im trying to put it in remission or reverse it call it what you like. My family have not had to suffer apart from probably having a better diet. This will not take up more time than any other way of eating. I hope
 
Bluetit1802 said:
My hubby is the cook chez nous. He would not be a happy bunny if I refused to eat the food he had prepared simply because my meter said I was 5.5 when it is normally 5. In my opinion it is all a bit OTT.
Click to expand...
OTT you got to be joking. Maybe Im lucky that my better half would gladly bin food if it meant I got a lot healthier. I havent designed this system but Im likely to try it and see if it works for me
 
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