Food diary advice wanted

[JenniferW]

I'm a recently-diagnosed-T2 person, and am about to start blood glucose monitoring plus a food diary. What should I record in the food diary? Of course I'l write down each food, but do I record the weight of everything (if I can)? Do I record what I calculate the carbs to be? My aim is a low carb diet. I'm a bit OCD by nature, and don't want to lead myself to any greater detail than is relevant!

Also, the routine seems to be to test before and after meals, plus at bedtime. What if you have a snack between meals - do you test 2 hours after that as well?

 

[TyTy]

Hi @JenniferW welcome i was diagnosed in April, i kept a diary of all the food i was eating, and then would test before a meal and then 2 hours later, so i knew then if what i ate gave me a spike, you cam measure too if you want, but i had small portions anyway as i was doing the ND .

But measure before and after each meal

 

[sally and james]

Our food diary was done on a spread sheet.
Column 1: day/date
Column 2: meal, i.e. breakfast/lunch/dinner
Column 3: pre-meal reading
Column 4: a description of the meal (see below)
Column 5: one hour reading
Column 6: two hour reading (usually only did one OR two hour, as convenient, not both)
Column 7: notes

Meal description might be:
Spag Bol: 30g spag, half tin toms, oil, half onion, 150g mince. One apple.
In other words, my abbreviated notes, with information about key ingredients.

Column 7, Notes, contained things like, "gym between lunch and 2 hr reading", "6 cherries, mid-afternoon". or anything else which could help build up understanding.

As I built up a record, I highlighted larger than acceptable blood sugar increases and highlighted suspect food stuffs (e.g. spaghetti or "apple"), so that I could pick out patterns quickly.

This worked for us and seemed a bit obsessive at first, but it worked. After a few weeks, it was no longer necessary, we understood what to avoid and why. An early determination to keep muesli in the diet, despite ever decreasing quantities, seems laughable now, looking back.

Remember, the diary is for you. Record whatever you need and whatever you think might be useful.

Hope this helps,
Sally

 

[JenniferW]

Thank you both for the speedy responses - the wonders of website forums! You've told me just the sort of thing I needed to know.

 

[4ratbags]

I simply have a diary that I carry around with me and I just note everything in it but I might do a spreadsheet. Thanks for the tip.

 

[JenniferW]

How soon after starting a diary-plus-monitoring did you all feel you started to really get on top of things?

 

[honey badger]

Hi I been T2 for nearly 20 years, I have been on and off it over that period, and have paid the price.
I was always told by dietician the old, eat carbs routine.
New doctor, revelation, no carbs,
Three weeks ago I was up around the 20 mml mark.
I started low carb,but not high fat,at the moment i am 10lb lighter and my average meter reading over the last four days have been 4.6
the lowest reading 3.2 and the highest after some chips 6.5
So for me it has kicked in really quickly,and am now going to be on this for good.

 

[Bluetit1802]

I was diagnosed in January 2014, and since getting a meter in April 2014 I have kept a food diary on an excel spread sheet, and all my readings on a separate page. I used to weigh all my foods until I knew what I could manage, and then used my eyes to judge the portions, or just counted, eg 4 strawberries. I still keep the food diary now, but with far less detail. I couldn't have managed without all this fuss. It really helped me, even if it drove my husband mad as I was always weighing stuff before I ate it!

 

[JenniferW]

Again - thanks for the help.

 

[TrinMonroe]

Hey Jennifer...i was given a sheet from my diabetic nurse for keeping a food dairy with bld levels...the columns are:

Blds before Breakfast
Breakfast
Blds1-2 hours after
Blds before Lunch
Lunch
1-2 hours after
Blds before Dinner
Dinner
1-2 hours after
Blds at bedtime
Snacks
Exercise

I tend to write down when i have had a snack too, what times so you can tell if it spikes your bld levels.

Hope that helps

 

[JenniferW]

Hey Jennifer...i was given a sheet from my diabetic nurse for keeping a food dairy with bld levels...the columns are: ..... Snacks Exercise ..... so you can tell if it spikes your bld levels. Hope that helps

Yes - thanks for that. I'm retired, and don't have the routines that some people have. For example, although I aim to walk every day, on some days I walk way more than others, and it struck me that this has got to be relevant. But as nothing has yet been said to me at my GPs, and I'm not due on the local NHS diabetes management programme until September, at present this is all teach-yourself. So all your experiences are a great help.

 

[TrinMonroe]

Someone on here added a link of an exercise routine on you tube...i have been looking through her videos on there and i am now following them every day.
She has exercises for all walks of life...i have a back injury so i have to be careful...she has exercises specific for this or weak knees etc....i highly recommend her.
I dont know if i am allowed to add a link but look up......JessicaSmithTV........she is absolutely fantastic and the routines are very do able.
They range from beginners to those horrible super fit people LOL.
They are 15mins long and upwards.

 

[JenniferW]

At present I'm happy with a mixture of walking and cycling, but it varies so much from one day to another, I wondered how much to expect that to show up in the blood sugar levels. I've not got a monitor yet but am trying to think ahead.

 

[Cloudlesssky]

Hi Jennifer,
I have been diagnosed T2 for about 9 months.
I am also early retired so like you have less of a routine.
Definitely if my levels are too high a 20 minute brisk walk and a couple of glasses of water really help bring my levels down.

 

[andcol]

you can record it all in the program I built along with weight, waist, blood pressure and it will give you graphs and estimate your HbA1c. You need to run it on a PC of some sort and not a phone. You can find a link to it in my signature

 

[JenniferW]

I was diagnosed in January 2014, and since getting a meter in April 2014 .....

This is reassuring - in that it shows I'm not the only one to take months to start to work any of this out! I was diagnosed 1st May, and am about to get a meter (as soon as I can decide which one). There's been no mention of this by either GP or nurse. Going to the local Diabetes UK meeting and talking to the person there who helps those of us who are T2-diet-exercise-no-medication, who simply assumed I'd be blood testing, has been more help than anyone else so far - as well as all this online contact, of course. But it's made me realise the weeks and months are drifting on and I have get a move on.

 

[4ratbags]

You are on the right track so dont worry about counting the days. I was diagnosed in Feb '14 and I have just got to the point of feeling in control of it all.

 

[poohtiggy]

You definately need a meter a lot of people here use the Codefree from Home Help, or Amazon it's small and neat and easy to use and the strips are cheaper than others, I just order mine on line and they arrive about four days later. We have all felt overwhelmed and confused when first diagnosed but once you get started you will soon pick things up, good luck

 

[JenniferW]

You definately need a meter ...

I sat down last night to make the decision on what to buy, out of the all-too-many meters to choose from! I saw buying my own as the way I'd get the one that would work best for me and was going for an Accu-Check one when I got into one of those computer-loops where they keep asking you the same question but which never lets you get to the end of the process! I'll try again later today.

 

[Bluetit1802]

I sat down last night to make the decision on what to buy, out of the all-too-many meters to choose from! I saw buying my own as the way I'd get the one that would work best for me and was going for an Accu-Check one when I got into one of those computer-loops where they keep asking you the same question but which never lets you get to the end of the process! I'll try again later today.

I have the Accu Chek Mobile but only use it as a spare in emergencies because the replacement cassettes are exorbitant. £25 for 50 strips retail from pharmacies, about half that or less on eBay. However, the meter itself is very convenient and more user-friendly because of the cassette for the strips, meaning you don't have to handle the strips and the whole kit comes as one piece, so easier to carry round. I just can't afford to use it regularly so stick to my Codefree.