Glucose levels gone down , how careful should I be now?

[notasugarfairy]

A blood test back in April revealed my mmol level was 43. I was told I must cut out sugar and carbohydrates.
I've spent from then until Christmas eve watching everything I eat , despite not wanting to loose weight. In fact needing to gain weight as my BMI is low (16)
I had a blood test on Christmas eve and the results were down to 38mmol. The results message said " No concerns "

So my question is " do you think I can just keep the sugar intake down but go back to eating carbohydrates? "
I must admit I did let my guard down and ate and drank whatever was there over Christmas and I felt suddenly felt so much more energised.

I was able to keep going for four days running around after 2yr old and 3 yr old grandsons without feeling weak as I had been feeling for the last few months.

 

[notasugarfairy]

Would love opinions from people who've experienced similar outcomes

 

[Hopeful34]

So my question is " do you think I can just keep the sugar intake down but go back to eating carbohydrates? "

Well done on reducing your hba1c. I'm type 1, but the short answer is that the only way you'll know how many carbohydrates you can eat per day, and how different foods affect your blood sugar is by using a blood glucose monitor at home. Test immediately before your first bite of a meal and two hours afterwards

 

[Resurgam]

A blood test back in April revealed my mmol level was 43. I was told I must cut out sugar and carbohydrates.
I've spent from then until Christmas eve watching everything I eat , despite not wanting to loose weight. In fact needing to gain weight as my BMI is low (16)
I had a blood test on Christmas eve and the results were down to 38mmol. The results message said " No concerns "

So my question is " do you think I can just keep the sugar intake down but go back to eating carbohydrates? "
I must admit I did let my guard down and ate and drank whatever was there over Christmas and I felt suddenly felt so much more energised.

I was able to keep going for four days running around after 2yr old and 3 yr old grandsons without feeling weak as I had been feeling for the last few months.

Has someone told you that there are good and bad carbs?
It is certainly not something I have ever seen - sugar and starches are carbohydrates, and they end up in the bloodstream as simple sugars needing to be dealt with.
If you had a sudden increase in energy it could well be that you were short on calories, not carbs. When I was trying out the slimming shakes diet I found it was not going well for my type 2 and tried to go back to my usual routine for that - and I felt a distinct upsurge in energy after a day or so of fewer carbs but more protein and fats.

 

[KennyA]

A blood test back in April revealed my mmol level was 43. I was told I must cut out sugar and carbohydrates.
I've spent from then until Christmas eve watching everything I eat , despite not wanting to loose weight. In fact needing to gain weight as my BMI is low (16)
I had a blood test on Christmas eve and the results were down to 38mmol. The results message said " No concerns "

So my question is " do you think I can just keep the sugar intake down but go back to eating carbohydrates? "
I must admit I did let my guard down and ate and drank whatever was there over Christmas and I felt suddenly felt so much more energised.

I was able to keep going for four days running around after 2yr old and 3 yr old grandsons without feeling weak as I had been feeling for the last few months.

Hi, and well done on the BG reduction. I'd guess that the weakness and fatigue is because having excluded carb you're not actually eating enough: you can try upping fats and proteins, particularly fats.

The problem is that you won't really know how you will respond until you try it and find out for certain. Even then, it's possible that it won't go up overnight, but you might see an increase in 6 or 12 months. And what happens for you won't necessarily happen for other people.

As has been said above, sugar and carbohydrates are essentially two words for the same thing. It might be OK to eat veg carb, for instance, in quantity as long as you control the sweeter carbs - or it might not. A lot might depend on what and how you were eating to arrive at 43 mmol in the first place, and what and how you might wind up eating now. Testing, eating, testing, is one way to get a clue what's going on.

Mind you, I've done without finding out "what might happen" for nearly five years now. Not going back there.

 

[notasugarfairy]

Thanks for your feedback.
I must admit when I got my results my first thought was - I don't need to worry any more.

But now in the cold light of day ( and the temptations of Christmas is over!) I realize I must carry on watching what I eat and increasing protein and fats even more.
Before I was first diagnosed with pre diabetes I used to take a chocolate bar with me when we went out for long walks, 2-4 hour strenuous fell walks. I felt I could justify indulging in chocolate.

So now I'm weaned off that and hoping that was the main culprit.
Thanks again

 

[notasugarfairy]

Oh and by the way we went out walking around 5 days a week. So 5 chocolate bars a week.

 

[notasugarfairy]

Has someone told you that there are good and bad carbs?
It is certainly not something I have ever seen - sugar and starches are carbohydrates, and they end up in the bloodstream as simple sugars needing to be dealt with.
If you had a sudden increase in energy it could well be that you were short on calories, not carbs. When I was trying out the slimming shakes diet I found it was not going well for my type 2 and tried to go back to my usual routine for that - and I felt a distinct upsurge in energy after a day or so of fewer carbs but more protein and fats.

No I just assumed sugar intake was much worse than carbohydrates. I'm learning all the time.
If I'm honest I got no input from my G.P. at all except " cut down on sugar"

So anyway I'm glad I joined this forum to get advice from those who know.
Thanks for your feedback.

 

[VashtiB]

Hi @notasugarfairy

Love the name

I have to agree with the previous posters. I have brought my levels down by diet and have actually reduced my insulin resistance. However, I am definitely not willing to take risks. I have been having more carbs recently but even then my daily intake would have been less than 50 grams.

If you are low on energy I agree with others that you should look at increasing your protein and healthy fats.

Unfortunately many in the medical profession are really unaware of the reality of being able to manage it solely by diet. My husband was a skeptic until I started keto and checked my levels constantly. He's very much of the traditional science type person. He is now fully on board as he has seen how my levels were affected by 'healthy' carbs.

Good luck

 

[Lornypops]

Oh and by the way we went out walking around 5 days a week. So 5 chocolate bars a week.

The ladies at my golf club used to be horrified at my golf snacks. They would all be eating cereal bars and bananas, I would pull out my bacon wrapped sausages (I shop around for the lowest carb sausages, aldi is currently the lowest at around 2g per sausage). Their faces were a picture.