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Hypo help - Am I taking diet too far ?

J

jay_london

Well-Known Member
Messages
51
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Hi - newbie T2 here looking for some opinions.

I’m about 4 weeks in in the LCHF BSD having recently been diagnosed T2 with a HbA1c of 56.

A typical days food is Greek Yoghurt for brekkie, ham and egg salad at lunch with a small soup and finally a larger salad in the evening with a slice of bacon.

The past 3 days I notice 2 interesting things

1. Pre evening meal, I’m in hypo zone - 3.4 to 3.8 (bad)

2. My blood sugar in the evening doesn’t hit high numbers, maximum is 6.4 good I think, or bad based on being hypo ??)

I’m wondering what to do about this, should I add in some kind of snack between lunch and dinner ? Or do I add in some carbs at lunch ?

Thoughts would be welcome.

Circling back to the thread title, is this typical diet simply too low in carbs.

Cheers,

Jay

Oh and great site - I’m enjoying reading up on things and hope one day I can make more active contributions
 
Non-diabetics have numbers like that, and don't forget the error-margin on your meter. Hypo's are of concern for people on glucose-lowering medication and some people with other conditions than just diabetes 1 or 2. You're doing great!
 
Antje77 said:
Non-diabetics have numbers like that, and don't forget the error-margin on your meter. Hypo's are of concern for people on glucose-lowering medication and some people with other conditions than just diabetes 1 or 2. You're doing great!
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reassurance Antje - I’m going to experiment with a mid afternoon snack to see if it smoothes things
 
Hi Jay and welcome. It certainly seems you've got your BG well under control, your initial HbA1c would be the envy of many and indicates an almost 'in remission' level.
You do seem to be verging on 'hypo', and in my opinion (and I'm no expert) could do with increasing carb intake. At a guess, having snacks between meals should help, as would adding carbs at lunch. Try adding berries to the yoghurt at breakfast. Get some fish into your diet. Add cheese to meals and try a moderate carby snack after lunch and after dinner.
You've obviously got a pretty good handle on testing your BG, so just experiment and see!
 
As @Alexandra100 implies, it’s not the number that matters, it’s how it affects you.

People can have Hypo’s when their BG is in the 4’s whilst others can quite comfortably go around with BG levels in the 3’s without having one.

If you feel perfectly normal then you won’t be having a hypo despite what your meter says, or you may read.
 
jay_london said:
Hi - newbie T2 here looking for some opinions.

I’m about 4 weeks in in the LCHF BSD having recently been diagnosed T2 with a HbA1c of 56.

A typical days food is Greek Yoghurt for brekkie, ham and egg salad at lunch with a small soup and finally a larger salad in the evening with a slice of bacon.

The past 3 days I notice 2 interesting things

1. Pre evening meal, I’m in hypo zone - 3.4 to 3.8 (bad)

2. My blood sugar in the evening doesn’t hit high numbers, maximum is 6.4 good I think, or bad based on being hypo ??)

I’m wondering what to do about this, should I add in some kind of snack between lunch and dinner ? Or do I add in some carbs at lunch ?

Thoughts would be welcome.

Circling back to the thread title, is this typical diet simply too low in carbs.

Cheers,

Jay

Oh and great site - I’m enjoying reading up on things and hope one day I can make more active contributions
Click to expand...
Hi and well done you’re clearly making great progress. Are you following a very low calorie diet alongside LCHF ie the blood sugar diet? It may be that you have reached the point where you could focus more now on the carb count rather than calorie count? You could increase the amount you’re eating overall but be careful about your total carbs. As you’re testing your bgs you can experiment with food and see what helps to balance you out at a bg that you feel comfortable with but still lowers your overall average and keeps you in a non diabetic range.
I’d be tempted to move more on to a keto type diet see dietdoctor.com and up my fats and proteins. Good luck some tweaking would I’m sure improve things for you. I have never counted calories only carbs over last 7 months combining keto with intermittent fasting and have reduced hbaca1 to 33 (from 97) and weight down three stones with bmi of 21.
 
miahara said:
Hi Jay and welcome. It certainly seems you've got your BG well under control, your initial HbA1c would be the envy of many and indicates an almost 'in remission' level.
You do seem to be verging on 'hypo', and in my opinion (and I'm no expert) could do with increasing carb intake. At a guess, having snacks between meals should help, as would adding carbs at lunch. Try adding berries to the yoghurt at breakfast. Get some fish into your diet. Add cheese to meals and try a moderate carby snack after lunch and after dinner.
You've obviously got a pretty good handle on testing your BG, so just experiment and see!
Click to expand...

Hi Miahara - thanks for the tips, this seems like a good approach. Will look at this over the coming days
 
britishpub said:
As @Alexandra100 implies, it’s not the number that matters, it’s how it affects you.

People can have Hypo’s when their BG is in the 4’s whilst others can quite comfortably go around with BG levels in the 3’s without having one.

If you feel perfectly normal then you won’t be having a hypo despite what your meter says, or you may read.
Click to expand...

Actually that’s a good point Britishpub, think I’m over obsessing about the numbers as it’s all new right now - cheers
 
jay_london said:
1. Pre evening meal, I’m in hypo zone - 3.4 to 3.8 (bad)
Click to expand...
Not bad at all.. just normal.. might feel a bit odd the first few times but your body will get used to it. I have to fast for 3 days before I get anywhere near that number.. well done!
 
shelley262 said:
Hi and well done you’re clearly making great progress. Are you following a very low calorie diet alongside LCHF ie the blood sugar diet? It may be that you have reached the point where you could focus more now on the carb count rather than calorie count? You could increase the amount you’re eating overall but be careful about your total carbs. As you’re testing your bgs you can experiment with food and see what helps to balance you out at a bg that you feel comfortable with but still lowers your overall average and keeps you in a non diabetic range.
I’d be tempted to move more on to a keto type diet see dietdoctor.com and up my fats and proteins. Good luck some tweaking would I’m sure improve things for you. I have never counted calories only carbs over last 7 months combining keto with intermittent fasting and have reduced hbaca1 to 33 (from 97) and weight down three stones with bmi of 21.
Click to expand...

Wow Shelley, that’s super impressive numbers - so pleased for you, well done

At present I’ve been counting calories more than carbs and actually just been repeating the same meals day in day out as it comes in around the 800 mark. After 4 weeks though I’m tired of the same food so do need to make changes before I fall off the wagon.

Will check out dietdoctor and Keto too

Cheers,

Jay
 
bulkbiker said:
Not bad at all.. just normal.. might feel a bit odd the first few times but your body will get used to it. I have to fast for 3 days before I get anywhere near that number.. well done!
Click to expand...

Thanks bulkbiker, yeah with it all being so new and with changes in diet - getting used to things is taking some time, hope you’re well
 
jay_london said:
Thanks bulkbiker, yeah with it all being so new and with changes in diet - getting used to things is taking some time, hope you’re well
Click to expand...
I'm great thanks ketoing on as per usual. And certainly having more than 800 cals per day!
 
Maybe something a bit more substantial in the mornings - I like kippers and other smoked fish with cauliflower - might seem odd but the taste of the fish is strong, to me and the cauliflower tones it down.
Perhaps you could try an evening meal of roast meat of your choice with mushrooms and a couple of other low ish carb veges as a stir fry and then a small amount of berries and cream.
There is nothing more likely than a boring menu to encourage straying from it. I think I can manage my two meals a day option for life now, or until I lose so much weight that I look thin - if that ever happens.
 
Resurgam said:
Maybe something a bit more substantial in the mornings - I like kippers and other smoked fish with cauliflower - might seem odd but the taste of the fish is strong, to me and the cauliflower tones it down.
Perhaps you could try an evening meal of roast meat of your choice with mushrooms and a couple of other low ish carb veges as a stir fry and then a small amount of berries and cream.
There is nothing more likely than a boring menu to encourage straying from it. I think I can manage my two meals a day option for life now, or until I lose so much weight that I look thin - if that ever happens.
Click to expand...

Yes good ideas - definitely need to introduce some variety back as feel like this has taken over my life and zapping any enjoyment. The Easter break will give some time to focus on things - cheers
 
3.4 to 3.8 readings are probably good rather than bad. You do need to watch out for hypos, but if you aren't on medication then it may not be an issue. When I was first diagnosed (T2), I went aggressively low carb and consistently got fasting readings between 3.5 and 4. I never had any hypo issues, even with busy days at work. Do monitor your situation RE hypos, but rather than doing anything wrong, I think you might just be doing really well.
 
Hey @jay_london, Do you need to lose weight or did you decide on the BSD as a way to get your numbers down? If you are not overweight there is absolutely no need to restrict your diet with 800 cal/day! If you are an active young man, than by all means consider the keto diet and eat away! Keep up the determination! Cheers/L
 
Geordie_P said:
3.4 to 3.8 readings are probably good rather than bad. You do need to watch out for hypos, but if you aren't on medication then it may not be an issue. When I was first diagnosed (T2), I went aggressively low carb and consistently got fasting readings between 3.5 and 4. I never had any hypo issues, even with busy days at work. Do monitor your situation RE hypos, but rather than doing anything wrong, I think you might just be doing really well.
Click to expand...

Cheers for the reassurance Geordie, I’m going to stick to what I’m doing with a minor afternoon tweak an see how it goes
 
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