Meal schedule

docphi

Active Member
Messages
33
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
Do most people eat on a schedule? I find I have no flexibility as far as meal times, but, it may be because I was recently diagnosed.

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Antje77

Oracle
Retired Moderator
Messages
19,481
Type of diabetes
LADA
Treatment type
Insulin
Do most people eat on a schedule? I find I have no flexibility as far as meal times, but, it may be because I was recently diagnosed.

And can you tell is a bit more on why you have no flexibility in meal times? Are you on medication?

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Mr_Pot

Well-Known Member
Messages
4,573
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Do most people eat on a schedule? I find I have no flexibility as far as meal times, but, it may be because I was recently diagnosed.
I am not sure what you are asking. I don't know what type of diabetes you have but as a diet controlled type 2, I have breakfast, lunch and dinner the same as always, I just eat different things. I could eat at different times but I don't need to.

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TeddyTottie

Well-Known Member
Messages
394
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
My evening meal is usually around the same time of day. My other meal, if I have one, would be when I was hungry, so any time between about 9am and 2pm. For example, today I am just starting to feel a bit peckish after my morning coffee with cream and it’s nearly 2pm. I’m not ready for a meal now but I might have a bit of cheese in a couple of hours to keep me going til 8-9pm, when I eat dinner. On the days when I do have another meal it would be something like bacon and eggs, cold chicken, or a chaffle with peanut butter. This routine might not be for everyone but it suits me!

I quite enjoy being a bit hungry, it’s not uncomfortable and it does make a meal very welcome and more enjoyable, somehow. :cat:

edit to add - diet controlled T2
 
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docphi

Active Member
Messages
33
Type of diabetes
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Diet only
Why is your post a link?

And can you tell is a bit more on why you have no flexibility in meal times? Are you on medication?

Not sure why it's a link. Not on any meds. My endo said to eat at the same time every day. Due to my dysautonomia, I can't tell if I'm hungry or not so I've eaten periodically throughout the day even before I was diagnosed with T2D. Now with the T2D, I eat based on my meter and try to do it before I become dizzy.

I ate a good breakfast at 7:30am. Fasting glucose was 120. Now at 9:30am my BS is 108 and dropping. I'm not hungry, but, I feel the need to eat again to keep the blood sugar up because I'm feeling dizzy. This continues all day so there is no real three meals and two snacks (if needed) routine. Yesterday, I decided to see how low the blood sugar would go and it went to 86 before I had a snack to stop the dizziness. It seems the more you eat, the more you're on this roller coaster of blood glucose.
 
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KennyA

Moderator
Staff Member
Messages
2,960
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
Do most people eat on a schedule? I find I have no flexibility as far as meal times, but, it may be because I was recently diagnosed.

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No. I may have something around 1-2pm and then a more substantial meal about 7-8pm, sometimes later. Sometimes nothing mid-day. I don't snack - can't recall the last time I felt hungry.
 
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HSSS

Expert
Messages
7,476
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Not sure why it's a link. Not on any meds. My endo said to eat at the same time every day. Due to my dysautonomia, I can't tell if I'm hungry or not so I've eaten periodically throughout the day even before I was diagnosed with T2D. Now with the T2D, I eat based on my meter and try to do it before I become dizzy.

I ate a good breakfast at 7:30am. Fasting glucose was 120. Now at 9:30am my BS is 108 and dropping. I'm not hungry, but, I feel the need to eat again to keep the blood sugar up because I'm feeling dizzy. This continues all day so there is no real three meals and two snacks (if needed) routine. Yesterday, I decided to see how low the blood sugar would go and it went to 86 before I had a snack to stop the dizziness. It seems the more you eat, the more you're on this roller coaster of blood glucose.
86 (4.7mmol) isn’t a dangerous level for T2 not on hypo causing meds. However if you have been acclimatised to higher levels pre-diagnosis then that would explain your body “panicking” about lower than expected levels and giving you the warning signs of a hypo. Known as a false hypo. As your body gets used to lower levels it will stop overreacting and readjust to the new better levels.
I’m not sure about your other condition but diabetes doesn’t require set meal times unless you are using fixed doses of a hypo causing medication. What you eat is far more important than when in general.
 
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KK123

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,967
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
I strongly believe (in the absence of any other medical conditions that necessitate it of course), that a diabetes regime that involves 'having to eat at set times' or 'regularly' or 'must have carbs in it' is very poor advice from a medical professional. Yes, this may help alleviate a particular problem but that is no solution on a longer term basis. How on earth can it help when you have a condition where eating raises your glucose levels, medication lowers them so the advice is then to eat more to match the meds and then take more meds to match the food you're eating to match the meds!
 
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JoKalsbeek

Expert
Messages
5,981
Type of diabetes
I reversed my Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Not sure why it's a link. Not on any meds. My endo said to eat at the same time every day. Due to my dysautonomia, I can't tell if I'm hungry or not so I've eaten periodically throughout the day even before I was diagnosed with T2D. Now with the T2D, I eat based on my meter and try to do it before I become dizzy.

I ate a good breakfast at 7:30am. Fasting glucose was 120. Now at 9:30am my BS is 108 and dropping. I'm not hungry, but, I feel the need to eat again to keep the blood sugar up because I'm feeling dizzy. This continues all day so there is no real three meals and two snacks (if needed) routine. Yesterday, I decided to see how low the blood sugar would go and it went to 86 before I had a snack to stop the dizziness. It seems the more you eat, the more you're on this roller coaster of blood glucose.
You becoming dizzy at a 86 is likely a false hypo, and a true one shouldn't happen when you're on nothing, or metformin only. If you were on gliclazide or insulin or something, a hypo could occur, but on no medication it'd be highly unlikely unless you suffer from reactive hypoglycemia, which the numbers don't seem to indicate. Your body isn't used to being in the normal range (And I'm sure someone'll kick my behind if I got the conversion wrong), so it freaks out. Best thing to do then is just have some protein rather than carbs to keep the dizzy spell at bay. That reminds me... Do you have enough salt, or do you use blood pressure medication? Just wondering.

You don't feel hunger, but you know what? If someone fasts for a few days, they don't feel hunger either. Eating once or twice a day like some here do (yours truly included) is called intermittent fasting and is one of the tools to keep blood sugars in the normal range and lose weight in the process. Just make sure the meals you do have are nutrient dense. Your body can up blood glucose itself if it really needs to through a liver dump, so you're not likely to faceplant if you don't eat every few hours.

Good luck eh.
Jo
 
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Daibell

Master
Messages
12,653
Type of diabetes
LADA
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi. You shouldn't need to eat rigidly to set meal times. If your BS control needs to be improved then you should probably be at least on Metformin which many of us take. Do keep the carbs in your meal down and rely more on fats and proteins.
 
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TriciaWs

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,727
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Other
Rather than taking meds I relied on reducing the carbs in my meals - latest research is that going low carb/keto is a good way to improve the chance to get T2 diabetes into remission.
And I had false hypos several times in the first few weeks.
 
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docphi

Active Member
Messages
33
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
You becoming dizzy at a 86 is likely a false hypo, and a true one shouldn't happen when you're on nothing, or metformin only. If you were on gliclazide or insulin or something, a hypo could occur, but on no medication it'd be highly unlikely unless you suffer from reactive hypoglycemia, which the numbers don't seem to indicate. Your body isn't used to being in the normal range (And I'm sure someone'll kick my behind if I got the conversion wrong), so it freaks out. Best thing to do then is just have some protein rather than carbs to keep the dizzy spell at bay. That reminds me... Do you have enough salt, or do you use blood pressure medication? Just wondering.

You don't feel hunger, but you know what? If someone fasts for a few days, they don't feel hunger either. Eating once or twice a day like some here do (yours truly included) is called intermittent fasting and is one of the tools to keep blood sugars in the normal range and lose weight in the process. Just make sure the meals you do have are nutrient dense. Your body can up blood glucose itself if it really needs to through a liver dump, so you're not likely to faceplant if you don't eat every few hours.

Good luck eh.
Jo

Plenty of salt. I'm on Coreg but not for blood pressure. It's for the dysautonomia.
 
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docphi

Active Member
Messages
33
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
I strongly believe (in the absence of any other medical conditions that necessitate it of course), that a diabetes regime that involves 'having to eat at set times' or 'regularly' or 'must have carbs in it' is very poor advice from a medical professional. Yes, this may help alleviate a particular problem but that is no solution on a longer term basis. How on earth can it help when you have a condition where eating raises your glucose levels, medication lowers them so the advice is then to eat more to match the meds and then take more meds to match the food you're eating to match the meds!

I agree. Plus, we don't live in a world where you can schedule your meals around your work schedule. At least I don't anyway.