meter readings

I think that you might be looking at the wrong part of the box - on the traffic light system they show the sugars - but diabetics can't cope with all carbohydrates, which includes starches.
You need to look on the back or side of the box and for carbohydrates.
I look for foods which are 10 percent carbs or less as they make it easy to stay low carb.

If you are looking at the traffic light system then you are going nowhere since it is useless and judgmental. Look at a wrapped loaf of bread and you may notice that according to the traffic light label there is about 2% of sugar in it. I just went to the kitchen and looked at a Hovis soft white and the traffic light label says 1.7g of sugar and coloured green. The better label elsewhere says there is 45g of carbohydrate per 100g.

Since all of those carbohydrates can be converted to glucose in your bloodstream, which label do you believe.

They are just as bad where fat is concerned. A few grammes of fat and they colour it red. How dare they?

The traffic light label comes from the same people as the Healthy Eating Guide. Nudge nudge, wink wink, you know what I mean?

Hi @ukmartian. Your readings aren't 'very bad', but they are on the high side. As @Resurgam says it's not just sugar content you need to look at. Carbohydrate content is more relevant as starchy carbohydrates turn to sugar in our bodies, which isn't good for diabetics. The worst culprits are bread, potatoes, pasta, rice and beer.
It is good that you have got a meter, as that is how you will find out which foods affect you most. ideally you should test before you eat, then one hour after your first bite, then again two hours after your first bite.
You should keep a record of what you have eaten and the resulting readings which will identify which foods you should avoid.

Hi ukmartian
The only bad bg readings are the one's that teach you nothing, for example. You were 7.5 pre meal and 13.5 2 hr's later. So that meal or an ingredient in the meal caused a hefty spike in your blood sugar. Now you know that you need to cut some carbohydrates from that particular meal or cross it off the menue. It takes a lot of testing but eventually you will have a good idea of which foods suit you and which you need to avoid

Hi @ukmartian ..

Managing and controlling your diabetes through exercise, diet and testing your Blood Glucose seems to be the best way forward. For me, committing to an LCHF (Low Carb High Fat) lifestyle and testing 3-5 times a day seems to be working and you'll find that there is a wealth of info, relevant advice and positive support about LCHF on the forum ..

I would suggest that you read up on the Low Carb Program and you might also find the discussion on the Low Carb Diet forum helpful .. together with the following Diet Doctor websites ...
Low Carb Intro and Information
Low Carbs in 60 Seconds

Re: Blood glucose ranges .. it is recommended that you test before and two hours after meals ..
# before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
# 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l

Hope this helps