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Question about protein and blood sugar

AllieRainbow

Well-Known Member
Messages
263
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
I am new to this, and very recently diagnosed.

I have just started to monitor my blood sugars and I have a bigger difference between pre and post food readings for my evening meal than my "break fast" meal.

Could the timing be a factor?

Other information:
I am eating a LCHF diet.
I tend to exercise more in the morning before my first meal.
I do some exercise after each meal - more after the first meal than the second.
The first meal of the two meals a day I eat is after a 16+ hour fast.
There are a lot more grammes of protein in the evening meals and these do seem to correlate with the readings on the BG monitor.

Has anyone got any ideas about what is happening here? Here are my figures for the last two days.

06/05/2018
9.53am - 7.3 (fasting reading)
11.33am - 7.3 (before food)
1.48pm - 6.7 (after food)
Difference - -0.6
4.40pm - 6.8 (before food)
6.43pm - 9.7 (after food)
Difference - 2.9
07/05/2018
6.02am - 8.6 (fasting reading)
12.08pm - 6.5 (before food)
2.10pm - 8.0 (after food)
Difference - 1.5
6.24pm - 6.7 (before food)
8.25pm - 9.4 (after food)
Difference - 2.7

I know you need to look at things over time, but this has got me puzzled.
 
Check your carbs intake
 
Can you tell us what you had at your evening meals please to help us help you? Gluconeogenesis (production of glucose from protein) as far as I know takes much longer than from carbs.
 
06/04/18
First meal:
Carbs - 22.1g
Protein - 49.7g
Evening meal:
Carbs - 34.4g
Protein - 82.9g
07/04/18
First meal:
Carbs - 24.8g
Protein - 65.9g
Evening meal:
Carbs - 18.9g
Protein - 81.2g

Carbs all from unprocessed sources ie veggies and dairy.
 
Firstly, protein takes eons to digest, maybe 24 hours or more. It will not show up as glucose straight after a meal. In fact, in most people it doesn't show up at all other than in the absence (or near absence) of carbs. In 4 years I have never noticed a rise due to protein, and I eat a lot.

Rather than tell us the number of grams of carbs/protein, it wiould help if you told us the actual food. Not all carbs are equal. Some digest quickly. Others digest slowly.. Some will have peaked well before your 2 hour reading. Others may peak after it.
The amount of fat also makes a big difference. No fat = faster higher rise. The contents of every meal make big differences. Fibre also plays a part.
 
What I can see looking at my food diary is that the veggies in the first meals of the day are generally raw and some of the veggies in the evening meals are cooked - I presume this makes in difference in the speed at which the glucose is released.

06/05/18 - Evening meal
hummus / cucumber / apple / ham / greek yoghurt / brussel's sprouts / mushrooms / chorizo
I suspected the hummus and apple are a problem here, so I lowered the carbs a lot tonight.
07/05/18 - Evening meal
pork / cauliflower / cheese / cottage cheese / brie

Usual breakdown - today was under 10% for carbs
fat - around 55-60%
protein - around 25-30%
carbs - around 10-15%
 
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AllieRainbow said:
apple
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Hi
I have found through testing that I can eat an apple as part of my lunch with no problems, but I daren't eat one in the evening. I wouldn't eat hummus either!
Personally I wouldn't be looking at the percentages - just at the number of gms of carbohydrate. I don't go above 12-15 gm in any meal. I suggest that you decide which meal you want to reduce carb intake in first, and finds alternatives for that meal. I started with my breakfast - cutting porridge and eating greek yoghurt with strawberries and seeds instead. Once I had got used to that, I reduced carbs in my evening meal. Last to go was my bread/sandwich thin at lunchtimes. I now eat low carb soup and salad for lunch.
Are you on any BP medication as that can affect BG.
 
No, not on any medication @archersuz . Yes - apples are off the menu now - and it was a very small apple too.

I am tracking the grammes of carbs at each meal to see how I am reacting to them, and keeping a detailed food diary so that I can see patterns over time. I realise that the hummus was an issue too, although it was a smallish portion.

I am wondering if I need to cut the portion size on the evening meal to make it a lot smaller, and reduce the carbs to under 25g per meal to start with to see if that works.
 
AllieRainbow said:
I realise that the hummus was an issue too, although it was a smallish portion.
Click to expand...
I know many on here won't eat anything with more than 10% carb content, and hummus is 14% (on the one product I looked at). Even though it may be a small portion, it will still be high carb.
It sounds like you are doing all the right things, well done and keep experimenting and recording. You will get there!
 
It seems a little bewildering at the moment - I am just trying not to make any assumptions about anything and asking a lot of questions.

I feel very relieved that I found this site and its forums so quickly, as everyone is so lovely and willing to spend time answering questions and sharing their own experience.

Thank you to everyone who has responded to this post - I really appreciate it.
 
It may be that you find you tolerate more carbs at different times of day. I always keep breakfast and lunch to around 10g carb but find I can eat more in the evening. Others are better earlier in the day, maybe that’s you too?
 
@AllieRainbow You're welcome! Many of us are now 'well controlled' with 'normal' HbA1c levels and we want to spread the word and support others as we were supported when we started out on our diabetes journeys. Keep asking questions!
 
It is a long learning curve. Even those of us that have been here years make mistakes, and I know I learn something new on this forum almost every day. Keep doing as you are, and you will get there. Our meter is our best friend, as is a food diary, so carry on, and keep asking questions.
 
archersuz said:
@AllieRainbow You're welcome! Many of us are now 'well controlled' with 'normal' HbA1c levels and we want to spread the word and support others as we were supported when we started out on our diabetes journeys. Keep asking questions!
Click to expand...

Absolutely! I’m so grateful to this site and now try to pay back
 
What is it you are trying to achieve. Lose weight lower BG levels (which can go hand in hand!)
 
rab5 said:
What is it you are trying to achieve. Lose weight lower BG levels (which can go hand in hand!)
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Both - I am severely overweight, and I am trying to lower BG levels. I suspect it will be a long journey for the first as I have about 120 pounds to lose (fortunately a pound at a time) and the BG will need controlling for the rest of my life, The trade off is getting a lot healthier and never taking anything for granted again. So pretty positive really.
 
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I am slightly blubbering inside with gratitude for all the friendly advice and support here, thank you again for being so lovely.
 
Allie you’re at the beginning of a journey that I started nearly a year ago. My last three HbA1cs have been non diabetic and I’ve lost 80 of the 110lbs I need to loose. You appear to have the same determination that I’ve had to knock this condition into touch. You’ve made great strides already, keep it up x
 
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