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Questions about my BG results 1 and 2 hours after my meal

Marieukxx

Well-Known Member
Messages
240
Type of diabetes
Other
Treatment type
Diet only
I've been told I am type 2 this was only one week ago.

This evening for dinner I had a diet meal from marks and spencers count on us range. I wanted to be able to know what the carbs were in that meal. It contained 40g carbohydrates.

Before my dinner today my BG was 4.3

One hour after first bite it's 9.0!!!!!!

2 hours after the first bite of the meal and it's down to 7.6

2 hours after I finished eating the meal completely and it's 6.4

I just read that once you know when your peak is either one or two hours after a meal you should only test at you peak time to get an idea of the true impact of what you've eaten on your BG is that true? Am I best testin an hour after first bite?

Also which result shall I note down in my book for the nurse? The one hour peak or the lower one after two hours?

And as the results came down to a normal range after 2 hours can I class that meal as ok to eat in future?
 
I'm a little puzzled. Why after first bite? I measure before eating as you do. And then after the meal is over. After the last bite in other words. That way I include the effect of everything such as dessert, coffee, and so on.
 
Yes I wonder about measuring after the first bite too....that's what they've done each time I've been in hospital. If anyone can explain why I'd like to know too.
 
I think the OP means that he starts his two hour clock at the first bite, or at least that's how I read it.
 
You digestion comes into play as soon as you start to eat so it makes sense to start from the first bite.

The smell and sight of appetizing food is the first signal the digestive system receives to begin the amazing process of digestion. Even before the first morsel of food enters your mouth, the digestive juices start flowing. With the first bite, ptyalin, an amylase enzyme in saliva, begins the breakdown of carbohydrates into glucose
http://www.alive.com/articles/view/18907/digestion_you_are_what_you_absorb
 
Knowing your peak and working to that is a very good idea for practical purposes.

The only official guidance we have is from NICE who say that if your reading is below 8.5 after two hours then that's ok. I should think that nurse will have little choice but to make a judgement using the NICE guidelines and also, if you give her your peak readings you might get more medication.

Lots of people aim for lower than 8.5 at two hours. The figure was set by the organisation that invented the Eatwell Plate and who want to dispense as many pills as possible.

If your sugars are below whatever target you set for yourself then of course you can put that meal on your menu.
 
Why are you testing before your meal then again when you start to eat it isn't that a bit of a waste of strips
Most people only test before then 2 hours after the meal started but you are testing four times a meal
 
Last edited:
AnnieC said:
Why are you testing before your meal then again when you start to eat isn't that a bit of a waste of strips
Most people only test before then 2 hours after the meal started
Click to expand...
OP says he/she tests 1 hour after his first bite and again 2 hours after first bite.
 
I think the op said 1 hr after first bite
That is how you are suppose to measure, from the first bite

Peak will depend on type of carb, fiber, fat in meal
So don't go all OCD about it
Google pizza effect
 
On the records I keep (own spreadsheet), of pre and post meal readings, I have a space for one, two and three hours after meals. I wouldn't normally fill them all in! Sometimes there are limited opportunities to test so that determines which column is completed, and different meals will peak at different times. For example, porridge (low GI) will peak late, but a glass of fruit juice will peak early. Anything eaten accompanied by fatty food, will be slowed down, so greasy roast spuds, will take longer than mashed ones.
So, the important point is that you compare like with like and know when tests were taken. Have your own limits for a particular time. The limits we work to are 7 and under for one hour, six and under for two hours. Five and under for fasting and three hours. This is very strict, but is achieved with a low carb diet and has resulted in consistently good, non-diabetc, HbA1c test results.
Concerning the OP's @Marieukxx M&S meal, I would consider the results to be a little bit too high and 40g of carbs to be a bit too much. But Rome wan't built in a day, and its not a bad start. I wonder what the meal was? Did it include mashed potato or pasta? Or had sugar been used to replace fat? Marie, do think about what was actually in the meal. You may be able to have something very similar, just tweaked a little to reduce quickly digested carbs.
Sally
 
As I understood it the convention of +1 and +2 hours after first bite is an attempt to bring in some consistency to all the readings. If it's done at +1 and +2 after finishing eating you bring in another variable which is how long the meal lasts. Some might scoff it down in 10 minutes, others may take it more leisurely. It's not a perfect system but it's all we have.
 
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So do you believe that the NHS really tell GP's and practise nurses to give advice to diabetics that they know is wrong just so GP's can prescribe pills to people that don't need them..I would not want to believe that.it goes aginst everything a docotor is supposed to do they are the only ones we can trust to give us the right treatment when we are sick. So would you trust your GP's advice when it comes to treatment for any other illness you may have.
 
Was this your experiment to test out what a carby meal does to you, as mentioned on another thread?

I don't have to show my nurse my readings, but if I did I would show her both the 1 hour and 2 hour readings, and also the 3 hour readings if you have them. If you have a high rise at 1 hour but it is back to where you started at 2 hours, this is good. (in my opinion) if it is still high at 2 hours, above 7.8 or 8.5 depending which guidelines you use, it is not good. (in my opinion). If it is still above where you started at 3 hours, it is not good. You were coming down on that meal, but not by enough.

I also test before I eat, then at 1 hour and 2 hours after the first bite. If the 2 hour reading is higher, I will test again at 2.5 hours after first bite.

As for first bite, sometimes a meal might take half an hour to finish if you have 2 or more courses, but I still test an hour after first bite on the grounds that the food is being digested as soon as you take your first mouthful.

As others have said, the timing of the peak depends on the type of carbs in the meal plus the amount of fat. Fat slows down the digestive process. Very little fat, you will peak earlier, more fat you will peak later. High GI carbs will peak earlier, others will peak later etc etc. I keep a spread sheet record of all my readings alongside the meal I ate, so I know which meals will peak early and which will linger longer.
 
gorillamark said:
I'm a little puzzled. Why after first bite? I measure before eating as you do. And then after the meal is over. After the last bite in other words. That way I include the effect of everything such as dessert, coffee, and so on.
Click to expand...
I may have misled the OP on another thread by saying "after the first bite". What I meant was start timing at the meal kick-off as opposed to measuring 2 hours after the END of a meal which OP had been doing.

The meal on that thread was a takeaway eaten with family members. SocIal eating usually takes longer than eating on your own, in my experience, therefore it is more consistent to start timing from the start of a meal as the finishing times can vary.

http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/question-about-my-bg-tonight.62053/#post-597968
 
I can see the rationale for something like a large muliti-course meal in a restaurant which as you say tends to take a fair bit longer and also can have all sorts of ingredients that aren't a good idea. But not for "everyday" eating and particularly for eating and I quote:

a diet meal from marks and spencers count on us range​

I don't see the point at all. Meals of that type tend to be consumed fairly rapidly.
 
I always start timing from the start of the meal for consistency. Up to you.
 
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