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Questions about self management.

K

KennyS

Well-Known Member
Messages
114
Location
Northwest... Liverpoolish but south of the Mersey.
I have been diagnosed T2 just over a month ago. This is my first post as I have been too dumb up to this point to ask any questions. As time goes on I get a clearer picture of what I need to do to self manage. I have spent the last month reading everything I can and have come to many general assumptions that prevail amongst many members of this community. I guess I am luckier than most in that while my GTT was 16, my first HbA1c, considering many of the liberties I took with my diet, was a very surprising 6.9. The nurse immediately suggested pills and I nixed that to see whether or not I could get a handle on it myself. Got a meter (AccuCheck Mobile) and about a dozen books from the library. The first book I perused was The No Grain Diet by Dr. Joseph Mercola Some interesting assumptions about addiction to carbs, or at least high glycemic carbs. Anyway, it along with other things I read plus this forum have set me on a good path for monitoring and adjusting my foods to improve my BS.



After finding out, I put myself on a no grain, no sugar, no starch diet and started monitoring regularly and recording everything. I was determined to quickly stabilize my BS and learn as much as I could about various foods. I eat 6 times a day (Breakfast, Mid Morn Snack, Lunch, Mid Afternoon Snack, Dinner, Evening snack) and tested 7 times a day. I was able to quickly start seeing which foods I would react to and which would cause a rise in my BS readings. I have, over the last month been able to bring my overall average to 5.8(on my meter) and my fasting levels are around 5.1. I don't seem to have the dawn phenomenon that many speak of.

At any rate, with this background out of the way.... a couple of questions.

1. While my diet is slowly expanding, I am eating a rather narrow range of foods to achieve these levels and when I eat something that causes a 2hour reading to move more that 1.5, I am concerned. My question is... Am I holding myself on to tight of a leach? Should I allow myself higher readings now to more comfortably maintain and reduce my readings later... It is, after all early days in this journey.

2. Some times I have gotten unexplained reactions to meals that I have had before. How often does this happed and does anyone have any ideas about why it happens.

3. I am struggling to figure out how to factor exercise and periods of strenuous work. I do not know how to look at the effects of a meal and how exercise might effect my readings. I have read several places that the rise in glucose uptake can last for several hours after exercise, particularly high intensity workouts. Any thoughts?

One suggestion.... It would be very handy to have a sticky thread for foods that people find acceptable to them and foods that they do not react well to. This would give newbies a good head start on foods to try without a lot of research.

Thank You so much for this forum :thumbup: ... It is a light in what I am starting to see as the NHS darkness...

Kenny.... :wave:
 
Hi Kenny,

Welcome to the forum! I would agree this forum is the light in the NHS darkness, I only discovered it in July and it has really changed my life.

I get what you mean about the sticky thread but everyone reacts differently to different types of food. One one post the other day about Bran Flakes about 10 people posted different reactions to the same food. Some were perfectly able to eat them while others had extreme reactions. Also it depends on the time of day, some people are more carb sensitive in the morning, some in the evening. Its a very personal thing.
 
Hi Kenny, welcome to the forum, I'm sure you'll get all the help and advice you need from the members. Unfortunately I've got to go and find an aeroplane to get on, so look forward to talking to you when I return. Cheers
 
You may find if you look at the Viv's modified atkins diet inside the lowcarb section, you will find some of what you look for.

While a lower rise is better after a meal, I think most say 2mmol at the 2 hour mark, and under 7.8. I would probably do something in between. My own personal targets are around that area, but I am on insulin, so my body will react differently. I think you can 'sometimes' loosen a bit, but I wouldn't do it permanetly or all the time. You can add in a few bits here and there, I would say.

It may be an idea to look at the lowcarb forum for stuff that fit in with the approach you have chosen - there are good recipes and creative ideas on there.

About exercise - when you move, your muscles will need fuel. This need for fuel tends to make them more receptive to insulin so they can get hold of that fuel from your blood stream. That is why after exercise, your muscle will munch up sugar a bit better than otherwise. It is normally so that exercise at near max of your ability - heavy weights, sprints, stuff that has to be done with you running short on air, explosive movements etc, will see your blood sugar rise a few mmol for the first hour or two during/afterwards, after which the muscles will replenish lost stores of glucose - this has to do with a combination or hormones and the inability for the body to meet fuel demands. In lower paced moderate exercise like walking, cycling etc, you will often find a more smooth drop in blood sugar. Both are valid options, you just get the delay on one of them, normally. Both can see your blood glucose going down over several hours afterwards. It feels a little different when you pay attention to it, and you could if you have one meal sufficiently under control, move a couple of your daily tests to around the time for exercise.

-M
 
Hi Kenny ...

I've been here since early August when I was diagnosed with T2. First thing I did after I'd been to the doctor, received diagnosis and picked up my prescription for Metformin was to come home and Google 'diabetes forums' and that was it. I learned more here about diabetes in a few weeks and I couldn't have managed without it. The diagnosis didn't come as a shock to me, I've suspected it for years, just been waiting for the NHS to confirm my own suspicions really. But I would have followed NHS guidelines had I not joined the forum because I wouldn't have known what else to do.

You seem to be doing really well in your self management. I'm also following a similar food regime in that I've dumped all simple carbs completely and I don't miss them. You, however, are more disciplined than I am with your eating pattern. I don't eat regularly, I just eat when I'm hungry so that means sometimes I'll have a breakfast and sometimes I won't depending on how hungry I am.

I agree with you about the sticky thread - it would be a good idea to give newbies a list of foods that others have found OK and not OK - with the emphasis that it's only a rough guide as everyone is different in their reaction.

Must admit, I've never enjoyed eating so much in all my life, as I have done over the past few weeks and I'm now getting a little more adventurous and looking for LCHF recipes. :)
 
KennyS said:
I have been diagnosed T2 just over a month ago. This is my first post as I have been too dumb up to this point to ask any questions. As time goes on I get a clearer picture of what I need to do to self manage. I have spent the last month reading everything I can and have come to many general assumptions that prevail amongst many members of this community. I guess I am luckier than most in that while my GTT was 16, my first HbA1c, considering many of the liberties I took with my diet, was a very surprising 6.9. The nurse immediately suggested pills and I nixed that to see whether or not I could get a handle on it myself. Got a meter (AccuCheck Mobile) and about a dozen books from the library. The first book I perused was The No Grain Diet by Dr. Joseph Mercola Some interesting assumptions about addiction to carbs, or at least high glycemic carbs. Anyway, it along with other things I read plus this forum have set me on a good path for monitoring and adjusting my foods to improve my BS.



After finding out, I put myself on a no grain, no sugar, no starch diet and started monitoring regularly and recording everything. I was determined to quickly stabilize my BS and learn as much as I could about various foods. I eat 6 times a day (Breakfast, Mid Morn Snack, Lunch, Mid Afternoon Snack, Dinner, Evening snack) and tested 7 times a day. I was able to quickly start seeing which foods I would react to and which would cause a rise in my BS readings. I have, over the last month been able to bring my overall average to 5.8(on my meter) and my fasting levels are around 5.1. I don't seem to have the dawn phenomenon that many speak of.

At any rate, with this background out of the way.... a couple of questions.

1. While my diet is slowly expanding, I am eating a rather narrow range of foods to achieve these levels and when I eat something that causes a 2hour reading to move more that 1.5, I am concerned. My question is... Am I holding myself on to tight of a leach? Should I allow myself higher readings now to more comfortably maintain and reduce my readings later... It is, after all early days in this journey.

2. Some times I have gotten unexplained reactions to meals that I have had before. How often does this happed and does anyone have any ideas about why it happens.

3. I am struggling to figure out how to factor exercise and periods of strenuous work. I do not know how to look at the effects of a meal and how exercise might effect my readings. I have read several places that the rise in glucose uptake can last for several hours after exercise, particularly high intensity workouts. Any thoughts?

One suggestion.... It would be very handy to have a sticky thread for foods that people find acceptable to them and foods that they do not react well to. This would give newbies a good head start on foods to try without a lot of research.

Thank You so much for this forum :thumbup: ... It is a light in what I am starting to see as the NHS darkness...

Kenny.... :wave:
Click to expand...

Hello Kenny, I remember that dark tunnel very well.

First thing, your figures are really good, secondly, the lower you keep them, the less chance of complications, so, by all means keep testing new foods, and see what you can tolerate. Exercise is great for diabetics, but, your BG will react in one of two ways. If your exercise is mild such as walking, which is what I do, then your BG will drop. If you do very, very heavy cardio it's likely to rise, but that is only because you will have depleted your stores of glucose so your liver will dump.

Eating regular meals is good, but as Grace pointed out she eats when hungry. I never have eaten breakfast, I simply can't face it, but I do have coffee with cream in the morning. So, eating seems to be a very personal thing. My BG is rarely ever above 5.6, fasting (when I remember to do it) is almost always high 4's, so like you Dawn phenomena doesn't seem to effect me either.

A food sticky while I can see why you think it may be a good idea, might not work, simply because different people tolerate foods in different ways. For example, many people here, can tolerate Soya and Linseed burgen bread - not me. The only bread I can tolerate is home made low carb bread. Some people can tolerate cereal, many of us can't. Added to that, not all of us carb count, some people eat reduced portions but include all food groups including carbs. So, the very best advice I can give you is, keep to the diet you have found works for you, but try and test new foods. If something spikes you, try it again, but a smaller portion next time, if you still get a spike, disregard and move on. I am sure that if you do 'eat to your meter' you will be quite surprised at the foods you find are fine for you. One thing to be careful with is things made with flour, there tend to spike us, but again, try and test. I personally eat no grains at all limited dairy and fruit, so my diet is mainly meat, poultry, veg, berries and I do have cream, yogurt and occasionally cheese and eggs, but that is very rare. However, remember cheese and eggs are a diabetics friend, so don't avoid them. I do as at the moment I eat very clean primal, but would like to go paleo when I can find it in myself to give up Greek yogurt and cream, which are two of my daily staples.

Good luck.
 
hank you all for the feed back, particularly with regards to exercise. I think the only thing I can do to get a clear picture of new foods is to leave the exercise for that day or at least what until after I test for the food. That way I neither effect the readings to the up side or down.

Fraddecat & Defren - I see the complications of a singular thread perhaps more general ones as personal experiences occur with this or that food. Before I found this forum, I and gained a real understanding of the problem, I tried several different kinds of bread and thought I had found utopia in Bergen Soya & Linseed..... as it turns out, the best I can tolerate is a 1/2 a slice with a meal. But anyway, thats just my thoughts.

This whole new chapter in my life is quite interesting. I have struggled with my weight for the better part of my life and loosing weight has always been a chore. Leave it to being diagnosed with a malady that requires constant attention to focus the mind. I have mentally called all grains, sugars and starches the enemy and have found weight loss to be effortless and the constant cravings have disappeared. To bad it took this to show me just what a poisonous food chain we have developed and just how much harm it is doing to us.

Again, Thank You for your responses.
Kenny :wave:
 
Hi again Kenny, I completely agree, I too have struggled with my weight all of my adult life and it has taken finding this forum and endevouring to change my BG for the better to get a good handle on my diet and lifestyle. I'm feeling as if I can do this for ever more, I don't feel deprived and feel healthier than I have done for many a year.

Keep it up Kenny!
 
KennyS said:
hank you all for the feed back, particularly with regards to exercise. I think the only thing I can do to get a clear picture of new foods is to leave the exercise for that day or at least what until after I test for the food. That way I neither effect the readings to the up side or down.

Fraddecat & Defren - I see the complications of a singular thread perhaps more general ones as personal experiences occur with this or that food. Before I found this forum, I and gained a real understanding of the problem, I tried several different kinds of bread and thought I had found utopia in Bergen Soya & Linseed..... as it turns out, the best I can tolerate is a 1/2 a slice with a meal. But anyway, thats just my thoughts.

This whole new chapter in my life is quite interesting. I have struggled with my weight for the better part of my life and loosing weight has always been a chore. Leave it to being diagnosed with a malady that requires constant attention to focus the mind. I have mentally called all grains, sugars and starches the enemy and have found weight loss to be effortless and the constant cravings have disappeared. To bad it took this to show me just what a poisonous food chain we have developed and just how much harm it is doing to us.

Again, Thank You for your responses.
Kenny :wave:
Click to expand...

Reading your post gave me an idea. Try a full slice of Bergen but smother it with butter, real butter not that margarine/spread ****. Healthy good fats like butter slow the absorption of carbs, so could help you eat a whole slice. :D Try and test, you never know.
 
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