Strange the things that happen on holiday!

badcat · Oct 9, 2017

I used to eat a lot of fruit without any problems blood sugar wise but fruit apart from berries, gradually became a no no in terms of raising sugars and for last 10 years or so Im normally 40-50g carbs a day moderate fat moderate protein with limited fruit. For the last 4 weeks or so before hols I was keeping cals around 900 cals mark using a mix of shakes and 'normal' food whilst keeping on my normal meds (60mg Glic which Ive been on 20 years) and had lost 1/2 stone
Usually all fruit except up to about 50g berries sends my sugars ballistic
On hols ive been experimenting, keeping to same meds and using shakes for 1-2 meals a day but upping my fruit intake significantly- the last 3 days Ive have been eating a shedload of fruit but my sugars have been v flat. Yesterday for instace I had 3 slices melon, 2 slices watermelon, an apple and a kiwi fruit at breakfast together with grilled veg (courgettes, aubergines and peppers) and cheese combo with a couple of milky coffees. I then had an orange, another Kiwi fruit and another 1/2 apple at lunchtime and 2 shakes throught the day - sugars ranged between 5.6 and 7.2. Today I had the same for breakfast but swapped the apple for 3 slices of pineapple and had the apple mid day - sugars have been between 5.3 and 6.9. - most surprising but very welcome
The only things that are different to normal are 1) 1/2 stone off 2) more active 3) shakes - Go figure!
The hotel im in is up above an old town and Ive been going for walks along the coast and down to the old town ( steep hill) then up and down the streets in the town and back up the hill so I guess a good couple of hours walking - if thats what it takes to enjoy fruit again, just pass me the walking boots!

Tannith · Oct 9, 2017

badcat said:
I used to eat a lot of fruit without any problems blood sugar wise but fruit apart from berries, gradually became a no no in terms of raising sugars and for last 10 years or so Im normally 40-50g carbs a day moderate fat moderate protein with limited fruit. For the last 4 weeks or so before hols I was keeping cals around 900 cals mark using a mix of shakes and 'normal' food whilst keeping on my normal meds (60mg Glic which Ive been on 20 years) and had lost 1/2 stone
Usually all fruit except up to about 50g berries sends my sugars ballistic
On hols ive been experimenting, keeping to same meds and using shakes for 1-2 meals a day but upping my fruit intake significantly- the last 3 days Ive have been eating a shedload of fruit but my sugars have been v flat. Yesterday for instace I had 3 slices melon, 2 slices watermelon, an apple and a kiwi fruit at breakfast together with grilled veg (courgettes, aubergines and peppers) and cheese combo with a couple of milky coffees. I then had an orange, another Kiwi fruit and another 1/2 apple at lunchtime and 2 shakes throught the day - sugars ranged between 5.6 and 7.2. Today I had the same for breakfast but swapped the apple for 3 slices of pineapple and had the apple mid day - sugars have been between 5.3 and 6.9. - most surprising but very welcome
The only things that are different to normal are 1) 1/2 stone off 2) more active 3) shakes - Go figure!
The hotel im in is up above an old town and Ive been going for walks along the coast and down to the old town ( steep hill) then up and down the streets in the town and back up the hill so I guess a good couple of hours walking - if thats what it takes to enjoy fruit again, just pass me the walking boots!

Glad to her you're having a good holiday, your sugars are good, and especially glad that you are back on here. I should have missed your wisdom.

Hiitsme · Oct 9, 2017

Hi @badcat
I found that when I got my levels under control I could manage a lot more interesting foods. Pleased to hear that you are now able to manage quite a lot of fruit. I think I will try a bit more myself but I will test. I also think that weight loss and exercise really help. Enjoy the holiday.

Bluetit1802 · Oct 9, 2017

That is good news about the fruit. I think some people are more sensitive to it than others. I really struggle, far more than I do with potatoes or baked beans!

Have a great rest of the holiday, and fingers crossed the fruit can be added back permanently.

lovinglife · Oct 9, 2017

Well that just made me well jealous- I loved loved loved my fruit - I do partake in small slices of pineapple melon an apple now and then the odd plum and a donut peach and they have very little effect on my bloods. My Christmas pre diabetes was never chocolate and stuff but lots of expensive fruit- not now - not so much berries anymore as I'm so **** sick of them I get no pleasure from eating them.

glad to see you posting - your holiday sounds wonderful- keep on enjoying- will you carry on with the fruit when you get home do you think?

badcat · Oct 9, 2017

lovinglife said:
Well that just made me well jealous- I loved loved loved my fruit - I do partake in small slices of pineapple melon an apple now and then the odd plum and a donut peach and they have very little effect on my bloods. My Christmas pre diabetes was never chocolate and stuff but lots of expensive fruit- not now - not so much berries anymore as I'm so **** sick of them I get no pleasure from eating them.

glad to see you posting - your holiday sounds wonderful- keep on enjoying- will you carry on with the fruit when you get home do you think?

Hope so - mind you if its the walking thats making the biggest difference, I suspect it'll be harder to get quite the same level of enthusiasm for walking on a treadmill in the UK as ive got here on the Croatian coast!

DCUKMod · Oct 9, 2017

badcat said:
I used to eat a lot of fruit without any problems blood sugar wise but fruit apart from berries, gradually became a no no in terms of raising sugars and for last 10 years or so Im normally 40-50g carbs a day moderate fat moderate protein with limited fruit. For the last 4 weeks or so before hols I was keeping cals around 900 cals mark using a mix of shakes and 'normal' food whilst keeping on my normal meds (60mg Glic which Ive been on 20 years) and had lost 1/2 stone
Usually all fruit except up to about 50g berries sends my sugars ballistic
On hols ive been experimenting, keeping to same meds and using shakes for 1-2 meals a day but upping my fruit intake significantly- the last 3 days Ive have been eating a shedload of fruit but my sugars have been v flat. Yesterday for instace I had 3 slices melon, 2 slices watermelon, an apple and a kiwi fruit at breakfast together with grilled veg (courgettes, aubergines and peppers) and cheese combo with a couple of milky coffees. I then had an orange, another Kiwi fruit and another 1/2 apple at lunchtime and 2 shakes throught the day - sugars ranged between 5.6 and 7.2. Today I had the same for breakfast but swapped the apple for 3 slices of pineapple and had the apple mid day - sugars have been between 5.3 and 6.9. - most surprising but very welcome
The only things that are different to normal are 1) 1/2 stone off 2) more active 3) shakes - Go figure!
The hotel im in is up above an old town and Ive been going for walks along the coast and down to the old town ( steep hill) then up and down the streets in the town and back up the hill so I guess a good couple of hours walking - if thats what it takes to enjoy fruit again, just pass me the walking boots!

@badcat - When I was newly diagnosed I spent the first 7 or 8 months overseas, in the Tropics. Over there, pineapples, mango and banana are all locally grown, so they are plentiful. However to the chase; I found that I reacted much better to local fruits, than those with mega airmiles under their metaphoric belts.

These days I do OK on fruits, but to be honest the tropical fruits just taste so much better when they've literally just been cut from their hosts.

I have a feeling you might be doing a bit of testing when you get home too. Some apparently small changes can make a difference.

Enjoy your holiday. I haven't "done" Croatia, but I gather it's very beautiful indeed.

Bluetit1802 · Oct 9, 2017

badcat said:
Hope so - mind you if its the walking thats making the biggest difference, I suspect it'll be harder to get quite the same level of enthusiasm for walking on a treadmill in the UK as ive got here on the Croatian coast!

Treadmill? There must be places near home where you can walk in the fresh air, enjoy the trees, listen to the birds, even if you have to drive to a park or piece of countryside? Treadmills must be sooooo boring. Must admit though, Croatia's coast is beautiful.

badcat · Oct 10, 2017

Bluetit1802 said:
Treadmill? There must be places near home where you can walk in the fresh air, enjoy the trees, listen to the birds, even if you have to drive to a park or piece of countryside? Treadmills must be sooooo boring. Must admit though, Croatia's coast is beautiful.

True, but east london has few places here id want to walk for several hours and way too much air pollution to make it feel / be healthy
1/2 hour - 45 min drive or tube ride away I can find clean air, peace and birdsong in countryside/ various parks / an RHS garden but cant see myself doing that everyday. Treadmill is in my house but as you rightly point out, its boring as hell!

DCUKMod · Oct 10, 2017

badcat said:
True, but east london has few places here id want to walk for several hours and way too much air pollution to make it feel / be healthy
1/2 hour - 45 min drive or tube ride away I can find clean air, peace and birdsong in countryside/ various parks / an RHS garden but cant see myself doing that everyday. Treadmill is in my house but as you rightly point out, its boring as hell!

Do you have a garden Badcat? Most of my exercise is walking, but for those days I'm not getting much of it, I have a turbo trainer for my bike, which allows me to have a decent pedal, with my chosen resistance levels, without going anywhere. If I think I'll be bored, I can position my iPad nearby and watch something on iPlayer.

It takes less than 5 minutes to mount my bike on the trainer or remove it for "proper use".

Prices start at under£100 and go up into the thousands. As I wasn't sure I'd actually like it or use it, I managed to pick one up, locally, on eBay for a few pounds. It's retail price would have been c£300.

Obviously it could also be used indoors, but I choose not to do that.

badcat · Oct 10, 2017

Thanks - hadnt heard of turbo trainers. No bike currently but plan is to get one once i move out of london
I pads a good idea - at the mo I time trips to the gym for 1pm so I can watch the 1.00 news while on stationary bike for 1/2 hour - taking the ipad with me would open up more opportunities to relieve the tedium

badcat · Oct 11, 2017

Well one thing I both love and hate about experiments is their unpredictability and unexpected results
4 days, loads of fruit, loads of walking, little protein = v stable flatline sugars
Today - much less fruit, more protein, no walking to speak of ( the suspected torn muscle in my foot has been objecting to all the exercise and been v painful - ultrasound sheduled for when I get back) - sugars have gone mental.
So - either 1) my bodies just woken up and thought " bloody hell Im not supposed to like fruit! 2) the walking is more critical than thought 3) the increased protein has impacted sugars (available breakfast protein choices here largely dairy and eggs ( Continental bacon is foul) which I have historically been diagnosed as intolrant to and need to limit 4) foot pain is impacting
More experimenting is called for - having tasted the forbidden fruit theres an incentive!

Bluetit1802 · Oct 11, 2017

Protein takes many hours to digest and any that is sent to the liver for conversion to glucose isn't likely to arrive until the following day, or at least many hours after consumption. Any impact from too much protein is most likely to affect your BG the following day.

So in my view, that leaves a late impact of the fruit, less walking, or most likely the foot. Take your pick!

badcat · Oct 11, 2017

Cheers.
With the protein Im not thinking protein per se but the fact that Ive been diagnosed intolerant to the only 2 choices here and can usually only eat eggs / dairy once or twice a week without gastro problems - in addition to sugars playing up ( now normalised again ) my belly is blown up like a football and rumbling / grumbling, which is one of the things i get when I eat things Ive got an intolerance to
My bets on the foot pain and lack of several hours walking - think the fruit would have shown up earlier than 4 days in but who knows - more experimentation to come

DCUKMod · Oct 11, 2017

badcat said:
Cheers.
With the protein Im not thinking protein per se but the fact that Ive been diagnosed intolerant to the only 2 choices here and can usually only eat eggs / dairy once or twice a week without gastro problems - in addition to sugars playing up ( now normalised again ) my belly is blown up like a football and rumbling / grumbling, which is one of the things i get when I eat things Ive got an intolerance to
My bets on the foot pain and lack of several hours walking - think the fruit would have shown up earlier than 4 days in but who knows - more experimentation to come

My only comment, aside from sympathising with you on the "bother, bother!" discovery is that some people comment, a bit as you have with your breakfast choices, that they can have fruit/rice/bread or whatever, every so often, but not every day.

In my simplistic, imaging mind, I sort of visualise their bodies cope (maybe grudgingly) with it, but then after a few repeats can't manage it quite so well, and the numbers go up.

Of course, it doesn't help that more than one thing changed in your experiment, so I guess, you'll just have to "normalise" and give it another go, changing one thing at a time (although leave out the foot pain ideally).

The thing I miss most, when I feel I'm missing something is skip loads of fruit, although the odd profiterole has been a temptress since having to go gluten free.

Enjoy the balance of your hols.

badcat · Oct 11, 2017

This is getting more confusing!
6's before breakfast shot into the teens after breakfast( tested a couple of times cos didnt believe it) back to 6 by lunch -!shake drunk. in the 5's by mid afternoon, peach eaten, Bs in the 4s 2 hrs later so pushed the boat out with a pear - BS up to a 6 then back down to low 5s. All very peculiar

badcat · Oct 12, 2017

So my confusion continues! ( good in some ways that D can still confuse / puzzle after 20 years I guess)
This morning 5.3 fbg breakfast was a no fruit one - grilled courgettes, aubergines and peppers with some bacon, an egg and 2 coffees with milk - so all pretty low carb
Sadly the result was another rush to the teens 2 hours after eating and nearly back to normal now 31/2 hours after.. Maybe my livers just decided it doesnt need a holiday ( or at least only a holigat from behaving!) and is working overtime at dumping !!
Think tommorows experiment fro brekkie will be fruit with no dairy / eggs - if nothing else itll mix things up!

Bluetit1802 · Oct 12, 2017

It sure is a mysterious disease.

CherryAA · Oct 14, 2017

badcat said:
So my confusion continues! ( good in some ways that D can still confuse / puzzle after 20 years I guess)
This morning 5.3 fbg breakfast was a no fruit one - grilled courgettes, aubergines and peppers with some bacon, an egg and 2 coffees with milk - so all pretty low carb
Sadly the result was another rush to the teens 2 hours after eating and nearly back to normal now 31/2 hours after.. Maybe my livers just decided it doesnt need a holiday ( or at least only a holigat from behaving!) and is working overtime at dumping !!
Think tommorows experiment fro brekkie will be fruit with no dairy / eggs - if nothing else itll mix things up!

I have found the morning liver dump does that to me and it doesnt matter whether i ate or not . Prrhaps try skipping breakfast all together for a couple of days so yiu can see wgat happens anyway ?

masonap · Oct 16, 2017

badcat said:
I used to eat a lot of fruit without any problems blood sugar wise but fruit apart from berries, gradually became a no no in terms of raising sugars and for last 10 years or so Im normally 40-50g carbs a day moderate fat moderate protein with limited fruit. For the last 4 weeks or so before hols I was keeping cals around 900 cals mark using a mix of shakes and 'normal' food whilst keeping on my normal meds (60mg Glic which Ive been on 20 years) and had lost 1/2 stone
Usually all fruit except up to about 50g berries sends my sugars ballistic
On hols ive been experimenting, keeping to same meds and using shakes for 1-2 meals a day but upping my fruit intake significantly- the last 3 days Ive have been eating a shedload of fruit but my sugars have been v flat. Yesterday for instace I had 3 slices melon, 2 slices watermelon, an apple and a kiwi fruit at breakfast together with grilled veg (courgettes, aubergines and peppers) and cheese combo with a couple of milky coffees. I then had an orange, another Kiwi fruit and another 1/2 apple at lunchtime and 2 shakes throught the day - sugars ranged between 5.6 and 7.2. Today I had the same for breakfast but swapped the apple for 3 slices of pineapple and had the apple mid day - sugars have been between 5.3 and 6.9. - most surprising but very welcome
The only things that are different to normal are 1) 1/2 stone off 2) more active 3) shakes - Go figure!
The hotel im in is up above an old town and Ive been going for walks along the coast and down to the old town ( steep hill) then up and down the streets in the town and back up the hill so I guess a good couple of hours walking - if thats what it takes to enjoy fruit again, just pass me the walking boots!

I'm type 2 on insulin.
I believe that the biggest difference is 1) Weight loss and 2) Exercise.
I've been going low carb for some months, and combined with walking (average 9,000 steps a day) my readings are very good, I have 2 apples most days, plus a handful (or two) of berries, and if I know I'm out for some particularly strenuous exercise I might add a banana. I avoid most melon (except watermelon) and I avoid pineapple.

Strange the things that happen on holiday!

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