Targets & ideas

[Hazmattmum]

Hi everyone. I`m still working hard at getting my BS levels down (diagnosed as Type 2 in January with a BS level of 16 +). I am sticking to a low carb diet & taking Metformin 1000mg in the morning & 500mg in the evening as prescribed. My BS levels are usually in the 7s fasting & lower in the evening before my meal...which I know bucks the trend as that reading should be higher! I sometimes have the odd spike (for no reason that I can see) but recently they have been pretty consistant at those levels. What I would like to know is ... should I be seeing a lower level by now or am I following a long term plan? I have never been set any targets by the nurse.

 

[xfieldok]

It depends on what you are eating.

Can you tell us what you eat in a typical day?

 

[JoKalsbeek]

Hi everyone. I`m still working hard at getting my BS levels down (diagnosed as Type 2 in January with a BS level of 16 +). I am sticking to a low carb diet & taking Metformin 1000mg in the morning & 500mg in the evening as prescribed. My BS levels are usually in the 7s fasting & lower in the evening before my meal...which I know bucks the trend as that reading should be higher! I sometimes have the odd spike (for no reason that I can see) but recently they have been pretty consistant at those levels. What I would like to know is ... should I be seeing a lower level by now or am I following a long term plan? I have never been set any targets by the nurse.

Why do you think the reading in the evening should be higher? It's usually the fasting/morning readings that are higher. (Most people experience more insulin resistance/insensitivity in the morning, plus the liver dump adding to the numbers)

 

[Hazmattmum]

It depends on what you are eating.

Can you tell us what you eat in a typical day?

Breakfast...typically small amount greek yoghurt & berries & 1/2 slice of toast (yes I know but I am hungry!)
Lunch...varies but usually cold meat & salad or home made veg soup or avacado with prawns followed by I piece of fruit (apple pear etc)
Evening meal varies but often meat of some kind (lamb chops, chicken, roast ham, or pork chops, veg such as asparagus, spinach, leeks, carrots etc. & sometimes a small salad potato (again I know!) or cauliflower rice & often some berries & cream.
Ive cut out all pasta,& rice (except cauliflower rice) all sweet stuff like biscuits & cake, & most potato dishes that i used to make. I am totally bored by all this btw butam trying hard.
I have lost weight & am exercising daily by taking a walk

 

[Hazmattmum]

Why do you think the reading in the evening should be higher? It's usually the fasting/morning readings that are higher. (Most people experience more insulin resistance/insensitivity in the morning, plus the liver dump adding to the numbers)

I was told that & most of the literature tells you otherwise. Good to know though... explains a lot about the higher morning readings

 

[JoKalsbeek]

I was told that & most of the literature tells you otherwise. Good to know though... explains a lot about the higher morning readings

They'll come down eventually, but it takes a REALLY long time for your liver to get clued in about not dumping so much in the morning. I still see sixes regularly, been at it for almost 4 years now.

 

[JoKalsbeek]

Breakfast...typically small amount greek yoghurt & berries & 1/2 slice of toast (yes I know but I am hungry!)
Lunch...varies but usually cold meat & salad or home made veg soup or avacado with prawns followed by I piece of fruit (apple pear etc)
Evening meal varies but often meat of some kind (lamb chops, chicken, roast ham, or pork chops, veg such as asparagus, spinach, leeks, carrots etc. & sometimes a small salad potato (again I know!) or cauliflower rice & often some berries & cream.
Ive cut out all pasta,& rice (except cauliflower rice) all sweet stuff like biscuits & cake, & most potato dishes that i used to make. I am totally bored by all this btw butam trying hard.
I have lost weight & am exercising daily by taking a walk

The larger, non-berries fruits, the spud, toast, and underground veggies might pose problems... But then, you already know that. If you're hungry in the morning, why not go for a few eggs with BACON, cheese, tomato, high meat content sausage and/or bacon? Those'll keep you from going hungry.

Edited to replace the dreaded, mistakenly typed word toast with BACON.

 

[xfieldok]

The thing is - you know!

If you had eggs for breakfast, paired with bacon or high meat sausages, you would feel fuller for longer.

 

[xfieldok]

The larger, non-berries fruits, the spud, toast, and underground veggies might pose problems... But then, you already know that. If you're hungry in the morning, why not go for a few eggs with toast, cheese, tomato, high meat content sausage and/or bacon? Those'll keep you from going hungry.

Without toast!

 

[JoKalsbeek]

Without toast!

YIKES!! I am not my best today! @Hazmattmum , I usually mention bacon, scanned over what I'd written and saw I hadn't added it... I must have THOUGHT bacon but typed toast. No toast! Toast is the devil!

 

[Hazmattmum]

Ok...thanks to both of you but a cooked breakfast is not what I want every day. I often eat bacon & eggs for lunch. And I`m not prepared to give up the fruit...so I guess I`ll just have to live with these levels then. Pretty fed up with all this I can tell you

 

[SlimLizzy]

You could make a no grain granola for a low carb breakfast. There might even be some in the shops.
I used to have yoghurt and berries every morning, now it is reserved for a dessert after a no carb meal.

 

[Daibell]

Hi. Metformin doesn't have that much effect on BS so don't expect too much from it. It is a good safe drug with some other benefits but GPs expect too much from it. The low-carb diet is key and your diet is already good and the weight is coming down as you say. There are more meds that could be added if more control is needed. The target is to keep your HBA1c down to something like 50-55mmol or even lower and to avoid finger-prick readings going above 10mmol as far as possible but don't be obsessive about that.

 

[copilost]

My BS levels are usually in the 7s fasting & lower in the evening before my meal.

from 16 in January, congratulations

small amount greek yoghurt & berries

try a larger amount of greek yoghurt (full fat), maybe some nuts too.

Pretty fed up with all this I can tell you

You're doing really well, why exactly are you fed up, can you say?

Ive cut out all pasta,& rice (except cauliflower rice) all sweet stuff like biscuits & cake, & most potato dishes that i used to make. I am totally bored by all this btw butam trying hard

Is there something in particular you are missing? Do you test after meals i.e. test before first bite and then 2 hours later? I found I can tolerate potatoes in small (but reasonable) portions, rice not so much and haven't dared try pasta, although I find I like all my old pasta sauces on courgettes so don't really miss the pasta.
It sounds like you are a competent and experienced cook, do you miss that? There are some good threads around on low carb baking which might lift you from the dumps?

 

[Hazmattmum]

from 16 in January, congratulations


try a larger amount of greek yoghurt (full fat), maybe some nuts too.


You're doing really well, why exactly are you fed up, can you say?


Is there something in particular you are missing? Do you test after meals i.e. test before first bite and then 2 hours later? I found I can tolerate potatoes in small (but reasonable) portions, rice not so much and haven't dared try pasta, although I find I like all my old pasta sauces on courgettes so don't really miss the pasta.
It sounds like you are a competent and experienced cook, do you miss that? There are some good threads around on low carb baking which might lift you from the dumps?

Thanks again. I might try that testing before & after meals...it might be interesting to see what I can & can`t tolerate. I do miss cooking...you are right. We have recently come back to the UK after having lived in France for 13 years...& I do miss a lot of the food we used to eat there. Goodness knows how French diabetics cope without their bread & sauces! And how do Italians cope without pasta! I have tried that no carb pasta (veg substitute) btw. Its a bit rubbery but OK if smothered in a sauce. I think I`m particularly fed up just now because of the lockdown...spending a lot of time thinking about things, food etc & not able to get out & explore some of the carb substitutes which are available to use in baking...although frankly I`ve never been a baker, preferring savoury stuff really to puddings & cakes. I feel a bit better after having had a moan...but wish people would come up with positive stuff rather than all the do nots! And breakfasts are still a problem. I do eat the Greek youghurt but don`t really enjoy it & I really don`t want eggs all the time!

 

[Hazmattmum]

Hi. Metformin doesn't have that much effect on BS so don't expect too much from it. It is a good safe drug with some other benefits but GPs expect too much from it. The low-carb diet is key and your diet is already good and the weight is coming down as you say. There are more meds that could be added if more control is needed. The target is to keep your HBA1c down to something like 50-55mmol or even lower and to avoid finger-prick readings going above 10mmol as far as possible but don't be obsessive about that.

Thanks...thats encouraging! and at last a target...haven`t had an over 10 reading for a long time now

 

[xfieldok]

If you want to while away your time, Google anything you fancy, just put keto first. Keto snacks, keto muffins, they come in sweet and savoury.

For sweet stuff, just in case, fat bombs

For pizza google fat head dough.

Indian, visit headbangerskitchen. Com.

The amount of stuff out there is mind blowing.

I use the copymethat app to keep recipes I fancy. It automatically sync computer and phone app.

I assume you have already looked at dietdoctor.com.

 

[KK123]

YIKES!! I am not my best today! @Hazmattmum , I usually mention bacon, scanned over what I'd written and saw I hadn't added it... I must have THOUGHT bacon but typed toast. No toast! Toast is the devil!

This made me laugh! I can imagine the regulars reading your post and wondering if you'd gone over to the other side! I hope you managed to change it pronto. xx

 

[KK123]

Ok...thanks to both of you but a cooked breakfast is not what I want every day. I often eat bacon & eggs for lunch. And I`m not prepared to give up the fruit...so I guess I`ll just have to live with these levels then. Pretty fed up with all this I can tell you

Hi there, it's a pain having to change your food habits but honestly please don't be despondent, it looks like you are doing great so far. As mentioned, in the first few months it really is a question of testing before and after each meal (forgive me if you're having to pay for the strips yourself) so that YOU know what affects YOU and by how much regardless how things might affect others. You will find that certain food groups (carbs!!!) will raise your levels but you may find a small piece of fruit or a handful of berries may be ok for you, this is not about following a keto diet (unless you want to & many on this forum do and find it very beneficial). You may want to focus on a low carb diet for example as I do, so I supplement lower/no carb items with the odd apple or slice of toast or bowl of below ground veg. TEST before & after is what I would say, once you know the effect of what you eat you can then modify it as you wish, either by lowering the carbs further or continuing to have your piece of fruit per day if it makes you happy and you can tolerate it glucose wise. I know there are many who will be saying go under 20 carbs a day but if it makes you miserable or means you end up giving up completely and not bothering at all, then a better option, surely is to find a level that you are happy with whilst still remaining healthy. I do know it's different for me as I don't have type 2 and I know there are other things that eating carbs may exacerbate, that is why testing helps enormously but in the end you have to find a balance you can live with. x

 

[Hazmattmum]

Hi there, it's a pain having to change your food habits but honestly please don't be despondent, it looks like you are doing great so far. As mentioned, in the first few months it really is a question of testing before and after each meal (forgive me if you're having to pay for the strips yourself) so that YOU know what affects YOU and by how much regardless how things might affect others. You will find that certain food groups (carbs!!!) will raise your levels but you may find a small piece of fruit or a handful of berries may be ok for you, this is not about following a keto diet (unless you want to & many on this forum do and find it very beneficial). You may want to focus on a low carb diet for example as I do, so I supplement lower/no carb items with the odd apple or slice of toast or bowl of below ground veg. TEST before & after is what I would say, once you know the effect of what you eat you can then modify it as you wish, either by lowering the carbs further or continuing to have your piece of fruit per day if it makes you happy and you can tolerate it glucose wise. I know there are many who will be saying go under 20 carbs a day but if it makes you miserable or means you end up giving up completely and not bothering at all, then a better option, surely is to find a level that you are happy with whilst still remaining healthy. I do know it's different for me as I don't have type 2 and I know there are other things that eating carbs may exacerbate, that is why testing helps enormously but in the end you have to find a balance you can live with. x

Thanks for that. That is the most positive so far...& I needed that today...& makes sense. I will try testing before & after some meals...esp if I sneak something naughty in there like the potato or the fruit. Thanks again.