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The 2 hour test before and after food

  • Thread starter Thread starter AnnieC
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AnnieC

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I have never quite understood the test before and after 2 hours eating . As a prediabetic myself and cutting out the sugar stuff rice pasta and going moderate on bread and potatoes I tried it for a couple of months but it was so hit and miss with different results every time I tested even with the same meals and foods that it did not really tell me anything.I never had any really high readings whatever I ate but I had lost to much weight doing what I had done. As an elderly person my body does need some carbs to keep my weight up It is now said that fats are not the bad guys it was formerly thought they were but advice is still to eat them in moderation which I do

So when you test do you expect it to stay at the levels you get after the meal until your next meal.
 
I test at different times, before and after eating. So long as I don't get high numbers, I'm happy. But, different mixes of the same food, when you test, how empty your stomach was, all have an effect.
I usually test before 2 hours, and try to pick up any spike.
Some foods are slower though, and spike after 2 hrs.
It's all personal.
It's also hit and miss.
I just set out to write myself a hit list of what spiked me, then didn't eat it again.
Some things have improved recently though, and some foods are no longing spiking me, so I eat them occasionally.
If you're not getting high readings, you can try varying the times.
If you still get none, try varying the amount you eat.
 
The different results you got after testing the same meals is possibly down to different portion sizes. Unless you weigh everything, portion sizes are hit and miss. Even with identical portion sizes there will sometimes be differences depending on what you do in that 2 hour gap. I agree there is little point in testing out meals that you know will not spike you over and above the spike limit you set yourself. The idea is for people new to testing and starting a new diet to discover which foods do spike them and thus able to avoid them in future. I could not have arrived at my present sustainable diet without this. I didn't want to live without potatoes and bread, so by methodical testing I was able to discover I can manage 1 slice of bread with a meal, but not 2 slices. I can manage 2 small potatoes, but not 4. I am happy.

With certain meals I also test at 1 hour plus 2 hours and if necessary at 2.5hours. Initially my spikes were anywhere within this, quite randomly, but now are almost always at 1 hour, back to low 6's at 2 hours, which is what should happen with non-diabetics.

I expect my 2 hour reading to drop back to 4's or low 5's before the next meal, and normally they do, but this can depend on the amount of fat eaten with that meal, and also the amount of protein eaten at previous meals, plus of course the amount of exercise done in that period.
 
I don't set a spike limit as I don't know what is considered high I had understood high was when it was in double figures I am happy with 5's and 6's
As it is not just food though that influences BG doesn't that make food testing somewhat unreliable.So what do you do say if you get a high spike with a food one day and low levels with the same food another day would you go on eating it or do you give it up
 
Good explanation
 

Your 5's and 6's are excellent. The recommended maximum level at 2 hours after eating for a type 2 is 8.5, although this is a bit out of date now. Most of us start by aiming for less than 7.8, and then once we have got there, aim for as low as possible.
 
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