Toastie experiment (dinner)

[KennyA]

Ok folks, Nandos, half chicken, chips and coleslaw, pre reading 6.0, 2hr 8.2 and 3 hrs 5.2

Same as yesterday with toastie, between the 2-3 hour mark it comes down like a sledge hammer, any conclusions from this? Is it my body is slow to respond but it eventually it gets there an hour latter? Also that is my only meal now as I had breakfast so be in the 4s all day now and during the night before I wake up so will the avergae of the Ac1 be ok? Or am i inflicting damage on my body with these high no's (or are they not that high?)

Not necessarily. You don't know what's happening when you don't test. The whole blood glucose thing is a bit more complex than what you've just eaten. I found it impossible to "average" fingerprick results and predict A1c - it will give you direction of travel but as the two tests measure different things any estimate is just that, and it depends on the quality of the information - you might be testing (extreme case) only highs or only lows, etc.

Even if (maybe particularly if) you don't eat your liver may well still be adding glucose to your system via gluconeogenesis. IIRC most livers store enough glucose for around 2000 calories of energy. If you've not depleted these stores your liver will ensure you use them by dumping them in your blood.

Personal example, info from CGM: Starting from a 7pm BG of 4.7, I eat resulting in a BG 5.3 by 9pm. Go to bed midnight with a BG of 5.0. BG falls steadily through the night to 4.3 at 4am, liver starts dumping glucose and BG starts rising to 5.3 by 7am, 5.8 by 10am, and 6.2 by 1pm. That is ups and downs on no food for 18 hours. Eat a small piece of cheese at 1pm, liver is happy, stops adding glucose, BG 4.9 by 3pm.

If you're interested then you might find using a CGM for a couple of weeks answers some of your questions.

 

[0110]

Perhaps you have just been lucky so far. I wouldn't be able to eat a toastie as I would remain in high numbers for about 2 plus days

This seems to be a pattern, going to stop experimenting now, back to low carbs, the low HBAC1 test made me carry these out...

 

[0110]

Not necessarily. You don't know what's happening when you don't test. The whole blood glucose thing is a bit more complex than what you've just eaten. I found it impossible to "average" fingerprick results and predict A1c - it will give you direction of travel but as the two tests measure different things any estimate is just that, and it depends on the quality of the information - you might be testing (extreme case) only highs or only lows, etc.

Even if (maybe particularly if) you don't eat your liver may well still be adding glucose to your system via gluconeogenesis. IIRC most livers store enough glucose for around 2000 calories of energy. If you've not depleted these stores your liver will ensure you use them by dumping them in your blood.

Personal example, info from CGM: Starting from a 7pm BG of 4.7, I eat resulting in a BG 5.3 by 9pm. Go to bed midnight with a BG of 5.0. BG falls steadily through the night to 4.3 at 4am, liver starts dumping glucose and BG starts rising to 5.3 by 7am, 5.8 by 10am, and 6.2 by 1pm. That is ups and downs on no food for 18 hours. Eat a small piece of cheese at 1pm, liver is happy, stops adding glucose, BG 4.9 by 3pm.

If you're interested then you might find using a CGM for a couple of weeks answers some of your questions.

CGM is the way forward, but not yet. Will wait another 6 months for the next blood test then decide.

What you wrote here seems very similar to mine when I do continuous test on home days "Go to bed midnight with a BG of 5.0. BG falls steadily through the night to 4.3 at 4am, liver starts dumping glucose and BG starts rising to 5.3 by 7am, 5.8 by 10am, and 6.2 by 1pm"

 

[MrsA2]

It's also worth remembering that our bodies aren't machines. They don't work consistently or to a set schedule.
The pre meal and 2 hour test times are "good enough but not perfect". You may find because you are OMAD (one meal a day) that that is having an impact on your bg which is being carried through into your test readings, as is your exercise . You might find results are different if you were, say, eating 3 times times day.
All anyone of us can do is take a few months to work out what suits both our individual bodies and our individual life styles best.
You are doing well, but seem to be expecting instant knowledge and remission. Sadly it doesn't work that way, you may find your body changes at various times, perhaps due to stress level or medication for example and then you will need to reevaluate.
Bg is a fickle thing, inside an imprecise body and affected by many variables .

Carry on as you are, reducing carbs and weight, learning and testing and aim for "good enough" rather than "exact perfection" and finding a way of eating that is sustainable for life and that doesn't cause hunger or fomo or ill health.

Remembering too nutrients and fibre. It's a balance that takes much practice

 

[0110]

It's also worth remembering that our bodies aren't machines. They don't work consistently or to a set schedule.
The pre meal and 2 hour test times are "good enough but not perfect". You may find because you are OMAD (one meal a day) that that is having an impact on your bg which is being carried through into your test readings, as is your exercise . You might find results are different if you were, say, eating 3 times times day.
All anyone of us can do is take a few months to work out what suits both our individual bodies and our individual life styles best.
You are doing well, but seem to be expecting instant knowledge and remission. Sadly it doesn't work that way, you may find your body changes at various times, perhaps due to stress level or medication for example and then you will need to reevaluate.
Bg is a fickle thing, inside an imprecise body and affected by many variables .

Carry on as you are, reducing carbs and weight, learning and testing and aim for "good enough" rather than "exact perfection" and finding a way of eating that is sustainable for life and that doesn't cause hunger or fomo or ill health.

Remembering too nutrients and fibre. It's a balance that takes much practice

Nice post. Thank You

 

[lovinglife]

For me personally I wouldn’t like to see that much of a rise after 2 hours, in fact if I had a 6 just before eating I would probably have a as near to no carb meal as I could, I like to be in th mid to low 5s and have a rise of no more than 1.5 2 hrs later. Nando’s is a good choice if you avoid the carbs. I usually have boneless chicken thighs a side salad and the broccoli, sometimes some hallumi.

An 8.2 would for me would be a fail meal

 

[Rachox]

….will the avergae of the Ac1 be ok?

I believe it’s the spikes that cause the damage so I avoid them. Yes you could achieve an HbA1c or average that appears ok by balancing out the spikes with much lower readings but the spikes are still possibly causing damage. Here is a page with info on HbA1c. I think the paragraph entitled ‘Self Monitoring and HbA1c‘ explains this far better than I have!

Average blood glucose and the HbA1c test

Your HbA1c provides an average blood glucose level over the past few months. Learn more about HbA1c and use our calculator to estimate yours.

www.accu-chek.co.uk

 

[0110]

I believe it’s the spikes that cause the damage so I avoid them. Yes you could achieve an HbA1c or average that appears ok by balancing out the spikes with much lower readings but the spikes are still possibly causing damage. Here is a page with info on HbA1c. I think the paragraph entitled ‘Self Monitoring and HbA1c‘ explains this far better than I have!

Average blood glucose and the HbA1c test

Your HbA1c provides an average blood glucose level over the past few months. Learn more about HbA1c and use our calculator to estimate yours.

www.accu-chek.co.uk

Thank you