Using blood glucose to determine eating, or not.

[Kailee56]

I'm new to this site, but have done low carb and intermittent fasting for years. Needless to say I was shocked to realize My CBG and A1C were high. I have been reading, researching, and checking my blood glucose in response to most everything. One of the sites I came across is run by a man who is DT2 married to a DT1. He has an article about eating to your CBG. Basically, when you feel like eating, you check your glucose, compare it to your usual fasting glucose, and use that as a guide as to if you should eat now or wait to eat until later. I am starting to do this and was wondering if anyone else has done this.

I am adding the site article, but don't know if it will work.
https://optimisingnutrition.com/2016/02/15/how-to-use-your-glucose-meter-as-a-fuel-gauge/

What are your thoughts, opinions, experiences?

 

[mariavontrapp]

That's an interesting way to look at things. I do sometimes check my bg before a meal and then put off eating if it is too high. I wonder how convenient it would be for those working or following a tight routine.

 

[Discopants9]

I'm new to this site, but have done low carb and intermittent fasting for years. Needless to say I was shocked to realize My CBG and A1C were high. I have been reading, researching, and checking my blood glucose in response to most everything. One of the sites I came across is run by a man who is DT2 married to a DT1. He has an article about eating to your CBG. Basically, when you feel like eating, you check your glucose, compare it to your usual fasting glucose, and use that as a guide as to if you should eat now or wait to eat until later. I am starting to do this and was wondering if anyone else has done this.

I am adding the site article, but don't know if it will work.
https://optimisingnutrition.com/2016/02/15/how-to-use-your-glucose-meter-as-a-fuel-gauge/

What are your thoughts, opinions, experiences?

Be very interested to see how you get on with this, theory all sounds good behind it

 

[Lamont D]

I'm new to this site, but have done low carb and intermittent fasting for years. Needless to say I was shocked to realize My CBG and A1C were high. I have been reading, researching, and checking my blood glucose in response to most everything. One of the sites I came across is run by a man who is DT2 married to a DT1. He has an article about eating to your CBG. Basically, when you feel like eating, you check your glucose, compare it to your usual fasting glucose, and use that as a guide as to if you should eat now or wait to eat until later. I am starting to do this and was wondering if anyone else has done this.

I am adding the site article, but don't know if it will work.
https://optimisingnutrition.com/2016/02/15/how-to-use-your-glucose-meter-as-a-fuel-gauge/

What are your thoughts, opinions, experiences?

My experience is as I have realised, is that how you eat and how it affects your health is so individual that to say to be so ritually eating this, that and the other religiously, is not recommended.
Why wait for blood levels to lower before eating?
There is no need!

What works for me, won't work for you!

There is a maxim on here, Eat to your meter!
Not everyone has or can afford a cgm! So a glucometer is still referred to rather than the cgm.

How we process the carbs and how it makes our glucose and insulin response is too much and it needs testing, experimentation, and recording over time to get the best balance for you. Then it might need tweaking and adjusting too if your insulin resistance and weight (loss) dictates. And more importantly, your Hba1c!

I began to realise that we have a form of dietary disorder and our hormones are in imbalance. To correct this, a diet consisting of lower carb and a balance of fats and proteins will help with control of your blood glucose levels.
Exercise is important, but reducing your overall intake of food, we eat too much.
Fasting will help, for those that can!
It is, an endocrine condition that can be controlled, your body and brain will appreciate the change in lifestyle and respond by helping you get your health back.

 

[Kailee56]

My experience is as I have realised, is that how you eat and how it affects your health is so individual that to say to be so ritually eating this, that and the other religiously, is not recommended.
Why wait for blood levels to lower before eating?
There is no need!

What works for me, won't work for you!

There is a maxim on here, Eat to your meter!
Not everyone has or can afford a cgm! So a glucometer is still referred to rather than the cgm.

How we process the carbs and how it makes our glucose and insulin response is too much and it needs testing, experimentation, and recording over time to get the best balance for you. Then it might need tweaking and adjusting too if your insulin resistance and weight (loss) dictates. And more importantly, your Hba1c!

I began to realise that we have a form of dietary disorder and our hormones are in imbalance. To correct this, a diet consisting of lower carb and a balance of fats and proteins will help with control of your blood glucose levels.
Exercise is important, but reducing your overall intake of food, we eat too much.
Fasting will help, for those that can!
It is, an endocrine condition that can be controlled, your body and brain will appreciate the change in lifestyle and respond by helping you get your health back.

I'm not quite sure how to respond to this.

First off, I agree we are all individuals and will respond differently to different things. It is up to us to find what works for us as unique individuals. This form of eating pattern is just one option. I am using this to help me determine if I want to eat because I actually need nutrition at that time or if I want to eat for some other reason. It may or may not work. It is just one option among many.

I have also found that LCHF works for me and my CBG readings.

I have never been a breakfast person, even as a child, and work in a job where getting a break to eat is rare, no matter what the legalities of this is. As a result, I have done what is now called intermittent fasting most of my life. After reading information about fasting by Dr Jason Fung and his use of it in helping patients with diabetes, I now occasionally fast for longer periods.
https://intensivedietarymanagement.com/?s=Fasting

Since finding out that my sister and I have become the 3rd generation of thin, adult onset, diabetics type 2's, a diagnosis that almost doubles our all cause mortality* when compared to someone who is diagnosed as DT2 while over weight, I have been aggressively following my CBG's and working to get them down to what is considered normal.
*http://healthland.time.com/2012/08/...eing-thin-with-diabetes-is-a-dangerous-combo/

I already fast, I already follow my CBG's, and my goal is a normal CBG which would result in a normal HgbA1c. The combination of using my meter to determine when to eat actually makes sense to me as a way to gradually lower my CBG readings. What I find most intriguing about this is that research that used this pattern of eating* found that people who were overweight lost weight while those that were lean maintained their weight.
*https://nutritionandmetabolism.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12986-015-0017-2

Since I pay for my meter and strips out of pocket, I am well aware of the cost. What I don't understand is your comment, "Not everyone has or can afford a cgm! So a glucometer is still referred to rather than the cgm." Huh?
A glucometer is a machine. This machine measures capillary blood glucose, CBG, levels. What is a cgm and what is the point this statement is trying to make? It is confusing.

 

[DCUKMod]

I'm not quite sure how to respond to this.

First off, I agree we are all individuals and will respond differently to different things. It is up to us to find what works for us as unique individuals. This form of eating pattern is just one option. I am using this to help me determine if I want to eat because I actually need nutrition at that time or if I want to eat for some other reason. It may or may not work. It is just one option among many.

I have also found that LCHF works for me and my CBG readings.

I have never been a breakfast person, even as a child, and work in a job where getting a break to eat is rare, no matter what the legalities of this is. As a result, I have done what is now called intermittent fasting most of my life. After reading information about fasting by Dr Jason Fung and his use of it in helping patients with diabetes, I now occasionally fast for longer periods.
https://intensivedietarymanagement.com/?s=Fasting

Since finding out that my sister and I have become the 3rd generation of thin, adult onset, diabetics type 2's, a diagnosis that almost doubles our all cause mortality* when compared to someone who is diagnosed as DT2 while over weight, I have been aggressively following my CBG's and working to get them down to what is considered normal.
*http://healthland.time.com/2012/08/...eing-thin-with-diabetes-is-a-dangerous-combo/

I already fast, I already follow my CBG's, and my goal is a normal CBG which would result in a normal HgbA1c. The combination of using my meter to determine when to eat actually makes sense to me as a way to gradually lower my CBG readings. What I find most intriguing about this is that research that used this pattern of eating* found that people who were overweight lost weight while those that were lean maintained their weight.
*https://nutritionandmetabolism.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12986-015-0017-2

Since I pay for my meter and strips out of pocket, I am well aware of the cost. What I don't understand is your comment, "Not everyone has or can afford a cgm! So a glucometer is still referred to rather than the cgm." Huh?
A glucometer is a machine. This machine measures capillary blood glucose, CBG, levels. What is a cgm and what is the point this statement is trying to make? It is confusing.

Kailee - In the scenario you describe, if I were hungry, I would likely be more inclined to modify what I ate, rather than not eat at all, depending on the magnitude of the number, and how long since I had last eaten, bearing in mind, I could well have experienced a liver dump if it had been a while since I last ate.

Th cgm @Lamont D mentions is a continuous glucose monitor. It's a gizmo attached to our bodies for a period, often a couple of weeks, where it measure either blood glucose, or interstitial fluids to calculated the associated blood glucose level. Those measuring interstitial fluids are more accurately described as Flash monitoring, but sometimes they are lumped into the term CGM, for high level discussion.

The outputs of either Flash or CGMs is (provided used properly) is a graphical 24-hour trace of the individual's levels. Many find those resources very useful, in understanding how our bodies react to what we eat and drink, and also life in general. However, they are more costly than finger prick testing.

I'm unaware of any T2, or pre-diabetics, having them provided unless the individual is involved in a trial or a participant in a research project. I'd be content, particularly on that last point, to be proven wrong, by someone better informed in that regard.

Good luck with whatever route you choose.

 

[Kailee56]

Kailee - In the scenario you describe, if I were hungry, I would likely be more inclined to modify what I ate, rather than not eat at all, depending on the magnitude of the number, and how long since I had last eaten, bearing in mind, I could well have experienced a liver dump if it had been a while since I last ate.

Th cgm @Lamont D mentions is a continuous glucose monitor. It's a gizmo attached to our bodies for a period, often a couple of weeks, where it measure either blood glucose, or interstitial fluids to calculated the associated blood glucose level. Those measuring interstitial fluids are more accurately described as Flash monitoring, but sometimes they are lumped into the term CGM, for high level discussion.

The outputs of either Flash or CGMs is (provided used properly) is a graphical 24-hour trace of the individual's levels. Many find those resources very useful, in understanding how our bodies react to what we eat and drink, and also life in general. However, they are more costly than finger prick testing.

I'm unaware of any T2, or pre-diabetics, having them provided unless the individual is involved in a trial or a participant in a research project. I'd be content, particularly on that last point, to be proven wrong, by someone better informed in that regard.

Good luck with whatever route you choose.

Thank you so much for your reply. There are so many things referred to by initials! Now the previous reply makes sense, though I never mentioned using a continuous glucose monitor, CGM.

I have read about CGM's and really wanted the data one could provide. Here in the states, they are only available through a physician prescription. Personally, I wish they were available for rent. I would love to be able to track exactly how my food and activity effect my glucose levels for a few weeks.

As for eating when hungry, I realized a few years ago that most of my hunger cues are actually not due to hunger. I eat from habit, boredom, and anxiety/stress. Using my meter before eating helps me determine if I actually need to eat as opposed to if I just want to eat.