weetabix

I got double figures after eating Weetabix whenever I ate them. So now I don't eat them at all!

Same for every other cereal that I tested too - including porridge.

The only cereal that I ever found that gave reasonable results was Lizi's granola - low-GI nut-based cereal. Tesco used to sell it but I think they've stopped recently - certainly, it seems to have disappeared from their shelves.

bedshaped2000 said:

hi wally but why the inconsintent readings at different times

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I can't explain that for you. I never saw any 6s either one or possibly even two hours after finishing eating Weetabix that I can remember.

bedshaped2000 said:

just looking at that Lizi's granola the carbs and sugar are quite high in that aswell

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Some carbs react quite differently to others. Lizi's granola reacts very differently to other cereals because it's low-GI and nut-based.

I'm not particularly recommending that you eat it just that it gives better results than other cereals to most people I know who have tested it. Personally, these days, I keep fairly well clear of almost all cereals. Also, I now eat hardly any bread or potatoes. That has given me a very big improvement in my Type 2 condition.

Bacon and tomatoes - sometimes with an egg or mushrooms - for me for breakfast most often these days!

bedshaped2000 said:

ok i tried the exact meal this morning guys 5.3 when i woke up on empty 2 weetabix and strawberrys and skimmed milk 8.2 after 1 hour 5.6 after 2hours. Now if i didnt test after a hour i would assume this food is ok. But i did , does this mean this spike after 1 hour can do dammage? im devasted because this is a easy food to take to work with me.

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Despite what's been said previously you might want to throw in a test at 3 hrs as well. I found that Weetabix in particular had a similar effect on me, 1 hr the reading was 6.3 (no strawberries and only Splenda used) , then at two hours it was 4.8. Now if I had just accepted that I would be labouring under a false premise......my test at 3 hrs showed a reading of 8.3 ! I tried again after 4 hrs and it was finally starting to drop, it was down to 6.

Weetabix has around 68g carbs per 100g, so is quite high really. It is also a slow release carb as well, medium to high on the GL index. So 1 and 2 hr testing might well miss the actual high point which can come later with these type of cereals, test later as well until you are SURE what it does to your Bg levels. NEVER take anything for granted, the time of day can also be another variable. Some things that you can eat in the morning, might not be so good late at night....and vice versa ? Test !
I am just as bad with Shredded Wheat, however I can take Honey Nut Shredded Wheat without a problem, that is strange.

It is all part of using the Glycaemic Index and the Glycaemic load to see what effect it has on your levels. Something I do all the time.

HbA1c.....now, that is the problem with relying on a HbA1c reading. It is only an average therefore it covers a multitude of sins.....think about when you have driven, you might reach 60 - 70 mph at times but your average speed will only show you travelling at perhaps 40 -50 mph.

It is not a true reflection of your Bg levels as far as I am concerned. It is only an indicator, a trend.
It will show that you may be going up or down over a three month period, it can never show you the same as daily, frequent testing and recording of those results. Don't rely on it totally.

There are other snacks you could take with you which may be OK, I use cold meats, some fruit, some bread, tomatoes, again only you can tell which is best for YOU by frequent testing. Took me about a month to work out a good diet for me, I didn't have to ditch too many things....just reduced the portion sizes drastically. Made a heck of a difference for me. I don't seem to need any more than one real main meal and two smallish meals, virtually no snacking at all because I do not feel hungry with what I have eaten previously.

Best of luck with your experiments, remember, it has to be what suits YOU.

Ah now this I have seen too. It seems the different food react differently at different times of the day.

The big thing I found was that my evening levels were always high 2 hours after eating and after lots of experimenting I found 2 things that helped.
First I had to adjust my ratios for evening meal. It's now 10g:2ui (10:1 for everything else)
Second I brought my basal insulin dose forward.
I did used to take it around 9/10pm but found that around that time my levels were high and if I corrected I would go hypo overnight.
Bringing my basal dose to around 7 (which is usually at or an hour after dinner) seemed to make a huge difference.

I do weetabix in the morning with splenda but a small pot of pineapple on the side and seem to have the dose for that nailed.

Maybe moving your basal insulin timing would help you too?

/A

AndyS said:

..........Maybe moving your basal insulin timing would help you too?.........

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Hi Andy,

Like myself, besdshaped2000 is a non-insulin dependent Type 2 according to his/her profile and therefore doesn't have any insulin to balance the carbohydrate.

All we have to work with is the choice of food that we eat or perhaps more importantly do not eat. We really do not have any other choice to achieve good control but to cut back on the sugars and starchy carbohydrate.

John

bedshaped2000 said:

........... Just dont understand that my hab1c has gone down if ive been spiking that high nearly every day. ............

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It is my experience that you can have a very low HbA1c and still be spiking quite high. I have found that my fasting 'on rising' blood glucose level seems to be affected by my overall control throughout the day - i.e. if the overall level is good then the morning level comes down.

Moreover, it seems to me that if the on rising fasting level is good then it is likely that the HbA1c will be good too. However, as someone else has explained the HbA1c is an average over quite a long period of time and that can be masking some fairly large spikes at different times throughout the period covered.

It's down to the individual has to how they decide to deal with this. Personally, now that I've got my HbA1c to a low level, I am trying to eliminate as far as it is possible to do so what I consider to be unacceptable spikes. In doing that, I'm hoping to reduce my HbA1c further to a level below 5%. Inevitably, some people will consider that a step too far for themselves personally - howqever, it is what I want to do and I'm confident that I'll get there.

John

Moreover, it seems to me that if the on rising fasting level is good then it is likely that the HbA1c will be good too.

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Sorry John. I have to disagree.

I can wake with a fasting level in the 4's, I could then for whatever reason have Bg levels throughout the day of anything at all, 8.5 say ? This wouldn't mean my HbA1c would be in the 4's, it would more than likely give me a HbA1c of 7% Not a good result at all.

My waking levels are always in the 4's but my Hba1c is 6.4 so I don't quite see the logic there, John.

Just saying how things seem to affect me. My morning readings seem very much to reflect my general levels of control throughout the days previous.

wallycorker said:

AndyS said:

..........Maybe moving your basal insulin timing would help you too?.........

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Hi Andy,

Like myself, besdshaped2000 is a non-insulin dependent Type 2 according to his/her profile and therefore doesn't have any insulin to balance the carbohydrate.

All we have to work with is the choice of food that we eat or perhaps more importantly do not eat. We really do not have any other choice to achieve good control but to cut back on the sugars and starchy carbohydrate.

John

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Ooops.. sorry about that... didnt pay attention to the profiles.

Ah well in that case something else I have noticed is how the food is prepared has a big difference. Pasta for example I have to cook to death since if its slightly underdone then I get some nasty spikes. Maybe warm milk? I know you effectively end up with weetabix porridge but if it helps

Will try pay more attention to who I am talking to