Can I have some feedback on how i'm doing?

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Carina1962

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Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
hello everyone, i would like some feedback on how i'm doing with my diabetes control. I've lost 2 stones since diagnosis last October and i've come to a bit of sticky point with my weight loss, it's not shifting as much as it did to start but i will carry on.

My typical breakfast consist of the following:-

toast (usually one slice, sometimes homemade wholemeal bread and sometimes the Burgen low GI) & cheese
toast & bacon (sometimes vegge bacon)
toast & sausages (sometimes vegge ones)
toast & peanut butter
granola

My FG levels vary between 6.2 (have never had lower) to 7.8

For lunch i usually take a mixed salad to work with some kind of protein like chicken, egg, fish etc

My 2 hour post-lunch BG levels vary between 5.3 to 7.2

For eve meals i tend to have some kind of meat, chicken or fish with either vegetables or salad and sometimes sweet potato (100g) and sometimes spag bol with wholewheat spaghetti and homemade bolognaise sauce. I also tend to eat out quite often but i try to choose 'healthier' options.

My 2 hour post-meal BG levels vary between 5.7 - 8.8

Does this sound OK? they tend to be within the recommended NICE guidelines for T2's and i would love my FG levels to be lower but there's not much i can do about that but overall am i on the right track?
 
Sounds like your doing great from my point of view, I know Im T1 so slightly different but I'd love levels like yours =) xx
 
Hi Carina,

You are doing just great!

However, just a little too much bread for my own situation. You don't mention your post-breakfast readings - what are they like? In my experience they are the most difficult to control.

One tip that I'd make is that now you are fairly happy with your two hour post-meal results why not start doing some tests one hour after finishing eating - i.e. to learn how high some of your meals are taking you? Some of those readings must be still going quite high if you are sometimes seeing readings of 7.2 up to 8.8 after two hours. Then see if there is any foods that you can cut back on to improve your one-hour readings.

My fasting blood glucose levels got lower as I improved my overall control and these days they are almost always less than 5.

Whatever else you do - do stick with it!

Best wishes - John
 
Hi Carina, those numbers look pretty good to me, and what a tremendous weight loss! 🙂 Try not to worry if the rate of weight loss has slowed, I think most people find this happens, and if you keep up the good work then I'm sure you will continue to see improvements. How much extra would you like to lose? What are you doing as the 'exercise' element? If you could increase your exercise then this will improve your fasting levels. When you exercise, your cells increase their 'insulin receptors' making them much more sensitive to the insulin your pancreas is producing, and this effect continues for many hours afterwards. It's not always apparent to Type 2 people, but for those of us using insulin you really notice as you have to significantly reduce your insulin doses!

The only suggestion I would make about your diet is to use seeded/granary bread in place of wholemeal - wholemeal has pretty much the same GI as white bread. Perhaps if you try some 1 hour tests as John suggests to see what a difference there is between the Burgen bread and the wholemeal?

I think that there will be a great many people who will envy (and cheer!) your results so far - well done!:D
 
Sounds like you are doing a great job. I can't add to the advice already given.
 
hello Wallycorker, i never test before i eat breakfast, i usually take my FG as my 'before breakfast' reading as i more or less test as soon as i get up then have breakfast so is this not correct? also, i am in a real dilemma about bread - it's something i just can't give up (coming from Italian background it was always there as part of meals!). I have a breadmaker and love making my own bread but i thought wholemeal was OK but i think i'll have to start experimenting and trying to make a lower carb option. Are there any other recommendations of bread i can buy along with the Burgen low GI? what do others tend to buy?

Also, thanks for the advice on testing at 1 hour post-meals, i had not thought aboout that one either but yes, that would give me a good idea on whether my chosen meals are in fact 'BG friendly'.

There is so much to learn! :confused:
 
hello Northerner, in answer to your question, i do lots of walking and try to do a 30 min walk every evening, sometimes it varies, it can be before my main meal or say one hour after my main meal, just depends on how much time i have. Regarding the bread situation (see my response to Wallycorker) but i just find it so difficult to be able to either give up or cut down on bread - i have tried!

I need something to kick start my weight loss again - i would love to lose another 3 stones - yes i know it sounds a lot but i am only 5' 1" tall and now weigh 13st (i weighed in at 15 st at diagnosis last October) but it still puts me in the obese category - horrid to think, i know!

I did a week's workout at the gym last week because i had a 7 day free gym pass but i didn't lose any weight but my BG levels were improved slightly.
 
Carina, sounds as though you are doing great.

Although I'm Type 1, I tend to stick with Hovis with seeds, usually about a ?1 a loaf at Asda. I usually freeze half, as not eating a lot apart from breakfast toast it tends to go dry. (My wife and son eat very little bread)
 
Hi Carina, excellent regarding the exercise 🙂 Something to bear in mind is that, as you become more active you will be building muscle tone - muscle is denser than fat, so this is probably part of the reason your weight loss appears to have slowed. Have you been measuring yourself to see if the inches are coming off?

Regarding bread, although John and some others are happy to cut this out of their diet on the whole, if it is something that constitutes an important part of your diet and enjoyment of food then you don't need to give it up. The key is finding the right type of bread that doesn't have a big impact on your blood sugar levels - you have to find the right compromise so that your quality of life is upheld. I couldn't live without bread and, although I can 'cover' it with insulin, I also have to be careful about the variety I eat. If you are adept at making your own then get some recipes that contain wholegrains or seeds and find one that you are happy with.

Finally, your FG test is fine - it just means testing when you wake up. You don't need to do a further test before you eat breakfast.

I think you are doing incredibly well and making fantastic progress!🙂
 
thanks Northerner, i think i will do that and start experimenting with making bread and use a seeded variety. I know Peter C has given me a recipe which he uses and i will bear that one in mind to make, the only reason i haven't made it is that the ingredients are so expensive for the recipe ie whey protein but i will have a go at making it in the not too distant future. I'm glad i post questions on here as i do get a lot of interesting info and advice and it makes me think of things which i hadn't thought of. With regard to my excercise, i can't really afford expensive gym memberships but i will continue with my walking as i never thought i would ever say this, but i do actually enjoy walking - i am the one who used to take the car to the corner shop! (shame on me lol!) but what my partner has suggested is that i do that little bit more now and increase my distance and that might help in shifting the pounds a bit, i hope so!.

I will let you all know how i progress and i do love to hear of everyone's achievements on here as it is such a strong motivator learning hints and tips and how others are managing to control their D 🙂
 
Gyms aren't for everyone Carina, you need to find a form of exercise you can enjoy which you have done! What can help also is some strength exercises - it doesn't have to be anything intense and you don't need to buy any expensive equipment. Some people just do some arm exercises using tins of beans as 'dumbells' 🙂 This will help to give your upper body some muscle tone too, which will further increase your insulin sensitivity and confidence - and probably help with the weight loss too. Best thing is you can just do it at home without all that messing about going to the gym!
 
Hi Carina,

Yes - I'd wouldn't test both 'on rising' and before breakfast - I'd consider them to be the same - although I know that they can vary. However, I wasn't asking about pre-breakfast readings I was asking about post breakfast readings.

As I've told you before, in general, I steer well clear of bread myself because I know what it does to raise my levels especially at breakfast time. I might have a small piece sometimes in a restaurant situation but that's all.

In my opinion, once you've got a fairly stable situation then the one hour after eating readings will tell you most of all as to where you can make adjustments.

Best wishes - John
 
hello John, looking at my previous post-breakfast readings, come to think of it, they are not that great, they range between 7.8 - 8.8 with a couple of readings of 9.3 and 9.9 so yes, it is the bread by what it looks like and just recently it has been wholemeal bread made from my bread machine but like Northerner pointed out, wholemeal can be as high GI as white bread which i wasn't aware of so it looks like i will have to start experimenting with some bread recipes ie granary or seeded - am googling now 🙂
 
Hi Carina

Well done with everything so far🙂 I would be very interested to hear how you get on with the bread experiments. I am currently experimenting with lowering carbs and brekkie is a real problem if you love toast isn't it! Also, for people who work or who are trying to get kids organised, there is not always time or even the money to prepare anyhting too complex.

I won't highjack your post with my findings except to say that I am grateful to Wallycorker for his gentle encouragement to try lowering the carbs as this seems to be working for me...but too early to shout too loud🙂
 
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