@Drummer thanks for the reply. Think I'm going to follow your lead and start testing so that I can actually see what's happening when I eat.
Many members here have found a BG meter hugely helpful in tweaking their menu to be more BG-friendly. There are obvious things like cakes, biscuits, sweets and sugary drinks that you have probably pretty much cut out already, but you might be surprised how much *all* carbohydrate affects your BG levels, including rice, pasta, potatoes, bread, pastry, grains, cereals and many fruits.
You can use a BG meter, taking a reading before and again 2hrs after eating, to see what the difference is. Initially in a way the numbers themselves matter less than the differences between them. Ideally you’d want this ‘meal rise’ to be no more than 2-3mmol/L. If you see significantly bigger ‘spikes’ you will begin to identify any carb types or portion sizes that don’t seem to suit you so well.
Once you can see how you respond to different meals you can begin experimenting with reducing portions of carbs and trying different types (sometimes just having things at a different time of day makes a difference), or experimenting with swaps or blends, eg celeriac mash, cauli rice, or 50:50 blends.
It’s a process of experimentation… gradually tweaking and tailoring your menu to find one that suits your tastebuds, your waistline and your BG levels - and one that you can maintain long-term
🙂
If you are interested in this approach you may find
test-review-adjust by Alan S a helpful framework too.
If you need to self fund your BG meter, the most affordable meters members here have found are the
SD Gluco Navii or the
Spirit Tee2 - which both have test strips at around £8 for 50