Hi all I'm new on here so hello to everyone! I was diagnosed with type 2 around 2.5 years ago, following my latest eye screening I have been told to monitor my blood sugar levels, I have been doing this but becoming very frustrated as they always seem to be high and dont know how to bring them down! I wouldn't say i am particularly unhealthy, just need some advice please!! They seem to range from around 8 - 11.5. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!
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How to Lower Blood Sugar Levels
- Thread starter coles1937
- Start date
Hi @coles1937 I brought mine down by reducing the number of carbs I consume to less than 130g/day. From reading many of the stories on the forum, lots of people seem to have followed a similar approach. The Freshwells app and website were recommended to me when I joined and I have found the recipes offered are quite good for helping me to find replacements for some of the more carb heavy foods I used to enjoy (bread being a key one). I also make sure I do some form of exercise everyday whether weights at the gym, a 5k run or just a brisk walk over the farm fields near where I live. This always impact on lowering my BG.
It is important when moving to low carb to remember to bulk up with protein and fats to make up for the reduced number of carbs.
I am sure others will post later with their own suggestions and it is always worth seeing what they propose as we are all different and the changes we make need to be sustainable going forwards.
It is important when moving to low carb to remember to bulk up with protein and fats to make up for the reduced number of carbs.
I am sure others will post later with their own suggestions and it is always worth seeing what they propose as we are all different and the changes we make need to be sustainable going forwards.
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
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- He/Him
Welcome to the forum @coles1937
Sorry to hear you've been getting frustrated by the BG levels you are seeing. Many members here opt to use their BG meter to directly examine the effect of different meals.
One of the biggest questions when trying to get to grips with your diabetes is often ‘what can I eat’ and while there are obvious things like cakes, biscuits, sweets and sugary drinks that you probably cut out straight away, 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 the first mouthful of a meal, to see what the differences are, to identify any sources or carbs, or portion sizes that seem to be 'spiking' your BG levels. Ideally you would want to see a rise of no more than 2-3mmol/L at the 2hr mark. Initially in a way you could argue that the numbers themselves matter less than the differences between them. Once you can see how you respond to different meals you can begin experimenting with reducing portion sizes of the carbs where you see bigger rises. You might find that you are particularly sensitive to carbohydrate from one source (eg bread), but have more liberty with others (eg oats or basmati rice) - It’s all very individual! You might even find that just having things at a different time of day makes a difference - with breakfast time being the trickiest.
Over weeks and months of experimentation you can gradually tweak and tailor your menu to find one that suits your tastebuds, your waistline, your budget and your BG levels - and a way of eating that is flexible enough to be sustainable long-term.
Let us know how you get on if you decide to give that a try. 🙂
Sorry to hear you've been getting frustrated by the BG levels you are seeing. Many members here opt to use their BG meter to directly examine the effect of different meals.
One of the biggest questions when trying to get to grips with your diabetes is often ‘what can I eat’ and while there are obvious things like cakes, biscuits, sweets and sugary drinks that you probably cut out straight away, 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 the first mouthful of a meal, to see what the differences are, to identify any sources or carbs, or portion sizes that seem to be 'spiking' your BG levels. Ideally you would want to see a rise of no more than 2-3mmol/L at the 2hr mark. Initially in a way you could argue that the numbers themselves matter less than the differences between them. Once you can see how you respond to different meals you can begin experimenting with reducing portion sizes of the carbs where you see bigger rises. You might find that you are particularly sensitive to carbohydrate from one source (eg bread), but have more liberty with others (eg oats or basmati rice) - It’s all very individual! You might even find that just having things at a different time of day makes a difference - with breakfast time being the trickiest.
Over weeks and months of experimentation you can gradually tweak and tailor your menu to find one that suits your tastebuds, your waistline, your budget and your BG levels - and a way of eating that is flexible enough to be sustainable long-term.
Let us know how you get on if you decide to give that a try. 🙂
Leadinglights
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
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- She/Her
Welcome to the forum
Those are indeed higher than is desirable but readings will vary throughout the day (and night) mostly depending on what you eat. The sort of readings you want to be seeing are 4-7mmol/l before meals and fasting and no more than 8-8.5 mmol/l 2 hours after eating or no more than a 2-3mmol/l increase for before to 2 hours after meals, if it is then your meal is too carb heavy. So some changes in your diet to reduce the amount of carbs should make a difference. However how low on carbs you should go may depend on if you are taking any medication. But this link may give you some ideas for making changes https://lowcarbfreshwell.com/. It is based on the suggested no more than 130g carbs not just sugar per day.
If you can increase your exercise that will also help.
Have you had a recent HbA1C test as that will give a better indication about where you are right now and how much you will need to do.
Those are indeed higher than is desirable but readings will vary throughout the day (and night) mostly depending on what you eat. The sort of readings you want to be seeing are 4-7mmol/l before meals and fasting and no more than 8-8.5 mmol/l 2 hours after eating or no more than a 2-3mmol/l increase for before to 2 hours after meals, if it is then your meal is too carb heavy. So some changes in your diet to reduce the amount of carbs should make a difference. However how low on carbs you should go may depend on if you are taking any medication. But this link may give you some ideas for making changes https://lowcarbfreshwell.com/. It is based on the suggested no more than 130g carbs not just sugar per day.
If you can increase your exercise that will also help.
Have you had a recent HbA1C test as that will give a better indication about where you are right now and how much you will need to do.
pjgtech
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
Hi and welcome, all good advice above. Its easy to think of low cal or low sugar diet, but with most T2's its low carb, and that can mean ALL carbs. I find the carbs and cals book very useful, as it list all the carbs and cals plus also has a photo of each portion size, so is an excellent visual reference to see how much you should be eating.
If you can tell us what sort of things you usually eat during a typical day, that may help people to suggest some possible alternatives?
Plus bear in mind there are many things that can affect your BG levels, see attached chart. Cheers
If you can tell us what sort of things you usually eat during a typical day, that may help people to suggest some possible alternatives?
Plus bear in mind there are many things that can affect your BG levels, see attached chart. Cheers
Attachments
I'm getting closer to remission, but I have had to reduce carbs quite drastically, it's working well but I don't think it would be sustainable long term for me, but I hope to be able to maintain blood glucose at a reasonable level. You'll have to find what works for you, it's doable, but not for everybody in my opinion.
Hi, see the link to carb amounts in various foods in my sig. Link goes to
McCance and Widdowson’s 'composition of foods integrated dataset' on the nutrient content of the UK food supply on gov.uk
Drummer
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
Would you like to describe what you eat before getting your highest readings?
For many type 2s reducing carbs is the key to lower blood glucose levels.
My diet excludes high cab foods rather than trying to eat less of them, which seems to work very well for me, as 'healthy carbs' just make me feel unwell.
My glucose used to all come from alcohol. I lived above 20/30 blood sugar and would not count carbs. My HbA1c was also 127. I’m a ketone-prone diabetic and always argue with my diabetes team about my carb levels. I follow a ketosis-like diet but don’t have my fat content high enough for my body to produce ketones, which can be dangerous for me. I live between 20 grams to 35 grams of carbs, and rarely go over 50 grams. Not only do I live between 3.9 and 5.0 blood glucose, with 3.9 not feeling low for me, but my HbA1c is now 28. My mental health has drastically improved from low carbs, and hunger levels from wanting to snack are non-existent. It does take time to adjust to low carbs, and I can sometimes drop sugar levels when I exercise too hard, but overall, it's worth it.
My body now does not react to any spike in sugar. For example, if I eat something like a 360-gram giant Toblerone, which is probably 100 grams of carbs, it won’t even move my levels.
What I’m trying to say from my experience is: if you’re living on high carbs and an unhealthy lifestyle, make the changes you need to. You won’t regret it.
Leadinglights
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- Type 2
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- She/Her
This may work for you in your situation but I not sure it is a sensible approach for many people so I urge caution to anybody who might think it worth a try.