Pre-prandial BG readings

[Browser]

During lockdown I have been living with my daughter and family. They tend to eat their evening meal much later than I normally would ( eg 7.30 instead of 5.30 ) and I am aware of a significant difference in my pre-prandial BG reading. At first I put it down to a slightly different diet and eating habits but I’m beginning to think that the late timing of the evening meal is the most important factor. Would a light snack ( eg piece of cheese and celery ) around my normal eating time eliminate this rise?

 

[grovesy]

The only way to find out would be try it and see. Though the differences could be down to differences in food choices.

 

[Nick Cliff]

That's interesting @Browser , as I would expect my blood glucose level to fall the longer I left it without eating. This suggests to me that your pancreas is kicking in and mobilising stored sugar - as per a non-diabetic - which may not be a bad thing? I don't dwell to much on the pre-prandial level as it is variable according to what I have been doing, when I last snacked, etc (unless it is unexpected). What I focus on is the post-prandial value, and the difference between the two, looking for the difference to be less than 3 (what I call a "recovery test"). I also do a morning fasting test and expect the pre-prandial to be similar or lower.
As @grovesy says you may want to test out the impact of a light snack by taking readings before it, and then before your main meal - than after your main meal. However, I think the "recovery test" is the most informative as it shows how well / badly your blood sugar metabolism is working.
Enjoy the cheese and celery!
Nick

 

[Browser]

That's interesting @Browser , as I would expect my blood glucose level to fall the longer I left it without eating. This suggests to me that your pancreas is kicking in and mobilising stored sugar - as per a non-diabetic - which may not be a bad thing? I don't dwell to much on the pre-prandial level as it is variable according to what I have been doing, when I last snacked, etc (unless it is unexpected). What I focus on is the post-prandial value, and the difference between the two, looking for the difference to be less than 3 (what I call a "recovery test"). I also do a morning fasting test and expect the pre-prandial to be similar or lower.
As @grovesy says you may want to test out the impact of a light snack by taking readings before it, and then before your main meal - than after your main meal. However, I think the "recovery test" is the most informative as it shows how well / badly your blood sugar metabolism is working.
Enjoy the cheese and celery!
Nick

To be honest, I’m not too concerned about the pre food higher readings as my post food readings and ‘recovery’ are generally very satisfactory’. Like you, I would normally expect that ‘no food’ would result in lower readings. What you say about the pancreas kicking in is interesting.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Let is know what you discover if you try a few experiments @Browser

Could be helpful for any others who experience something similar.

 

[Browser]

Let is know what you discover if you try a few experiments @Browser

Could be helpful for any others who experience something similar.

Last night we were planning to eat just after 7pm. Recently a test at 6.55pm. pre-dinner would be around 8 ( certainly higher than readings I normally get when eating dinner earlier ). I tested at 5pm and got a reading of 7. I immediately ate a light snack ( 1/2 stick of celery and a lump of cheddar cheese ). Prior to eating dinner, I tested again at 6.55pm. and read 6.5. My reading two hours after dinner ( chicken & chorizo, a few baby potatoes - maybe one or two more than I would normally tolerate 🙂 then 1/2 an orange ) was 8.2. This would suggest that a light bite a couple of hours before my evening meal kept my BG a bit more stable, indeed lower. I know this is far from a scientific study and we’re all different, but it’s food for thought, if you pardon the pun. I’ll continue to experiment when appropriate.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Interesting @Browser

Probably unrelated, but I used to seem to get a bit of a ‘basal check bounce’, where if I’d skipped a meal to check my basal insulin earlier in the day, I seemed to get a bit of an extra glucose push the next time I ate.

At least that’s what it seemed like - could have been coincidence of course!