So I went into the nutritionist today and, after looking at my (meticulous) food & blood glucose diary, determined I needed to eat more fat.
It seems that in meals that don’t have much fat or a significant amount of protein (relative to carb) my blood sugar soars, insulin be damned. If I slap some fat & protein on it though, my postprandials looks great! Basically - piece of toast and my blood sugar’s toast, but slap some peanut butter on it and it’s all good.
Anyone else have this problem? Does this mean I can never have a fat-free carb again? It seems like no amount of insulin will cover a simple, carb-licious bowl of Cheerios (how do you put p.b. on Cheerios???) !
I hear u! It seems since i was diagnosed 2 months ago all i hear is that I am not eating enough protien and fat. Half the time I feel like they are trying to make me eat more than I ever have eaten in one meal. It is hard to do the toast thing for brakfast and add a protien to it for me. I have started either eating cheese toast or adding a piece of lean lunch meat to my breakfast toast…lol. But touch cereal and my bg soars too. Wich someone could figure it out. If anyone has any other answers I would also love to hear them.
Karen
I eat toast with peanut butter or with REAL butter.
I haven’t had much success with cereal (I don’t feel full from cereal and my BG levels are soaring).
But if you eat a meal without much fat or protein, you should definitely give your insulin 20-30 minutes before you eat-- so that the insulin starts working when you eat (UNLESS YOU ARE LOW BEFORE EATING). Then test, test, test to figure out what is best for you!
I didn’t know that about the fat and a meal. i am new to diabetes and was diagnosed type 1 2 months ago so still finding my way through the maze of information. thanks
That’s interesting, I didn’t know that the pre-meal timing of the insulin made any difference (although now that I think about it, it makes perfect sense). Thanks for the tip, I’ll definitely try that!
Nice to know I’m not alone :-). And I know what you mean about having food forced on you! Back when they thought I was type 2, they were telling me I should lose a little bit of weight (I’m on the higher end of normal), but now that they know I’m type 1 they’re telling me I don’t eat enough. (confusing, much?)
First, before I comment on the fats, I just wanted to recommend a book that I read and enjoyed when I was first diagnosed (14 yrs ago, when I was 14) called “Diabetes 101: A Pure and Simple Guide for People Who Use Insulin” – I believe it’s out out of print, but you can get a copy for $1 through Amazon. Anyway, I just re-read it, and it’s very corny but also very easy to understand.
Second, I wasn’t aware that eating fat directly affected blood sugars. However, I was always told to eat “healthy” fats. They make 100-cal packs of planters peanuts, or I’d measure out a serving of sunflower seeds.
I am aware that eating foods higher in protein can help maintain blood sugar levels and they keep me from bottoming out shortly after my meals. I love peanut butter, and I’d eat that on a waffle in the morning if I had the time. That usually doesn’t happen (since I have a chronic lateness problem), so my new favorite breakfast-on-the-go food is Kashi-brand breakfast bars. They have about 20 g of carbs, but they are also high in protein, so they keep me going most of the time until lunch. I even keep one on my nightstand for any middle-of-the-night lows.
