I define a ‘spike’ as any rise that’s greater than 2 - 3 mmmol/l (36-54mg/dl).
Well, I’d qualify that a little.
I define a spike in two ways. I agree that it is partly the height of the rise, or delta, but I would prefer that to be less than 2mmol/L (36mg/dl).
As I mentioned, I also prefer not to go above some absolute thresholds at any time. I aim to stay under 7(126) at all times, including my peak post-meal levels, but I admit I don’t always succeed. However, I only get concerned enough to make significant menu or exercise changes if I start seeing numbers over 8(144). I am totally unconcerned over a rise from 4 to 7, but I am concerned at a rise from 7 to 9.
Those are my own targets; each must choose their our own based on their personal situation.
Cheers, Alan, T2, Australia.
Everything in Moderation - Except Laughter.
I miss breakfast cereal and milk. My mornings would be a lot easier if I could eat them, but I have never found any kind that I can tolerate. Regardless of the fiber content I just cannot eat breakfast cereal. And forget about the milk. Whole, fat free, almond, soy, whatever it all is a sugar / carb dump.
Stick with eggs, bit more prep work and time, but worth it.
At least one brand of no sugar added almond milk has only 2 grams carbs per 8 ounces. This type tends to be in the baking section as it is in a box that doesn’t require refrigeration. The dairy cases in the stores I go to only have the higher carb varieties. The alternate section is worth seeking out.
I haven’t seen that type before, although I haven’t looked in the baking section before. Thanks for the tip. I’ll check it out.
As far as cereals go I’ve given up on them, but out of all of them I’ve seen All Bran’s - “Bran Buds” were the highest fiber / lowest carb.
I just started drinking Blue Diamond Almond Breeze Unsweetened. Its great. 2 carbs 1 fiber = 1 net carb and 0 sugar. It doesn’t affect my BS at all.
I drink Almond Breeze too. If I want a little bit of sweetness, I’ll add half a glass (or a whole glass) of 1% milk. The milk will bring my sugar up a little, but not a lot. Almond Breeze without any milk doesn’t do anything to my blood sugar.
I was going to recommend Almond Breeze as well. It doesn’t spike my BG either. I had to give up on cereal for quite some time but recently discovered that I can eat it now. I encourage you to experiment along the way. You may find that you can tolerate some foods again that you thought you might not ever eat again. Joanne, a mother of a T1 child once said in her blog: “The only constant with diabetes is that there is none.” So true.
I was just diagnosed a month ago as well with Type 2 but I take the metformin at dinnertime. I haven’t noticed any side effects.
I am doing so well for breakfast with a low carb muffin. I’m pretty sure I got the recipe on TuDiabetes and modified it just a little. Here it is:
In a coffee cup, mix 1 egg, 1 teaspoon walnut oil (I like it better than olive oil), 1 tsp lemon juice (activates the baking powder).
Add 1/4 cup flaxseed meal, 1/3 tsp baking powder, and 1 tsp cinnamon.
Cook in microwave 1 minute. When I first saw this, I thought “Oh sure, that’s going to make a nasty mess.” But it doesn’t, perhaps because there’s no gluten like there is in flour. The muffin pops right out of the coffee cup.
I add a couple of chopped nuts sometimes, or a dozen blueberries if I have them. Some people use a tsp of Splenda-type stuff, but I avoid sweet. This makes a nice big muffin that I slather real butter on. It totally fills me up, the fiber does its job, and my blood sugar never peaks over 120.
What you’re eating, the All Bran and fruit and milk? would send my BS sky high. There are a couple of cereals that I can almost tolerate. One is Uncle Sam (wheat berry flakes and flaxseed) and the other is Kashi 7-Grain puffed cereal. I only eat it occasionally, no more than 1/2 cup of it at a time, and I put heavy whipping cream on it. That will peak my BS at 140 or so, but it comes back down within an hour.
The best things I did when I was diagnosed: 1. Read Dr. Bernstein’s book, 2. Experiment with food. I bought extra strips so I could test frequently. Tried lots of foods to see how they affected me. I hate to say this, but it was fun in a sick sort of way. Everyone evidently has a different reaction to foods. What I found out was I could eat bacon and eggs to my heart’s content, quite a few strawberries and blueberries, and a favorite - peanut butter and celery. The worst for me? A nice big carrot wreaked havoc. Rice is a strict no no. No bread and no pasta, never, none. I’ve come up with some things when I think I need a treat - a dessert made from a half cup of cottage cheese and one of those little sugarless Jello tubs. Mix it into froth with a hand blender. It solidifies in the fridge in about 5 minutes. Another thing I’ve learned to like is unsweetened baking chocolate squares. You can eat half a square and it isn’t like a Hershey bar, it does NOT beckon to you to eat more. But it’s chocolate!
Type 2 D does play by its own rules, but they are YOUR body’s rules. It’s very empowering to find out what they are.
I did all my early testing before I took metformin because I wanted to know what my body was capable of by itself. I thought if I took medication and the numbers came down, I wouldn’t know if it was the medication or my new diet program that was responsible. I have ended up taking metformin at night to counter higher numbers in the a.m. than I was willing to settle for. I’ve found I also do better with my few carbs earlier in the day and avoid them after 3 p.m. So…bacon and eggs for supper!
I make the flaxseed meal muffin with almond meal and a handful of berries. I eat it in a bowl with some natural unsweetened yogurt and it substitutes very nicely for cereal and milk. I take my metformin tablets, both of them, with my evening meal and get no side effects.
from experience, everything is about portion control. your protein serving should be 3 to 4 oz. 1 cup of vegetable is 15 grams of carb. what i do is i write down everything i eat and test my blood sugar after 2 hours. if what i ate is cause my sugar spike then I dont eat that food ever again. Good luck…