Active Low-Carber Forums
Atkins diet and low carb discussion provided free for information only, not as medical advice.
Home Plans Tips Recipes Tools Stories Studies Products
Active Low-Carber Forums
A sugar-free zone


Welcome to the Active Low-Carber Forums.
Support for Atkins diet, Protein Power, Neanderthin (Paleo Diet), CAD/CALP, Dr. Bernstein Diabetes Solution and any other healthy low-carb diet or plan, all are welcome in our lowcarb community. Forget starvation and fad diets -- join the healthy eating crowd! You may register by clicking here, it's free!

Go Back   Active Low-Carber Forums > Main Low-Carb Diets Forums & Support > Daily Low-Carb Support > Atkins Diet
User Name
Password
FAQ Members Calendar Mark Forums Read Search Gallery My P.L.A.N. Survey


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #16   ^
Old Fri, Feb-03-17, 12:33
Meme#1's Avatar
Meme#1 Meme#1 is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 12,456
 
Plan: Atkins DANDR
Stats: 210/194/160 Female 5'4"
BF:
Progress: 32%
Location: Texas
Default

I found some interesting reading here having to do with glycogenesis although it's not called that in this section.

"for the most part the big breakfast will get your blood sugar and insulin doing all the right things for the rest of the day."

http://realmealrevolution.com/real-...t-vs-big-dinner
Reply With Quote
Sponsored Links
  #17   ^
Old Fri, Feb-03-17, 13:30
Robin120's Avatar
Robin120 Robin120 is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 4,140
 
Plan: low carb
Stats: 171/125/145 Female 5'9
BF:
Progress: 177%
Location: DC
Default

Please do NOT stop testing bg to get better idea about what is going on.....if you end up diabetic, you will be dealing with a lot worse. Sorry to be blunt, but suck it up.
With love,
A veteran of diabetes for nearly 25 years

So when you test, look at your finger pricker. It has settings (typically one to ten) that determine how hard is goes into you. Turn it to a one. If you can't get drop, try 2..... The reason is, over time diabetics get very calloused fingers from all the testing and need more pressure.

Please keep testing!
Reply With Quote
  #18   ^
Old Fri, Feb-03-17, 14:16
doreen T's Avatar
doreen T doreen T is offline
Forum Founder
Posts: 37,199
 
Plan: LC paleo/ancestral
Stats: 241/188/140 Female 165 cm
BF:
Progress: 52%
Location: Eastern ON, Canada
Default

^^ what Robin said

Another tip for less painful finger pricks is to use the sides of your fingertip, not right in the top or center. The sides have fewer nerve endings so aren't as sensitive. Be sure to rotate through all 10 fingers, so you're not pricking the same one or two over and over.
Reply With Quote
  #19   ^
Old Sat, Feb-04-17, 03:51
JEY100's Avatar
JEY100 JEY100 is offline
Posts: 13,367
 
Plan: P:E/DDF
Stats: 225/150/169 Female 5' 9"
BF:45%/28%/25%
Progress: 134%
Location: NC
Default

As the old business adage says:
"You can't manage what you don't measure"

You will get so much useful information about foods, impact of exercise, etc if you do testing. Warm your hands first, rub them a bit after washing in warm water, then prick just to the sides of the finger pad...but not so far to the side that blood flow is reduced. I went overboard on what was the "side" at first.
http://www.everydayhealth.com/type-...ger-prick-pain/

Last edited by JEY100 : Sat, Feb-04-17 at 04:13.
Reply With Quote
  #20   ^
Old Mon, Feb-06-17, 07:41
mten2015 mten2015 is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 128
 
Plan: Atkins 72 Induc Lifer IF
Stats: 249/157/150 Female 5'7.5"
BF:
Progress: 93%
Location: MN
Default

Well thanks Janet! I owe it all to you guys on this forum, your information has helped me tremendously along the way.

I have noticed the longer this woe and feeling so good, started adding in more exercise and bg readings this weekend were in the 70 and 80's, post meal highest was 104 and quickly back under a hundred. Didn't even have my morning highs. Now that shocked me! I have never seen numbers that low. Best part, I felt so good. So, staying on plan and checking bg , adding in more exercise huge improvement. I notice the more I lose, the easier the working out is too. Very important to check bg after every meal to know how our body responds to certain foods and keeping track of that. Excited to see what my next lab work will look like.
Reply With Quote
  #21   ^
Old Mon, Feb-06-17, 09:31
khrussva's Avatar
khrussva khrussva is offline
Say NO to Diabetes!
Posts: 8,671
 
Plan: My own - < 30 net carbs
Stats: 440/228/210 Male 5' 11"
BF:Energy Unleashed
Progress: 92%
Location: Central Virginia - USA
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by JEY100
As the old business adage says:
"You can't manage what you don't measure"

You will get so much useful information about foods, impact of exercise, etc


I tested my BG a lot on this journey. I don't do it nearly as often now, but I sure had multiple sore fingers in the early days of testing. This is a graph of my progress from January 2015 to present (logged into my ONTRACK app on my cell phone). I actually started testing my BG a month or two before I got this app and I wish that I had logged that data, too; as the left side of the graph seems to capture the period where my insulin resistance was being resolved. My mean BG fell from over 100 to around 80 over a period of just a few weeks.

Most of these BG readings were fasting BG, but I logged many postprandial readings as well in order to see what effect my meals had. Some of those higher readings in the middle are me testing adding back higher carb foods (like sweet potato fries). After seeing how some of these foods still had a significant impact on my BG, I did not add them back to my regular OP food rotation.

Many of those lower readings were as a result of intermittent fasts. A diabetic may say that some of them are too low. But I was not on any diabetic medications. I felt great, even with BG in the 60s.

It is also worth noting that my BG remained relatively high for several months into this WOE. My A1c in June 2014 was in the prediabetic range. I started walking (40 to 60 minutes daily) by the end of the summer in 2014. I only started testing my BG in November of 2014. I was surprised to find that my FBG and premeal BG were so high (100 to 110 range). I expected better. I was still quite insulin resistant. In those early BG postprandial tests (not captured on this chart) a 15 net carb dinner could spike my BG well above 150. These days a 30 net carb dinner won't do much at all to my BG. It is rarely above 100. I would say that my insulin resistance is resolved.

Last edited by khrussva : Mon, Feb-06-17 at 10:43.
Reply With Quote
  #22   ^
Old Tue, Feb-07-17, 15:18
Hiltm's Avatar
Hiltm Hiltm is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 278
 
Plan: LCHF
Stats: 236/220/185 Female 5' 9"
BF:
Progress: 31%
Location: Northern Virginia
Default

Ken, would you attribute that drop to length of time, or overall weight loss?

I'm thinking since I still have a bit to go, it will just take time. My doctor is very pleased with all the improvements and says "keep up the good work."

I'll bite the bullet and start stabbing myself. *Shudder*
Reply With Quote
  #23   ^
Old Tue, Feb-07-17, 18:46
khrussva's Avatar
khrussva khrussva is offline
Say NO to Diabetes!
Posts: 8,671
 
Plan: My own - < 30 net carbs
Stats: 440/228/210 Male 5' 11"
BF:Energy Unleashed
Progress: 92%
Location: Central Virginia - USA
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Hiltm
Ken, would you attribute that drop to length of time, or overall weight loss?

That is hard to say and I'd only be guessing. For one thing, at that time I was tweaking my diet and doing 3 new things all at once. 1) I was starting to work in intermittent fasts, 2) I had broken my foot and changed my diet to very low carb and cut the calories to keep the scale moving, and 3) I was working on eliminating snacking (eating only at meal time). So I was eating less food, less carbs, and less often at that point in the journey compared to what I had done for the first 9 months. This shift occurred nearly a year into this WOE and I still weighed about 300 pounds. I was still quite obese.

So what triggered that insulin sensitivity "event?" I really can't say for sure. I know that some Type 2 diabetics remain very sensitive to carbs. They must remain very low carb to keep their BG under control. For them it may be less about insulin sensitivity and more about not producing enough insulin. So I'm pretty sure that this is a case of YMMV. This is what happened to me. There is no way to know if this is typical or not.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Hiltm
I'll bite the bullet and start stabbing myself. *Shudder*

If you haven't noticed, I like data. But I was squeamish about poking myself in the beginning, too. Once I got into it I got used to the process. I don't know that you need to do it as often as I did. I got a little OCD with it for the first few months, testing as much as 8 or 10 times a day. I learned a lot about how the foods I ate affected my BG. I learned how sensitive I still was to carbs and saw that change over time. Even the order that I ate mattered. For example, if I had my LC vegetable beef soup (about 10 net carbs) before a meal I'd have a higher BG spike than I would if I'd eaten the soup with or after the rest of my meal. Having protein, fat, and fiber with the soup dampened my BG response. In the end I learned how I should eat to keep my BG as normal as possible. That gave me better satiety between meals. It just so happened that the insulin resistance was resolved while I was testing regularly. I could tell that I tolerated carbs better, but I hadn't seen that graph from my app until recently. It is clear that something was going on in those first few months of 2015.

Last edited by khrussva : Tue, Feb-07-17 at 19:00.
Reply With Quote
  #24   ^
Old Sun, Mar-05-17, 11:19
lauhat2225 lauhat2225 is offline
New Member
Posts: 2
 
Plan: atkins
Stats: 255/232/100 Female 5'3''
BF:
Progress:
Default

It's called the Dawn effect. It's when your liver kicks out sugar. Also there was a study done on the effect of coffee on your blood sugar. My endocrinologist told me it takes a unit of insulin for every cup. It's from the coffee not anything you add to it. He said they don't know why but that's the effect.

I had to give it up completely. It was keeping me between 200 and 250 until I tested before lunch and took insulin to correct it. Even though you are not using insulin your body does the work for you and you absorb excess sugar from the coffee you are drinking. As we know insulin is the hormone that makes us store excess sugar as fat.

It definitely made a difference for me. I am type 1 and PCOS.
Reply With Quote
  #25   ^
Old Mon, Mar-06-17, 08:09
Hiltm's Avatar
Hiltm Hiltm is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 278
 
Plan: LCHF
Stats: 236/220/185 Female 5' 9"
BF:
Progress: 31%
Location: Northern Virginia
Default

Yikes. Okay, i'm going to start testing and I'm going to quit drinking coffee for a while and see if that makes a difference. That's my one vice these days.

Who knows? It could be the coffee holding me back. I'm very LC, I've been IF-ing, and my weight just sits there, or drops, then bounces back up once I start eating again.

We shall see ...
Reply With Quote
  #26   ^
Old Tue, Mar-07-17, 14:47
Meme#1's Avatar
Meme#1 Meme#1 is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 12,456
 
Plan: Atkins DANDR
Stats: 210/194/160 Female 5'4"
BF:
Progress: 32%
Location: Texas
Default

For me, the point is in seeing stable blood sugar without any spikes, either too high or too low.
Reply With Quote
  #27   ^
Old Wed, Mar-08-17, 09:40
Hiltm's Avatar
Hiltm Hiltm is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 278
 
Plan: LCHF
Stats: 236/220/185 Female 5' 9"
BF:
Progress: 31%
Location: Northern Virginia
Default

Well, I've been a finger pricking fool the last two days. I'm not sure what I'm looking for, but I *think* it seems I don't spike too much... ?

I don't normally do this, but just for grins, I even tested it with a diet soda and tried an old Atkins shake I still had in the cupboard. I ate some nuts after dinner last night, too.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!!

Monday:
94 - 9:00 Fast
94 - 10:00 coffee
96 - 12:00
92 - 12:20 eggs
98 - 12:45
104 - 2:54
87 - 3:52
87 - 5:30 dinner eggs/cheese
82 - 9:15
92 - 9:50 Atkins Shake
96 - 10:20
94 - 11:10

Tuesday
78 - 8:50 fast
100 - 11:12 coffee
86 - 12:30 eggs/sausage
79 - 3:15
91 - 5:55 diet soda
90 - 7:30 pork/green beans
99 - 7:55
88 - 8:30 macadamias
95 - 10:45
Reply With Quote
  #28   ^
Old Thu, Mar-09-17, 04:24
JEY100's Avatar
JEY100 JEY100 is offline
Posts: 13,367
 
Plan: P:E/DDF
Stats: 225/150/169 Female 5' 9"
BF:45%/28%/25%
Progress: 134%
Location: NC
Default

That all looks pretty darn good to me. As you saw, no spikes from food, all in the normal range.

Our profiles are somewhat similar, and my Hba1c since being LC have been 5.6, 5.7, 5.9, 5.8 and 5.8 again this past month. To me that is an indication as Chris Kresser wrote that my red blood cells are slower to turn over than someone with higher blood sugars. (Post #9) Rather than panicking over a "pre-diabetes" number based on people who eat a SAD with higher BG excursions, I have a doctor who reminds me that that those normal lab ranges may not apply to low carbers. And another doctor, who after seeing a history of blood tests, just says "that's Your normal." No worries about such minor points. Dr Richard Bernstein would panic over these, but other markers are fine.
You can also check your daily BG (all good), use Trig/HDL as the poor man's indication of insulin resistance, and best for all around health, aim for a waist that is half height or less.

Last edited by JEY100 : Thu, Mar-09-17 at 07:02.
Reply With Quote
  #29   ^
Old Thu, Mar-09-17, 11:00
Nancy LC's Avatar
Nancy LC Nancy LC is offline
Experimenter
Posts: 25,842
 
Plan: DDF
Stats: 202/185.4/179 Female 67
BF:
Progress: 72%
Location: San Diego, CA
Default

Just take a couple of BG tests each day, but your numbers look fantastic. 12x a day is a bit much!

If you want to see how a particular food affects you, then probably test at 1 then 2 hours after eating it.
Reply With Quote
  #30   ^
Old Thu, Mar-09-17, 13:11
khrussva's Avatar
khrussva khrussva is offline
Say NO to Diabetes!
Posts: 8,671
 
Plan: My own - < 30 net carbs
Stats: 440/228/210 Male 5' 11"
BF:Energy Unleashed
Progress: 92%
Location: Central Virginia - USA
Default

I went a little nuts with the BG testing for a month or two when I first got a meter. I learned a lot about how different foods affect me. Doing postprandial readings after a meal (every 30 minutes for 2 or 3 hours) helped me figure out that I was reactive hypoglycemic. Even some low carb meals could spike and crash my BG - giving me that 'raid the pantry' need to eat. I couldn't figure out how some LC meals left me craving food between meals while others didn't. Testing BG helped me figure that out. I learned how I needed to eat to maintain a normal BG arc after a meal. Satiety between meals is a great thing. So while I did get a little overzealous with the BG testing for a while, it did have some benefit for me. I'm glad I did it. I only spot check a couple of times a week these days, sometimes before a meal and sometimes after. The numbers are staying within reason, so that's all the testing that I need.
Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off



All times are GMT -6. The time now is 02:03.


Copyright © 2000-2024 Active Low-Carber Forums @ forum.lowcarber.org
Powered by: vBulletin, Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.