Type 2 Diabetic - Blood Glucose Tests Day 1?!?!?

[Goldndoodle]

One of my major goals for doing Whole30 (which might actually turn into Whole60, Whole90 or WholeLIFE for me) is to get off of both Invokana and JanumetXR - which I am taking daily now.

I started Day1 of my Whole30 yesterday.   For the month prior, I had been doing a combination of Aktins (with some sugar free candy, Atkins shakes and PureProtein Bars as "treats") and Mediterranean Diet (no fruit, but lots of whole grains).   My BC tests before breakfast averaged 95, and BC test 2 hours after dinner averaged 105 during the month of January.

Yesterday I think I did pretty well on Whole 30 -

Breakfast - Quiche (w/ lots of veggies (spinach, zucchini, onion, mushrooms) & ground turkey) and a bannana

Lunch - Protein Salad (iceburg with grill chicken, hadboiled egg and Whole30 Ranch dressing - first time I ever made Mayo!!) and an Apple

Dinner - Whole30 Classic Chili and Pineapple

When I took my blood glucose test 2 hours after eating dinner last night my BC was 142 (the highest it's been since before Christmas).   This morning when I woke up and checked BC it was 117 (again the highest it's been in over a month).  Both of those readings are on the HIGH side.

I'm thinking the fruit I ate yesterday caused the BC spikes.   Since it's really the only thing I've added that I wasn't doing in January.

So here's my questions ...

1) Should I stop or reduce the amount of fruit I'm eating while on Whole30?

2) Or are there fruits I should be avoiding - I'm thinking maybe the bannana, pineapple and apple have a high glycemic index??

3) Does Whole30 look any different for Diabetics than everyone else?

 

[SugarcubeOD]

Banana and pineapple have some of the highest glycemic loads of all the fruits so they're not your best choice.  It's also recommended that you eat UP TO 2 fist sized servings a day with meals... you've eaten it at three meals which isn't horrible but obviously probably not a good plan for your personal context. (note that 'up to' means that it's zero to 2... so you can eat zero fruit and it really shouldn't be pushing veggies off your plate)

You really want to concentrate on the meal template and make your meals match.  Your lunch is hard to tell how much you ate, but as far as veggies, you're woefully lacking.. iceberg lettuce is like eating hardened water... completely nutritionally void... you need to add other veggies... if you want salad, try darker greens and add some roasted or heartier veggies to it.

Your dinner has no veggies other than what may be in the chili and that's negligible in a serving... you're looking for more like 3 cups of veggies per meal.  

As a diabetic, you definitely want to be working with your health care provider to monitor your condition... Whole30 can change what types and amounts of medications you are on and that's something that needs to be worked out one on one with your doctor.

[Goldndoodle]

Just to be clear ... While I only said an iceburg lettuce protein salad for lunch Day1, there was also spinach, peppers (red, green, yellow & jalapeno), mushrooms and onions in there was well.   Dinner Day1 also included plenty of Zucchini "noodles" cooked in with the Whole30 Classic Chili recipe.   The fruit consumed during Day1 were not generous portions ... the apple was a "school box" sized apple, the pineapple chunks were measured as 1/2 cup, and the banana was on the small size.

Day2 I reduced fruit consumption to 2 portions - 1/2 cup of strawberries w/ some added raspberries, and a small pear.   Breakfast was leftover quiche w/ the strawberries/raspberries, lunch was grilled chicken raw peppers, broccoli and the pear, dinner was Chicken cacciattore w/ zucchini noodles.   2 hours after dinner, BC test was 151 (highest it's been in 2 months).   Morning fasting BC on Day3 was 121 (highest it's been in the morning since mid-December).

Day3 I reduced fruit consumption to 1 portion - 1/2 cup of cantaloupe chunks w/ breakfast.   Breakfast was leftover quiche w/ cantaloupe, lunch was Whole30 Mexican Tuna salad on romaine leaves, raw peppers & roasted sweet potato, dinner was a palm sized piece of ribeye w/ asparagus.   BC 2 hours after dinner was 121 (on the high side of normal, supposed to be under 130 two hours after dinner).  This morning fasting BC was 117 (supposed to be under 100 before breakfast).

I'm going to go without fruit today and see where I end up after dinner and tomorrow morning.  

[jmcbn]

@Goldndoodle - as someone with T2 I think you should be focusing primarily on proteins & fats, and limiting starches (potato etc) to every other day rather than the one fist sized serving a day we'd recommend to others.

How much protein are you adding to each meal, and where are your added fats? These are what will give you a nice slow, steady release of energy & help to keep your blood sugar stable...

[krenzel16]

On 2/7/2017 at 10:02 AM, Goldndoodle said:

One of my major goals for doing Whole30 (which might actually turn into Whole60, Whole90 or WholeLIFE for me) is to get off of both Invokana and JanumetXR - which I am taking daily now.

I started Day1 of my Whole30 yesterday.   For the month prior, I had been doing a combination of Aktins (with some sugar free candy, Atkins shakes and PureProtein Bars as "treats") and Mediterranean Diet (no fruit, but lots of whole grains).   My BC tests before breakfast averaged 95, and BC test 2 hours after dinner averaged 105 during the month of January.

Yesterday I think I did pretty well on Whole 30 -

Breakfast - Quiche (w/ lots of veggies (spinach, zucchini, onion, mushrooms) & ground turkey) and a bannana

Lunch - Protein Salad (iceburg with grill chicken, hadboiled egg and Whole30 Ranch dressing - first time I ever made Mayo!!) and an Apple

Dinner - Whole30 Classic Chili and Pineapple

When I took my blood glucose test 2 hours after eating dinner last night my BC was 142 (the highest it's been since before Christmas).   This morning when I woke up and checked BC it was 117 (again the highest it's been in over a month).  Both of those readings are on the HIGH side.

I'm thinking the fruit I ate yesterday caused the BC spikes.   Since it's really the only thing I've added that I wasn't doing in January.

So here's my questions ...

1) Should I stop or reduce the amount of fruit I'm eating while on Whole30?

2) Or are there fruits I should be avoiding - I'm thinking maybe the bannana, pineapple and apple have a high glycemic index??

3) Does Whole30 look any different for Diabetics than everyone else?

 

I am a type 1 diabetic, and I mostly follow the Whole 30 diet (for about two years now).  I almost never eat fruit, as it will spike my blood sugar, and particularly not bananas.  At my diabetes education course, they showed a small banana, and that is about 25 carbs (!).  At diabetes education, they advised 30 - 45 carbs per meal for a female, and I try to stay under 30 carbs for my meals, but you have to find what works for you.  

The fruits you mentioned - banana, pineapple, and apple - are definitely fruits that will spike blood sugar.  Blueberries and strawberries would be better, if you want to eat fruit.  

A lot of Whole 30 recipes include things like sweet potatoes that, as a diabetic, I definitely steer clear of.  I think part of Whole 30 is finding foods that work for you individually and foods that don't, and, as a diabetic, you will find that fruits and starchy vegetables are best avoided.

If you are interested, there is a good book called Blood Sugar 101 by Jenny Ruhl that may be very helpful.  She discusses foods that raise blood sugars as well, so you may find that list helpful.  She also recommends testing your blood sugar an hour and two hours after a meal and then you can find the foods that don't work for you (sounds like you are already doing this and finding that bananas and pineapple may not be the best).

Being on the Whole 30 diet has helped me reduce my A1c into the "5% club"   Best of luck to you on your journey  . . . 

[Goldndoodle]

So ... Dr visit last week, showed a decrease in A1C from 7.7% in November 2016, to 5.1% in February 2017.   I attribute most of that improvement to what I was doing in January, as my daily BC tests showed huge swings once I started Whole30.   In discussing Whole30 with my Dr, he agreed that proteins, fats, limited veggies (2 cups or less per meal) and VERY limited fruit (1/2 cup of a low GI fruit per day) would be appropriate for a T2 Diabetic, and thought that if I wanted to follow Whole30 in that fashion, he wouldn't have a problem with it.   His comment that stuck with me was ... "You have to remember that as a Type 2 Diabetic, there are no longer "good carbs" and "bad carbs" for you, there are only carbs.   If you eat a bushel of broccoli, it's just as bad for you as pizza.   Even the "good carbs" of the broccoli, if eaten in excess, will cause your sugar levels to spike."

In the last week, I have had no readings over 100mg/dl - both before breakfast, and 2 hours after dinner.   In fact, I haven't had a reading above 90mg/dl in the last 2 days.

The difference between how I am eating now, and how I was eating in January boils down to this - now, I am eating more fats (Basic Mayo, Whole30 ranch dressing [spiced up with cayenne, chili powder, etc,], olive oil, ghee) and more seeds (raw sunflower and raw pumpkin seeds). than I was in January, and eating no dairy (I was eating a lot of cheese and cottage cheese) nor any type of artificial sweetener (was eating sugar free candy, protein shakes and protein bars as snacks).  

The Dr said he'd like to see me move to more to a South Beach type of diet when I am done with Whole30.  That's probably where I'll be heading in 14 days ...

 

And BTW ... not sure why, but sweet potatoes appear to to be the one veggie I can eat a LOT of and not have it affect my BC tests!   I spiral slice them into chips and put them in the AirFryer with salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder to crisp them into chips.   I ate a HUGE sweet potato cooked that way last night with smoked Chicken breast and my BC was 89 two hours later.