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question about figuring blood sugar averages

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Posted 4/3/2018 12:36 AM (GMT 0)
Lanie:

I've noticed when i take my blood sugar reading before breakfast it was 157 and next day 123.

I've learned that if I take it before lunch or supper, two recent readings were 98 one day before lunch, and 104 a day or two later before supper.

How do you figure your overall b/s reading? Do you average the two, and that's considered your blood sugar count?

(I gave your post a subject line.)

Post Edited By Moderator (Lanie G) : 4/2/2018 7:43:54 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 4/3/2018 1:42 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Tim Tam. Actually you would not average those readings at all because the result would not tell you anything other than the average of two random numbers. That reading of 157 before breakfast should tell you that it is much too high by itself and there is no reason to average it with anything. What you should be alerted to is WHY did you have such a high fasting that morning? The following day when it was 123 is certainly better but still too high. You need to figure out what you were eating the night before since those results are too high.

Our meters usually keep averages of our readings and you should be able to find what your meter says is your average blood sugar but keep in mind any average that you yourself figure out or that your meter keeps is limited to the times you tested. You have no idea (and your meter has no idea) what your blood sugar was when you didn't test. If you tested before breakfast but didn't test the rest of the day, how do you know what your blood sugar was during the time you didn't test?

The A1c test is a blood test that give you your blood sugar average over about 90 days BUT since it's only an average, it won't tell you what your highs or lows were. Doctors use the A1c to see the average but they should also check your fasting. And in my opinion, they should look at your meter to see what readings are in there, too.

Are you on diabetes meds? I'm asking because of those fasting results.
Posted 4/4/2018 5:17 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks Lanie, for the subject title, also. I was so concerned about my topic, I didn't notice that subject title line.

In a way, I don't really take note of what I ate the night before, I just some mornings take my reading fasting, and just record the number without thinking about it, or that it relates to anything, like what I had to eat the day before.

No matter what I have for supper, I have to have 2 or 3 snacks. The first one is always regular Cheerios, a banana, and goat's milk. 2nd, Cheeze-Its with ranch dressing, third can be hummus on saltines or Ritz.

Since your above response, I've substitute a banana (17 grams of sugar) on my cereal with either Raspberries (5 grams) or blackberries (7 grams) or strawberries (7 grams).

What am I supposed to do, eat no carbs (potatoes, rice, bread) for supper?

I already eat wheat-free (meaning no gluten?) bread for another health problem (allergic to wheat, like everybody is), and cow's milk, like everybody else is because it has lactose (sugar), which is why I use goat's milk, and also avoid sugar. Those 3 I try to avoid.

Does wheat-free bread have no carbs? Lunch I have no carbs, if wheat-free bread is a low or no carbs. I have beans, ham, etc., on wheat-free bread, cottage cheese, and washed out of sugar canned fruit. Breakfast, eggs (way high in cholesterol, only 3 needed a week;) and wheat free bread.

Supper can be a challenge. Meat, veggies.

I have "hummus" spread on wheat free bread for one snack. "Hummus" (no carbs) I found on net for good snack, is actually chick peas, it has 5 units of fat not over 25 like peanut butter.

Saltines have much lower fat than Ritz.

I'm not on blood sugar medicine. I've read that b/s readings before breakfast are higher than just before lunch or supper. But sometimes readings of 140 before breakfast, and 98 before lunch or supper? That's quite a drop off.

Post Edited (Tim Tam) : 4/4/2018 11:24:01 AM (GMT-6)

Posted 4/4/2018 6:04 PM (GMT 0)
Hi again. I think you need to learn more about what has carbs and what doesn't. Hummus has quite a lot of carbs. It's made from chick peas (garbanzo beans) and although they also have protein, they have a lot of carbs, too, as all beans do. Check out this website where you can check all the nutrition info on different food: nutritiondata.self.com/.

The link in my signature is for a site that has a lot of information about blood sugar.

And please speak to your doctor about your blood sugar readings. The fasting readings are too high.
Posted 4/5/2018 4:33 AM (GMT 0)
Meters make quite a difference with sugar readings.Also diet,exercise and the lifestyle.

Now a days lots of different diet options are available -like mung bean noodles and pasta ...its a low carb option.

Also ketchup with no sugar added.

Small changes can make huge difference.

Lack of activity can affect sugars and so can stress,when get anxiety or panic attack my number is out of control.

A1c is also a very good way to know -exact situation.

Good Luck!
Posted 4/6/2018 3:30 PM (GMT 0)
Lanie:

I mentioned in the first post above that my blood sugar levels for 2 recent mornings, fasting, were 157 and 123.

You said, "What you should be alerted to is WHY did you have such a high fasting that morning? The following day when it was 123 is certainly better but still too high. You need to figure out what you were eating the night before since those results are too high."

I never paid much attention to the numbers, I just wrote them down. So yesterday, I had a low carb day, and for supper just had meat and veggies. Then for my two snacks, Cheerios, goats milk and fresh blackberries (only 7 grams of sugar (as is fresh strawberries), compared with 17 grams of sugar that bananas have, which I had been eating for snacks by habit for many years, until a few nights ago when you cautioned me, What did you eat the night before you had the high readings the next day?

So I stopped with the bananas. Then I stopped in my tracks as to what my usual 2nd snack is going to be. Everything I read on the side of boxes was either high is fat or carbs or sugar, and was going to ruin my b/s reading the next morning.

After 15 minutes of frustration, I wasn't really hungry any more, how about, the best food of all is to just not eat a 2nd snack. So I left off the 2nd snack, something I haven't done in many years.

Woke up the next day to 113 b/s reading (with 110 or below being non diabetes), not 157 or 123. So watching carbs and fat can work.

I thank you for making me more aware of what my part in this is, and that I have a lot of control over this by reading the data.
Posted 4/6/2018 6:05 PM (GMT 0)
That's great that you are actively thinking about what you're eating! By the way, have you ever tried almond coconut milk (unsweetened)? Our daughter introduced us to this and it's really good. I get "Almond Breeze Almond Coconut Milk". It's in the refrigerated section of the supermarket.

And also, unless there are other reasons that you're staying away from fat, you need to know that fats like oils and butter do not affect blood sugar, so the best choice for salad dressings would be olive oil (or any oil really) and vinegar.

Glad you're doing better!

yeah
Posted 4/7/2018 12:09 AM (GMT 0)
I'll try that Almond Breeze (unsweetened) milk to avoid regular cow's milk, which has sugar (lactose). I now drink goat's milk to avoid lactose. Even without going to the allergy doctor, everybody is allergic to wheat, sow's milk and sugar, is what I think I learned by going to the allergy doctor.

You said, "And also, unless there are other reasons that you're staying away from fat, you need to know that fats like oils and butter do not affect blood sugar, so the best choice for salad dressings would be olive oil (or any oil really) and vinegar."

One, I do have another reason for reducing fat, and that is, my cholesterol is high. I cannot get it down. So, I am in a real bind. I cannot eat high fat food, or high cholesterol, or wheat or sugar.

I don't miss the sugar, I don't miss the wheat, I eat wheat-free bread; I'll eat some chicken or pork chop (and veggies) for supper, so meat for supper is not the problem. It's the snacks of avoiding both high fat and carbs that's getting me.

I just read, now I can't find it, where on a certain level diet, you can eat, I forget, a certain level of carbs a day. So eliminating all carbs is not the goal, it's keeping that number down.

("Meal plans created by the American Diabetes Association (ADA) provide about 45% of calories from carbs. This includes 45–60 grams per meal and 10–25 grams per snack, totaling about 135–230 grams of carbs per day."

So it's good to now know that just because the box says, 20 or 30 carbs, doesn't mean I can't eat it. I'll also know to try to keep count of that, and to also know whatever the box says is one helping, to double the amount of carbs if I eat twice the amount it says on the box or can.

And olive oil and vinegar dressing. I'm also going to put that on my grocery list, along with the Almond (unsweetened) Milk.

Post Edited (Tim Tam) : 4/6/2018 6:22:46 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 4/10/2018 6:38 PM (GMT 0)
Lanie, I have gone 3 of the past 4 nights with only one snack, down from the 2 that I always had for many years, thinking it wasn't a problem, or one that I could control, thinking it basically had no affect on my next morning blood sugar level.

Then when I quoted you 2 of my typical blood sugar readings, 157 and 123, you responded,

"What you should be alerted to is WHY did you have such a high fasting that morning? The following day when it was 123 is certainly better but still too high. You need to figure out what you were eating the night before since those results are too high."

I had never thought of that, of "You need to figure out what you were eating the night before since those results are too high."

I had never thought that the 2 midnight snacks were adding so much to the next a.m. reading, or that I could control that.

So, that very night, I had only one snack after supper. The last 3 of the last 4 nights, I have had only once snack, with a.m. readings, not of 157, but of 129, 123, 126 and this a.m. 121.

Also, for the first time, I tried keeping a listing of the day's carbs and fat, by looking on the sides of the boxes, etc., and writing them down. Web said carbs for a day, 135 to 230 grams, and fat for the day, 22-55 grams.

I did OK, till I got to supper and (2) snacks, and then I busted through the day's limit. But I still had an a.m. reading of "only" 126 the next day, maybe because I had cut some carbs and fat during the day.

It is frustrating to know everything I want to eat is either high carbs or high fat, that there is seemingly no healthy food for me. But there is, in the sense that you can eat some high number items like that just don't go over, say 210 to 230 grams of carbs, and say, 45-50 grams of fat.

One thing that is saving me is hummus from the dairy dept. I guess, which is a chick pea spread on crackers.

Last night, I was sitting there looking at peanut butter (26 grams of fat) and popcorn (29 grams of carbs), and I need something to battle this hunger, and I cannot think of anything but those two.

I then, for about the 10th time in several months, remember: hummus on crackers. I had 4 crackers with that, and my hunger was gone. It has some 5 grams of carbs and 5 grams of fat.

Hummus has saved me many times late night.

Also, I have some sliced cheese, which I thought was nigh in fat, but just read the number, 5 grams per slice of carbs and fat. But heard on a TV show: don't eats cheese or walnuts, etc.

But the 5 grams of fat for the cheese doesn't look too bad, compared to my usual peanut butter (26g fat), pop corn (29g. fat), or walnuts etc. (26 grams of fat).

Lanie, the guiding light.
Posted 4/11/2018 1:40 AM (GMT 0)
Hi there Tim Tam. You know there was an old soap opera called The Guiding Light back when I was a kid. I never watched soaps but that title probably has a lot of meaning.

I understand your concern about cholesterol and I respect that. I had always understood that animal fat including butter was bad and contributed to bad levels, but that plant based oils like olive oil was not bad for us. However, oils do have calories. In any case, you need to do what you feel you need to do about ingesting oils. What I do know more about is carbs and how they affect blood sugar, so that's why I write what I do here. "The more carbs we eat, the higher our blood sugar will be."

This is true for everyone, even people who are not diabetics or who don't have any other problem with blood sugar. The difference is that those people can metabolize carbs efficiently and their blood sugar will not peak as high and it will return to normal more quickly. I and others who are diabetic cannot metabolize carbs normally which is why my blood sugar will spike higher than normal and stay high for longer than normal.

Peanut butter and other nut butters like almond butter or cashew butter are good sources of protein and are pretty good scooped on celery, for example. If you can control how many crackers you eat, then use crackers! Cheese is fine in controlled amounts, too. As a matter of fact, there are lots of "string cheese" available in regular or low-fat varieties and they make good snacks, too. Basically they are mozzarella sticks.

In any case, what is the bottom line? For me, it is absolutely my blood sugar and to keep it as close to a normal level as possible because I don't want complications of my eyes, heart, kidneys, etc.

By the way, have you been to an ophthalmologist to have your eyes checked? This is not for glasses. These eye doctors have special instruments that can see into the eye and behind the eye to check for retinopathy and glaucoma - two conditions that can lead to blindness if not treated.

Keep making good decisions and let your meter guide you as to what is better to eat!

I'm glad you posted!

Lux lucet in tenebris.
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