Question about fluctuating blood sugar levels

cedexvegan
cedexvegan Posts: 20 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I am hoping someone can shed some light on what I am experiencing. I am six weeks into a vegan diet. I would say I have been 97% successful at eliminating all sources of animal products from my food.

The first four weeks were encouraging in that my blood sugar levels were trending down from a morning-fast level of 228.
I think my lowest morning reading was 112, about two weeks ago.
The past week or so I have noticed a steady increase...this morning I was at 191, and down to 154 by lunch time.

While my levels were dropping, I did notice spikes around when a solid weight drop occured (2 lbs). This happened about 3 times in the first four weeks.

So my question is this: Is anyone aware of a principle by which loosing weight can cause blood sugar levels to elevate? Is this my body's reaction to loosing fat (stored energy converted to glucose)?

Thanks for any help in understanding this phenomenon.

Replies

  • JaceyMarieS
    JaceyMarieS Posts: 692 Member
    While blood sugar can flucuate due to illness, stress, medications, etc., the single greatest influence on blood glucose is carbohydrate consumption. To explain your spikes, look at your diary and compare the level of carbs you are consuming by meal.
  • LauraDotts
    LauraDotts Posts: 732 Member
    Without seeing your diary I can't give you specific advice. However, KDIPIAZZ is right. You have to look at the amount and type of carbs you are eating. Carbohydrate control is the only way to achieve diabetic control without medication.
  • cedexvegan
    cedexvegan Posts: 20 Member
    Thanks for your input. Changing over to a vegan diet is challenging in that carbs are the main source of my nutrition. I am aware of low glycemic foods, and have been focused on them for quite some time. My values were doing really good, on a downward trend for the first five weeks (I'm 6 weeks into changing to an animal free diet). I would occasionally have spikes, usually around the time I would experience a loss of a couple pounds.

    But, this past week my values have been climbing. And this is the week I've been drinking more water to stay hydrated; I've been exercising moderately (which is max for me due to impaired breathing). The one difference is I have not had my morning green and fruit smoothies, and have been eating a high-fiber cereal or oatmeal instead.

    I'm frustrated, to say the least. More challenging is trying to find a meal plan to follow.

    If anyone else is T2 diabetic and vegan, I would really welcome your input...
  • Kerkela
    Kerkela Posts: 5 Member
    I'm T2 Diabetic and Vegan. I've been vegan on and off for a couple of years, and back on strongly the last 2 months (same time I joined MFP).
    My blood sugars have gotten substantially better, and I've been able to increase my calories somewhat over the last two months as well. It seems from my experience that fasting blood sugar is more strongly influenced by total calories the previous day (and length of time in calorie deficit) than what the glycemic index of any particular meal is. The reverse is true for mid-day blood sugars.

    By staying between 1300 and 1600 calories per day and moderate exercise (mostly dog walks and some weights) I've been consistently 125 (last month) to 85-95 (last week). I've also started drinking 3 liters of water a day, and take 500mg of metformin.

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