am i doing this right? [Diabetics please respond)

shriderp
shriderp Posts: 37
in Health and Weight Loss
I have set a goal of 1700 cals a day ...my present job and my character makes me eat at somewhat random times during the day...its not too random but it is not exactly on the dot every day ....i just went from pre-diabetic to diabetic recently ....(just barely in the range 6.8 a1c)

1) while i know that i should try to eat at the same interval every day ...it is not happening...

2) during the day between 9 to 5 i sometimes eat between 500 tp 800 cals and then dinner i eat the rest...sometimes i eat all the way to 1700 ...sometimes i just go to 1500...sometimes even lesser!

so basically ...i eat a little lesser in the day and more in the evening ....not by design...but that's how it is turning out to be! i just started a month ago ...and i don't do much exercise as of now!!

do u folks have any comments ? APART FROM TELLING ME WHAT IS BEST FOR ME, could u also comment on the downside of these circumstances (assuming this is the best i can do realistically speaking!)

-Shri

Replies

  • Shari325
    Shari325 Posts: 196 Member
    For me, eating at the same time every day was not as important as evenly spacing my calories and carbohydrates for the day. If I were to eat 50% of my calories for the day in one meal, that would cause a blood sugar spike and then a hypoglycemic drop.

    Talk to your doctor or diabetes educator about ways to balance your calories and carbohydrates throughout the day.

    I aim for three meals with approximately the same number of calories and carbohydrates each, and two snacks of about half that amount. I try to space these about every three to four hours. Not always possible, but this is what I strive for to keep the blood sugar stable.

    You say you recently went from pre-diabetic to diabetic. For most people this was not a sudden change. We were pre-diabetic for years. It took us a long time to become diabetic. It will also take us a long time to make changes to correct the situation. Make small changes you can sustain for a lifetime. Maybe, just focus on reduced calories right now. Then after a few weeks or months, begin to focus on counting carbs, or meal spacing. Attempting to make too many drastic changes all at once is a recipe for failure (for most people). Small sustainable changes will bring about substantial long term results!
  • BigGuy47
    BigGuy47 Posts: 1,768 Member
    My job can adversely affect my meal schedule. I try to pack some small low cal snacks such as beef jerky to get me through until I can take a break. If I don't eat for long stretches of time it jacks my system up. Shari covered everything very well. Make consistent small changes, over time this adds up to a big lifestyle change.
  • sumeetg37
    sumeetg37 Posts: 108 Member
    I usually eat my big 3 meals at fairly standard times breakfast at 9 lunch at 12:30 or 1 and dinner around 8. However I eat constantly throughout the day. Every couple of hours I eat something. This helps me keep my meals small but also keep me full enough not to consider hunting my co-workers for meat. The snacks don't really have set times, just whenever my stomach rumbles...

    That being said none of my meal times are due to fear of blood sugar spikes. There is a much much better way to control those. Walk. After diet and your meds, it is the best way to control your blood sugar. Not exercising is terrible for diabetics. Exercising helps your muscles use insulin. Feel free to PM me if you want to chat more about it.
  • koukla0808
    koukla0808 Posts: 11
    I'm type 1 diabetic, and I notice I'll have much better control and less variance on my blood sugars if I spread my meals out evenly. I always have a snack with carbs and protein before bed (especially important if you're exercising). I do have those days where I eat the majority of my calories in one meal and I notice my blood sugars will first go really high then really low.
  • shriderp
    shriderp Posts: 37
    Duly noted!! It is a practical advise and i will follow this!! baby steps :)
  • shriderp
    shriderp Posts: 37
    For me, eating at the same time every day was not as important as evenly spacing my calories and carbohydrates for the day. If I were to eat 50% of my calories for the day in one meal, that would cause a blood sugar spike and then a hypoglycemic drop.

    Talk to your doctor or diabetes educator about ways to balance your calories and carbohydrates throughout the day.

    I aim for three meals with approximately the same number of calories and carbohydrates each, and two snacks of about half that amount. I try to space these about every three to four hours. Not always possible, but this is what I strive for to keep the blood sugar stable.

    You say you recently went from pre-diabetic to diabetic. For most people this was not a sudden change. We were pre-diabetic for years. It took us a long time to become diabetic. It will also take us a long time to make changes to correct the situation. Make small changes you can sustain for a lifetime. Maybe, just focus on reduced calories right now. Then after a few weeks or months, begin to focus on counting carbs, or meal spacing. Attempting to make too many drastic changes all at once is a recipe for failure (for most people). Small sustainable changes will bring about substantial long term results!


    Duly noted!! It is a practical advise and i will follow this!! baby steps :)
  • shriderp
    shriderp Posts: 37
    So i read all your responses:

    In summary :

    1) I take small steps ...keep the cals less than my limit and then move to more sophisticated forms of monitoring
    ( I am a big dude and i am doing pretty well actually on 1700 cals)
    2) try to even it out ...have small portions throught day ! (Yes sumit, will IM you!)
    3) exercise!

    Cheers Guys!!
  • martin651
    martin651 Posts: 2
    The first thing that most people don't realize is that diabetes is not a sickness, it's a disease. So what's the trick to keep this disease under control you ask? Carbohydrate counting. So how does a diabetic count carbs? Take a look at this: http://www.diabeticcountcarbs.info

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