Hi I’m a new type one diabetic and I’m having a hard time keeping my numbers steady. I tend to get high after eating things. I really need help quelling my urge to eat and snack on things. If I can’t suppress my want to snack on foods, I’d at least like to know if there are good snacks I can have, at a fair price. Any response’s would be greatly appreciated.
@patkelly64 hi Patrick,
the insulin we use is not nearly as fast or efficient as the insulin our body once made, so it is very common to have a peak after eating.
Please consider getting a book called “Think Like a Pancreas” or another called “Using Insulin” these are great references on the science of what we have to deal with.
There are a few strategies to minimize (not eliminate) the peak after eating - some may work and some may not, and your experiences may vary from the advice you receive.
1 - when you are comfortable, some people inject fast acting slightly before you eat (5,10,15 - you get the idea… minutes ) this can be dangerous but what it does is give the insulin a chance to absorb and start working.
2- buffer fast carbs. glycemic index is a measure of how fast carb absorb. glucose tabs and pizza are both carbs… but they absorb into your blood stream at extremely different rates. The fat in Pizza makes it absorb slowly, (for me +4 hours) compared to glucose… typically 15 minutes. if you take a little fat with your carbs, your insulin has a chance to match absorption rates and you may see a reduction in “postprandial” (after you eat) blood sugar spikes.
3-use catalyst, any amount of exercise can increase insulin’s absorption and effect. A 15 minute walk after a meal can make a drastic change in your blood sugar versus time.
please understand that anything you do can lead to high and low blood sugar - I’ve been doing this for years and I have a hard time keeping numbers steady because that is the nature of diabetes.
the general rule of thumb is your BS will go up after eating, then level off and drop back to normal at +4 hours after eating. “adequate” control targets about +50 mg/dl higher than your starting bs, at +2 hours after eating. example you test before a meal at 125 mg/dl, eat at noon, at 2 PM your bs “should” be at 175 mg/dl so that your bs returns to 125 mg/dl at 4 pm. and this is why it is recommended you don’t eat a lot of carbs if your pre-meal bs is higher than 140 mg/dl…
nothing is perfect, imo - strive for manageability, and good luck.
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Thanks for the information.
Higher fat foods will not raise your blood sugar as much. Do you like guacamole? That’s a high fat food and it’s a great snack with veggies. If you make it yourself it’s cheap.
Thank you for the info.
Check out The Glucose Chef on utube. He has T1 and has some good receipes for meals and snacks.
Some easy snack ideas:
Nuts
Cheese
Salami sticks
Avocado
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think of proteins tbey fill you but and have very little carbs for snacks… examples eggs, turkey, all ur meets. thats what fo for my daughter it helps her with that hunger feeling and she will be 6 next month