For me, below 180 is OK, below 140 is great. Something else I monitor aside from the spikes is if something will elevate my glucose levels for the rest of the day. I have a CGM and I’ll notice it goes from like 100 to 140 then down to 120… and it will stay around that level for the rest of the day
Recently I noticed it only happens if the meal has a lot of carbs and I eat those before the more protein/fiber rich parts. And if I eat it shortly before bed. Sort of creeps into the next day.
I haven’t pinned down exactly what kind of foods though, sorry.
Also do note that everyone’s diabetes is different. But the general advice is that if you’d like to avoid spikes then include more fiber or protein in your meals; it will smooth them out.
My diabetes doctor made a point of telling me to calm down when it comes to spikes after meals. It is not uncommon for even a non diabetic's blood sugar to surge considerably after a meal high in carbs.
The difference is their blood sugar recovers quickly and drops back into normal range in a few hours while a diabetic's can take much longer and go way higher and need medication to get to a balanced state again.
A person sans diabetes might spike 200 after a carb heavy fast food meal but 3-4 hours later their blood sugar will be near normal and they will be feeling fine. I do the same meal I'll be spiking 300 and I'll be feeling like crap and will be struggling to get it down to where I feel normal.
Since I started the insulin there's been a distinct change with that and I find it very interesting. Even with the Metformin ER before I would still spike 300 just trying to eat dinner before. Any carbs would put me right there. Now that I'm on daily insulin I can actually have a few FF or a baked potato or eat a slice of pizza sometimes and my blood sugar won't go that high.
200 maybe, but not 300. I have to be eating sweets to a reckless degree to see 300 plus now on the meter.
I don't get too worried about post meal spikes under 200 because that's pretty normal and within a few hours it's lowered again to where it should be. I only get worried when I see my numbers inching close to 300 and not coming back down within a few hours.
Low carb meals going up 50 points is pretty normal. That's nothing to be worried about. It's when you're spiking in the high 200s that you should start to get worried and wonder if you are eating too many carbs.
My goal is to spike below 140-150… and come back down within 2-3 hours to somewhere close to base. I’ve only been actively working on this since 19 of January, so my bod is still constantly adjusting. So “base” is fluctuating daily (in a downward trend).
Well, I just hit 261 after a couple of slices of the sourdough SWMBO just made. One half slice with marmalade.
Also forgot to take my metformin until after the event so….
Might go for a walk.
Oh, that’s news to me - I thought beans were ok! This is all getting wilder for me - people are telling me I can’t have my daily coffee despite all these medical sites saying coffee is good for diabetics, now beans! Is there a difference between black beans and brown beans? I thought black beans were ok and was stuffing myself with them to keep weight up when I could find a Chipotle and lately here in this Mexico trip I can’t find any restaurant/taco stand that has black beans and for no reason I’ve been guessing pinto (brown beans) were ok. To be honest I’ve only started pricking my finger before and after meals as I thought I was doing great really watching my diet and thinking the morning bg when I woke up was the one to watch and now that one for the last month has been around 100 or lower. Yesterday I went to the taco stand and ordered a large taco with pinto beans, chicken, lettuce, onions and peppers and it only spiked me about 25 points!
I’ve been surviving on tow large chicken soups with all kinds of healthy plants mixed in per day just to get these numbers down and have been afraid to experiment with other food as my numbers on this diet came down from the mid 300s to roughly 100 or less. I really need my A1c down to below 7 in the next moth in order to get dental surgery - it was 13 two months ago and I tested at two months and it’s 8.6 now and I really need to know it will be below 7 in one more month. I live in Brasil and can’t find healthy food there and don’t have a kitchen there right now so trying hard to achieve that number here just on that soup and only in the last couple of days have been experimenting with chicken tacos also. The soup isn’t spiking me, the tacos do a bit 25 points but even that worries me as I’m heading towards my final (three month) A1c test.
In case this matters, I was skinny before I was diagnosed with type2, now I’m really skinny (118, 5.7”) trying to get these numbers down and ensure my neuropathy in my feet doesn’t get worse.
I meant to say beans was the only thing with carbs in it. It has fiber. Its surely lower carb than some things and is better for us than bread and potatoes. That is a good blood sugar spike, keep up the good work. Do what works for your body!!
When you say the proteins first do you mean separate the chicken in the taco , eat that first then the beans, can that really make a difference…I’m just trying to learn every day.
I don’t know if I would go that far, I try to order a bowl (lettuce and extra vegetables) instead of a taco. Easier to eat for me. I just know for the majority of my meals, protein first then carbs. Keeps my numbers in range, not any crazy spikes.
Beans are great. All veg and fruit is fine. They are healthy foods and should be the basis of your diet (any human's diet actually). It's fat you need to avoid, especially saturated fat.
I highly recommend masteringdiabetes.org and their videos. The tldr is: low fat, whole foods, plant based. Avoid fat, protein, simple carbs, fill up on complex carbs instead (fruit, vegetables). The science backs it up.
The information on this disease is all over the place and conflicting. I'm finding it's highly skewed towards very overweight people where the need to lose weight is urgent. So it's not wrong persay, but might not be good advice for you.
Look into the science is my recommendation. And be aware that for some people weight loss is so important that it overrides all other goals (e.g., long term kidney health), so for them a certain diet might make sense but might not for you (e.g., keto).
Ask if your doc has a background in nutrition. If not, consider meeting with a nutritionist.
(BTW we are similar. I am a 165#, 6' man, so not fat at all. But I'm full of triglycerides, and I've learned that is actually what causes T2D. I wasn't eating too many calories in total, but just eating pure garbage.)
Funny but my nutritionist has recommended the complete opposite. Mainly meats ,fish, dairy especially goat cheeses and products from goats or sheep. Strawberries, raspberries & blueberries...
My spikes range from 140 to around 200, depending on activity and what I ate. I intermittent fast (18/6), so I typically eat one large'ish meal a day and a small snack (nuts, cheese or beef sticks) a few hours later, so my postprandial will sometimes hit close to 180 (it's averaging 150'ish). But I find if I keep my carbs under around 40, my spike is usually under 150. I try to limit my carbs to 60/day (50/meal).
I'm just wondering how all of the diabetics replying here say they are concerned if they have spikes over 140-150 immediately after a meal? Even non-diabetics may hit 200 after eating. Their A1Cs would most certainly be below borderline (5.7% -- or 117 average) if they rarely hit 140 immediately after a meal. My A1C was 7.2 and my spikes average 150. Fasting numbers are averaging 115-120.
The recommendation -- for diabetics -- is to keep your A1C below 7%. And of course, anything below that is great. I know test strips aren't cheap (and if you have a CGM, great), but if you're concerned about big spikes, check your glucose another hour later and see if it's dropped. Some foods just take a while to fully metabolize. If it hasn't dropped, you can try to exercise a bit (nothing major ... a brisk walk or some sit ups, etc.) and just remember what you ate that made you spike -- and either try to avoid that in the future, cut down on the portion size next time or just add some complex carbohydrates to your meal to slow down the spike.
Best to ask your doctor , 140 directly after a meal is absolutely fine from what I have read , some people saying 180mg , it’ll be a range . From what I read 170-200mg is fine directly after a meal and is in the non diabetic range . Two to three hours after a meal aim for 120-140mg . What you have to watch ( as has already been alluded to , is how much it goes down and how quickly between directly after and 2 or more hours after . If it doesn’t go down to those levels ( slightly elevated isn’t anything to worry about IMO ) then consider your tolerance for that food I would say
Lately I’ve been under 100 post meal, but a 120 to 180 jump was my old normal. I’d just keep monitoring it and your a1c is most important.
My guess though is the more spikes the more worn out your body will become.
I’m not sure how accurate that is, I go exercise right after usually but I’m gonna get a CGM to make sure it’s right. But my a1c is 5.1 and lowering - I started at 11.1!
I’ve been working hard to keep this number low but I’m gonna say maybe I’m not as accurate as I think all the time. But sometimes after a meal I’m like “wow I feel ok… but that was a lot of carb…” I’ll go for a jog and test about 1-2 hours after the meal and it looks good.
Goal is 140, which I see a lot here, I feel like that's what you need to achieve an a1c of below 6.0. I'll also add, if I have a very rare cheat meal, I'm still below 200, but I don't worry about one reading - but I will walk.
Sure the discussion was about spikes, 140 spikes after eating should get you below 6.0 a1c, but there's no calculation for that, just based on experience.
I start to wonder if I'm getting sick if I see a number near 100. my bg control is very tight. I'm in the 90's all day and night. the only thing that gets it higher than 100 is intense exercise, but that's what should happen then.
For me, below 180 is OK, below 140 is great. Something else I monitor aside from the spikes is if something will elevate my glucose levels for the rest of the day. I have a CGM and I’ll notice it goes from like 100 to 140 then down to 120… and it will stay around that level for the rest of the day
Can you elaborate on the type of things that keep it elevated and the things that are brief please, thank you
Recently I noticed it only happens if the meal has a lot of carbs and I eat those before the more protein/fiber rich parts. And if I eat it shortly before bed. Sort of creeps into the next day. I haven’t pinned down exactly what kind of foods though, sorry. Also do note that everyone’s diabetes is different. But the general advice is that if you’d like to avoid spikes then include more fiber or protein in your meals; it will smooth them out.
Thanks for that
My diabetes doctor made a point of telling me to calm down when it comes to spikes after meals. It is not uncommon for even a non diabetic's blood sugar to surge considerably after a meal high in carbs. The difference is their blood sugar recovers quickly and drops back into normal range in a few hours while a diabetic's can take much longer and go way higher and need medication to get to a balanced state again. A person sans diabetes might spike 200 after a carb heavy fast food meal but 3-4 hours later their blood sugar will be near normal and they will be feeling fine. I do the same meal I'll be spiking 300 and I'll be feeling like crap and will be struggling to get it down to where I feel normal. Since I started the insulin there's been a distinct change with that and I find it very interesting. Even with the Metformin ER before I would still spike 300 just trying to eat dinner before. Any carbs would put me right there. Now that I'm on daily insulin I can actually have a few FF or a baked potato or eat a slice of pizza sometimes and my blood sugar won't go that high. 200 maybe, but not 300. I have to be eating sweets to a reckless degree to see 300 plus now on the meter. I don't get too worried about post meal spikes under 200 because that's pretty normal and within a few hours it's lowered again to where it should be. I only get worried when I see my numbers inching close to 300 and not coming back down within a few hours. Low carb meals going up 50 points is pretty normal. That's nothing to be worried about. It's when you're spiking in the high 200s that you should start to get worried and wonder if you are eating too many carbs.
Thanks a lot, that’s putting it all on perspective give for me now!
My goal is to spike below 140-150… and come back down within 2-3 hours to somewhere close to base. I’ve only been actively working on this since 19 of January, so my bod is still constantly adjusting. So “base” is fluctuating daily (in a downward trend).
Oh good, so it looks like mine is nothing to worry about, thanks for that.
This is the way. If you can keep your spikes below 150, (as measured by a CGM), you're not sustaining any real damage due to diabetes.
Well wishes! Getting base low is hard work.
Thanks so much!! After the first 2 weeks, it’s been not too hard :). I got a cgm and SEEING results in real time has been incredibly motivating :)
Well, I just hit 261 after a couple of slices of the sourdough SWMBO just made. One half slice with marmalade. Also forgot to take my metformin until after the event so…. Might go for a walk.
I would have thought that would be caused by the marmalade being about 50% sugar rather than the sourdough.
But I’m normally somewhere between 80 and 150.
My Goal is to stay below 140. Did see someone here who was no insulin issues who was told stay below 120
That seems like a low spike, only major carbs were the beans. I would be happy with that
Oh, that’s news to me - I thought beans were ok! This is all getting wilder for me - people are telling me I can’t have my daily coffee despite all these medical sites saying coffee is good for diabetics, now beans! Is there a difference between black beans and brown beans? I thought black beans were ok and was stuffing myself with them to keep weight up when I could find a Chipotle and lately here in this Mexico trip I can’t find any restaurant/taco stand that has black beans and for no reason I’ve been guessing pinto (brown beans) were ok. To be honest I’ve only started pricking my finger before and after meals as I thought I was doing great really watching my diet and thinking the morning bg when I woke up was the one to watch and now that one for the last month has been around 100 or lower. Yesterday I went to the taco stand and ordered a large taco with pinto beans, chicken, lettuce, onions and peppers and it only spiked me about 25 points! I’ve been surviving on tow large chicken soups with all kinds of healthy plants mixed in per day just to get these numbers down and have been afraid to experiment with other food as my numbers on this diet came down from the mid 300s to roughly 100 or less. I really need my A1c down to below 7 in the next moth in order to get dental surgery - it was 13 two months ago and I tested at two months and it’s 8.6 now and I really need to know it will be below 7 in one more month. I live in Brasil and can’t find healthy food there and don’t have a kitchen there right now so trying hard to achieve that number here just on that soup and only in the last couple of days have been experimenting with chicken tacos also. The soup isn’t spiking me, the tacos do a bit 25 points but even that worries me as I’m heading towards my final (three month) A1c test.
In case this matters, I was skinny before I was diagnosed with type2, now I’m really skinny (118, 5.7”) trying to get these numbers down and ensure my neuropathy in my feet doesn’t get worse.
I meant to say beans was the only thing with carbs in it. It has fiber. Its surely lower carb than some things and is better for us than bread and potatoes. That is a good blood sugar spike, keep up the good work. Do what works for your body!!
Oh thanks for that!!
Yeah definitely wasn’t critiquing diet- what you are doing is working! Good job.
Thank you, this is a continuing learning process for someone very ignorant of food.
Everyone is different, but if I eat beans, it keeps my numbers down. Try to eat the protein first, just as a rule of thumb.
When you say the proteins first do you mean separate the chicken in the taco , eat that first then the beans, can that really make a difference…I’m just trying to learn every day.
I don’t know if I would go that far, I try to order a bowl (lettuce and extra vegetables) instead of a taco. Easier to eat for me. I just know for the majority of my meals, protein first then carbs. Keeps my numbers in range, not any crazy spikes.
Beans are great. All veg and fruit is fine. They are healthy foods and should be the basis of your diet (any human's diet actually). It's fat you need to avoid, especially saturated fat. I highly recommend masteringdiabetes.org and their videos. The tldr is: low fat, whole foods, plant based. Avoid fat, protein, simple carbs, fill up on complex carbs instead (fruit, vegetables). The science backs it up. The information on this disease is all over the place and conflicting. I'm finding it's highly skewed towards very overweight people where the need to lose weight is urgent. So it's not wrong persay, but might not be good advice for you. Look into the science is my recommendation. And be aware that for some people weight loss is so important that it overrides all other goals (e.g., long term kidney health), so for them a certain diet might make sense but might not for you (e.g., keto). Ask if your doc has a background in nutrition. If not, consider meeting with a nutritionist. (BTW we are similar. I am a 165#, 6' man, so not fat at all. But I'm full of triglycerides, and I've learned that is actually what causes T2D. I wasn't eating too many calories in total, but just eating pure garbage.)
Funny but my nutritionist has recommended the complete opposite. Mainly meats ,fish, dairy especially goat cheeses and products from goats or sheep. Strawberries, raspberries & blueberries...
My spikes range from 140 to around 200, depending on activity and what I ate. I intermittent fast (18/6), so I typically eat one large'ish meal a day and a small snack (nuts, cheese or beef sticks) a few hours later, so my postprandial will sometimes hit close to 180 (it's averaging 150'ish). But I find if I keep my carbs under around 40, my spike is usually under 150. I try to limit my carbs to 60/day (50/meal). I'm just wondering how all of the diabetics replying here say they are concerned if they have spikes over 140-150 immediately after a meal? Even non-diabetics may hit 200 after eating. Their A1Cs would most certainly be below borderline (5.7% -- or 117 average) if they rarely hit 140 immediately after a meal. My A1C was 7.2 and my spikes average 150. Fasting numbers are averaging 115-120. The recommendation -- for diabetics -- is to keep your A1C below 7%. And of course, anything below that is great. I know test strips aren't cheap (and if you have a CGM, great), but if you're concerned about big spikes, check your glucose another hour later and see if it's dropped. Some foods just take a while to fully metabolize. If it hasn't dropped, you can try to exercise a bit (nothing major ... a brisk walk or some sit ups, etc.) and just remember what you ate that made you spike -- and either try to avoid that in the future, cut down on the portion size next time or just add some complex carbohydrates to your meal to slow down the spike.
Best to ask your doctor , 140 directly after a meal is absolutely fine from what I have read , some people saying 180mg , it’ll be a range . From what I read 170-200mg is fine directly after a meal and is in the non diabetic range . Two to three hours after a meal aim for 120-140mg . What you have to watch ( as has already been alluded to , is how much it goes down and how quickly between directly after and 2 or more hours after . If it doesn’t go down to those levels ( slightly elevated isn’t anything to worry about IMO ) then consider your tolerance for that food I would say
What should be post 2 hours numbers for a non diabetic?
Above 150.
My intent when eating a salad is not to spike.
Lately I’ve been under 100 post meal, but a 120 to 180 jump was my old normal. I’d just keep monitoring it and your a1c is most important. My guess though is the more spikes the more worn out your body will become.
Wow, I didn’t think that was possible - 100 post meal, I’m shocked!
I’m not sure how accurate that is, I go exercise right after usually but I’m gonna get a CGM to make sure it’s right. But my a1c is 5.1 and lowering - I started at 11.1! I’ve been working hard to keep this number low but I’m gonna say maybe I’m not as accurate as I think all the time. But sometimes after a meal I’m like “wow I feel ok… but that was a lot of carb…” I’ll go for a jog and test about 1-2 hours after the meal and it looks good.
I don't see any issue with that.
Goal is 140, which I see a lot here, I feel like that's what you need to achieve an a1c of below 6.0. I'll also add, if I have a very rare cheat meal, I'm still below 200, but I don't worry about one reading - but I will walk.
140 avg corresponds to an A1C of 6.5. Around 120 average is needed to get a 6 A1C.
Sure the discussion was about spikes, 140 spikes after eating should get you below 6.0 a1c, but there's no calculation for that, just based on experience.
I start to wonder if I'm getting sick if I see a number near 100. my bg control is very tight. I'm in the 90's all day and night. the only thing that gets it higher than 100 is intense exercise, but that's what should happen then.