Doing Your Own Low Carb Research - from holdthetoast.com
 

A great article from holdthetoast.com!

Doing Your Own Low Carb Research

This question comes from Jeannette Childers in Las Vegas:

I read where you tested your blood sugar to see how different foods affect you. I've bought a kit for the same purpose but was wondering when and how often you tested. Since it's not the same as a diabetic testing I am not sure just when I should test.

This is a very good question, Jeannette, because the explanation will allow all of you to become a citizen's army of low carb food testers....

Read the rest of the article here: Doing Your Own Low Carb Research

Karen

Re- Low Carb Research
 

Another GREAT IDEA from Karen!

I was vastly intrigued after reading the article on Low Carb Research which was linked from your thread.

This morning I went to Walmart and also purchased the necessary equipment to test my glucose.

Now I am trying to decide on which approach to take to start the testing.

Do you or anybody else have any thoughts on where to start?

My first and obvious consideration is to do a test upon awakening, (and before having breakfast), to obtain a 'base' reading.

There are so many directions a person can go in this research, but I would really like to know which foods are detrimental to my weight loss, even if they are low carb. I would like to eat more vegetables such as beans, lentils, etc., but they are on the high carb list.

Maybe some other pioneering LC members would care to join me in doing some similar tests.

Regards
Joe

P.S. Sorry to see that the spell checker is no longer freely available.

Sorry no results to report yet.

Have tried the past two mornings to take blood samples but have not been successful in getting a proper reading from my electronic monitor.

Will continue to try until I have mastered the procedure.

Meanwhile I have been reading Miselly's thread and find that her BS numbers in Canada are laid out diferently than here in the USA.

Regards
Joe

hi joe!

i'm so glad you are doing this test! please keep us posted
regards,
brenda :)

Can anybody just buy a glucometer and test strips? I always thougt you needed a prescription, especially for the meter.

You can look at any pharmacy (Walmart, KMart) and see a variety of glucose testing machines and their test strips. Also watch for rebates, sometimes they post them near the pharmacy area. Sometimes you need to ask the pharmacist for the testing strips, but they are usually in an isle with other diabetic supplies.

Thanks for the link
 

Karen,
Thanks for the link. I am trying to do the same thing one my own with one food new food every two days but this method would be a whole lot easier. Thanks.
Donna :wave:

I decided to try the blood glucose meter too. It appears Splenda and also Aspartame (Diet Rite and Diet Coke, respectively), are causing insulin to be released. This morning, I recorded a bg level of 75 on an empty stomach. I drank a whole can of Diet Coke and after 15 minutes, the bg was 80. After 15 more minutes, the bg dropped to 70. I believe this is what has been causing all these stalls. Maybe now things will speed up a little bit more, but I'm missing my soft drinks. Oh well, at least I know I can maintain using Splenda; I just have to wait until I get to my goal to start using it again.

Eat Almonds and few eggs
 

The last time I was on PP I was constipated all of the time. I was drinking water all day, taking Metamucil (and other things) but nothing help.

Untill I did :
1 Stopped eating so many eggs. I have eggs about once a week.
2 Eat 1 to 2 oz of almonds a day for fiber

Now this time I have not had a problem and I have been back about 1 ½ months

One thing I would recommend is not necessarily buy the cheapest meter...........there are huge differences. Some, such as the FreeStyle I use, use a bare pinhead of blood while others need a hanging drop. The FreeStyle and other meters which use minimal blood allow you to take blood from places other than your finger, such as your forearm, where there are less nerves so it is less painful and less noticable. I got my meter free with a purchase of 100 strips.

The problem I had with testing was the cost. The monitor and starting strips are really cheap to sucker you in. Then you have to pay about the same amount for the replacement strips. It got to costly. I would really love to start testing again now that I'm LC though to see if I still have the same problems or if I've become more balanced :)

Some of the best people to ask would be diabetics because they usually have to be more focused on what they eat and the possible damage that they can cause to their bodies. - Well, I'm a diabetic. The blood sugar monitors that we get are usually free IF and when you BUY their testing strips - which require a prescription. It is amazing that different foods affect people differently. For me It's pizza and bagels - they cause my blood sugar to go ballistic.
As for when to test, one person said every 15 minutes. The height of blood sugar occurs sometime after 1 1/4 to 1 3/4 hours after eating.

I wish I wasn't diabetic - but I have annoyed my pancreas one too many times by placing too much demand on the pancreas (source of insulin). This was done by not eating 'just to survive' and being overweight.

This may be a tangent - but important information.
I don't know that that is as important as just being mindful to stay away from carbs as much as you can. There is controversy over whether the glycemic index of a food is important. I am sure that there is because the more simple (more processed) a food is, the more quickly the amino alpha-amylase can convert the carb to glucose. The body cannot use energy until it is reduced to glucose (the body has to work harder to convert protein and fat into glucose). Consider onions, raw they have less sugar than they when cooked because the processing (cooking) releases the plant sugars. That's why the "carmalize", which is the sugar browning.