[yannah]

I was wondering if eating too little for weeks on end can make your numbers higher?

[Subby]

I'll be interested in the answer from more informed members... one thing I'll ask is, do you check for ketones? Have you been getting any? If not, can you check now/soon?

[shutterbug]

I don't know the exact answer. But, if I eat too little for dinner, I wake up with a high. So the answer could be yes. But I'm not sure.

I have read here in the forum that liver dumps glucose into the blood stream if you don't have enough already. I'd suggest eating enough carbs (within your safe limits) to avoid other issues such as hypos.

[fenagle]

I was feeling a bit under the weather for a few days and did not eat very much. My BGs were amazingly good and constant. All were between 80-100. I ate half a bowl of pastina, for which I bolused, and that was about it for 2 1/2 days. This was the first time since Dx that I have been sick and I thought BGs would go up when sick.

[yannah]

well, I asked both my endo and my pcp if I was losing weight too fast and both said no.


but quietly I wonder about all the health problems I have had since dx. since I went on a pretty crazy strike against food.

I have not checked ketones. but I have wondered...


for lunch yesterday I forced down a bowl of organic fresh baby spinach, no dressing, nothing else. for breakfast I had two carrots and cheese. this is truly how I have been eating.

at my moms, for the holiday, I ate for breakfast a can of green beans, from the can. yum. yum.

I mean, I make sure I eat something, but I never want to eat and have no appetite.

[Hammer]

It depends on what you mean by high numbers. I don't eat for 7 hours between meals and I find that my numbers are around 70-80. If I don't eat for a longer period....say 12 hours, my numbers will be higher....maybe around 90. These numbers are still in the normal range, but by comparison, the longer I go without eating, the higher they will be.

[JennyLynn]

If I don't eat for many hours (more than 10) my numbers will go up and up.

[ErikaA]

Early on, I did test this a little.... 3 days with no food and I seem to just settle in at about 9.... I seem to do better with 3 days no carbs....i settle in between 4 and 6.

I can't say my brains were better either way.... I was dumb as a post for both ventures...

If I don't eat in the morning, my bgls will continue to rise until I do eat.... but so far I've never seen them go higher than 10 with starvation or carb restriction. I haven't seen how this works without meds though.

[CarrieB]

Originally Posted by yannah

...I went on a pretty crazy strike against food.

for lunch yesterday I forced down a bowl of organic fresh baby spinach, no dressing, nothing else.

I mean, I make sure I eat something, but I never want to eat and have no appetite.

If I don't eat some good carbs at fairly regular intervals my levels go up, so yes it can, and does, happen.

You post however sounds quite worrying - it sounds as if you're on your way to a serious eating disorder if you don't do something. I really suggest going back to your doctors and telling them what you have posted here.

[Psycho Penguin]

It happens to type 1s, I know that much. I have read, and have noticed, that the body will overreact to not having any food. That's why diabetics are supposed to eat at least 4 times a day. And why being sick with the stomach flu sucks *** =(

[Alicia_39]

I was recently sick for 2 weeks and couldn't each much because of the constant nausea. My numbers were pretty high. Over 200 for the most part.

[Caravaggio]

I was sick for a day (Dec 27 to be exact) while on holiday, and had nothing but 1/2 protein bar for brunch (I forced myself to eat something for strength, but after a few hours my stomach forced it out of my body!) and half a dozen Asian oranges the whole day. My blood sugar did not go up as I thought it would. I took my meds when I ate the protein bar, but no meds when I wolfed down the oranges.

[yannah]

well, I was too scared to test ketones. but I have stepped up eating. I am making sure I eat 25-50 carbs a day and I am actually sitting down and eating 3 times a day. I am trying to at least eat 1000 calories a day. I am still going to the gym an hour a day.

what is happening with blood sugar? nothing drastic, numbers have gone down, fasting is at 102 today. so I would say the past few days, i am down on average around 15 points.

other things that were freaking me out, my hair is falling out,
my muscles are still twitching in my legs. and the less I ate, the less I ate, it was getting kind of wierd. I think I lost my mind there for awhile.

[Subby]

I'm glad the eating is up a bit Yannah (although still low on many scales). It's important to eat, y'know?

[davef]

Yannah,

In my experience over the past year, not eating certainly does not help. As a type 2 your body will still try kick in when you start going low and I have found, what I call a reactive low, to be a pain in the as$. What I think has happened for me, is if I went low (possibly due to not having a proper lunch), I will then correct by eating something, however I think my body has also start to kick in with a liver dump and so I go higher than I expected.

I know finding the right balance between BG control and weight loss is not easy, but the key is balance. Your body needs to be getting food, not just for nutrition and energy but also so that it is used to dealing with the food you eat. I would suggest that at this point it might be worth considering slowing the weight loss so that you can learn not just how to lose weight but just as importantly how to maintain your weight. Give your body a bit of break, allow the exercise to tighten up your skin for your weight loss to date, work for a little while at maintaining your current weight and then look at a gradual weight loss.

Unlike the battle we share with smoking, we need to eat to live but don't need to smoke to live. Finding that eating balance is critically important so that when you reach a healthy weight you will be able to maintain it. This is what I have been doing for the past two months, I'm thrilled with my weight loss for the past year, my Doctor is also extremely pleased with me, but he did suggest at the start of November that I try not to loose more than 1lb for the following two months. I have fluctuated up/down by 1-2 pounds in that time but have now got a better handle on what I need to eat to maintain my weight. So next week, I'm going to step up exercise (ok get back to exercising) and aim for a gradual loss over the next 3 months.

As Subby said "It's important to eat" and it's also important to realise food is not your enemy. It's great that you are sitting down 3 times a day, now take a look at your plate and make sure that it is balanced, make sure you are getting the protein, fat, vitamins etc that your body needs.

You are doing a great job, give yourself credit for the progress you have made, don't push yourself to hard and enjoy your food.