Should I wait before eating dessert after dinner

abirnbau · #1 (**permalink**) 07-04-2009, 06:38 PM

Hi all,

I'm about a month into my diagnosis and have a question.

Since the goal here seems to be rarely, if ever, above 140 BG, I was wondering whether it makes sense to delay a period of time (at least till the post dinner BG goes down) before eating dessert. Tonight, I ate a reasonable dinner of grilled chicken and salad but didn't know whether to eat the sugar-free pudding I'd prepared (about 10 carbs) immediately after dinner since I was afraid of spking. I ended up waiting.

Any information is appreciated.

Debbie Sue · #2 (**permalink**) 07-04-2009, 06:50 PM

I usually wait two hours after the first bite to let my meter determine if dessert is a good idea or not. Depending on what I ate, I will exercise for 30-45 mins. too. This is usually before my 2 hour post meal test. If I'm below a set number, I'll indulge in sf gelatin or sf/ff pudding. I will wig out if my 2 hour #'s are over 140. I really kick myself a lot since dx'd June of '08. I'm still learning though!

abirnbau · #3 (**permalink**) 07-04-2009, 07:19 PM

Thanks .. what is a reasonable goal for a one hour test? I'm always below 140 at the two hour test but sometimes spike above 140 after one hour. Should I try to be below 140 after one hour too.

sumi · #4 (**permalink**) 07-04-2009, 07:28 PM

"Should I try to be below 140 after one hour too"
Its a pretty good goal, Abir. But I wouldn't stress too much over it. I think waiting before dessert is a good idea, just to break up the load on your pancreas.

EeyoreButterfly · #5 (**permalink**) 07-04-2009, 07:46 PM

There are different schools of thought on this.

It used to be advocated that diabetics eat every couple of hours (snacks in between meals) to keep form going low. Now some are recommending to just stick to your three meals a day to keep from bumping up your sugar (basically, allowing your sugar to get back to normal before the next meal). They realized that as you eat, you are simply bumping your sugar higher and higher.

It really depends on your school of thought. My suggestion would be to look at the number of carbs in your meal. How many carbs are you aiming for per meal? If dessert is that impotant to you and you want it, consider counting it in the carbs in your meal, compensating by getting rid of carbs elsewhere.

Another factor to consider would be the potential for reactive hypoglycemia. Are you prone to it? If so, I would eat it with your meal because i have found that if I have something that is straight carbs, particularly if I have it on its own, then I am much more likely to have a reactive hypo. Fat and protein slow down the absorption of glucose, so eating carbs with your meal will make you less likely to go hypo.

For me, dessert is no longer an every night thing. I don't really need it. And I think that Sf stuff tastes awful. If I am going to have something, it is either fruit or a smaller portion of regular stuff that is within my carb limits. Obviously your mileage may vary.

RobertIA · #6 (**permalink**) 07-04-2009, 08:14 PM

abirnbau,

Well as you can see there is more than one solution. EeyoreButterfly makes a valid point. And since she is prediabetic her solution works for her. I do agree also that the fats eaten with a meal help slow down the rate of glucose getting into the bloodstream. Therefore, if I eat a desert, I find that waiting is not to my benefit.

I suggest testing to see how you react each way. And not just one time. This will give you an idea of which way your body reacts. And if you are one that is eating low fat, then waiting may be the best option. I just watch the calories from fat to be sure that I stay in my calorie limits and well as low carb limits.

Bob

CountYourselfIn · #7 (**permalink**) 07-04-2009, 11:26 PM

Absolutely not.

Everything in your stomach gets mixed up into one mass, so mixing GI's is DEFINITELY a way to slip some desert into your diet. If you had a big *ss salad, with chick peas, and some grilled chicken, and generally, 75% if your meal has a GI of 35, squeezing in a bowl of ice cream will modify the GI of your entire meal, and because you ate a low carb-high fiber meal, it'll digest slower, not spike your BG levels.

Throw in that ice cream and let your meal grow to a GI of 60, rather than waiting for your stomach to empty then throwing in a big bowl of carbs, with a GI of 85, and giving yourself a second spike.

Not suggesting people eat a handfull of peanuts to compensate for eating unnecessary calories, but if you're gonna do it, mixing a low GI food with a high GI one is DEFINITELY an approved way to to it without ruining your night.

zoelula · #8 (**permalink**) 07-05-2009, 09:01 AM

Dessert? What's that?
(Don't eat sugar, think sugar-free things taste terrible and are full of chemicals and fruit only works in small amounts if it's a central part of my meal)

bunbury · #9 (**permalink**) 07-05-2009, 12:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CountYourselfIn

If you had a big *ss salad, with chick peas ....

Chickpeas! 60 grams carb per 100 grms. For me that's an impossible food.

Mothernature · #10 (**permalink**) 07-05-2009, 01:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CountYourselfIn

Not suggesting people eat a handfull of peanuts to compensate for eating unnecessary calories, but if you're gonna do it, mixing a low GI food with a high GI one is DEFINITELY an approved way to to it without ruining your night.

There is truth to this. I ate a half a package of Lightlife chili (22 carbs). Within 20 minutes, I started shaking and did not feel right. My blood sugar was 170

(my reading was 105 20 minutes earlier). I ate a handful of non-salted peanuts and the symptoms subsided. With one round trip on 3 flights of stairs and the peanuts, my reading was 100 at the 2 hr.

foxl · #11 (**permalink**) 07-05-2009, 02:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bunbury

Chickpeas! 60 grams carb per 100 grms. For me that's an impossible food.

<<<SOB!>>> Me, too. And I love them.

abirnbau · #12 (**permalink**) 07-05-2009, 03:32 PM

Thanks for all the good information folks. Much appreciated.

And for the record, I do really love the SF, FF chocolate pudding with a little SF coolwhip on it (not the real stuff). Most seem to have developed an aversion to the SF / FF desserts but I seem to addicted.

mazea · #13 (**permalink**) 07-05-2009, 04:31 PM

If I have icecream or chips and tomato sauce, I have 30g fat with it as it slows down my carbohydrate absorbtion to the same GI as vegetables and meat.

Last night however I tried having one dose of insulin and a homemade blueberry and raspberry pie with logical sugar at 0 hours (30g carbs) and dinner vegies, potatoes and chicken satay skewers at 50 minutes and didn't spike.

CountYourselfIn · #14 (**permalink**) 07-05-2009, 04:35 PM

Dudes. I make my own hummus and roasted chickpeas all the time. They're a super low GI, high fiber, high protein food. It's not bad for BG, in moderation. (I'm not saying you should try this, but) There've been times when I've eaten a whole can of chickpeas in some form or another (roasted, hummus, in a bean salad), without bolus'ing, and my BG never went past 11. Mind you 11's not good, but hey... all things considered.

Not all carbs are created equal.

But omg I want hummus and homemade pita chips now. Olive oil and garlic and chickpeas. Oh My.

I'm off to Safeway.

Seriously... chickpeas(and other low GI foods) are a diabetics best friend.

CountYourselfIn · #15 (**permalink**) 07-05-2009, 04:41 PM

And again, everyone's saying eat more fat to slow absorption.. err..

.. don't forget dietary fiber. Dietary fiber will slow down food absorption and clean out all the **** that a fat enriched diet leaves behind.

DF gives your meal a lowered GI and long feeling of satiety, and lowers cholesterol, cleans your intestines, makes your poops that much better, aids in controlling water levels, and blood sugar.