Blood Glucose drops after eating


(Rick) #1

I am not sure if this should go in newbies or not. I am very puzzled. I typically have my first meal of the day between 1 - 3. I regularly check my blood glucose before eating and 30 minutes after eating. Lately my blood glucose has been higher than I would like, today it was 122 after 17 hours of fasting (with black coffee). 30 minutes after I ate a pretty big ketogenic meal my blood glucose was 97. Two hours after eating my blood glucose was at 113.

What the heck is going on? I am under a lot of stress at work right now and I understand that could elevate my blood glucose, but why would it drop to a good level after eating?

Any ideas? Thanks for the help and insight.

Rick


(Todd Allen) #2

If your meal contains protein it should still stimulate insulin release. If your muscles aren’t completely insulin resistant the insulin causes your muscles to take in amino acids to repair and grow and they will also soak up some blood sugar too, especially if you’ve been physically active. If your meal didn’t have much carbs declining blood sugar is normal - and quite desirable when at pre-diabetic blood sugar levels.


(Roy D) #3

Maybe the drop in blood sugar is not related to the food you ate, but the decrease in stress levels when you are relaxing during your meal (i.e. during the break from work)?

Stress can cause the adrenaline hormone levels to rise. The adrenaline drives a release of glucose into the blood (so your body can react to the stress). When/if you took a “break” to eat, maybe the production of adrenaline ceased, and your body consumed the available glucose in your blood while you were eating your meal. One way you could test this theory is to;

  1. Test blood glucose levels shortly after work (just as before)
  2. Take some time (1/2 hour to 1 hour?) relaxing (dimmed room, no TV or smartphone, calming music, meditation, …) without eating any food, then re-take another blood glucose test.

Just a guess.


(Rick) #4

Thanks Roy and Todd. I have been wanting to test my blood glucose before and after meditation, but I typically meditate early in the morning and I tend to have the dawn phenomena. My morning blood glucose is typically higher than I would like but by 2:00 or so when I have my first meal it is in the high 80s or low 90s unless my stress is out of control. There is very little chance that I will be able to get a long enough period to relax to reduce glucose while I am at work. I would like to try it at home but when I get home I have a 13 year old and 9 year old that need help with their homework. Not exactly relaxing.

Based on Occam’s razor, the simplest explanation being the most likely, I need to significantly reduce my stress. The best way to do that would be to quit my job, sell my kids and move to Alaska or Costa Rica. So the real question becomes “how do I mitigate the stress of having to choose between Alaska or Costa Rica?”.

Seriously, I do like your idea of testing before and after a relaxation exercise. I would like to understand what is going on with both insulin and ketones in addition to glucose also. I really do think that the stress is the biggest issue and it is what I am going to have to address.

Regards,


(Todd Allen) #5

We mostly focus on diet here which makes sense because this is a diet forum, but in my own life I’ve found diet to be just one factor along with things like stress management, sleep quality and exercise to regaining health and an improving sense of well being. So I think your current consideration of stress is a good move.

I’ve seen my blood sugar spike in response to stress but never seen it drop significantly after relaxation exercises. Maybe it’s because I’m not that good at them but I think mainly the response to reducing stress is a slower more gradual thing. In a little under two years my fasting blood sugar has come down from borderline diabetic to a healthy low normal. And over that time my concerns about my health and health expenses have diminished, my relationship with my wife has improved and I’ve gone from chronic worries to being much happier and content. And I’m no longer stressing about optimizing my diet, weight loss and other health goals, but now satisfied with slow progress and the increasing confidence that I can not only sustain this but will continue to find the process satisfying and enjoyable.


(Rick) #6

Thanks Todd. I’ve been me to for less than a year and I have seen a lot of variation in blood glucose based on my level of stress and quality of sleep. Stress and sleep seem to have as much of an effect as food but are harder to manage. I still don’t really understand some of the measurements that I am seeing though. It is an interesting journey to say the least.

Thanks for you help and insight.


(Sue Kitchell) #7

I have blood glucose question regarding post meal reading while in ketosis. I have been on Keto 29 days and lost 7 pounds. My ketones in the morning have been1.5 to 2.1 and my fasting glucose after a 14-15 hour fast has been 80-87 mg/dl. Never checked my glucose or my ketones after a meal until tonight. I did not wait 2 hours but I checked it after approximately an hour after I ate and it was 82 mg/dl and I am really full. I could not believe it! I checked it again and it was 81 mg/dl. My blood ketones was 1.2. Seriously I ate quite a bit. 2 ounces of Wild Salmon cooked in butter with 0.5 ounce of creme cheese and capers, arugula with at least 8-10 olives, a tbsp of olive oil and ACV basically. I could not finish everything and I was worried that my blood glucose was elevated since I felt like I have overeaten at my dinner this evening. Oh well! I guess I should be grateful that I was not hyperglycemic. Any explanations? This is normal right?


#8

If you didn’t check immediately before eating then it’s hard to say precisely what your blood sugar reaction was. It may well be that your glucose was on the way down when you ate & that the low carb/high fat in your meal meant you didn’t see a climb for some time afterwards - fat & protein take longer to show a peak.

It’s all much of a muchness seeing as your glucose stays in a pretty tight range anyway. It’s also worth noting that meters are not 100% accurate either so unless you inject insulin you’re really just looking for trends.

In short - perfectly normal :smile:


(JUDY GODWIN) #9

I am also having this issue before eating fasting and about an hour later 106 also got very sleepy what I ate was bacon and eggs and coffee with coconut oil no carbs 106 is still a little high I am insulin resistant feeling very confused


(JUDY GODWIN) #10

Blood sugar was 122 fasting I also work late I usually return home just after midnight


(Sue Kitchell) #11

Hey I just started being strict again with Keto, under 20 grams net carbs, 0.8-0.9grams of protein per kg of lean body weight ( usually eat about 65-70 gms of protein), and the rest fat (about100- 115grams). Took a 3-4 month break from measuring and weighing, but thought I was following a keto life style. Unfortunately, I gained a few pounds back,( total of 4 pounds). That was not too bad but I probably need to measure and document my meals for life especially if my activity level decreases as it did this winter.
Anyway, getting back to the topic of fasting blood glucose and testing glucose post meals, my fasting has been 90-96 mg/dl this past week with my blood ketone levels of 0.8 - 1.0 and my fasting used to be 80-83mg/dl with similar ketones. Luckily, my 1-2 hour post meal has been mid 90’s as well. Have been increasing my activity and working out at least 3-4 times per week with a trainer. I just don’t understand why my fasting glucose is in the 90’s. I wish it were in the 70’s to 80’s. Anyone out there noting similar elevation of fasting BG’s when first starting keto again? Is it the stored muscle glycogen that is being released when your body is converting back to fat burning vs glucose burning? So confusing but interesting.