It is always hard to start the day off with a crappy number. Lows I can deal with Ok (most of the time – IF I can avoid the rebound thing), but highs seem to start me off on an especially sucky note – which I fight with for a good portion of the day.
Not to mention being high makes me very sleepy, more prone to snacking and just generally gives me the blues.
Your nighttime BG value is where you are for around 1/3 of a 24 hour period – and it’s a pretty easy number to maintain – you’re sleeping! Some variables still exist – carryover from your evening activities, but the number of variables is by far much less than during the course of an average day.
What other 8 hour period of the day can you avoid stress, eating, bolusing and exercise?
So another thing I’m going to focus on is going to bed on target and waking up on target.
If your basal rate is good, this should almost be automatic! A problem for me with this is that I’m eating a meal and going to bed pretty close together. I think it was Keith who once said that going to bed with food in his stomach and insulin on board is usually not a good situation for him. With my routine I’m barely an hour into my food before I’m hitting the sack.
I think I’ll need to start bringing lunch AND dinner to work on my long days. I just want to try to have everything all flushed out before I go to bed. If I eat earlier (and don’t eat once I get home) I think I can pull it off.
Planning is the key.
I understand. The only reason I look at the vegetarian thing (which I don’t really know much about) is because I don’t like meat. I am working with a therapist, and you recall correctly about not giving much thought about what she said during the appointment. So the problem is definitely with me. I brought that up with her in my last appointment, and we are working through that. I’m doing a weekly check in over the phone with her to build in some accountability with the action items I’m working on. I’ve also stepped up the frequency of the… Read more »
Scott, I am by no means suggesting that you should become a vegetarian. It is a very personal decision to do that. You also have to remember that just because someone is a vegetarian, does not mean that they are eating a healthy diet. Here is how I got started. I first started learning about nutrition and vegetarianism by listening to a local vegetarian radio program where I live. I then started buying books on vegetarianism and cooking, but I did not become a vegetarian for about 5 years. I started out by adding a lot of vegetarian meals to… Read more »
Great comment Theresa, thank you for taking the time to write it. And you know what – I feel out of control. Like you say, not just diabetes wise, but general health too. I do also agree that it has a lot to do with some form of denial. It makes me angry and I think I often rebel against it. That rebellion often comes in the form of reckless eating. I tell myself that I am willing to make these changes, and that it’s something I want to do, but then I’ll get upset about something and start eating… Read more »
For me personally, the time period between when I eat dinner and when I go to bed has absolutely nothing to do with my morning bg. My morning bg has everything to do with WHAT I eat at dinner. What works best for me in order to have a normal bg in the morning, is to eat whole foods like brown rice, millet, corn, peas, beans, lentils, and lots of veggies. I have been a vegetarian for 15 years. I never eat any meat/flesh foods and only eat dairy rarely. When I eat refined foods like pasta, pizza, or anything… Read more »
Sandra & Lyrehca — Yes, those dang dinners. I tell you, my BG’s would be perfect if I never like, you know, ate anything…
JB — I’m on day 3 so far. Tomorrow will be the big test, as I don’t have any basketball lined up.