Completing Week 11 and going for a low glycemic index/load diet

It's been one week since I started taking my glucose level and noting down my diet. I think overall it has been ok, but could definitely be better. Still need to have better control of my blood glucose level throughout the day and avoid situations that can trigger hypoglycemic attacks.

March 12 - Thurs
Breakfast: Slim Fast shake, yoghurt
Lunch: Had lunch with Agnes, so I ordered 1 medium bowl of fennel soup and a herb omelette. Unfortunately, the omelette was way too salty so I returned it (it was like ordering salt with some egg ;-p ). Didn't order a replacement, though so got hungry quickly in the afternoon.
Snack: nuts, tomatoes, low-carb biscuits
Dinner: mexican veggies and shrimps, yoghurt

Blood glucose level:
9:00 - 6.0
23:56 - 7.4

March 13 - Fri
Breakfast: Slim Fast, yoghurt
Snack: nuts, tomatoes
Lunch: pumpkin soup. It was already 15:30 when I had lunch, which I think was the reason why later I felt the shakes coming on. Round 18:00 I already felt light-headed and hungry and by the time I checked, my glucose level was going down. Since, I started to feel very light-headed and hungry, and felt my hands already shaking, I accepted the 'stroopwaffels' from my friend, Cherrie. I had 2 small ones and since these are waffels made from corn syrup (I think -- in any case, very sweet), I felt a bit better after eating them. Took a pack of my biscuits to eat in the train. I still felt bad during the train journey and even upon reaching home. Martin wasn't home so forced myself to cook a proper meal instead of gulping down whatever was in the fridge.
Dinner: cauliflower and shrimps with garlic and parlsey sauce, yoghurt

Blood glucose:
9:00 - 7.4
18:30 - 4.3


March 14 - Sat
I started incorporating some slow-releasing carbs this weekend after having that talk with my friend, Craig, who's a type 1. Gave me some really sound advice, which I intend to follow, starting with including some carbs with low-glycemic index. This was my plan anyway after this initial no-carbs diet of mine. It's been two days short of a month since I began my no-carbs diet, so I think it's time to shift things a bit and see how to go on a low-GI (glycemic index) diet / low GL (glycemic load), instead of totally cutting out carbs.

The up-side is I get to eat my cruesli again ;-) . The no-sugar, high-fibre type from Dorset ;-) I missed those! But it's not a liscence to start being comfy around pasta again. Although it's a complex carb, it still has a high-glycemic index. Of course, I can still eat it, but only a small portion to ensure that the glycemic load stays low.

What exactly is GI and GL? From http://www.mendosa.com/gilists.htm:

"The glycemic index (GI) is a numerical system of measuring how much of a rise in circulating blood sugar a carbohydrate triggers–the higher the number, the greater the blood sugar response. So a low GI food will cause a small rise, while a high GI food will trigger a dramatic spike...

The glycemic load (GL) is a relatively new way to assess the impact of carbohydrate consumption that takes the glycemic index into account, but gives a fuller picture than does glycemic index alone. A GI value tells you only how rapidly a particular carbohydrate turns into sugar. It doesn't tell you how much of that carbohydrate is in a serving of a particular food. You need to know both things to understand a food's effect on blood sugar. That is where glycemic load comes in. The carbohydrate in watermelon, for example, has a high GI. But there isn't a lot of it, so watermelon's glycemic load is relatively low. A GL of 20 or more is high, a GL of 11 to 19 inclusive is medium, and a GL of 10 or less is low."

So, in short, I should ideally eat low GI and low GL foods. I can eat more of a low GI - low GL food than a high GI - low GL food. The link posted above gives a much more detailed explanation of the difference between these two terms and a complete list of foods with GI and GL values.


Brunch: a bowl of Dorset cereals with lite yoghurt (still the one with plant sterol)
Snack: tuna omelette (1 yolk, 2 whites). I think I had another hypoglycemic attack, so I had to quicly make something. I didn't measure my glucose level coz I only had two more strips which I was saving for Sunday and Monday morning. But I'm quite convinced it was a hypo-g attack since the shaking, light-headedness, difficulty in concentrating were present.
Dinner: string beans sauteed in onion, garlic with a bit of shrimp paste and coconut milk, 100 grams of mashed cauliflower and brocolli, 2 spoons of brown rice, 3 small meatballs. Yummy!!!

Blood glucose:
12:05 - 5.8


March 15 - Sun
Brunch: Leftovers from diner - string beans sauteed in onion, garlic with a bit of shrimp paste and coconut milk, 100 grams of mashed cauliflower and brocolli, 2 spoons of brown rice
Snack: a few slice of cheese, cashew nuts, no-sugar iced tea
Diner: Dorset cereals with 0% fat strawberry kwark!!! Weird, I know, but I didn't want to cook. And I'm just craving for it, so why the hell not? ;-)

Blood glucose:
13:00 - 4.9

Gonna get new strips and needles tomorrow. That's the costly part. Will have to see if it can be covered by my insurance.