Blood sugar rising 3 hours after eating

I am a newly diagnosed pre-diabetic (A1C of 5.9) who has noticed a trend now that I have gotten a glucose meter. Initially I only took a reading before and 2 hours after a meal... but after attending a "pre-diabetes" class I started taking readings after 1, 2 and 3 hours to find out how my blood sugar reacted to typical meals that I eat. Now I have noticed that typically my blood glucose reading is higher after 3 hours than 2. For instance:
This morning I ate one small chicken breast, one hard boiled egg and 1.5 cups of mixed vegetables with one ounce of goat's cheese.My pre meal number was 96...my 1 hour was 115...my 2 hour was 98 and my 3 hour was 108.

My lunch was 1 cup plain 2%yogurt, 1 pear and 3 tablespoons of hemp seeds. My pre-meal reading was 100... my 1 hour reading was 116...my 2 hour was 96 and my 3 hour was 106.

14 out of my last 16 meals have tested the same exact way--the third hour reading is 10 or more points higher than the second. It normally takes 4 hours to get down to my pre-meal reading.

I realize that glucose meters aren't "100%" accurate but my trend is unmistakable. Don't typical readings not go down after 2 hours and bounce up after 3?

I ama62 year old woman, 5' 5" and weigh 120. I walk 45 minutes a day. Since my diagnosis, I have cut out all bread, rice, pasta, potatoes and reduced my fruit intake from 5 pieces to 2. I'm still learning about being a pre-diabetic and would appreciate any insight of why my blood glucose bounces up from hour 2 to hour 3.

Welcome to DD.

The slight rise between 2 and 3 hours isn't enough to be of concern, being well within the error tolerance of your meter. Do you have anything to eat or drink other than water between your meal and the three-hour mark?

The other thing I notice is that your protein level appears to be quite high (without knowing how much protein you ate), other than the lunch, which would have had fructose in it from the pear plus added carbs from the additives that replaced the fat in the milk the yoghurt was made from. Fructose has a complex metabolic pathway, with some going straight to the glucose stream and some being converted to glucose in the liver. This can take extra time to show up on your meter.

And any extra protein beyond that required for cell maintenance and replacement can be converted to glucose, also in the liver, and also take more time.

I'm not going to say that these processes are what caused your higher BG at three hours, but it is possible that they contributed to a slight increase outside the two hours. As I said earlier, the size of the increase isn't enough to be of concern.

Many of us here eat an LCHF or ketogenic diet, which means that the carbs we remove are replaced with saturated and monounsaturated fats, rather than protein, for the reasons I mentioned above. So we eat more butter, cream, cheese, bacon, fatty fish, olives, olive oil, avocados etc.

There is not that much difference in the two & three hour numbers. I would wonder about the fruit though, perhaps you could use a slice or two instead of the whole piece of fruit? Or use a few berries, which create less of an increase.

Also?

My endocrinologist said that it's best to limit your carbs such that your post-prandial values are no more than 30-40 mg/dl above your pre-prandial values. You are now well within that range so I wouldn't worry about 116 vs 106. And although some people here avoid fruit as a matter of principle (like avoiding bread and rice) the important thing is to "eat to your meter". In other words, if you eat a piece of fruit with your meal and your pp glucose increase is <40 mg/dl, there is no reason to stop eating the fruit. However, if a piece of fruit pushes your bg too high, eat less fruit or stick with eating berries.

If your 3 hr readings are greater than your 2 hour readings, that just means that your insulin resistance is very strong. As you limit your carbs and start exercising every day, that should diminish. If not, you could talk to your doctor about taking metformin, which also reduces insulin resistance a little.

Everyone's digestion will be different. Your numbers are great so I would not worry at all. Fat, fiber and even glucose or fructose may affect your bgs. Some foods just digest slower. Fructose in fruit often does not show up right away. iF your higher bgs are at 3 hours, I would only teat then.

Hi and welcome to DD you are right meters are not 100% in my case eating a pear I would be over 200 that is a pretty rapid carb and congrats on your exercise did the same and played tennis it's all beneficial.

Thanks all for your replies. I did look at my diet and it does seem protein heavy and I am going to start incorporating more nuts, avocado and berries in my diet. I am also going to change the timing of my exercise...changing it from before dinner to after dinner to maybe "sop" up some glucose. And I know what you mean about different fruits having different effects...I ate a medium sized orange and I was shocked to see a one hour read of 155 on my meter. Needless to say, oranges aren't going to be part of my diet any more.

Eat more vegetables, especially those that grow above ground (i.e, not so many "root vegetables" like carrots, parsnips, beets, etc).

Thanks all for your replies. I did look at my diet and it does seem protein heavy and I am going to start incorporating more nuts, avocado and berries in my diet.

Don't fear saturated fats. They were condemned to the wilderness by the bad science of Ancel Keyes, but are now returning to their rightful place in our diets with the approval of cardiologists and other medical professionals.

Don't fear saturated fats. They were condemned to the wilderness by the bad science of Ancel Keyes, but are now returning to their rightful place in our diets with the approval of cardiologists and other medical professionals.

I was eating a LOT of nuts, but had to cut back. They contain too much PUFA (polyunsaturated fatty acids) which are bad news. If you increase fats in your diet, you might want to beware of "PUFA Creep".

Ok, maybe it's just me, but with your A1c number and testing numbers so low, why are you considered "pre-diabetic"???

I was eating a LOT of nuts, but had to cut back. They contain too much PUFA (polyunsaturated fatty acids) which are bad news. If you increase fats in your diet, you might want to beware of "PUFA Creep".

How much is a lot? I do eat a fair amount of nuts daily.