: one before and one after you eat.
A general goal blood glucose level for one to two hours after a meal, according to the American Diabetes Association, is under 180 mg/dl; some experts recommend lower targets—ask your provider what's best for you. If your data reveal that it's frequently going much higher than that, Joyce says, you can look into adjusting things.
- Portions Perfected: On the plus side, you may not have to give up the foods you like. You can reduce the portion of an item rather than give it up, says Joyce: "No one wants to take favorite foods away from people." Besides trimming portion sizes, choose healthful fruits, vegetables, and whole grains rather than foods with added sugar for your carbohydrate choices.
- Medication Management: If your data show that blood glucose levels are high before meals or in the morning (fasting blood glucose), it may indicate that your medication needs to be adjusted to reach blood glucose targets. "The four-hour period of time between meals should have given the insulin or medication the time to bring the blood sugar down to normal," says Joyce. You and your provider can use this information to fine-tune medication, particularly insulin, based on blood glucose levels before the next meal. Joyce says premeal testing can also help people trying to control their blood glucose with diet alone see if their approach is working.
Tips to Treat: After-Meal Highs
To get blood glucose levels back down under 180 mg/dl within an hour or two after a meal, experiment with these tactics:
Count calories. Monica Joyce, MS, RD, LDN, CDE, suggests rigorously monitoring calorie and carbohydrate intake for a week or so. That will help identify if you're eating more than you thought and cement in your mind what an appropriate portion size looks like.
Eat high-fiber foods. Some evidence suggests that high-fiber foods, such as beans, whole grains, and some vegetables, can blunt blood glucose increases. Plus, they're extra filling, so they'll help you eat less.
Take enough insulin. If you use mealtime insulin, ask your provider if your premeal dose is adequate for the number of carbohydrate grams you're consuming. Also discuss how to calculate a correction dose and when one may be necessary. If your premeal blood glucose is high, work on that first.
Take a 30-minute walk after eating. This can help people with type 1 or type 2 diabetes burn some extra glucose from a meal.