What to Do When You’re ‘Good’ All Week and Still High After Dinner

Are you having high blood glucose levels (BGLs) after dinner? Even though you had been travelling well during the day?

It is common and may be explainable.

For many people, the evening meal is often the biggest meal of the day. It is easy to eat more carbohydrates (or carbs) than what you need for dinner. And then, carbs from dessert and supper may raise BGLs more!

So, let’s see what may be causing it.

How much carb is on my plate?

The healthy plate model suggests you fill one quarter of your regular dinner plate with carbs. This can help to moderate the amount of carbs you eat. Fill the other quarter plate with lean meat, chicken or fish (or vegetarian protein alternatives). Lastly, have at least half a plate of non-starchy vegetables, like broccoli, carrot and green beans. This proportion can help make you feel fuller for longer, while keeping your BGLs in target.

Counting your carbs

One way of measuring carbs is using the carbohydrate exchange. A carbohydrate exchange is equal to 15g of carbohydrate. Most people need about 2-3 exchanges (or 30-45g) of carb per main meal. If you choose to snack, allow for 1 exchange (or 15g of carb).

In the healthy plate model above, a quarter of a plate of carbs is around 1 metric cup or 1 fistful in volume. One cup of cooked rice contains about 45g carbs or 3 exchanges, while a cup of cooked potato contains around 35-37g or 2.5 exchanges. A cup of cooked pasta contains around 30g carbs or 2 exchanges.

You can compare the carbohydrate amounts in the table below:

1 cup cooked portion	Carbohydrate amount (grams)	Exchanges
Rice	45g	3
Potato	35-37g	2.5
Pasta	30g	2

Table: Amount of carbohydrate in grams and exchanges in a 1 cup portion of different foods

The slight differences in carbohydrate amount might mean that your meal with rice may raise your BGLs more than potato or pasta.

You can learn how to carbohydrate count using exchanges on the NDSS website here.

What’s after dinner?

If you are having dessert or supper after dinner that contains carbs, this can raise your BGLs further. More so if it is soon after dinner.

A medium-sized 150g fruit or a small 170g tub of yoghurt each contain around 1 carb exchange. This is a reasonable amount of carbs for a snack. They are also healthy choices as fruit contains fibre, while yoghurt contains calcium and protein.

Let’s now compare with some less healthy snacks like chocolate or biscuits. All you need is 1 row of chocolate or 2 biscuits to give you 1 carb exchange.

However, eating a 180g block of chocolate or half a packet of plain sweet biscuits contains around 100g of carbs. This comes to around 7 carb exchanges and exceeds how much most adults would need for a meal. As a result, it is best to limit the portion size of these foods.

Are there friendlier after-dinner options?

Yes indeed.

You can try these options:

Lower carb fruits like berries (allow 1 cup). They go well with natural or Greek yoghurt
A small handful of nuts, preferably unsalted. Or mix a few salted nuts with unsalted ones if you can’t do nuts without salt
Cheese, perhaps with some higher fibre crackers (most contain some carbs). Limit your overall portion
Popcorn or roasted fava beans as they are lower in carbs. Go for plainer ones if you can, as flavoured ones often contain added sugar or salt.

Other eating behaviours to be mindful of

Eating when you are feeling tired, bored, or emotional (sad, mad or glad), can make it harder for you to track how much carbs (or fat or salt) you consume.

Eating while watching something on a screen or doomscrolling can also distract you. You may miss hearing your body signals telling you when to stop eating.

What if your BGLs are still high?

Ask your doctor or diabetes educator about your BGL target range before and 2 hours after meals. You can hone in to see what meals or snacks make your BGLs rise too much.

If your BGLs are above target, check in with your diabetes team to investigate further. You may need to start or add more diabetes medications if you are already doing your best around food and physical activity. We can help you with experienced diabetes educators and dietitians in our Diabetes Care Plus clinic. You can book an appointment online or by calling 1300 153 123.

Remember that a high number does not make you a bad person. Eating healthy all week does not make you good either. Your BGLs are a tool to show you what is happening inside your body. Be kind to yourself too when your BGL goes above what you aim for.

Further resources