How Meals Impacts Blood Sugar: A Three Day Diary

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I’m at present on my third spherical of utilizing a steady glucose monitor (CGM) for monitoring my blood sugar. I love to do a one month plan sometimes to achieve perception into how the meals I’m consuming, how I’m sleeping, my train routine, and stress ranges are effecting my blood sugar. Blood sugar is so usually considered solely as being a problem for diabetics, however an increasing number of analysis is exhibiting the way it would possibly play a job in lots of well being afflictions from Alzheimer’s to coronary heart illness, kidney illness, and extra. Whereas A1C is useful to see how your blood sugar appears over an prolonged interval, a CGM offers you speedy suggestions as to how your actions affect your blood sugar, permitting you to simply tweak your habits and obtain extra optimum well being.

That is my third time utilizing Nutrisense, however my first time with their new CGM system, Stelo. It was straightforward to placed on, although that very same preliminary “pop!” when it inserts the monitor nonetheless made me bounce. It didn’t harm and opposite to widespread concern, whereas the system does use a tiny needle to connect the monitor, it doesn’t keep in your pores and skin; it leaves behind a tiny filament that tracks your blood glucose.

I’m comfortable to reply any questions you may have concerning the nitty gritty, however in the present day I needed to focus in on the outcomes, what it appears like in motion. To take action, I recorded a 3 day diary of what I ate and when, and also you’ll see the outcomes on the screenshot from the Nutrisense app, which makes it straightforward to interpret the outcomes. Word: it could take 24 hours to calibrate correctly, so I waited 48 hours earlier than I began my meals diary. So right here we go!

Day 1

• 6:30 AM 1/3 caffeine espresso and a splash of half and half
• 8:25 AM Plain Greek yogurt, grain-free granola, chia seeds, half a banana, two fried eggs
• 10:30 AM Salad with romaine, carrots, radish, cucumber, sprouts, rooster, hemp seeds
• 11:55 AM Half a baby’s leftover peanut butter and honey sandwich on a hamburger bun
• 3:30 PM Apple then a string cheese
• 5:25 PM Spaghetti (eaten within the automotive so in a 16oz Thermos, but it surely was half crammed with spaghetti and half crammed with my favourite meat sauce)

Day 2

• 6:45 AM Espresso with a splash of half and half
• 8:30 AM Sourdough (not my greatest loaf; my starter wasn’t bubbly sufficient) and butter
• 8:37 AM Plain Greek yogurt, chia seeds, grain-free granola, strawberries, fried egg
• 12:00 PM Cheese stick then an apple
• 2:15 PM Salad then pimento cheese and pretzels
• 8:10 PM Salsa rooster with bone broth rice, guacamole, salsa, chips, and jalapenos

Day 3

• 6:45 AM Espresso with a splash of half and half
• 8:01 AM Plain Greek yogurt, chia seeds, grain-free granola, half a banana, strawberries, two fried eggs
• 12:00 PM Salad with a can of tuna fish (no dressing as a result of the bottle was really empty and I didn’t notice it till we have been at co-op) and a bag of jalapeno chips
• 2:20 PM Turkey and cheddar on sourdough
• 3:00 PM 1/3 a Lemon Lime Poppi Soda
• 6:30 PM Cava salad bowl

CGM Diary Takeaways

• The order wherein you eat meals actually does make a distinction. Consuming the apple then the cheese stick made my blood sugar spike an extra 10 factors versus consuming the cheese stick first, then the apple.
• My physique tolerates carbs (spaghetti, sourdough bread, chips) properly when paired with satisfactory protein and fats.
• I drank the Poppi as a result of I needed a psychological afternoon choose me up however stopped at 1/3 as a result of I wasn’t actually having fun with the flavour. The entire can has 5g of sugar in it and I had it on an empty abdomen, and 1/3 of it spiked my blood sugar out of the inexperienced zone, which wasn’t tremendous shocking, however I really feel prefer it took some time to recuperate after which was tougher to stabilize usually afterwards. I might bodily really feel the crash afterwards in my temper and my starvation ranges. I believe this exhibits how unstable blood sugar results in making worse selections. IE: a crash made me really feel moody and hungry. 
• Cortisol and adrenaline additionally affect blood sugar. I had my allergy shot on day 2 (at 3:10- so you may see the response) and I might see my blood sugar rise in response to the extreme localized swelling that I skilled (allergy shot replace to occur in a unique weblog put up; I used to sing it’s praises however now am altering my tune).
• I really feel actually assured in my capability to maintain my blood sugar stabilized, so I’ve to drive myself to not simply “play the sport” after I’m carrying the CGM. It’s a good time to experiment and whereas it’s tempting for me to eat in the way in which I do know will preserve my blood sugar stabile, I need to use this as a time to get information on gadgets I’m much less certain on- will sourdough spike my blood sugar? Will consuming rice that’s been cooked, then cooled, then reheating actually reduce the glycemic response? What a couple of glass of wine versus a martini?
• I want I might have had entry to this type of info a decade in the past. I’ve a historical past of troublesome blood sugar: 20 years in the past I’d preserve a granola bar subsequent to my mattress to eat very first thing upon waking to keep away from feeling sick and dizzy from tanking blood sugar, I had PCOS and my cycles have been far and wide, I handed out within the physician’s workplace after I needed to take my gestational diabetes take a look at whereas pregnant with Hailey. Since then, I’ve discovered a lot and have carried out the adjustments obligatory to realize the steady blood sugar I need. The issues I imagine have helped essentially the most: energy coaching (constructing muscle), understanding macros and meals pairings, and specializing in high quality sleep.

I might discuss concerning the significance of blood sugar and greatest methods all day lengthy. The Glucose Goddess is a well-liked useful resource for all issues blood sugar; you may discover her e book right here. I began years in the past with Mark Hyman’s blood sugar e book and extremely advocate it as properly. You probably have any questions concerning the CGM or my expertise, please ask away. Comfortable to speak about all issues blood sugar anytime 🙂