Episode 273: Insights Revealed - 30 Days with a Blood Glucose Monitor

Blood sugar balance. It’s like the hot new guy in school that everyone is talking about and everyone is trying to get.

It seems to affect every area of health, longevity, and weight loss we’re trying to conquer.

Balanced blood sugar means:

• Less of the fat storage hormone insulin, making those stubborn pounds melt away.
• More stable mood and energy - read: more motivation for things like workouts and meal prep.
• Fewer cravings for carbs and sugar.
• Happier hormones - i.e. fewer symptoms related to menopause, PCOS, PMS, and hypothyroidism.
• Lower inflammation since you get less damage to blood vessels that comes from higher blood sugar levels.
• Better sleep since 3 am blood sugar crashes can drive up cortisol and pull you out of a dead sleep.
• And even better skin - the combination of inflammation and excess sebum production caused by increased insulin is a big contributor to acne.

Now here’s where I have to tell on myself a bit - I did not think I had a blood sugar problem. If you follow me on instagram you know how impeccably I eat.

No gluten, no dairy, 90% of my diet is whole food (mainly veggies and protein), I rarely drink, I only occasionally eat out, and I have dessert maybe once a week.

I strength train to increase muscle mass which acts as a sink for blood sugar, I walk a ton, and I follow all the typical blood sugar balancing advice (I always combine carbs/sugar with protein, fiber, and fat, I eat carbs last, I move after eating, I get good sleep).

So why did I even bother ordering a continuous blood glucose monitor for a month? Because I am hell bent on healing the last stubborn 10% of my skin that insists on breaking out. So I thought why not be absolutely sure that blood sugar isn’t a contributing factor.

Now while I do know that hypothyroid women like me have a tendency towards insulin resistance where our bodies are less responsive to insulin, leading to higher blood sugar levels, I thought I was good. My thyroid has been under control for a long time and again, all those healthy habits.

I. Was. Wrong.

I’m rarely shocked when it comes to my body and test results, but this was insane.

My blood sugar was spiking left and right for meals that I thought would be perfectly fine while occasionally not spiking for things I was convinced would be problematic. I realized I am far more sensitive to glucose - even from extremely healthy sources - than I ever would have imagined.

So here I am, sharing all of the surprising culprits of blood sugar spikes - plus a few helpful tips that actually worked in keeping me more balanced.

A note before we begin: everyone’s blood sugar response to food is different. While there are some universal truths you’ll be able to glean from my experience, I do recommend ordering your own CGM and seeing how you respond to different foods.

Another note before we begin: If you do use a CGM, I recommend working with a practitioner who can help you interpret the data. It would be very easy to unnecessarily demonize certain foods based on one data point and that could quickly do more harm than good. If you’re interested in working together to understand and balance your blood sugar, click here to book a consultation.

A triple side note before we begin: If you haven’t mastered the basics: eating 80-90% whole foods, eating the 3 f’s at every meal and snack (full protein, fiber from non-starchy veggies, and healthy fat), exercising regularly, sleeping 7-8 hours per night, for at least 6-12 months… you do not need to worry about tracking your glucose.

Always always prioritize the foundations before getting fancy. If you need help staying consistent with your foundational habits, hiring a coach will be life changing for you. Having someone there to guide you through low-motivation days, plateaus, and stressful seasons is what makes the difference between “starting on Monday” for the thousandth time and actually making progress. Click here to book your complimentary consultation.

Ok, without further ado, here are the top 12 lessons I learned after 30 days of using a continuous blood glucose monitor:

1. While you obviously want to avoid spikes outside of the ‘green zone’, you really want to avoid a 30-point spike - even if it’s within range. This is where we start to see worse long term metabolic outcomes.
2. I actually have to follow the one-cupped-handful rule of starchy carbs. I can’t do lentils and rice, or sweet potatoes and fruit, or siete chips and carrots. I really have to pick one source of carbs and keep the portion very small. Even if all of my sources are veggies my body doesn’t like it - a bowl with lamb, eggplant, tomato, lentils, and spinach spiked me by 50 points, as did a beef stew bowl and veggies salad.
3. A well-balanced breakfast shake did not set me up for poor blood sugar balance.
4. Alcohol actually can delay your blood sugar spike as your liver prioritizes metabolizing the alcohol > releasing glucose for energy. Don’t be fooled - this can cause hypoglycemia (hello carb cravings and late night pizza stops) - and a delayed blood sugar spike later in the night.
5. Oddly, I didn’t seem to spike with white rice (happy to keep my poke bowls and sushi nights), but did spike easily with a lot of different beans.
6. Letting carbs like rice, pasta, or potatoes cool before eating does help lower the spike.
7. Stress had a big impact on my blood sugar response. I had the same meal 2 days in a row, the first day I had no spike, the second day my Oura ring showed I was really stressed before my meal and it spiked quite a bit. Remember, stress = cortisol. Cortisol breaks down our muscle to release stored glucose to give us energy to deal with the stressor.
8. Even just ½ an unrefined cupcake (only about 150 calories, gluten and dairy free) spiked me.
9. I have a significantly higher glucose sensitivity during my luteal phase. This is common because of the higher levels of progesterone which increases insulin resistance.
10. Taking berberine before the same meal (a gluten free bagel, avocado, smoked salmon, and an almond milk latte) reduced my spike by 10 points. Taking 2 berberine plus eating protein and fat before eating a small amount of movie theater popcorn blunted my blood sugar response a lot. Side note: If you take berberine consistently, make sure to go 3 weeks on, one week off as it can kill beneficial bacteria in the gut.
11. How much blood sugar spikes is only part of the equation, you also want to see how quickly you crash afterwards. A slow, steady decline indicates a healthier glucose response than a quick crash.
12. If I really load up on fat, protein, and fiber, it does help. I was able to eat oatmeal when I ate it with 2 eggs, collagen in my coffee, brazil nuts, coconut milk, ¼ avocado, blueberries, flax, and hemp seeds.

Now that I have all this data, what are my next steps?

For the next 30 days I’m going to implement all the knowledge I collected: keeping my carbs down to one cupped handful per meal, taking berberine if I do find myself in a higher carb situation, and strongly limiting any processed sugar, and I’ll keep an eye on how my body responds.

Should you do your own blood glucose monitor experiment?? Answer these 3 questions:

1. Have I consistently eaten 80-90% whole foods, strength trained at least 3 times per week, and gotten 7-8 hours of sleep for a minimum of 6 months?
2. Am I experiencing blood-sugar-related symptoms like carb cravings, energy dips, stubborn weight, hanger, dizziness, irritability, shakiness, hunger more frequent than every 3-4 hours?
3. Do I have a coach to guide me through the process?

If you answered yes to all 3, you have the green light!

If you answered no to any of the questions, it probably isn’t time to focus on this just yet.

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