Your body brakes down carbohydrates into glucose, which is your body’s primary energy source. The pancreas then releases insulin to shuttle glucose into your cells, where it’s converted to energy. Glucose may also be stored as glycogen in your liver and muscles or as fat in adipose tissue. Insulin and glucagon, along with other hormones, help regulate the amount of glucose in your bloodstream – Heather Davis
This is a journey of monitoring my blood sugar.
No, I do not have diabetes, but I am curious about “all body” functions. I am in awe when it comes to understanding how the body works and what divine “machines” we are.
Our body is a unique, self-healing, miracle (perhaps about that in another post) and I am always in search to find out how can I support it, in the best way - movement, massage, rest, nature, meditation, breath, cold water therapy, food & nutrition.
My endless question is: How can we enhance the way we treat our body?
The latest mentioned is a target of my focus for couple of years. I’ve been trying to create a positive relationship with food for some time now.
Not that I would eat unhealthy food (no fast-food or refined, fried) but I couldn’t stay away from snacking and combining various foods mindlessly together. And even though I was snacking pretty healthy most of the time, more or less I didn’t give my body enough time to “get hungry” to digest the food, nor the proper “combination”. (I could eat pickle one minute and without thinking have a handful of raspberries later. Somewhere back in my head was fear of hunger and yet I was pretty mindless about the way I eat.
I’ve tried to fast several times but very sparingly I could finish 1 day without a “mental break” and starving sensations.
3 years ago, I discovered Continuous Glucose Monitor from VERI. I did my research and was intrigued about the results I was reading about.
This is not just to monitor the blood sugar; this is about the whole nutrition support. Real data at the given time – 24 hours a day for 2 weeks. I was sold. I filled the application and found out there is an iPhone requirement. I was bumped – definitely not switching, even though I really wanted to give it a try.
Blood sugar levels are influenced by many factors, including:
*The type and quantity of food you consume and when you consume it
*The amount and intensity of the physical activity, you engage in
*Medications
*Medical conditions
*Age
*The Amount of stress you experience
*Dehydration
*Hormones & menstrual cycle timing
*Caffein and alcohol
Fast forward, at the beginning of the year I found out VERI added smartphones to their membership. I gave myself a bit of a time to save up some money – the membership is $300 for 3 months (billed monthly) + 2 monitors (each for a period of 2 weeks). I believe there might be a different membership option as well.
I recommend reading the instructions carefully right after you receive the package. I admit I slacked on it and struggled a bit with creating the accounts and connecting the apps with the monitor. Right after that it’s just a walk in a pink garden 😊 ok its super easy.
After you attach the monitor to your arm which is painless and really quick, you get to scan the monitor as many times a day as you wish. From then on, your glucose is measured 24/7.
The fun part comes after. The app offers so many options what data to collect. From portioning your food (breakfast, lunch, dinner or snacks) to activity
(Pretty much every activity can be found there) sleep, events and many more. You may add another apps like Fitbit or Ring. Based on your inputs Veri calculates the nutrition value of the food as well as the timing and portioning.
The first two weeks with the first monitor (beginning of May) were all about exploring. Getting to know the program and going through everything they have to offer.
(It is a lot) There is a community with an ongoing support that you can also become a member.
Finding recipes, connecting with people, learning how to combine food that your blood sugar stays more stable. Its quite interesting to see the measuring in the real time. My glucose was usually between 85-110, with some interesting spikes in between.
We don't want to climb the "mountains."
We want to roll through the "hills."
Two weeks were gone like nothing, and I decided to take a break and explore the app offerings even more. I created a paper log and become more mindful of my eating habits.
I found out that “Salty” breakfast makes me feel fuller and more energized than fruit. – at least for me. If I do crave fruits, I will add a full fat non sweetened yogurt or other type of “fat” like almond butter or even a dollop of unsweetened whipping cream. (To flatten the sugar curve, I can add chia seeds as well). Starting my day with a cup of warm water and 2 spoons of apple cider vinegar keeps my hunger at bay. Greens, Greens, Greens, daily 😊. Drink a lot of water – no juices. Period! (They are stripped of fiber and full of sugar)
The section “My Journey” on the app has a lot of interesting information supported by science. (I know, pretty funny word in now days😊).
I traveled to Europe and took a much longer break than I anticipated. Not even thinking about my “new” eating habits. – The bread in Europe is just fabulous – yeah not too good for glucose 😊
When I came back I had just the last 2 weeks to use the monitor before my membership has expired.
It quite surprised me that this time the measurements of my glucose were higher. I thought there might be some mistake the first couple of days, but the values didn’t go down. I realized that my snacking habits even worsened and that I was lying to myself about it. (Its ok to eat the energy bar its only made from 3 ingredients...or I am just going to finish the cupcake after my daughter, because I don't want to throw it away...just for once, just this time...and many other excuses).
Comparing the first monitor with the second one
The realization that I have to change my mindset dawn on me. If I want to be successful in creating a long-lasting relationship with food, I need to set goals and stay focused.
There is no way I would be the first person in the family who has diabetes.
Little by little, step by step I started to implement the knowledge I gained from the app. I believe that the app showed me the right path (for me) to rebuild my eating habits.
I started to research more on this subject, bought couple of books and found many amazing recipes to support my journey. I am actually very curious where this experiment will take me. But as of now I do feel much lighter after eating, I'm not that hungry all the time and my body doesn't crave snacks so often.
The Invesment into Veri was one of the best choices I've made, and I am sure I'll sign up again in the future. (you know, just to check out how am I doing :)
It seems, still better than average.
Tips to Control Your Glucose
*Eat your carbs last
*Keep carbs low at breakfast
*Have vegetables with every meal
*Don’t drink your fruit
*Give your carbs a buddy
*Take a walk after your meal
*Try some ACV
The ideal order of sample lunch is as follows:
1. Vegetables first - spinach
2. Protein and fats second - Salmon
3. Starches and sugars last – brown rice – optional low sugar dessert
Foods with low GI index (1-55)
Eat more vegetables like broccoli, tomatoes, peppers, lettuce and eggplants.
Include more fruits like apples, pears, limes, strawberries and lemons in your diet.
Dark chocolate with 70 per cent of cocoa are good for you.
Nuts like cashews and peanuts also have a low GI.
You can include dairy products like milk and plain yoghurt.
Chickpeas and dried or boiled legumes are also good options.
Adittional information: