Glucose Goddess

How about a walk after dinner?

I feel like this is one of the first times that I could actually see the results of exercise on my glucose IN REAL TIME. The Glucose Goddess says that saying we don’t have to pay attention to our glucose because we don’t have diabetes is like saying we don’t have to brush our teeth because we don’t have cavities.

Well, for me the cookies at Harris Ranch Resort are like cryptonite. They load my body with glucose but taste SO GOOD. We got to the hotel just before 4 pm yesterday, and I ate 2 of them. Then I figured that I would put the glucose hacks to the test.

I went for a walk to see if I could reduce the spike. My glucose was going up but only slightly. The dots stayed close together. Then my phone got down to 1% battery and I stopped to charge. My blood sugar started to go up at a faster pace with the dots getting farther apart. Then when I had a bit of charge to listen to my podcast, I resumed walking. My blood sugar went back down. I stopped walking and it did a bit of a rebound.

I am fascinated and inspired. I mean, it seemed to make a significant difference. Two cookies is clearly going to cause some kind of a roller coaster, but walking is easy and enjoyable and it clearly made a difference.

I’m planning to do the experiment again in a few days when we stay here again on the way home, but with a fully charged phone and just walk for an hour or so straight after eating the cookie(s) to see what happens. Check out the screenshot from my Stelo glucose monitor.

Update: I did the experiment again, walking for an hour without stopping after eating the cookies.

After eating the cookies, I walked for an hour and 5 minutes for a total of 2.12 miles. Here is the chart from my glucose monitor (with my notes):

What I notice is that after I ate the cookies, my blood sugar started to spike (the dots were farther apart). When I started walking, my blood sugar went up much more slowly (the dots were closer together). I walked for an hour and 5 minutes. That was long enough for my blood sugar to actually start going down. When I stopped walking, it started to go up again but more slowly this time. Then I ate a healthy dinner with eggs, veggies, beans, and black rice. Not sure what my blood sugar would have done if I hadn’t had dinner then, but the dots seemed to get closer together (maybe because of the fiber and protein?).

Related Content

Why What You Eat Could Be Waking You Up at Night (the impact of glucose on sleep)

Why What You Eat Could Be Waking You Up at Night

Why What You Eat Could Be Waking You Up at Night

The Sleep-Food Connection

Today I am reflecting on the relationship between healthy eating and sleep.  This morning, I was listening to the audiobook “The Sleep Prescription” by Aric A. Prather, Ph.D.  I’ve been slowly working through his sleep “class” in HeadSpace and decided to listen to his audiobook as I work to improve sleep both for myself and for my clients.  I’m just on day 2 at the moment, but this quote really struck me.

“Carb lovers, pay attention here: carbs are an interesting case. Studies have unearthed that while most carbohydrates will actually help you fall asleep faster, only certain types will help you stay asleep. Simple and sugary carbs (think pizza, white bread, bagels, pasta) can cause more wake ups throughout the night. In contrast, complex carbs (again, these are the more high-fiber foods like sweet potatoes, oatmeal, and whole grains) can stabilize your sleep patterns—possibly, Dr. St-Onge theorizes, because they also stabilize your blood sugar.[11]” Excerpt From The Sleep Prescription by Aric A. Prather, PhD  https://books.apple.com/book/id1608147733 This material may be protected by copyright.

My Own Sleep & Glucose Journey

Lately I have discovered that my waking glucose levels are consistently in the pre-diabetic range.  I have been using the Stelo non-prescription continuous glucose monitor and reading books like Good Energy by Dr. Casey Means and The Glucose Revolution by Jessie Inchaupé.   And my sister-in-law gave me an extra Oura ring, which connects with the Stelo to give insights between glucose and other biomarkers! (Such an amazing gift… although I warn that there is an ongoing fee to use the Oura ring in addition to the up-front cost of the ring itself but also I think it’s totally worth it!).