I USED TO have pre-diabetes! I went on a journey to rid myself of my blood sugar issues and I wanted to share it with all of you.
I had a blood sugar issue.
In fact, for two years, I was pre-diabetic. After running a DNA test, I discovered that I had 2 variants for type II Diabetes!
I worked on my glucose by feeding my (at the time) fatigued adrenals and doing intermittent fasting off and on for years in one form or another. I eliminated all sugar in my diet and moderated any carbohydrates, which in my house is very difficult to do. I tried to add more exercise to my nutty schedule, but still could only manage some stretching and five minutes of yoga during my lunch hour several times a week, as well as a Zoom exercise session with a friend, and gym owner, Asli every two weeks. SO, as you can imagine I expected all of this to bring balance to my blood glucose.
I was able to get it down just four points – still in the pre-diabetic range. In May I started supplements to feed my pancreas and cells in order to take in glucose in more effectively. My adrenals now in a stressed state vs. fatigued, I added a little more burst cardio here and there – in the kitchen, while cooking, at the office, between clients, in the living room while watching the news. Clearly not enough exercise but that’s what I had time for.
Seven weeks ago, my lovely hairdresser had discussed with me his journey to determine why he had more weight coming on after becoming vegan a couple of years ago. He bought a continuous blood sugar monitor and connected himself to this meter for a few weeks. He found how his body was responding to foods and made changes, accordingly. He lost 15 pounds by the end of his journey!
I have so many clients that are suffering from weight and blood sugar issues and inflammation. I called the company to discuss getting on board with this kind of technology for my clients so that they could benefit in the same way. I also ordered a monitor for myself and started it just a few days later.
What I learned from my continuous blood glucose monitor:
• Blood sugar is bigger than just avoiding sugar! Being that I was sugar free and drinking alcohol only a couple times a month I was looking forward to seeing what else could be causing me problems. The first day I had the monitor I ate a normal dinner, (for me), and as my husband and daughter were eating their dinner, my husband offered me a tiny bite of sourdough toast. It literally was a 2-inch crust of toast. Within 30 minutes my glucose was 191!! Almost 200 from a bite! Lesson learned – no more for me. That was when I found out that it’s not HOW MUCH you do, it’s that you do it AT ALL!
• I am sensitive to corn, so I avoid it unless it’s all that’s offered at dinner which is what happened the next evening. I did maybe 7-10 corn chips with a protein and my glucose was up immediately and stayed up all night long until the next morning. I learned many other lessons over the next 12 days.
• Tossing and turning instead of sleeping steadily brings up blood sugar.
• Eating too late or snacking after dinner – blood sugar is up all night into the next day.
• More stress? Blood sugar follows suit, (I guess hence the adrenals and the cortisol (glucocorticoid) elevations).
• If I stopped eating anything by 6:30 p.m. blood sugar would be much more balanced in the morning.
• Exercise (yoga) brings blood sugar down 5 points within minutes.
• ALL grains, barley, corn, flour of any kind, white rice, and even brown rice, all brought blood sugar up quickly and recovery time was longer than most anything I ate.
• White potato, of course it brings it up!
• Interestingly caffeine, even Green Tea will bring it up quickly, (10 points in 30 minutes). Again, think about the adrenal cortex and what caffeine does to cortisol levels.
• Eating fast – brings it up.
• Protein and a veggie (and a good fat) leveled out my blood sugar.
• Whey protein in coconut milk with berries and chia seeds, hardly had an impact on blood sugar.
• Apple cider vinegar will bring down blood sugar significantly. In about a 30 min window mine went down from 113 to an 84! It didn’t stay down but was an interesting and fun experiment!
• From making these changes I lost five pounds and now my morning (fasting) glucose is averaging 84!! I feel like I cheated the blood sugar beast and now if I can maintain I can lose four more pounds by the new year?? Too ambitious? Perhaps but I’m not going back, so it’s possible
NOW, I have worked out a deal with the company that used for this, (Nutrisense) for my clients to get $50 off their first month. You would use my coupon code THENATURALPATH50 at checkout. IF you are interested you can go to https://www.nutrisense.io/ and sign up. Did I mention that a registered dietician touches base with you with nuggets of good information on your analytics as well as suggestions? Mine was lovely and I even taught her a little bit about other kinds of support that I use for myself and my clients. Enjoy your journey if you decide to work on your blood sugar or metabolism in the new year!
I get nothing at all for recommending this company it’s just my gift to you and yours. Happy Holidays!