Have you ever wondered why you are mysteriously gaining or not able to lose weight or, feeling really tired after a meal? Then keep reading.
“Jill, why are you wearing a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) if you’re not diabetic?”
The answer is simple. Type 2 Diabetes runs in my family. Watching my mother suffer and die of completely preventable diseases at 72, taking handfuls of medications and insulin daily, sent me on a quest to learn as much as possible about prevention and reversal of metabolic diseases.
Diabetes is completely preventable if we make the right choices.
It’s a sad fact but only 12% of the population in the US is metabolically unhealthy.
One third of all Americans are prediabetic. And more than 84% of prediabetics don’t even know they have the disease, according to the CDC.
I recently saw my HBA1C number go up in my bloodwork. That’s your average glucose level over 3 months. Doctors don’t tell you there’s anything to worry about until you’re already at the point of insulin resistance or prediabetic. As soon as I saw the rise, I decided to get a CGM.
Wearing a my Nutrisense CGM was eye opening to say the least! . I could see what my blood sugar was doing 24/7 and it helped me plan my meals and make even better choices every day. I could even see when my stress levels were elevated and which workouts I would need a snack before doing.
Let me tell you, this was like a thunderbolt of insight to my brain!
Every day I get to chat with my assigned registered dietician to answer any questions and give me things to try. Even as a fitness and nutrition professional for all these years, it has been great to have someone to get feedback and suggestions from!
Most people have no idea how many blood sugar spikes they have throughout the day which is why so many people don’t know they’re already prediabetic.
These hidden spikes are a no bueno because they can contribute to cardiovascular disease risk by damaging your blood vessels.
That’s interesting Jill, but are are Continuous Glucose Monitors Helpful for Weight (Fat) Loss too?
Yes because blood glucose spikes can lead to weight gain.
When your blood sugar levels spike, your body releases insulin to help bring them down. Insulin is a hormone that helps your body use glucose for energy or store it as fat.
However, if you have too many blood sugar spikes, your body can become resistant to insulin. This means that your body doesn’t use insulin as effectively,
High blood sugar levels and insulin resistance can lead to weight gain.
This is because when your body doesn’t use glucose for energy, it stores it as fat. As we get older, we’re already at a disadvantage because with age we become more insulin resistant naturally. If you’re noticing that midlife spread around the midsection, well our good friend insulin loves to deposit fat around the waist and abdomen.
How Blood Sugar Control Can Help With Weight Loss
If you can keep your blood sugar levels under control, you can help to reduce insulin resistance (the stage before prediabetes) and promote weight loss. It means paying attention to the things that cause spikes in blood sugar like:
- Your food choices
- The types and amount of exercise you do
- Your stress
- How well you sleep
How Does Wearing a CGM Can Help With Fat Loss?
Wearing a CGM can help you to track your blood sugar levels in real time and identify patterns that may be contributing to weight gain.
For example, you may find that you have higher blood sugar levels after eating certain foods or during certain times of the day. This information can help you to make changes to your diet and lifestyle to improve your blood sugar control and promote weight loss.
Wearing this Nutrisense CGM has been like having an accountability partner.
It can help you to stay motivated by seeing your blood sugar levels in real time.
This can be a powerful motivator for making healthy changes! When you see how your choices affect your health, you’re more likely to stick with your health plan…. whether it’s to lose weight or get healthier in general.
You don’t need to wear one forever. Especially if you don’t have diabetes. My partner Jim wore one for 6 months because his mom has diabetes and his sister has prediabetes. I plan on wearing mine for 2 to 3 months.
I’ve looked into several brands an I decided to go with Nutrisense because of several reasons:
- The app the sensor is paired with is easy to use.
- There is a library of simple lessons to teach you all about blood glucose and insulin (more than I am able to put in this email)!
- You can message your dietician any time with questions about what you’re seeing. They even suggest tests to try on yourself.
- You can do a detailed food log or just make notes on what you ate.
- It pairs with your iWatch if you’re using the workout feature and other health apps.
And the big question I get daily…
Does it hurt?
Not at all!
If you have questions about my experience, drop me a note or shoot me an email at jill@jillbrownfitness.com
If you decide to give Nutrisense a try, use this link with the code JILLB25 for $25 off. I’m so happy I reached out to them to try this…. I’m blown away with how much I have learned about my body.
