It’s not very often you hear someone who is fit and healthy saying they are checking their glucose levels.

But I do, why?

Once I discovered how my blood sugar affected my mood, energy and overall health, I committed to tracking my glucose so I could know where I was at vs just guessing or waiting for my annual labs.

In 2019, when my fasting glucose came in at 96 from my routine labs and my doctor sent me a note saying my labs were “normal” and I did not need to change anything, I was confused. I was at the top of the range and thought to myself, “how can I improve this?” With anything in my life, I go all in when I decide to make a change. Here’s a few reasons why you should consider tracking your blood sugar, even if it’s only occasionally!

1. Insight into Metabolic Health: Monitoring blood sugar levels provides valuable insights into metabolic health, allowing early detection of potential issues.
   
   
2. Energy and Mood Stability: Do you ever feel like crashing after a big meal? You probably had a large glucose spike and then it crashed, causing your energy to plummet and you might be a little hangry. Balanced blood sugar levels are essential for sustained energy levels and mood stability. When you’re tracking, you can identify patterns that may contribute to fluctuations in energy and mood.
   
   
3. Optimizing Performance: If you’re a parent (fur parents count!), it’s important to be able to just do everyday activities to keep up! I find when my levels are balanced, I have more energy for my daughter and I want to engage with her vs just sitting on the sidelines.
   
   
4. Weight Management: Fluctuations in blood sugar levels can impact appetite regulation and food cravings, affecting weight management efforts. While weight loss was never my goal, maintaining a healthy weight is important. By making mindful choices as I saw my levels, this helped me create change and maintain an optimal weight for me.
   
   
5. Reducing Risk of Chronic Diseases: Chronic conditions such as cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, and Alzheimer’s disease have been linked to dysregulated blood sugar levels. Monitoring blood sugar helps mitigate risk factors associated with these diseases.
   
   
6. Enhancing Cognitive Function: Before tracking, I noticed brain fog or sometimes it was hard to focus. I was able to make some adjustments to keep a fresh mind and support cognitive function.
   
   
7. Promoting Longevity: Balanced blood sugar levels have been associated with longevity and healthy aging. By tracking blood sugar levels, we can take proactive steps to support overall health and well-being throughout their lifespan.
   
   
8. Empowerment and Self-Management: Some of us track things like steps, calories, fat, protein, heart rate, etc. Why not add your glucose? When I started tracking my glucose levels and seeing changes I could make, I felt empowered and like I was in control of my health. I was able to make informed decisions and actively participate in my health journey vs waiting to be told wha to do.
   
   
9. Prevention is Key: Nothing is guaranteed, but if there are preventative measures we can take, I would go for it. Tracking blood sugar levels, even in the absence of diabetes, enables early detection of potential issues and allows you maintain optimal health in the long run.

With diet and lifestyle changes (including tracking blood sugar) most of us can absolutely change our fasting glucose and insulin. It takes some work and figuring out what works for your body, but it is absolutely worth it in the long run.

Links to products I use:

Glucometer
Lancing Device