What My Glucose Monitor Taught Me in 10 Days
Decode Your Blood Sugar
Balance With Data
In this Newsletter:
➡️ Glucose & insulin explained
➡️ What’s considered normal?
➡️ My 3 biggest learnings
➡️ Helpful resources
Have you ever wondered what your blood sugar does all day?
I’m sure you’ve heard all the buzz on social media: “Glucose spikes cause cravings,” “Balanced blood sugar = better mood,” “Avoid crashes to avoid burnout.”
I didn’t actually see how my own body reacted - until I wore a CGM (continuous glucose monitor) for 10 days.
I simply lived what I thought was my “healthy routine” and tracked what happened. No crazy experiments this time.
What I found? Tiny tweaks can make a huge difference.
But before I get to my top 3 insights, let’s quickly break down why glucose matters in the first place. 👇
🍬 Glucose & Insulin 101
When you eat, your body breaks down carbs into glucose (aka sugar), your main energy source. That glucose enters your bloodstream - and your body responds by releasing insulin, a hormone that helps shuttle sugar into your cells.
⚖️ Ideally, this system works smoothly:
You eat → blood sugar rises slightly → insulin helps bring it back down
Balanced glucose = stable energy, better focus, no crashes or cravings
But when your glucose spikes too high or crashes too low, you can feel tired, moody, hungry (again), or wired and inflamed.
💡 Long-term imbalance (like frequent spikes or insulin resistance) is linked to:
Fatigue, brain fog, hormonal imbalance
Weight gain & stubborn belly fat
Inflammation & increased risk of Type 2 diabetes
So what’s considered normal?
According to the CDC and ADA:
Fasting glucose (no food for 8+ hours):
Normal: 70–99 mg/dL
Pre-diabetic: 100–125 mg/dL
Diabetic: 126+ mg/dL
Post-meal (1–2 hours after eating):
Ideally < 140 mg/dL
Pre-diabetic: often above 140 mg/dL
Diabetic: sustained highs above 200 mg/dL
Even if you’re not diabetic, large swings in glucose can affect your mood, weight, skin, energy, sleep, and long-term hormone health.
👉 Note: Repeated spikes over 160 mg/dL may signal insulin resistance over time. Remember to always consult your healthcare provider if you’re unsure.
🧪 My Top 3 CGM Takeaways
1. My “Healthy” Morning Routine Wasn’t So Healthy for Me
For a long time in the past, my mornings looked like this:
Wake up ➡️ gym session ➡️ smoothie breakfast.
It used to be marketed as a classic “healthy” routine, right? But here’s the thing - I often felt great at first, and then totally crashed around lunchtime. Fatigue, cravings, mood dips… something wasn’t adding up.
So some time ago, I shifted my workouts to lunchtime, and my breakfast became mostly made of protein, but I still wondered: Was I overthinking it? Was my body just being weird?
Wearing a CGM gave me the clarity I needed.
I decided to try my old routine again - gym on waking. My glucose climbed and climbed, even before I ate. Only after I ate protein-rich breakfast, it stabilized.
Then I compared it to my current routine:
Wake up, meditate, light stretch or gentle walk, then a protein-rich breakfast. The result? Way more balanced glucose.
What I learned:
✨ Listen to your body.
✨ What works for someone else - or even used to work for you - might need adjusting.
✨ Your ideal morning might be slow, grounded and it’s OK.
👉 Takeaway: Even routines that are labeled “healthy” may not be right for you. Especially first thing in the morning, your body might be extra sensitive to stress hormones like cortisol - which can spike glucose, especially when paired with intense workouts and fast-absorbing carbs.
2. Snacks Are All About the When, What, and How
Just changing the order of what you eat can make a major difference.
I tested having a sweet snack before lunch - and my glucose spiked dramatically. Then I tried the exact same snack, but after a balanced meal with protein and fiber. This time, the spike was much smaller and did not even get out of 140 mg/dL range.
💡 That’s when I learned:
Carbs alone (before meals) → spike and crash
Carbs after protein/fiber/fat → smoother glucose curve
Food order really matters—not just what you eat, but when and with what
But here’s where it got even more interesting…
For some time I used to assume that savory snacks were safer than sweet ones. No sugar = no spike, right?
Not quite.
One day, I grabbed a savory snack made mostly of carbs. To my surprise, my glucose still shot up—just like it did with sweet treats.
Turns out, your blood sugar responds to the type of nutrient more than the taste. A carb-heavy snack is a carb-heavy snack, whether it’s salty or sweet.
Even the “cleanest” snack can cause a big rise if it’s eaten alone. Context is everything.
3. A Simple Walk Made a Big Difference
One day, I decided to go for a 30-minute walk by the beach after the meal. Nothing intense - just a peaceful stroll to enjoy the fresh air.
When I checked my CGM data afterward, I was genuinely surprised.
A couple of days earlier, I had the exact same meal but didn’t walk after - and the difference was clear.
With the walk: glucose rose more gently and returned to baseline much faster
Without the walk: my glucose spiked higher and stayed elevated longer
The science behind it? Muscles act like sponges for glucose. Even light movement after a meal helps your body use up circulating sugar, reducing the load on insulin and supporting better metabolic balance.
👉 Note: It doesn’t take a gym session—just a short walk can have a measurable impact. I honestly did not think I would see a difference.
🔍 Help Me Decide!
Now that I’ve tracked my “normal” habits, I’m ready to experiment. I have some ideas but I’d really like your input too!
💬 Hit reply and tell me: what would YOU love me to test?
I’ll pick the most popular ones for my next glucose experiment - and share results with you.
✨ Tools to Take it Further
Want to dive deeper into your own blood sugar story?
📖 Read: Glucose Revolution by Glucose Goddess (Jessie Inchauspé)
A must-read if you want science-backed tips to balance blood sugar - without the overwhelm.
🩸 Try: Stelo CGM – now available in the U.S. without a prescription
It’s designed for wellness tracking (not just diabetes), and integrates with the Oura Ring, so you can see how food, sleep, and recovery all connect.
For me, the CGM helped translate the whispers into data—proof that even “healthy” habits sometimes need tweaking.
Your body is constantly talking to you - sometimes, you just need the right tool to listen. And once you do, you can make choices with confidence, not confusion.
Warmly,
Viktorija 💛