Ask just about anyone how they’re feeling these days and the response is usually the same: “I’m fine…just a little tired.”
According to telemedicine provider Joi + Blokes, the number one symptom reported by their tens of thousands of female patients is fatigue. It’s not that overly surprising given how much we have on our plates. Many of us feel overworked, underslept, and stretched to the limit trying to balance life, work, and family. But what if we are inadvertently contributing to our own chronically low energy state?
“What if we are inadvertently contributing to our own chronically low energy state?”
As a health coach, I’ve found that the root cause of our energy issues is often something we are unknowingly doing to ourselves with what we eat and how we move. Let me explain. 👉
What is the glucose rollercoaster?
For many of us, a typical day can feel like this:
- You get a solid eight hours of sleep, but you still wake up groggy.
- Breakfast consists of an oat milk latte and a muffin on the way to the office.
- At 11 a.m., you reach for a second cup of coffee in order to concentrate.
- Lunch is a half a turkey sandwich eaten quickly at your desk.
- Around 3 p.m., your energy nosedives, so you have a cookie to perk back up.
- By 7 p.m., you feel the anxiety of the day, so you try to relax with a glass or two of wine.
- Dinner is your biggest meal of the day because by now you are starving.
- By 9 p.m., you are watching TV on the couch or back online.
- At 11 p.m., you are lying in bed trying to sleep, tired but wired.
- And repeat…
This experience has become so commonplace — especially in midlife — that we come to accept the energy rollercoaster as normal. We attribute these ups and downs to hormones or our hectic work schedules without realizing that our symptoms are both caused and compounded by our choices in both food and lifestyle. Plus, the circumstances of our lives are often set up so that when you simply take what comes, like eating the lunch you’ve found in the office kitchen, it contributes to this cycle further.
What’s happening here for most of us is what I call a “mismatch” between glucose input (what you’re eating) and energy output (how your body is using it). If we eat processed, carb-heavy meals without enough protein and fiber, we will spike our glucose and then inevitably crash.
In other words, we’re putting more sugar into our system than our body is able to use. Without movement, that sugar rises and lingers in the bloodstream.
“We’re putting more sugar into our system than our body is able to use. Without movement, that sugar rises and lingers in the bloodstream.”
This rapid rise and fall in glucose triggers cravings, mood swings, fatigue, brain fog, and even anxiety. It tricks the body into thinking it’s low on fuel, but there are plenty of calories that haven’t been used. So to compensate, we eat more sugar and drink more caffeine to bring our levels back up. Then layer in our modern, sedentary lifestyle in front of a stress-inducing screen to make the situation worse, since the excess glucose never gets used. It keeps building, crashing, and repeating.
This cycle of the glucose rollercoaster tanks our energy and puts strain on our metabolic health, which can contribute to weight gain and persistent fatigue in the present as well as increase the risk of conditions like prediabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure later on. But there are ways to intervene, which begin with learning about how this all works.
Driving a car without a dashboard
As a health optimization coach, I often use this analogy to explain how we treat our metabolisms in modern life and why it’s not our fault.
Think of your body like a car. We may know how to drive, but no one shows us how to maintain our vehicle. To make things more challenging, your car doesn’t even have a dashboard. There are no signals, lights, or gauges to guide you — no way to know when to refuel, slow down, or pull over.
Just like a car, it’s the engine — our metabolism— that keeps everything running efficiently. Glucose is the fuel needed to power every part of the car. But we often refuel too soon or too often when the tank is still full or when it’s running on empty. Sometimes it’s the wrong fuel altogether.
Most of us are operating without any understanding of how our bodies are functioning on a day-to-day basis, and without that, it’s hard to make healthy choices. Without insight, we cannot prevent future issues. Sadly, we only get the car serviced when it starts to break down. And, if we’re able to repair, we rarely understand what caused the problem in the first place.
“Most of us are operating without any understanding of how our bodies are functioning on a day-to-day basis, and without that, it’s hard to make healthy choices.”
This isn’t unlike our approach to our metabolic health — which is really a term for how efficiently our engines run. Despite all of the small warning signals along the way, we wait for a serious symptom to present itself — one that is too large to ignore, or maybe a crash to tell us something is wrong. But, by then, the damage is already done.
Even those of us who are mindful — who eat well, exercise regularly, and prioritize sleep — may still be driving blind. It’s only when we arrive in midlife feeling foggy, tired, and inflamed that we begin to wonder what’s going on under the hood.
We arrive at the halfway mark of our road trip with early-stage metabolic dysfunction and no idea how we got there.
New tech offers us a solution
Most of us are investing in our health but lacking an understanding of our biological processes. Luckily, technology is advancing and enables us to access our own health data for better outcomes.
Wearable devices, like a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) to measure your blood sugar levels, are like turning on your car’s dashboard for the first time. All of a sudden, you have valuable information right in front of you. It’s hard to imagine a time when you didn’t have this real-time biofeedback from your food choices, movement, stress, and sleep.
So what is a CGM? It’s a small sensor you wear on the back of your arm. It uses a tiny filament (which you don’t feel) to measure your glucose levels in real time, 24/7. The sensor sends data to an app on your phone, allowing you to see how your body responds to what you eat, how you move, and even how you respond to stress.
“The sensor sends data to an app on your phone, allowing you to see how your body responds to what you eat, how you move, and even how you respond to stress.”
Originally developed for people with diabetes, CGMs are now more accessible to the broader public. Brands like Stelo are available over the counter, while lifestyle apps like Levels Health can help you interpret the data to make smarter, more informed choices.
In my health coaching practice, I often have clients wear a CGM for 90 days to balance their blood sugar.
One client, a 48-year-old attorney, came to me with stubborn weight gain and persistent fatigue. Like so many of us, she was doing all of the “right” things that were considered healthy. When she started wearing a CGM, we discovered her morning smoothie was spiking her glucose sky-high, setting her up for a day of crashes and cravings. Once we adjusted her meals to be more protein and fiber forward and added strength training into her routine, the extra weight came off naturally and, more importantly, her energy returned.
Some surprising revelations from wearing a CGM
Everyone responds to food and movement differently, but there are a few lessons I’ve learned through using CGMs that hold true for the majority of us. If you’re able to invest in a CGM, or want to experiment with some simple jumping-off points for feeling better before you do, here are some practical tips for balancing your glucose.
Not all “healthy” foods are friendly
Oatmeal, sushi, and dried fruit. Sometimes what we think of as “healthy” isn’t always a strong metabolic choice. Pair with fat, fiber, or protein to keep glucose steady.
Stress and sleep are metabolic events
One poor night of sleep can make it challenging to regulate your glucose the next day. A stressful phone call can show a rise in blood sugar, even without any food!. Cortisol is a contributor to poor glucose metabolism.
Muscle uses up a lot of energy
There is a strong correlation between lean mass and the ability to manage your blood sugar. Muscles are “expensive” and require a lot of energy, so just having more of them means you are more metabolically healthy. Doing 20 squats can blunt a spike in minutes!
How to manage blood sugar without a CGM
As a health coach, I recommend that everyone improve their blood sugar metabolism. The way your body converts glucose into energy to power your cells is important. Even if you don’t have symptoms of metabolic dysfunction or insulin resistance, your engine will run more efficiently with good habits. But you don’t need to use a biowearable to start making better decisions. Here are five things to incorporate into your health protocol.
“Even if you don’t have symptoms of metabolic dysfunction or insulin resistance, your engine will run more efficiently with good habits.”
Get comprehensive labs: Test these three together — HbA1C, fasting glucose, and fasting insulin. Often fasting insulin is left off, but it’s the marker that increases first, long before we see an elevated A1C number. These three together will paint a more complete picture of your metabolic health.
- HbA1C
- Optimal: < 5.4%
- Normal: < 5.6 | Prediabetes: 5.7% – 6.4% | Diabetes: > 6.5%
- Fasting Glucose
- Optimal: 72-85 mg/dl
- Normal: < 100mg/dl | Prediabetes: 100-125 mg/dl | Diabetes: > 125 mg/dl
- Fasting Insulin
- Optimal < 6 mIU/ml
- Normal: < 25 mIU/ml
Swap meal order: The order of your food matters. Remember this tip: Eat fiber and protein first. The vegetables will create a buffer in your stomach to slow glucose absorption from carbs. The protein will help you become satiated and ensure you get more of this macronutrient. Eating your carbs last will prevent a smaller glucose rise and allow for more steady energy..
Use vinegar: A tablespoon of apple cider vinegar mixed with water and taken before meals can help to blunt your post-meal spike. It works by slowing down how quickly your stomach empties. Always use a straw so you don’t damage the enamel on your teeth.
Move after eating: This is one of the most effective habits you can adopt. Taking a short 10-minute walk or even doing a few squats helps shuttle glucose out of your bloodstream and into those big leg muscles, where it gets used for energy. It’s a simple way of disposing of the glucose created from the food you just ate.
Cut refined carbs: Learn to look at the labels on packaged foods. You’d be surprised how much sugar hides in salad dressings, granola, yogurt, and beverages. This will eliminate hidden spikes in so-called “health foods.” Don’t forget that starchy foods like bread, pasta, crackers, and chips quickly break down into glucose, too. They are responsible for some of the biggest spikes unless eaten with fat, fiber, and protein.
Why this matters — even if you’re “healthy”
“Blood sugar dysregulation and metabolic dysfunction are — bar none — the most dangerous epidemic in human history,” says Dr. Casey Means, Author of “Good Energy.” “It is sneaky, it underlies 9 of the 10 leading causes of death in the US, it affects 88% of American adults, and is mostly preventable.”
Managing your blood sugar is more than improving your energy or avoiding that 3 p.m. slump. It’s important to protect your long-term metabolic health, which is the foundation of almost every system in your body. When your glucose levels are constantly spiking and crashing, it puts stress on your hormones, blood vessels, heart, and brain.
“If we normalize these symptoms as just part of getting older or the consequence of our hectic workload, we miss a critical opportunity to keep ourselves healthy.”
Instead of seeing your daily symptoms — brain fog, sugar cravings, poor sleep, mood swings, energy crashes, irritability, and even anxiety — as just annoyances, reframe them as the early warning signs that something in your body is off. If we normalize these symptoms as just part of getting older or the consequence of our hectic workload, we miss a critical opportunity to keep ourselves healthy.
Think of technology like a CGM as just one of your helpful tools in your wellness kit. It provides incredibly valuable information, but really, it’s just a layer of insight on top of our healthy habits. Eating whole foods (preferably organic), incorporating movement throughout the day, getting deep sleep, playing in the sunshine, reducing stress, and connecting with loved ones are the pillars of good health.
Once you understand the signs and signals from your body, with or without the use of a CGM, you’ll be more in tune with what your body needs to thrive.
Celia Chen is a certified health optimization coach, brand consultant and founder of Chenessa, an advisory that offers private coaching, and corporate workshops on menopause, metabolism, and longevity. Follow her on Substack and Instagram for more wellness insights.
The post How To Steady Your Glucose Levels With Or Without A CGM appeared first on The Good Trade.
