Hello and welcome my fourth week of utilizing the Nutrisense program [and Continuous Glucose Monitor] to build a healthier life. I’m Logan, and I’m the Content Manager here at Nutrisense. I’m officially halfway through my eight week habit and lifestyle re-calibration.I am continuing to use Mealime to help me grocery shop and meal plan. I continued to work out four times this week using my Peloton bike and program.
My routines are getting easier and easier as time moves forward. Full disclosure though, this week was tough. It was not only my birthday, but Rosh Hashanah, AND my girlfriend's birthday as well.
As a result, there were a couple of days that I did not stick to my outlined commitment this week. As I said last week, this journey isn’t meant to be temporary. I am trying to use this program to develop sustainable habits that will last over time. To me, that means that I will still enjoy some holiday foods and traditions with family and friends.
I had a conversation with Carlee [the AMAZING dietitian from the Nutrisense team that I have been working with] on Tuesday in preparation for all of the holiday foods and experiences I had coming up to talk about some tips she might have to help me maintain a balance between having fun with my food and staying as true to my ideal glucose levels as possible. I didn’t try all of them, but they did help me to prevent extreme spikes in my glucose when I cheated on my dietary plan.
Monday:
Monday looked great. I skipped breakfast, had a chicken bowl for lunch, chia for a snack, and a sushi burrito for dinner. I totaled 1681 Kcals and worked out for 20 minutes. I felt great that day and got through my entire workout without feeling out of breath. This week has been the first week that I’ve felt that way when working out. I’m finally feeling like I’m starting to get physically in shape and starting the week off with this feeling was amazing.
Tuesday:
Tuesday I began to worry about the rest of my week’s glucose levels. I skipped breakfast, had three chicken tacos for lunch, and a chicken burrito bowl from Chipotle for dinner. I contacted Carlee and reviewed how I could handle all of the upcoming celebrations without severely damaging all of the work I’ve put in in the last three weeks.
I worked out in the mid afternoon for 25 minutes on my Peloton.
Wednesday:
Wednesday was Rosh Hashanah and I celebrate every year. Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year. Traditionally, Rosh Hashanah is celebrated with large family gatherings, special meals, and sweet foods. I knew that my dinner was going to be a celebratory, large meal. I tried to keep my food light during the day knowing that I would be eating a lot of calories at night. I had a protein shake and one taco during the day.
Carlee gave me some tips for eating on an empty stomach. Come dinner time on Wednesday night, I had eaten very little. When breaking a fast with protein and fat, our bodies respond much better than if we break it with a carbohydrate heavy meal. When you have an empty stomach, our bodies’ are much more sensitive to the glucose spikes that carbs give us.
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Basically, the protein will slow down the absorption of the glucose into our bloodstreams. So, I started my dinner with some brisket to put some protein in my stomach before eating challah, cookies, and an apple. Additionally I took a walk after I ate per Carlee’s recommendation.
My glucose spike wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought after putting my food into that order. It seemed to help a lot in combination with some light movement.
Thursday:
Thursday was my girlfriend’s birthday. After seeing how Carlee’s recommendations helped the night before, I was determined to continue using them as the celebrations continued. My day began with a protein shake, I had 3 chicken tacos for lunch, and dinner was an assortment of Turkish food. I worked out for 25 minutes during the afternoon in preparation for dinner, and then followed dinner with a short walk.
I again began my meal with the protein [chicken this time] and then continued on to the carbs and fats. Though I overshot my calorie goal, I didn’t have any concerning glucose spikes.
Friday:
Friday was my birthday and by this point I was feeling confident about my ability to enjoy myself and indulge a little while still retaining healthy blood sugar levels. Friday was definitely a day of indulgence, but in between my meals and snacks I took short walks and exercised on my Peloton in the afternoon for 20 minutes.
I began the day with a protein shake, had a chicken taco for a snack, two more tacos for lunch, shepherd's pie for dinner, and then a piece of cake for dessert. My highest spike Was right after I had a piece of cake.
Right after eating dessert, I went for a short walk and it quickly went down. It seems that a short, easy exercise can go a long way.
Saturday:
On Saturday I returned to my commitment to eat under 2,000Kcals a day. I skipped breakfast, had leftover Turkish food for lunch, and pad thai for dinner. I went for two walks.
Sunday:
On Sunday I skipped breakfast, had three chicken tacos for lunch, and steak and veggies for dinner. I ended my day with a long walk.This week I did end up gaining one pound, but found that exercising is finally starting to come more easily. I can work out for 25 minutes without feeling completely winded now. I'm planning to add another workout to my week next week. Other than the two birthdays and Rosh Hashanah, I did stay under 2000 calories a day.
Losing weight makes us feel better. Losing weight gives us more energy. Losing weight adds healthy, productive years to our lives. Armed with good, actionable data and even better habits, we can keep a trained eye on our weight and live our healthiest, happiest lives. Join me on my weight loss journey by becoming a Nutrisense member today by clicking this link: https://nutrisense.io?code=LOGANF
If you are interested in other tips and tricks to help maintain your glucose levels [even when eating carb heavy meals] check out the link to my video below. In the video I cover more of the conversation that I had with Carlee and all of the different ways that she recommends balancing life, celebrations, and your health at the same time. Thanks for continuing to follow my journey as I continue to work on creating a healthier lifestyle! Check back in next Wednesday to see how Week five goes!
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Carlee's training at Western Illinois University and an internship at the Memphis VA Hospital lead her to a career in outpatient counseling and bariatric nutrition therapy. In these positions, Carlee realized many of the disease states (upwards of 80%!) her patients experienced were actually preventable. She knew she had to dig deeper into preventative health and has since been passionate about helping people translate this complex glucose data into actionable changes anyone can implement into their everyday lives.
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