Ep 51: Same Calories, Two Very Different Days: What 10 days wearing a glucose monitor taught me

Two days. The same 1300 calories. The same meal times. And two completely different bodies by the end of each day.

A month ago I wore a continuous glucose monitor for 10 days so I could see, in real time, what food, sleep and movement were doing to my blood sugar. On the high carb day my glucose looked like Mount Everest, and I was hungry and flat by mid afternoon. On the low carb day, with identical calories, the line barely moved.

In this episode I share the five biggest lessons from my own blood glucose experiment, including the protein bar that behaved exactly like two slices of toast, what one bad night of sleep did to my readings the next day, and the free five minute habit that brought my blood sugar back to baseline 45 minutes faster.

If you have ever wondered which foods are right for you, or why the scales stall when you are doing everything right, this is the episode for you.

What You’ll Learn

• How a continuous glucose monitor works, what it costs, and where to get one in New Zealand
• Why calories in versus calories out does not tell the whole weight loss story
• What the same calories at high carb and low carb did to my blood sugar over two days
• Why high protein, high fibre bars can still spike your blood sugar
• The link between poor sleep, cortisol and higher blood sugars the next day
• How a five minute walk after eating speeds up your return to baseline
• Why low carb wraps might be behind a stalled weight loss

Key Moments

• Two identical calorie days with completely different blood sugar results
• What a continuous glucose monitor is and how painless it is to wear
• The high carb day: Vogel’s toast, a ciabatta roll, feijoas and butter chicken with rice
• The low carb swap day: same calories, same times, a flat line all day
• The client who watched her blood sugars skyrocket after sushi
• The Fibre One bar that spiked my glucose like 25 grams of carb
• One late night, one 3am wake up, and blood sugars up into the sixes all the next day
• The five minute walk that brought my levels down 45 minutes faster
• Why low carb wraps hit me harder than low carb bread
• The four changes I have made to my own plan since

The One Action You Can Do to Start Now

Tonight, once you have finished dinner, stand up and move for five minutes. A walk around the block, a lap of the driveway, marching on the spot, or a dance to one song in the kitchen. Anything counts as long as it happens within 30 minutes of eating.

That is the habit that brought my blood sugars back to baseline 45 minutes faster, and it costs nothing. Do it after every meal this week and see how you feel.

If you want your own data, order a continuous glucose monitor and run the same experiment on your usual meals. Links are below.

Links & Resources

• Dexcom One continuous glucose monitor: 
• FreeStyle Libre continuous glucose monitor: 
• 8-week Blood Sugar Solution Programme:  www.whyweightacademy.com/the-blood-sugar-solution