Glucose Monitoring Questions

[AfroPope]

Hi all,

In continuing to mess around with stuff to try to lose these last 10-15lbs, I've had a few people ask me about my A1C and fasted blood glucose levels. It occurs to me in doing a little bit of reading that this would all be very useful information for me to have, but I am completely overwhelmed with information and I'm hoping someone can break it down for me.

1. A continuous glucose monitor (CGM) such as a Freestyle Libre seems to be the best way to go as it provides data once a minute 24/7, but they require a prescription and cost a minimum of $170 a month. The CGMs designed for and marketed to people who are not diabetic, which as far as I know I am not, are all tied to apps with monthly subscription fees and routinely top out at $400 a month. This is not in the budget. So, if someone knows how I can get something like this on the cheap, that's great. Otherwise:

2. There's the old-fashioned way of testing glucose by pricking your finger and putting it into a little machine. This is also cheap and is doable, I'm not scared of needles. For those of you using this method, my question is, when do you do this? Upon waking, before/after meals/workouts, before bed, all of the above?

3. Finally, the big one that I need broken down for me: what do I do with the information gathered? I confess I don't entirely understand the relationships here between glucose, insulin, and fat loss. "Ah, I see that my blood glucose is higher when I eat these foods than when I eat these other foods." Okay, and? "Oh, my blood sugar is very low when I get up in the morning." Yes, and? What do I do with this information, what changes do I make, how do they help me? I realize this is just like, a super beginner question that I can google but there is so much information out there that I'd love if someone could just break it down for me or link me to a good spot.

Cheers!

 

[PolishHamm3r77]

My understanding is check it in the a.m. fasted and you want to be 90 or lower. I know guys use this as a marker when running anything hgh related or gh secretagogues. Beyond that I am useless.

 

[Resolve10]

1) You probably don't need this, most people don't so if it is too expensive don't worry for now.

2) Most people test upon waking as that is relatively important for getting a good baseline number. You can also test occasionally after foods to see how you react, but I wouldn't get too lost in that too often.

3) Honestly this is a very good question. You will get people that tell you different things, but honestly if your morning glucose/fasting glucose is <100 you are probably fine. Chasing all the different readings you get after various meals can be helpful if you find eating certain things leave you feelings bloated, tired, don't react well to a particular food, or something is off, but there are a lot of other things to focus on before worrying about each meal all the time. These things aren't going to have major impacts on your fat loss, unless maybe something is really off, and losing weight and exercise are going to be some of the biggest factors for fixing blood glucose regulation anyways.

A couple side notes/caveats.

Not all blood glucose monitors are the same. I am not saying you need to buy any super expensive one (I've used a few and think one of the Contour Next ones is what I liked most, but I don't remember specifically), but just keep in mind they probably won't be super precise and/or accurate. That will also vary between models and brands. I once started to freak myself out because I was getting all these readings that seemed higher than usual, went back to my more middle range priced one (I had bought a super cheap one because I figured what the heck) and everything looked normal still. Just food for thought.

 

[jmero2]

I prefer the contour meters. I'm a diabetic and use them for blood testing. The CGM are not as accurate as testing blood. I use my CGM for trending purposes, not for my insulin requirements. I check my blood upon waking and also 2 hours after each meal. The results between the blood testing and CGM can vary by as much as 25 points. Mine are prescribed.

You can use websites such as teststripz.com for supplies to lower your costs.

You can DM me if you need additional information.

 

[Smont]

There's an old fashioned way lol..... that's the normal and most common way