The 6 biggest mistakes I made while working on my blood sugar

Improving my blood sugar was one of the profoundest things I’ve done for my health - it was nothing short of life changing. If you’re interested in what it did for me, read this blog post I wrote recently.

But the journey to better blood sugar was long and painful. .

My research and experimentation have led me down many different routes. Some were helpful, others were a waste of time and money. But I started feeling better over time, learned something from every experience, and had my opinion changed several times along the way.

This blog post is meant to help others on this journey make better informed decisions.

Take note of my experience, so you don’t make the same mistakes I did!

Only focusing on the numbers

When I first started out, I was obsessively following the numbers on my continuous glucose monitor (CGM) and only considering macro nutrients. I was consumed by the fat, protein and net carb calories and totally ignoring micronutrients. Since I was only chasing numbers, I was consuming unhealthy fats, artificial sweeteners and foods I'm intolerant to - these do not cause sharp glucose spikes but equally do not benefit long term health and lead to insulin resistance and other health issues, which in turn affect metabolic health, including blood sugar! Ironic, huh?

Doing everything right.. except for stress

I was doing everything by the book (low carb diet, movement, sufficient sleep, all the apple cider vinegar, all the supplements and all the blood sugar hacks) and still felt like a zombie.

I knew stress was an important variable but I thought yoga and meditation were enough to 'manage' the stress variable. I was dismissing my childhood trauma as totally unrelated to my physical health.

Buying into the 'exercise more and eat less' dogma

I was overdoing it on the HIIT, running half marathons and sprints fasted, counting and restricting calories to 1350kc per day, doing daily 16-20h fasts.

I was basically adding stress to my body while under huge work stress and burning out my adrenals and hormones.

Copying others and not listening to my body

I was copying other influencers, health gurus and athletes. I was copying male biohackers. I was ignoring my menstrual cycle and my body's preferred eating window, which turned out to be much earlier in the day.

Religiously following one approach

I was being dogmatic about diet and lifestyle - whenever I found something that worked temporarily, I stuck to that approach and identified with it. When it stopped working, I didn’t listen to my body.

I was ignoring signs that the previously successful diet, exercise regimen and eating pattern were not serving my body anymore.

Trying the quick fix

Even though I knew better, I repeatedly let myself belief that one magic pill or hack would solve it all. I got disappointed, tried the next thing, got disappointed again. I wasted my money on quick fixes.

So what did I learn from these mistakes and what does this mean for you?

Don't forget other variables, including micro nutrients, sleep, stress levels, etc. Don't sacrifice food quality for the sake of steady glucose numbers.

Treat stress as an equally important variable as food. Chronic stress raises glucose over time, burns out your adrenals and hormones and leads to insulin resistance. Chronic stress can be work stress, financial stress, unresolved trauma, etc.

Stressing out your body is not the answer. Look at the full picture - are you adding fuel to the fire?

You and your body are unique, so your approach should be tailored to YOU.

Don't make one approach your entire identity. Recognise that your needs change. Learn to reflect, evaluate and adapt. What once served you, might be harming you now.

There is no quick fix. You're in it for the long run. Don't waste your money. Do the work.