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If you've been wondering whether a CGM could be your holy grail or if it's just another health cult initiation, buckle up.
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We are about to separate the data-driven insights from the digital distractions.
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Let's go.
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Hey Rebels.
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Welcome to Blasphemous Nutrition.
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Consider this podcast your pantry full of clarity, perspective, and the nuance needed to counter the superficial health advice so freely given on the internet.
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I am Amy, the unapologetically candid host of Blasphemous Nutrition and a double degreed nutritionist with 20 years experience.
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I'm here to share a more nuanced take.
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On living and eating well to sustain and recover your health.
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If you found most health advice to be so generic is to be meaningless or so extreme that it's unrealistic.
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And you don't mind the occasional F-bomb, you've come to the right place.
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From dissecting the latest nutrition trends to breaking down published research and sharing my own clinical experiences, I'm on a mission to foster clarity amidst all the confusion and empower you to have the health you need to live a life you love.
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Now, let's get started.
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Welcome back to Blasphemous Nutrition, the podcast where we burn diet dogma at the altar and build real health from its wreckage.
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My name is Aimee.
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I'm a double degreed functional nutritionist who doesn't need a Bluetooth enad arm patch to know that skipping lunch and rage snacking at 4:00 PM might not be optimal.
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Yes, that's a clue.
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Today we're digging into one of the trendiest new rituals of the wellness world, continuous glucose monitors or CGMs.
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CGMs have been used in clinical practice with diabetic patients for many years now, but with the FDA approving direct to consumer use in September, 2024.
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Now it seems like everyone is supporting them like they're some kind of fashion trend.
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Maybe you've seen them on your favorite influencers.
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Maybe your cousin is wearing one.
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Maybe you are wearing one right now and trying to decide if your oat milk latte was a metabolic sin.
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Here's the deal.
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I am definitely not anti CGM, but I am against unquestioned obsession, really shitty science interpretation and the slow spiral from awareness into anxiety.
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All right, so what the fuck is the CGM?
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Why is everyone using one?
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Let's go back to the basics because not everybody listening is deep in the church of biohacking.
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And even if you are, you still might be confused about what the hell you're actually wearing on your arm and what it's telling you and what that all means.
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A CGM is a small device, usually stuck on the back of your upper arm, and it uses a tiny, tiny filament inserted just under the skin to measure the glucose levels in your interstitial fluid, not your blood.
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In interstitial fluid every few minutes.
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Hence, the continuous part of continuous glucose monitor.
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It does not measure your bloodstream directly, but rather the surrounding fluid.
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So there's a little bit of a lag.
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There's a little bit of nuance there.
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It's not the same number that you will find if you're using a traditional glucose monitor where you have to prick your finger.
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CGMs were originally designed for people with type one diabetes or insulin dependent type two, so they could more closely monitor dangerous highs and lows in their glucose and adjust their insulin accordingly, you know, basic medical necessity.
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But over the last few years, CGMs have gone from a really important clinical tool to what my Gen Alpha child would call Wellness Flex.
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You've got CEOs, influencers, and self-proclaimed longevity experts slapping'em on like they're the new.
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Fitbit and there are startup companies pushing these$200 a month subscriptions to tell you that your glucose spiked after you ate a banana.
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No shit Sherlock.
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So how did we get here?
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I think it's safe to say that CGMs are a consequence of the rise of precision nutrition.
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I mean, don't get me wrong.
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Individualized nutrition is 100% the future and absolutely the right direction to head when it comes to health and disease prevention.
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And disease treatment for that matter.
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But what I'm seeing with CGMs right now is less about personalization and more about perfectionism in disguise.
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We've turned blood sugar, which is a normal fluctuating context dependent marker into some kind of metabolic morality test.
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Oh no, I spiked.
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Or, oh look, I'm so flat today.
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I only do zone two cardio because it doesn't spike my blood sugar.
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So let's, let's be clear here.
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Some of the stuff getting shared on social media is total garbage, like what I just mentioned above, or people demonizing potatoes or bragging that their post meal glucose stayed perfectly flat because they had no carbs and no protein.
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That's not blood sugar balance.
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It's fear mongering dressed up as discipline.
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If you've been curious or attempted, or maybe you're already logging your numbers and low key spiraling, I want you to stay with me.
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At the end of the day.
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If your health strategy has you afraid of fruit, it's no longer a strategy.
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It's a disorder with a data dashboard.
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And this is actually what happens often when you start tracking every blip and every bump in your blood sugar like it's a stock ticker.
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It quickly turns your awareness into an obsession.
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Now, here's the thing.
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I am a hundred percent for information Science is my friend.
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And I love, I love, I love that we have a decent alternative to pricking one's finger.
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Data is the bomb, but only when it's interpreted through a lens of context and critical thinking.
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And this is where CGMs can go sideways really fast because when you start looking at that little blood sugar graph every couple minutes.
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It stops being a tool and starts being a judge or a fricking priest.
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And then you gotta step into the metabolic confession booth and beg for forgiveness.
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Forgive me, father, for I have spiked.
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No, no, no.
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Like there's three primary dangers of metabolic micromanagement that I tend to see in CGM users.
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The first is hyper vigilance in food fear.
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And you know it, it starts innocent enough.
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You're curious.
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You wanna know what your body's doing.
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There's nothing wrong with this.
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And then.
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You have a spike and it looks bad, and suddenly you're second guessing the health attributes of quinoa.
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You start avoiding certain foods, not because they actually make you feel bad, but because they make the graph look bad.
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You're checking your phone mid meal, like it's some kind of glucose horror crux, and suddenly you stop eating out because you're worried that the numbers will go up and you don't know what's hidden in the.
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Sauces and how that's gonna affect your glucose at that stage.
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It's no longer healthy.
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You are in a slow slide into Orthorexia that just happens to have a tech upgrade.
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The second thing that I see is false equivalents because a blood sugar rise.
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Isn't inherently bad, and that is counter to what you will see some influencers brag about on the internet.
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So let me say this again.
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A post-meal glucose spike is normal, it's expected, it's physiological.
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It is not a sign of metabolic doom, but CGMs and bro science don't be explaining that.
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They just show you a line going up and then.
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Suddenly people are thinking, oh my God, I'm, I'm doing something wrong, or My body is completely broken, and then they think I need to cut out carbs even more wrong, wrong and possibly wrong.
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A spike after a balanced meal that includes carbohydrate normal, a spike after a donut on an empty stomach.
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Still not a crisis, it's just context.
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Your blood sugar is a dynamic system.
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It is not supposed to be flat.
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Flatlining is not how human biology works.
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So trying to force your glucose to stay perfectly level at all times.
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It's like trying to keep a campfire at exactly the same flame height, no matter how much fuel or what kind of fuel you throw into it.
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It is completely unreasonable to expect that, and it's also unnecessary to do this to achieve metabolic health.
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Your blood sugar is dynamic.
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It is supposed to respond.
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If you eat something, it rises.
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You move your body, it drops, or sometimes it spikes really high.
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This causes so much panic.
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In my clients just starting A CGM, when they go out for a run or they go to a fitness class and their blood sugar pops up, they're like, oh my God, what's going on?
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Sometimes simply being stressed or sleeping like trash can elevate your blood sugar level.
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It doesn't mean you're in a state of dysfunction.
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It is your body adjusting.
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It's your body doing its job.
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Your blood sugar responds to what's on your plate, how fast you ate it, how long you slept the night before, how much muscle mass you have, whether or not you're ovulating.
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Whether or not you are stressed, it responds to you being stuck in shitty meetings all day long.
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There is about a dozen other things that your blood sugar responds to that isn't accurately reflected on your CGM.
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It's not a closed system with a single dial.
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Now if you're spiking like crazy, if you're crashing hard after a meal or you're walking around in some kind of brain fogged rage every day, then yeah, we should have a conversation.
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But a post-lunch bump in your graft does not mean your metabolism is failing.
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It means your body is alive.
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And responding.
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So you gotta stop chasing flat lines like it's some kind of prize.
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Metabolic health is not achieved through rigid control.
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It happens through creating adaptability.
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You don't want your blood sugar to be still.
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You need it to be responsive and adaptable and responsive.
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Adaptable systems aren't flat lines.
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They're flexible, they're messy.
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They're actually rather brilliant just like the rest of your body when it is supported instead of micromanaged.
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The last thing that I often see is this level of reductionism, A one number fallacy.
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Some people think that as long as their blood sugar levels stay flat, they're doing everything right, you know, even if they're undereating over caffeinating, skipping sleek and hanging on by a very thin thread emotionally just to get there.
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If the line is flat, they think they're winning.
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And that's kind of like saying your house is fine because the thermostat looks stable, but the roof is leaking and the basement's on fire.
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Flat glucose is not equal to thriving.
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Sometimes it means you're not eating enough or you're afraid to.
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Okay, so I probably sound like some kind of anti-tech profit with a vendetta against wearable glucose devices.
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So let's like roll it back a little bit.
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Let me reiterate.
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CGMs are not evil.
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I actually use them in my practice often.
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However, the way that they are being referenced in pop culture and health culture and these wellness cults is overhyped, grossly under explained.
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And often misused in the right context with the right mindset.
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CGMs can be a really powerful tool for insight and health, and it is awesome in those situations.
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So let's see when it makes sense to use A CGM and how to do it without losing your mind.
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Okay, use case one.
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If you have been told you have insulin resistance, pre-diabetes, or PCOS, this is the first and most valuable use case scenario for CGM use.
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It's the original purpose of CGM for clinical support.
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If you've got legit blood sugar dysregulation, and it's not just curiosity dressed up as biohacking, CGMs can be incredible tools to help you improve your glucose regulation and even pull yourself out of pre-diabetes or reduce medication dosage if you already have diabetes.
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If you are in this camp.
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A CGM can help you see how your body responds to specific meals, how to track true highs and lows and make targeted meaningful shifts that can improve your health significantly without guessing.
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But even then, I recommend doing this alongside a practitioner because interpreting this data solo can sometimes feel like doing your own taxes blindfolded with Latin instructions.
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And then knowing what to do with the data, how to adjust your meals in a way that brings glucose levels back into more ideal ranges, and that's another task altogether best and most often effectively done with guidance.
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Use case two, you suspect you have reactive hypoglycemia or you have really intense.
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Mood and energy swings after meals.
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CGMs can be extremely useful in helping you connect the dots between how you feel and what your blood sugar is actually doing.
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So if you're getting shaky and irritable or brain foggy within a couple hours after eating, if you crash really hard in the afternoon.
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Or if you feel like a completely different person, depending on when or what you eat.
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A CGM can give you some important clues and insights into whether or not your blood sugar may be at play here.
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And this is one of the rare times when real time data can offer you something that your journal or your calendar can't.
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That data gathered from A CGM will either confirm that it is a blood sugar issue.
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Or deny it, in which case you can start looking elsewhere.
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But if it is a blood sugar issue, then you can take that data and use it to adjust your meals and find your personalized target macro ratios to prevent those spikes and crashes that leave you feeling completely useless after 2:00 PM.
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Use case three is when you want a short term experiment to build awareness.
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When used briefly, A CGM can be a fantastic learning tool.
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It's a two week snapshot.
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It's a metabolic audit.
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Use it as a peek behind the curtain.
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But not this lifelong confession booth.
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And this is crucial.
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If you do this, you have got to go in with guardrails.
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No cutting out entire food groups because of a spike.
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No excessive fasting just to bring the glucose down lower.
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No judging your worth based upon a fucking graph.
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If you're someone who's triggered by tracking or you tend toward all or nothing thinking, a CGM may not be your friend right now, and that's okay.
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There are so many other resources to draw upon, and you're much better off getting to your goals without jumping on the CGM bandwagon.
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So big picture, CGMs can be a great tool, but it, it's not your savior.
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And it goes without saying that A CGM is not a moral compass.
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It's also not a diagnostic tool, and it's definitely not a substitute for intuition or knowing what you already know about your body to make good decisions.
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Rather than thinking that spikes are bad, think of your blood sugar levels like packages in a delivery truck.
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So you eat a meal, especially one with carbs, and your body sends glucose into the bloodstream attached to insulin, like a truck heading out with a fresh load of Amazon packages.
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The rise that you see on your CGM is the truck leaving the warehouse.
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Okay?
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It's not a problem.
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It's part of the process.
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The goal's not to stop the truck.
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The goal is to make sure the truck delivers those packages to where they need to go.
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Efficiently and in a timely manner.
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Where do they need to go To your brain, to your muscles, to your organs.
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If the roads are clear, for example, you don't have insulin resistance.
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You move regularly, you get solid sleep, right?
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Delivery is smooth.
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It's all good.
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But if there's a traffic jam from stress, sleep deprivation, or metabolic disease, well then, yeah, deliveries get backed up.
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But that's something that we can work on and improve with supportive strategies.
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While A CGM can offer insight, chasing flat glucose lines while ignoring your fatigue, your hunger, or your central nervous system is not optimization.
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It's metabolic micromanagement dressed up as healthy living.
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Okay.
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I wanna kind of segue into addressing the unspoken elephant in the room.
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What is driving the obsession with CGMs?
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While it is very true, I.
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That there is an outrageous rise in metabolic dysfunction and diabetes across the world, and it is true that this is a crippling and devastating problem that must be addressed.
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The rise of CGMs as we are seeing them, especially in the United States and in pop culture, is not just about curiosity or even science.
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I think it is ultimately about control.
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We live in a culture that conditions us to believe our bodies are a problem to be solved, like being born in a human body is some kind of original sin that we have to strive to fix and perfect.
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Be it our weight, the lines on our face, or achieving those perfect little glucose curves.
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We're sold an idea that if we try harder, we track better, we biohack more precisely and get up at 5:00 AM like huberin and do 27,000 things before noon.
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We would finally feel okay in our own skin we could be redeemed.
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Enter the CGM, and here we have the latest shiny tool, promising clarity, certainty, and salvation in a world full of hormonal chaos and health.
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Gaslighting.
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And I get it, like when your body feels unpredictable, the numbers on a graph feel like power.
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They feel like certainty.
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And you get that graph without the hassle of dealing with the healthcare system.
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Holy shit, that's pretty damn cool.
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Right?
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But here's the truth.
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Wellness culture has turned self quantification into a substitute for self-acceptance.
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So let's break down the drivers behind this.
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Okay.
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When we look at what's fueling the obsession with CGMs, I see four primary things.
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First is the promise of control.
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These websites, and you know, some influencers too, they sell this fantasy that if you just manage this one marker closely enough, you're gonna unlock the body you want.
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Health doesn't work that way.
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Like you're not a spreadsheet.
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You are a complex, dynamic organism that cannot be simply quantified.
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Having the perfect glucose curves doesn't mean weight is automatically gonna come off, or that you're gonna feel younger than you have in years, but some of the ads that I see make it look otherwise.
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The second thing is diet culture rebranded as data.
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I mean, thank God we are not tracking calories anymore, but we're tracking glucose curves and the anxiety, the restriction that results from that, the perfectionism.
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Still the same.
00:21:52.180 --> 00:21:54.970
I see this in clinical practice all the time.
00:21:55.299 --> 00:21:59.140
CGMs can quickly become a moral compass.
00:21:59.710 --> 00:22:00.549
Did I spike?
00:22:00.549 --> 00:22:01.569
Did I fail?
00:22:01.779 --> 00:22:10.809
Like when those thoughts take over, you've started moralizing your biology and sliding into legitimate disordered eating behavior.
00:22:11.740 --> 00:22:13.930
Number three is wellness consumerism.
00:22:13.960 --> 00:22:14.319
Okay?
00:22:14.319 --> 00:22:19.269
Let's not forget, CGMs is a big business.
00:22:20.579 --> 00:22:26.369
CGM wearables are predicted to be a$5 billion market this year.
00:22:26.369 --> 00:22:31.710
That's billion with a B, and it's expected to double in less than a decade.
00:22:32.220 --> 00:22:39.539
You've got startups monetizing fear and turning normal physiology into a subscription service.
00:22:40.339 --> 00:22:47.450
They're selling you this idea that glucose stability is the ultimate pinnacle of health, but you gotta step out from that.
00:22:47.450 --> 00:22:52.970
And remember, it's just one piece of a much, much bigger picture.
00:22:54.140 --> 00:23:00.259
The ultimate reality is that health still comes down to the unsexy, boring shit.
00:23:00.529 --> 00:23:12.255
Getting enough sleep, getting enough fiber, getting enough protein, moving your body, which ironically is going to do more for your glucose management without even knowing the numbers.
00:23:14.759 --> 00:23:18.210
And then the last one is optimization addiction.
00:23:19.500 --> 00:23:25.500
My God, we are just trying to optimize the fuck out of everything.
00:23:25.529 --> 00:23:33.839
And you know, I think the base of that is that we're all being told that being good enough isn't enough.
00:23:34.529 --> 00:23:37.650
You gotta optimize, you gotta track, you gotta perfect.
00:23:39.075 --> 00:23:51.664
We're turning our bodies and our health and our wellness into some kind of pathological stock market expectation of ever increasing benefit.
00:23:51.674 --> 00:23:59.105
CGMs tap right into that belief of optimizing and tracking and making things perfect by giving you a new number to chase.
00:23:59.105 --> 00:24:02.105
It is a new way to fix yourself.
00:24:02.555 --> 00:24:04.894
But what if you're not broken?
00:24:05.825 --> 00:24:08.825
What if your blood sugar isn't actually the problem?
00:24:09.305 --> 00:24:12.275
What if the problem is that you're exhausted?
00:24:12.275 --> 00:24:19.325
You are under fed, you are undermuscled, and you're totally disconnected from your body.
00:24:19.784 --> 00:24:22.203
And your heart and what you want from life.
00:24:22.923 --> 00:24:24.483
But here's the sneaky part, right?
00:24:24.483 --> 00:24:28.023
For, for some people, the more they track, the less they trust themselves.
00:24:28.683 --> 00:24:33.634
The more we chase perfection, the more we struggle with simply being human.
00:24:34.324 --> 00:24:40.074
CGMs, of course, did not create this obsession with fixing and perfecting, and.
00:24:40.419 --> 00:24:47.788
Uh, trying to make ourselves something different than we are has been going on for a very long time.
00:24:47.788 --> 00:24:53.219
But CGMs do pour some gasoline on that situation.
00:24:54.388 --> 00:24:56.669
So what do you do instead?
00:24:56.848 --> 00:25:04.138
I mean, whether you're wearing a CGM right now, or you're just kind of feeling stuck in the cycle of overthinking every damn bite that you put in your mouth.
00:25:04.913 --> 00:25:16.253
If you're second guessing every meal and the graphs, the numbers, the constant analysis, and it's leaving you confused or worried rather than empowered, like take a deep breath.
00:25:16.253 --> 00:25:16.824
Here's the thing.
00:25:16.824 --> 00:25:22.134
You do not need to control every bite you put into your mouth to support your blood sugar.
00:25:22.134 --> 00:25:29.304
What you need is clear structure, consistent habits, and the patience.
00:25:29.574 --> 00:25:32.513
To track patterns over time.
00:25:33.503 --> 00:25:39.354
That's where we see trends and that's where we get valuable information.
00:25:39.864 --> 00:25:44.064
So what supports metabolic health in the real world?
00:25:44.153 --> 00:25:51.084
Guys, I'm gonna give you the unsexy, boring shit, and it starts with two questions at every meal.
00:25:51.443 --> 00:25:53.544
One, where is my produce?
00:25:53.903 --> 00:25:56.693
Two, where is my protein?
00:25:57.354 --> 00:25:58.493
These aren't gimmicks, right?
00:25:58.493 --> 00:26:00.413
These are grounding principles.
00:26:00.443 --> 00:26:06.953
Focusing on these two questions puts the most metabolically supportive foods on your plate.
00:26:06.953 --> 00:26:12.263
At every meal, they become the foundation of a blood sugar supportive plate.
00:26:14.019 --> 00:26:22.388
Protein slows digestion and it blunts glucose spikes by triggering the release of gut hormones like GLP one.
00:26:22.449 --> 00:26:36.519
Yeah, I said it that GLP one and it also helps regulate your appetite protein gives your metabolism a solid anchor to work with and then produce especially colorful fiber rich vegetables.
00:26:37.263 --> 00:26:39.634
Feed beneficial gut bacteria.
00:26:39.723 --> 00:26:48.034
Many of them play a direct role in blood sugar regulation, inflammation control, and even insulin sensitivity.
00:26:48.364 --> 00:26:52.625
Did you know your veggies could do that I'll be talking more about that in a later episode.
00:26:54.170 --> 00:26:55.369
And then we have fats.
00:26:55.880 --> 00:26:57.109
Fats slow.
00:26:57.109 --> 00:27:02.809
The rate at which food leaves your stomach and it helps regulate post-meal blood sugar levels.
00:27:03.805 --> 00:27:13.575
Fats are also super important for hormonal stability, especially in midlife when for some of us, those symptoms are already in flux.
00:27:13.944 --> 00:27:18.924
You don't need any fancy gadgets, just the basics done consistently.
00:27:20.664 --> 00:27:26.095
Another thing that is really helpful for glucose control is to move your body after meals.
00:27:26.424 --> 00:27:32.355
Even a short walk after lunch or dinner can improve glucose uptake by your muscles.
00:27:32.355 --> 00:27:33.795
I'm talking 10 minutes here.
00:27:34.184 --> 00:27:37.575
Don't mistake this as a need to earn your food.
00:27:38.265 --> 00:27:42.555
A walk after a meal simply supports your physiology.
00:27:43.500 --> 00:27:50.130
Movement is one of the fastest ways to put those post meal nutrients to use.
00:27:50.549 --> 00:27:51.269
Think about it.
00:27:51.269 --> 00:27:59.419
When you move your body, you increase your blood flow, and that shuttles nutrients in the blood into the cells.
00:27:59.929 --> 00:28:07.009
But here's a bonus, A good post-meal walk is also fantastic for improving your digestion.
00:28:07.338 --> 00:28:10.608
In fact, there's been a meme going on right now about fart walks.
00:28:10.699 --> 00:28:11.898
It's totally legit.
00:28:11.929 --> 00:28:14.088
Like fart walks are legit.
00:28:14.924 --> 00:28:20.775
I also wanna say that you do not need to skip meals to support your metabolic health.
00:28:22.154 --> 00:28:28.244
If you're using fasting as a tool, it really needs to come with structure, not just coffee and willpower.
00:28:28.664 --> 00:28:34.845
Skipping meals randomly increases stress hormones and makes your blood sugar harder to manage later.
00:28:35.144 --> 00:28:38.894
So if you're trying intermittent fasting, do it with intention.
00:28:39.259 --> 00:28:48.410
Throw out the idea that more is better because it is not, and make sure that you get enough protein in the meals that you eat.
00:28:48.769 --> 00:28:59.529
You want to understand how intermittent fasting fits within your life, within your body's needs, and not just blindly follow somebody else's protocol.
00:28:59.950 --> 00:29:05.319
As with everything else, more or longer is not better in this regard.
00:29:07.865 --> 00:29:14.075
One thing that rarely gets talked about that's super, super important for metabolic health is protecting your sleep.
00:29:14.944 --> 00:29:21.575
One bad night of sleep can temporarily raise your blood sugar levels and reduce your insulin sensitivity.
00:29:22.055 --> 00:29:24.785
So many, many bad nights of sleep.
00:29:25.805 --> 00:29:29.855
Can produce metabolic dysfunction over several years.
00:29:30.305 --> 00:29:35.884
If you're waking up tired, you're relying too heavily on caffeine, you're skipping rest days, right?
00:29:35.884 --> 00:29:40.025
You're brewing a blood sugar issue with that coffee.
00:29:40.025 --> 00:29:45.605
Even if your CGM says otherwise, it just might not show up immediately.
00:29:48.355 --> 00:29:54.565
Finally to support metabolic health, you want to build and maintain muscle mass.
00:29:55.240 --> 00:30:00.009
Muscle tissue is your body's biggest glucose fan.
00:30:00.069 --> 00:30:01.089
After the brain.
00:30:01.480 --> 00:30:10.180
The more lean mass that you carry, the more efficiently you can use glucose and store glucose, especially after meals.
00:30:10.750 --> 00:30:13.750
Resistance training doesn't have to be complicated.
00:30:13.750 --> 00:30:16.779
It doesn't have to be crazy.
00:30:16.779 --> 00:30:23.980
Weightlifting at the gym, grunting and sweating with the dudes, but it does need to be present.
00:30:24.164 --> 00:30:29.265
You need to lift heavy things that challenge you on a consistent basis.
00:30:29.265 --> 00:30:43.699
Be that inside the gym or outside the gym, and you need to eat enough protein to make sure that you have the essential tools on hand to build that muscle in the first place and to keep it on your frame once you have it.
00:30:44.699 --> 00:30:56.038
So while none of those is nearly as sexy as sporting A CGM this summer, it will have you accomplishing more and feeling better than obsessing over your data.
00:30:56.788 --> 00:31:01.679
If your current approach has you constantly guessing, chasing symptoms or.
00:31:02.019 --> 00:31:10.749
Stuck in cycles of overcorrection, you have got to pause and reassess whether or not this is ultimately worthwhile.
00:31:11.348 --> 00:31:12.969
You don't need perfect data.
00:31:12.969 --> 00:31:23.828
Ultimately, like you need to find a strategy that fits within your life and evolves with your body because your body is not a static organism.
00:31:24.189 --> 00:31:28.628
It is changing and evolving moment to moment, day to day, year to year.
00:31:28.868 --> 00:31:31.929
And your needs will change along with it.
00:31:31.959 --> 00:31:42.219
So whether you're wearing a glucose monitor or not supporting blood sugar starts with how you build your meals, how well you sleep, how often you move.
00:31:42.519 --> 00:31:46.118
And how consistently you show up for these basics.
00:31:46.719 --> 00:31:53.288
And remember, at the end of the day, blood sugar is just one piece of the metabolic picture.
00:31:53.739 --> 00:32:01.868
So if something still feels off, don't ignore it, but don't automatically assume that the problem is you.
00:32:03.098 --> 00:32:05.709
Alright folks, that's it for today.
00:32:05.750 --> 00:32:11.579
If you've enjoyed this episode, please like and subscribe to Blasphemous Nutrition.
00:32:11.970 --> 00:32:19.859
If it made you think about somebody who's kind of getting stuck in the CGM Crazy forward this episode to them.
00:32:20.169 --> 00:32:24.759
Maybe I'll develop a new hater or maybe I'll find a new fan, who knows.
00:32:25.538 --> 00:32:27.128
Thanks again for listening.
00:32:27.398 --> 00:32:31.209
Stay salty, stay curious, and I will see you next time.
00:32:32.673 --> 00:32:40.743
Any and all information shared here is for educational and entertainment purposes only, and is not to be misconstrued as offering medical advice.
00:32:41.193 --> 00:32:46.144
Listening to this podcast does not constitute a provider client relationship.
00:32:46.594 --> 00:32:55.443
Note, I'm not a doctor nor a nurse, and it is imperative that you utilize your brain and your medical team to make the best decisions for your own health.
00:32:55.983 --> 00:33:00.034
The use of information on this podcast or materials linked to this podcast.
00:33:00.394 --> 00:33:01.653
Are at the user's own risk.
00:33:01.804 --> 00:33:09.423
No information nor resources provided are intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
00:33:09.814 --> 00:33:15.963
Be a smart human and do not disregard or postpone obtaining medical advice for any medical condition you may have.
00:33:16.413 --> 00:33:24.963
Seek the assistance of your healthcare team for any such conditions and always do so before making any changes to your medical, nutrition or health plan.
00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:09.035
If you've been wondering whether a CGM could be your holy grail or if it's just another health cult initiation, buckle up.
00:00:09.085 --> 00:00:14.095
We are about to separate the data-driven insights from the digital distractions.
00:00:14.278 --> 00:00:15.118
Let's go.
00:00:17.413 --> 00:00:18.163
Hey Rebels.
00:00:18.342 --> 00:00:20.053
Welcome to Blasphemous Nutrition.
00:00:20.533 --> 00:00:30.013
Consider this podcast your pantry full of clarity, perspective, and the nuance needed to counter the superficial health advice so freely given on the internet.
00:00:30.492 --> 00:00:38.173
I am Amy, the unapologetically candid host of Blasphemous Nutrition and a double degreed nutritionist with 20 years experience.
00:00:38.593 --> 00:00:40.603
I'm here to share a more nuanced take.
00:00:40.978 --> 00:00:44.247
On living and eating well to sustain and recover your health.
00:00:44.427 --> 00:00:51.387
If you found most health advice to be so generic is to be meaningless or so extreme that it's unrealistic.
00:00:51.987 --> 00:00:56.427
And you don't mind the occasional F-bomb, you've come to the right place.
00:00:56.878 --> 00:01:11.638
From dissecting the latest nutrition trends to breaking down published research and sharing my own clinical experiences, I'm on a mission to foster clarity amidst all the confusion and empower you to have the health you need to live a life you love.
00:01:12.117 --> 00:01:13.287
Now, let's get started.
00:01:16.379 --> 00:01:24.930
Welcome back to Blasphemous Nutrition, the podcast where we burn diet dogma at the altar and build real health from its wreckage.
00:01:25.469 --> 00:01:26.500
My name is Aimee.
00:01:26.849 --> 00:01:36.709
I'm a double degreed functional nutritionist who doesn't need a Bluetooth enad arm patch to know that skipping lunch and rage snacking at 4:00 PM might not be optimal.
00:01:37.132 --> 00:01:38.421
Yes, that's a clue.
00:01:38.421 --> 00:01:46.371
Today we're digging into one of the trendiest new rituals of the wellness world, continuous glucose monitors or CGMs.
00:01:47.001 --> 00:01:57.802
CGMs have been used in clinical practice with diabetic patients for many years now, but with the FDA approving direct to consumer use in September, 2024.
00:01:58.072 --> 00:02:03.052
Now it seems like everyone is supporting them like they're some kind of fashion trend.
00:02:03.441 --> 00:02:06.412
Maybe you've seen them on your favorite influencers.
00:02:06.441 --> 00:02:08.062
Maybe your cousin is wearing one.
00:02:08.092 --> 00:02:15.252
Maybe you are wearing one right now and trying to decide if your oat milk latte was a metabolic sin.
00:02:15.972 --> 00:02:16.782
Here's the deal.
00:02:16.782 --> 00:02:31.241
I am definitely not anti CGM, but I am against unquestioned obsession, really shitty science interpretation and the slow spiral from awareness into anxiety.
00:02:31.991 --> 00:02:34.151
All right, so what the fuck is the CGM?
00:02:34.181 --> 00:02:35.592
Why is everyone using one?
00:02:35.681 --> 00:02:40.722
Let's go back to the basics because not everybody listening is deep in the church of biohacking.
00:02:40.722 --> 00:02:47.972
And even if you are, you still might be confused about what the hell you're actually wearing on your arm and what it's telling you and what that all means.
00:02:48.808 --> 00:03:04.079
A CGM is a small device, usually stuck on the back of your upper arm, and it uses a tiny, tiny filament inserted just under the skin to measure the glucose levels in your interstitial fluid, not your blood.
00:03:04.433 --> 00:03:07.343
In interstitial fluid every few minutes.
00:03:07.373 --> 00:03:11.033
Hence, the continuous part of continuous glucose monitor.
00:03:11.514 --> 00:03:16.373
It does not measure your bloodstream directly, but rather the surrounding fluid.
00:03:16.373 --> 00:03:18.413
So there's a little bit of a lag.
00:03:18.413 --> 00:03:20.033
There's a little bit of nuance there.
00:03:20.334 --> 00:03:27.383
It's not the same number that you will find if you're using a traditional glucose monitor where you have to prick your finger.
00:03:28.188 --> 00:03:45.243
CGMs were originally designed for people with type one diabetes or insulin dependent type two, so they could more closely monitor dangerous highs and lows in their glucose and adjust their insulin accordingly, you know, basic medical necessity.
00:03:45.903 --> 00:03:55.563
But over the last few years, CGMs have gone from a really important clinical tool to what my Gen Alpha child would call Wellness Flex.
00:03:56.044 --> 00:04:03.514
You've got CEOs, influencers, and self-proclaimed longevity experts slapping'em on like they're the new.
00:04:03.538 --> 00:04:13.019
Fitbit and there are startup companies pushing these$200 a month subscriptions to tell you that your glucose spiked after you ate a banana.
00:04:13.139 --> 00:04:14.549
No shit Sherlock.
00:04:15.209 --> 00:04:16.918
So how did we get here?
00:04:18.269 --> 00:04:22.678
I think it's safe to say that CGMs are a consequence of the rise of precision nutrition.
00:04:23.098 --> 00:04:24.329
I mean, don't get me wrong.
00:04:24.358 --> 00:04:35.309
Individualized nutrition is 100% the future and absolutely the right direction to head when it comes to health and disease prevention.
00:04:35.684 --> 00:04:37.543
And disease treatment for that matter.
00:04:37.843 --> 00:04:46.783
But what I'm seeing with CGMs right now is less about personalization and more about perfectionism in disguise.
00:04:47.264 --> 00:04:58.334
We've turned blood sugar, which is a normal fluctuating context dependent marker into some kind of metabolic morality test.
00:04:58.723 --> 00:05:01.064
Oh no, I spiked.
00:05:01.334 --> 00:05:04.064
Or, oh look, I'm so flat today.
00:05:04.694 --> 00:05:09.199
I only do zone two cardio because it doesn't spike my blood sugar.
00:05:10.053 --> 00:05:11.853
So let's, let's be clear here.
00:05:11.853 --> 00:05:29.584
Some of the stuff getting shared on social media is total garbage, like what I just mentioned above, or people demonizing potatoes or bragging that their post meal glucose stayed perfectly flat because they had no carbs and no protein.
00:05:29.944 --> 00:05:31.653
That's not blood sugar balance.
00:05:31.653 --> 00:05:35.009
It's fear mongering dressed up as discipline.
00:05:36.670 --> 00:05:45.430
If you've been curious or attempted, or maybe you're already logging your numbers and low key spiraling, I want you to stay with me.
00:05:46.629 --> 00:05:47.649
At the end of the day.
00:05:47.649 --> 00:05:54.490
If your health strategy has you afraid of fruit, it's no longer a strategy.
00:05:54.639 --> 00:05:57.100
It's a disorder with a data dashboard.
00:05:57.504 --> 00:06:06.865
And this is actually what happens often when you start tracking every blip and every bump in your blood sugar like it's a stock ticker.
00:06:07.375 --> 00:06:11.485
It quickly turns your awareness into an obsession.
00:06:12.654 --> 00:06:13.615
Now, here's the thing.
00:06:13.884 --> 00:06:17.814
I am a hundred percent for information Science is my friend.
00:06:18.024 --> 00:06:24.745
And I love, I love, I love that we have a decent alternative to pricking one's finger.
00:06:25.720 --> 00:06:32.439
Data is the bomb, but only when it's interpreted through a lens of context and critical thinking.
00:06:32.439 --> 00:06:40.689
And this is where CGMs can go sideways really fast because when you start looking at that little blood sugar graph every couple minutes.
00:06:41.139 --> 00:06:45.610
It stops being a tool and starts being a judge or a fricking priest.
00:06:45.610 --> 00:06:50.139
And then you gotta step into the metabolic confession booth and beg for forgiveness.
00:06:50.139 --> 00:06:52.300
Forgive me, father, for I have spiked.
00:06:52.569 --> 00:06:53.230
No, no, no.
00:06:53.259 --> 00:07:00.730
Like there's three primary dangers of metabolic micromanagement that I tend to see in CGM users.
00:07:01.930 --> 00:07:04.269
The first is hyper vigilance in food fear.
00:07:05.004 --> 00:07:07.165
And you know it, it starts innocent enough.
00:07:07.165 --> 00:07:08.125
You're curious.
00:07:08.154 --> 00:07:10.314
You wanna know what your body's doing.
00:07:10.345 --> 00:07:11.875
There's nothing wrong with this.
00:07:11.875 --> 00:07:12.115
And then.
00:07:13.899 --> 00:07:19.120
You have a spike and it looks bad, and suddenly you're second guessing the health attributes of quinoa.
00:07:20.290 --> 00:07:27.459
You start avoiding certain foods, not because they actually make you feel bad, but because they make the graph look bad.
00:07:27.850 --> 00:07:38.529
You're checking your phone mid meal, like it's some kind of glucose horror crux, and suddenly you stop eating out because you're worried that the numbers will go up and you don't know what's hidden in the.
00:07:38.555 --> 00:07:42.305
Sauces and how that's gonna affect your glucose at that stage.
00:07:42.305 --> 00:07:43.834
It's no longer healthy.
00:07:44.194 --> 00:07:49.714
You are in a slow slide into Orthorexia that just happens to have a tech upgrade.
00:07:50.944 --> 00:07:56.495
The second thing that I see is false equivalents because a blood sugar rise.
00:07:56.875 --> 00:08:03.774
Isn't inherently bad, and that is counter to what you will see some influencers brag about on the internet.
00:08:03.774 --> 00:08:05.035
So let me say this again.
00:08:05.214 --> 00:08:12.595
A post-meal glucose spike is normal, it's expected, it's physiological.
00:08:12.595 --> 00:08:19.915
It is not a sign of metabolic doom, but CGMs and bro science don't be explaining that.
00:08:20.154 --> 00:08:22.194
They just show you a line going up and then.
00:08:22.269 --> 00:08:35.320
Suddenly people are thinking, oh my God, I'm, I'm doing something wrong, or My body is completely broken, and then they think I need to cut out carbs even more wrong, wrong and possibly wrong.
00:08:35.799 --> 00:08:43.090
A spike after a balanced meal that includes carbohydrate normal, a spike after a donut on an empty stomach.
00:08:43.659 --> 00:08:46.299
Still not a crisis, it's just context.
00:08:46.659 --> 00:08:48.730
Your blood sugar is a dynamic system.
00:08:48.730 --> 00:08:50.590
It is not supposed to be flat.
00:08:50.639 --> 00:08:55.230
Flatlining is not how human biology works.
00:08:55.620 --> 00:08:59.850
So trying to force your glucose to stay perfectly level at all times.
00:08:59.850 --> 00:09:07.350
It's like trying to keep a campfire at exactly the same flame height, no matter how much fuel or what kind of fuel you throw into it.
00:09:08.490 --> 00:09:17.220
It is completely unreasonable to expect that, and it's also unnecessary to do this to achieve metabolic health.
00:09:17.669 --> 00:09:19.409
Your blood sugar is dynamic.
00:09:19.440 --> 00:09:21.149
It is supposed to respond.
00:09:21.179 --> 00:09:23.129
If you eat something, it rises.
00:09:23.565 --> 00:09:27.585
You move your body, it drops, or sometimes it spikes really high.
00:09:28.485 --> 00:09:30.495
This causes so much panic.
00:09:30.495 --> 00:09:39.164
In my clients just starting A CGM, when they go out for a run or they go to a fitness class and their blood sugar pops up, they're like, oh my God, what's going on?
00:09:40.769 --> 00:09:47.070
Sometimes simply being stressed or sleeping like trash can elevate your blood sugar level.
00:09:47.460 --> 00:09:50.190
It doesn't mean you're in a state of dysfunction.
00:09:50.190 --> 00:09:51.809
It is your body adjusting.
00:09:51.809 --> 00:09:53.820
It's your body doing its job.
00:09:54.210 --> 00:10:09.990
Your blood sugar responds to what's on your plate, how fast you ate it, how long you slept the night before, how much muscle mass you have, whether or not you're ovulating.
00:10:10.350 --> 00:10:16.830
Whether or not you are stressed, it responds to you being stuck in shitty meetings all day long.
00:10:17.070 --> 00:10:24.690
There is about a dozen other things that your blood sugar responds to that isn't accurately reflected on your CGM.
00:10:26.129 --> 00:10:28.620
It's not a closed system with a single dial.
00:10:29.879 --> 00:10:41.460
Now if you're spiking like crazy, if you're crashing hard after a meal or you're walking around in some kind of brain fogged rage every day, then yeah, we should have a conversation.
00:10:42.120 --> 00:10:47.669
But a post-lunch bump in your graft does not mean your metabolism is failing.
00:10:47.669 --> 00:10:49.625
It means your body is alive.
00:10:50.139 --> 00:10:51.610
And responding.
00:10:52.179 --> 00:10:56.200
So you gotta stop chasing flat lines like it's some kind of prize.
00:10:56.200 --> 00:11:00.129
Metabolic health is not achieved through rigid control.
00:11:00.129 --> 00:11:03.879
It happens through creating adaptability.
00:11:04.299 --> 00:11:07.690
You don't want your blood sugar to be still.
00:11:07.960 --> 00:11:12.759
You need it to be responsive and adaptable and responsive.
00:11:12.759 --> 00:11:15.070
Adaptable systems aren't flat lines.
00:11:15.460 --> 00:11:17.139
They're flexible, they're messy.
00:11:17.139 --> 00:11:23.919
They're actually rather brilliant just like the rest of your body when it is supported instead of micromanaged.
00:11:25.419 --> 00:11:31.269
The last thing that I often see is this level of reductionism, A one number fallacy.
00:11:31.690 --> 00:11:45.004
Some people think that as long as their blood sugar levels stay flat, they're doing everything right, you know, even if they're undereating over caffeinating, skipping sleek and hanging on by a very thin thread emotionally just to get there.
00:11:45.705 --> 00:11:48.429
If the line is flat, they think they're winning.
00:11:48.865 --> 00:11:55.855
And that's kind of like saying your house is fine because the thermostat looks stable, but the roof is leaking and the basement's on fire.
00:11:56.304 --> 00:11:58.495
Flat glucose is not equal to thriving.
00:11:58.975 --> 00:12:03.325
Sometimes it means you're not eating enough or you're afraid to.
00:12:04.794 --> 00:12:14.095
Okay, so I probably sound like some kind of anti-tech profit with a vendetta against wearable glucose devices.
00:12:14.095 --> 00:12:16.554
So let's like roll it back a little bit.
00:12:16.585 --> 00:12:17.754
Let me reiterate.
00:12:18.115 --> 00:12:20.245
CGMs are not evil.
00:12:20.424 --> 00:12:23.034
I actually use them in my practice often.
00:12:23.754 --> 00:12:39.660
However, the way that they are being referenced in pop culture and health culture and these wellness cults is overhyped, grossly under explained.
00:12:40.681 --> 00:12:45.660
And often misused in the right context with the right mindset.
00:12:45.660 --> 00:12:53.461
CGMs can be a really powerful tool for insight and health, and it is awesome in those situations.
00:12:54.061 --> 00:13:00.091
So let's see when it makes sense to use A CGM and how to do it without losing your mind.
00:13:00.466 --> 00:13:02.416
Okay, use case one.
00:13:02.505 --> 00:13:13.275
If you have been told you have insulin resistance, pre-diabetes, or PCOS, this is the first and most valuable use case scenario for CGM use.
00:13:13.875 --> 00:13:17.745
It's the original purpose of CGM for clinical support.
00:13:17.956 --> 00:13:36.696
If you've got legit blood sugar dysregulation, and it's not just curiosity dressed up as biohacking, CGMs can be incredible tools to help you improve your glucose regulation and even pull yourself out of pre-diabetes or reduce medication dosage if you already have diabetes.
00:13:36.995 --> 00:13:38.765
If you are in this camp.
00:13:39.275 --> 00:13:55.235
A CGM can help you see how your body responds to specific meals, how to track true highs and lows and make targeted meaningful shifts that can improve your health significantly without guessing.
00:13:55.806 --> 00:14:07.071
But even then, I recommend doing this alongside a practitioner because interpreting this data solo can sometimes feel like doing your own taxes blindfolded with Latin instructions.
00:14:08.160 --> 00:14:21.541
And then knowing what to do with the data, how to adjust your meals in a way that brings glucose levels back into more ideal ranges, and that's another task altogether best and most often effectively done with guidance.
00:14:22.681 --> 00:14:29.671
Use case two, you suspect you have reactive hypoglycemia or you have really intense.
00:14:29.980 --> 00:14:32.500
Mood and energy swings after meals.
00:14:32.980 --> 00:14:41.260
CGMs can be extremely useful in helping you connect the dots between how you feel and what your blood sugar is actually doing.
00:14:41.890 --> 00:14:50.916
So if you're getting shaky and irritable or brain foggy within a couple hours after eating, if you crash really hard in the afternoon.
00:14:51.716 --> 00:14:57.206
Or if you feel like a completely different person, depending on when or what you eat.
00:14:57.716 --> 00:15:05.395
A CGM can give you some important clues and insights into whether or not your blood sugar may be at play here.
00:15:05.785 --> 00:15:12.745
And this is one of the rare times when real time data can offer you something that your journal or your calendar can't.
00:15:13.255 --> 00:15:19.615
That data gathered from A CGM will either confirm that it is a blood sugar issue.
00:15:20.620 --> 00:15:23.410
Or deny it, in which case you can start looking elsewhere.
00:15:23.711 --> 00:15:39.721
But if it is a blood sugar issue, then you can take that data and use it to adjust your meals and find your personalized target macro ratios to prevent those spikes and crashes that leave you feeling completely useless after 2:00 PM.
00:15:41.865 --> 00:15:47.775
Use case three is when you want a short term experiment to build awareness.
00:15:48.525 --> 00:15:53.775
When used briefly, A CGM can be a fantastic learning tool.
00:15:54.495 --> 00:15:56.086
It's a two week snapshot.
00:15:56.145 --> 00:15:58.066
It's a metabolic audit.
00:15:58.485 --> 00:16:01.096
Use it as a peek behind the curtain.
00:16:01.485 --> 00:16:04.546
But not this lifelong confession booth.
00:16:05.025 --> 00:16:06.105
And this is crucial.
00:16:06.346 --> 00:16:10.546
If you do this, you have got to go in with guardrails.
00:16:11.025 --> 00:16:14.115
No cutting out entire food groups because of a spike.
00:16:14.566 --> 00:16:18.466
No excessive fasting just to bring the glucose down lower.
00:16:18.885 --> 00:16:23.265
No judging your worth based upon a fucking graph.
00:16:23.821 --> 00:16:33.780
If you're someone who's triggered by tracking or you tend toward all or nothing thinking, a CGM may not be your friend right now, and that's okay.
00:16:34.051 --> 00:16:44.520
There are so many other resources to draw upon, and you're much better off getting to your goals without jumping on the CGM bandwagon.
00:16:45.740 --> 00:16:51.769
So big picture, CGMs can be a great tool, but it, it's not your savior.
00:16:52.100 --> 00:16:56.059
And it goes without saying that A CGM is not a moral compass.
00:16:56.330 --> 00:17:09.440
It's also not a diagnostic tool, and it's definitely not a substitute for intuition or knowing what you already know about your body to make good decisions.
00:17:09.920 --> 00:17:17.539
Rather than thinking that spikes are bad, think of your blood sugar levels like packages in a delivery truck.
00:17:18.289 --> 00:17:30.109
So you eat a meal, especially one with carbs, and your body sends glucose into the bloodstream attached to insulin, like a truck heading out with a fresh load of Amazon packages.
00:17:30.410 --> 00:17:35.000
The rise that you see on your CGM is the truck leaving the warehouse.
00:17:35.029 --> 00:17:35.509
Okay?
00:17:35.569 --> 00:17:36.559
It's not a problem.
00:17:36.559 --> 00:17:38.150
It's part of the process.
00:17:38.150 --> 00:17:40.279
The goal's not to stop the truck.
00:17:40.730 --> 00:17:47.509
The goal is to make sure the truck delivers those packages to where they need to go.
00:17:48.015 --> 00:17:51.375
Efficiently and in a timely manner.
00:17:51.644 --> 00:17:56.474
Where do they need to go To your brain, to your muscles, to your organs.
00:17:56.865 --> 00:18:02.714
If the roads are clear, for example, you don't have insulin resistance.
00:18:02.775 --> 00:18:05.835
You move regularly, you get solid sleep, right?
00:18:06.525 --> 00:18:07.694
Delivery is smooth.
00:18:07.815 --> 00:18:08.430
It's all good.
00:18:09.799 --> 00:18:18.799
But if there's a traffic jam from stress, sleep deprivation, or metabolic disease, well then, yeah, deliveries get backed up.
00:18:19.309 --> 00:18:25.009
But that's something that we can work on and improve with supportive strategies.
00:18:25.579 --> 00:18:35.539
While A CGM can offer insight, chasing flat glucose lines while ignoring your fatigue, your hunger, or your central nervous system is not optimization.
00:18:35.779 --> 00:18:40.259
It's metabolic micromanagement dressed up as healthy living.
00:18:42.329 --> 00:18:42.779
Okay.
00:18:42.869 --> 00:18:47.160
I wanna kind of segue into addressing the unspoken elephant in the room.
00:18:47.700 --> 00:18:50.640
What is driving the obsession with CGMs?
00:18:52.289 --> 00:18:54.059
While it is very true, I.
00:18:54.795 --> 00:19:09.315
That there is an outrageous rise in metabolic dysfunction and diabetes across the world, and it is true that this is a crippling and devastating problem that must be addressed.
00:19:09.914 --> 00:19:22.305
The rise of CGMs as we are seeing them, especially in the United States and in pop culture, is not just about curiosity or even science.
00:19:22.994 --> 00:19:25.904
I think it is ultimately about control.
00:19:26.954 --> 00:19:41.259
We live in a culture that conditions us to believe our bodies are a problem to be solved, like being born in a human body is some kind of original sin that we have to strive to fix and perfect.
00:19:41.984 --> 00:19:49.605
Be it our weight, the lines on our face, or achieving those perfect little glucose curves.
00:19:50.265 --> 00:20:05.414
We're sold an idea that if we try harder, we track better, we biohack more precisely and get up at 5:00 AM like huberin and do 27,000 things before noon.
00:20:05.954 --> 00:20:10.454
We would finally feel okay in our own skin we could be redeemed.
00:20:11.355 --> 00:20:23.384
Enter the CGM, and here we have the latest shiny tool, promising clarity, certainty, and salvation in a world full of hormonal chaos and health.
00:20:23.384 --> 00:20:24.285
Gaslighting.
00:20:25.095 --> 00:20:31.154
And I get it, like when your body feels unpredictable, the numbers on a graph feel like power.
00:20:31.154 --> 00:20:32.835
They feel like certainty.
00:20:33.779 --> 00:20:39.299
And you get that graph without the hassle of dealing with the healthcare system.
00:20:39.420 --> 00:20:41.549
Holy shit, that's pretty damn cool.
00:20:41.549 --> 00:20:42.000
Right?
00:20:42.420 --> 00:20:44.160
But here's the truth.
00:20:44.400 --> 00:20:51.089
Wellness culture has turned self quantification into a substitute for self-acceptance.
00:20:53.140 --> 00:20:55.599
So let's break down the drivers behind this.
00:20:55.599 --> 00:20:56.079
Okay.
00:20:56.140 --> 00:21:00.549
When we look at what's fueling the obsession with CGMs, I see four primary things.
00:21:00.700 --> 00:21:02.200
First is the promise of control.
00:21:03.160 --> 00:21:13.660
These websites, and you know, some influencers too, they sell this fantasy that if you just manage this one marker closely enough, you're gonna unlock the body you want.
00:21:14.109 --> 00:21:15.579
Health doesn't work that way.
00:21:15.579 --> 00:21:17.019
Like you're not a spreadsheet.
00:21:17.019 --> 00:21:22.450
You are a complex, dynamic organism that cannot be simply quantified.
00:21:23.019 --> 00:21:36.630
Having the perfect glucose curves doesn't mean weight is automatically gonna come off, or that you're gonna feel younger than you have in years, but some of the ads that I see make it look otherwise.
00:21:37.305 --> 00:21:40.305
The second thing is diet culture rebranded as data.
00:21:40.365 --> 00:21:50.474
I mean, thank God we are not tracking calories anymore, but we're tracking glucose curves and the anxiety, the restriction that results from that, the perfectionism.
00:21:50.619 --> 00:21:51.819
Still the same.
00:21:52.180 --> 00:21:54.970
I see this in clinical practice all the time.
00:21:55.299 --> 00:21:59.140
CGMs can quickly become a moral compass.
00:21:59.710 --> 00:22:00.549
Did I spike?
00:22:00.549 --> 00:22:01.569
Did I fail?
00:22:01.779 --> 00:22:10.809
Like when those thoughts take over, you've started moralizing your biology and sliding into legitimate disordered eating behavior.
00:22:11.740 --> 00:22:13.930
Number three is wellness consumerism.
00:22:13.960 --> 00:22:14.319
Okay?
00:22:14.319 --> 00:22:19.269
Let's not forget, CGMs is a big business.
00:22:20.579 --> 00:22:26.369
CGM wearables are predicted to be a$5 billion market this year.
00:22:26.369 --> 00:22:31.710
That's billion with a B, and it's expected to double in less than a decade.
00:22:32.220 --> 00:22:39.539
You've got startups monetizing fear and turning normal physiology into a subscription service.
00:22:40.339 --> 00:22:47.450
They're selling you this idea that glucose stability is the ultimate pinnacle of health, but you gotta step out from that.
00:22:47.450 --> 00:22:52.970
And remember, it's just one piece of a much, much bigger picture.
00:22:54.140 --> 00:23:00.259
The ultimate reality is that health still comes down to the unsexy, boring shit.
00:23:00.529 --> 00:23:12.255
Getting enough sleep, getting enough fiber, getting enough protein, moving your body, which ironically is going to do more for your glucose management without even knowing the numbers.
00:23:14.759 --> 00:23:18.210
And then the last one is optimization addiction.
00:23:19.500 --> 00:23:25.500
My God, we are just trying to optimize the fuck out of everything.
00:23:25.529 --> 00:23:33.839
And you know, I think the base of that is that we're all being told that being good enough isn't enough.
00:23:34.529 --> 00:23:37.650
You gotta optimize, you gotta track, you gotta perfect.
00:23:39.075 --> 00:23:51.664
We're turning our bodies and our health and our wellness into some kind of pathological stock market expectation of ever increasing benefit.
00:23:51.674 --> 00:23:59.105
CGMs tap right into that belief of optimizing and tracking and making things perfect by giving you a new number to chase.
00:23:59.105 --> 00:24:02.105
It is a new way to fix yourself.
00:24:02.555 --> 00:24:04.894
But what if you're not broken?
00:24:05.825 --> 00:24:08.825
What if your blood sugar isn't actually the problem?
00:24:09.305 --> 00:24:12.275
What if the problem is that you're exhausted?
00:24:12.275 --> 00:24:19.325
You are under fed, you are undermuscled, and you're totally disconnected from your body.
00:24:19.784 --> 00:24:22.203
And your heart and what you want from life.
00:24:22.923 --> 00:24:24.483
But here's the sneaky part, right?
00:24:24.483 --> 00:24:28.023
For, for some people, the more they track, the less they trust themselves.
00:24:28.683 --> 00:24:33.634
The more we chase perfection, the more we struggle with simply being human.
00:24:34.324 --> 00:24:40.074
CGMs, of course, did not create this obsession with fixing and perfecting, and.
00:24:40.419 --> 00:24:47.788
Uh, trying to make ourselves something different than we are has been going on for a very long time.
00:24:47.788 --> 00:24:53.219
But CGMs do pour some gasoline on that situation.
00:24:54.388 --> 00:24:56.669
So what do you do instead?
00:24:56.848 --> 00:25:04.138
I mean, whether you're wearing a CGM right now, or you're just kind of feeling stuck in the cycle of overthinking every damn bite that you put in your mouth.
00:25:04.913 --> 00:25:16.253
If you're second guessing every meal and the graphs, the numbers, the constant analysis, and it's leaving you confused or worried rather than empowered, like take a deep breath.
00:25:16.253 --> 00:25:16.824
Here's the thing.
00:25:16.824 --> 00:25:22.134
You do not need to control every bite you put into your mouth to support your blood sugar.
00:25:22.134 --> 00:25:29.304
What you need is clear structure, consistent habits, and the patience.
00:25:29.574 --> 00:25:32.513
To track patterns over time.
00:25:33.503 --> 00:25:39.354
That's where we see trends and that's where we get valuable information.
00:25:39.864 --> 00:25:44.064
So what supports metabolic health in the real world?
00:25:44.153 --> 00:25:51.084
Guys, I'm gonna give you the unsexy, boring shit, and it starts with two questions at every meal.
00:25:51.443 --> 00:25:53.544
One, where is my produce?
00:25:53.903 --> 00:25:56.693
Two, where is my protein?
00:25:57.354 --> 00:25:58.493
These aren't gimmicks, right?
00:25:58.493 --> 00:26:00.413
These are grounding principles.
00:26:00.443 --> 00:26:06.953
Focusing on these two questions puts the most metabolically supportive foods on your plate.
00:26:06.953 --> 00:26:12.263
At every meal, they become the foundation of a blood sugar supportive plate.
00:26:14.019 --> 00:26:22.388
Protein slows digestion and it blunts glucose spikes by triggering the release of gut hormones like GLP one.
00:26:22.449 --> 00:26:36.519
Yeah, I said it that GLP one and it also helps regulate your appetite protein gives your metabolism a solid anchor to work with and then produce especially colorful fiber rich vegetables.
00:26:37.263 --> 00:26:39.634
Feed beneficial gut bacteria.
00:26:39.723 --> 00:26:48.034
Many of them play a direct role in blood sugar regulation, inflammation control, and even insulin sensitivity.
00:26:48.364 --> 00:26:52.625
Did you know your veggies could do that I'll be talking more about that in a later episode.
00:26:54.170 --> 00:26:55.369
And then we have fats.
00:26:55.880 --> 00:26:57.109
Fats slow.
00:26:57.109 --> 00:27:02.809
The rate at which food leaves your stomach and it helps regulate post-meal blood sugar levels.
00:27:03.805 --> 00:27:13.575
Fats are also super important for hormonal stability, especially in midlife when for some of us, those symptoms are already in flux.
00:27:13.944 --> 00:27:18.924
You don't need any fancy gadgets, just the basics done consistently.
00:27:20.664 --> 00:27:26.095
Another thing that is really helpful for glucose control is to move your body after meals.
00:27:26.424 --> 00:27:32.355
Even a short walk after lunch or dinner can improve glucose uptake by your muscles.
00:27:32.355 --> 00:27:33.795
I'm talking 10 minutes here.
00:27:34.184 --> 00:27:37.575
Don't mistake this as a need to earn your food.
00:27:38.265 --> 00:27:42.555
A walk after a meal simply supports your physiology.
00:27:43.500 --> 00:27:50.130
Movement is one of the fastest ways to put those post meal nutrients to use.
00:27:50.549 --> 00:27:51.269
Think about it.
00:27:51.269 --> 00:27:59.419
When you move your body, you increase your blood flow, and that shuttles nutrients in the blood into the cells.
00:27:59.929 --> 00:28:07.009
But here's a bonus, A good post-meal walk is also fantastic for improving your digestion.
00:28:07.338 --> 00:28:10.608
In fact, there's been a meme going on right now about fart walks.
00:28:10.699 --> 00:28:11.898
It's totally legit.
00:28:11.929 --> 00:28:14.088
Like fart walks are legit.
00:28:14.924 --> 00:28:20.775
I also wanna say that you do not need to skip meals to support your metabolic health.
00:28:22.154 --> 00:28:28.244
If you're using fasting as a tool, it really needs to come with structure, not just coffee and willpower.
00:28:28.664 --> 00:28:34.845
Skipping meals randomly increases stress hormones and makes your blood sugar harder to manage later.
00:28:35.144 --> 00:28:38.894
So if you're trying intermittent fasting, do it with intention.
00:28:39.259 --> 00:28:48.410
Throw out the idea that more is better because it is not, and make sure that you get enough protein in the meals that you eat.
00:28:48.769 --> 00:28:59.529
You want to understand how intermittent fasting fits within your life, within your body's needs, and not just blindly follow somebody else's protocol.
00:28:59.950 --> 00:29:05.319
As with everything else, more or longer is not better in this regard.
00:29:07.865 --> 00:29:14.075
One thing that rarely gets talked about that's super, super important for metabolic health is protecting your sleep.
00:29:14.944 --> 00:29:21.575
One bad night of sleep can temporarily raise your blood sugar levels and reduce your insulin sensitivity.
00:29:22.055 --> 00:29:24.785
So many, many bad nights of sleep.
00:29:25.805 --> 00:29:29.855
Can produce metabolic dysfunction over several years.
00:29:30.305 --> 00:29:35.884
If you're waking up tired, you're relying too heavily on caffeine, you're skipping rest days, right?
00:29:35.884 --> 00:29:40.025
You're brewing a blood sugar issue with that coffee.
00:29:40.025 --> 00:29:45.605
Even if your CGM says otherwise, it just might not show up immediately.
00:29:48.355 --> 00:29:54.565
Finally to support metabolic health, you want to build and maintain muscle mass.
00:29:55.240 --> 00:30:00.009
Muscle tissue is your body's biggest glucose fan.
00:30:00.069 --> 00:30:01.089
After the brain.
00:30:01.480 --> 00:30:10.180
The more lean mass that you carry, the more efficiently you can use glucose and store glucose, especially after meals.
00:30:10.750 --> 00:30:13.750
Resistance training doesn't have to be complicated.
00:30:13.750 --> 00:30:16.779
It doesn't have to be crazy.
00:30:16.779 --> 00:30:23.980
Weightlifting at the gym, grunting and sweating with the dudes, but it does need to be present.
00:30:24.164 --> 00:30:29.265
You need to lift heavy things that challenge you on a consistent basis.
00:30:29.265 --> 00:30:43.699
Be that inside the gym or outside the gym, and you need to eat enough protein to make sure that you have the essential tools on hand to build that muscle in the first place and to keep it on your frame once you have it.
00:30:44.699 --> 00:30:56.038
So while none of those is nearly as sexy as sporting A CGM this summer, it will have you accomplishing more and feeling better than obsessing over your data.
00:30:56.788 --> 00:31:01.679
If your current approach has you constantly guessing, chasing symptoms or.
00:31:02.019 --> 00:31:10.749
Stuck in cycles of overcorrection, you have got to pause and reassess whether or not this is ultimately worthwhile.
00:31:11.348 --> 00:31:12.969
You don't need perfect data.
00:31:12.969 --> 00:31:23.828
Ultimately, like you need to find a strategy that fits within your life and evolves with your body because your body is not a static organism.
00:31:24.189 --> 00:31:28.628
It is changing and evolving moment to moment, day to day, year to year.
00:31:28.868 --> 00:31:31.929
And your needs will change along with it.
00:31:31.959 --> 00:31:42.219
So whether you're wearing a glucose monitor or not supporting blood sugar starts with how you build your meals, how well you sleep, how often you move.
00:31:42.519 --> 00:31:46.118
And how consistently you show up for these basics.
00:31:46.719 --> 00:31:53.288
And remember, at the end of the day, blood sugar is just one piece of the metabolic picture.
00:31:53.739 --> 00:32:01.868
So if something still feels off, don't ignore it, but don't automatically assume that the problem is you.
00:32:03.098 --> 00:32:05.709
Alright folks, that's it for today.
00:32:05.750 --> 00:32:11.579
If you've enjoyed this episode, please like and subscribe to Blasphemous Nutrition.
00:32:11.970 --> 00:32:19.859
If it made you think about somebody who's kind of getting stuck in the CGM Crazy forward this episode to them.
00:32:20.169 --> 00:32:24.759
Maybe I'll develop a new hater or maybe I'll find a new fan, who knows.
00:32:25.538 --> 00:32:27.128
Thanks again for listening.
00:32:27.398 --> 00:32:31.209
Stay salty, stay curious, and I will see you next time.
00:32:32.673 --> 00:32:40.743
Any and all information shared here is for educational and entertainment purposes only, and is not to be misconstrued as offering medical advice.
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Listening to this podcast does not constitute a provider client relationship.
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Note, I'm not a doctor nor a nurse, and it is imperative that you utilize your brain and your medical team to make the best decisions for your own health.
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The use of information on this podcast or materials linked to this podcast.
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Are at the user's own risk.
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No information nor resources provided are intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
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Be a smart human and do not disregard or postpone obtaining medical advice for any medical condition you may have.
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Seek the assistance of your healthcare team for any such conditions and always do so before making any changes to your medical, nutrition or health plan.
