Intermittent fasting with a CGM | Two day diary

Intermittent fasting is very popular, but how does it work and what does it actually help achieve? Watch the video to find out.

Today we’re experimenting with CGMs. A couple of days ago my girlfriend and I applied Continuous Glucose Monitors - see that video here. We were keen to see what happened to our blood glucose levels while following our daily diets.

Why wear a CGM?

The idea behind wearing a CGM is that you can learn about the foods and eating practices that help keep your blood glucose levels under control. In health circles, you will hear that wild ups and downs in your blood glucose are undesirable… and in fact, using a CGM, you might identify foods that deliver larger spikes than others.

Are glucose spikes the enemy?

In short, they’re not great. Many of the healthy complications encountered by diabetics stem from high and fluctuating blood glucose levels. On expert blogs from Zoe and Levels, you’ll read that, “High glucose spikes after meals contribute to inflammation, blood vessel damage, increased risk of diabetes, and weight gain. Additionally, the data shows that the big spikes and dips in glucose are more damaging to tissues than elevated but stable glucose levels. Therefore, you should strive to keep your glucose levels as steady as possible, at a low and healthy baseline level, with minimal variability after meals.”

Therefore, the promise of wearing a CGM is that you can have more insight into which foods cause large spikes, and modify your diet accordingly.

INTERMITTENT FASTING AND BLOOD SUGER LEVELS—WHAT DID I LEARN?

As you can see in this video, my blood glucose levels are broadly level between bedtime and my first meal, circa 11 am. The main food that spiked my glucose levels was oat milk. Other than that, the biggest contributor to sugar spikes seemed to be meal size! Bigger meal = bigger spike.

The literature says that it’s best to level out your blood glucose before bedtime as it can interfere with sleep quality and lead to sleep disturbances, which can have negative effects on overall health and well-being. So, one definite take home message was that if I was going to have a large meal before bedtime, it would be better to eat it early and leave plenty of time for digestion.