My n=1 experiment started when I noticed my blood sugar was going up. I was also experiencings food noise (which was kind of odd for me), and felt stuck even though I was doing all the things:
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- Early morning sunlight
- Movement
- Eating only whole complete foods
- Optimizing sleep
- Mindfully adding minerals
- Barely any TV
- Natural products for skincare and cleaners
- . . . and so many other things.
It seems that this started getting worse when I hit 65 years old. So I decided to figure it out.
After a lot of research I realized I knew what I needed to do, so I gathered supplies, measured myself, took pictures, weighed, then started taking daily tests of blood and ketones, and started my plan. I tracked protein and calories, monitored the timing of my meals, measured weight, blood glucose and ketone levels daily, and did my tape measurements weekly. After a few weeks I was able to see some trends.
First, just the act of tracking itself is helpful because it makes you mindful of what you’re eating, when you’re eating it and you notice portion sizes since you’re logging it into an app every day. Truly, just that mindfulness can make a difference.
Questions to consider:
1. Why would my blood glucose creep up over the last couple of years?
Blood glucose can gradually increase with age, and like it or not, I’m aging.
- Age-Related Insulin Resistance: As we age, our cells often become less sensitive to insulin, a condition known as insulin resistance, even in folks without diabetes like me. I just turned 65. This makes it harder for our bodies to manage glucose effectively. I had to figure this out and dial it in.
- Poor Sleep: Chronic sleep deprivation (4–6 hours per night) disrupts glucose metabolism and increases insulin resistance, as well as stress hormones like cortisol, which elevate blood sugar. Now, show me a menopausal woman who sleeps well all of the time. I would have some great nights here and there, but my sleep was disrupted frequently. Dogs, bathroom, too hot, too cold, achy muscles. . .
- Overexercising: I think I was doing too much exercise. Intense or prolonged workouts can cause stress on the body, raising cortisol levels and affecting glucose control. Even though I was doing recovery work, too, I think with all I was juggling, it was just a bit too much.
- Decline in Muscle Mass: Loss of muscle mass with aging can impair glucose uptake. Why? Because muscle is a major site where glucose is stored and used. I don’t think this was me, but, I don’t have DEXA scans so don’t know.
- Subclinical Inflammation: Low-grade inflammation that increases with age may disrupt insulin signaling pathways. Again, I don’t think this was me.
Even with a healthy diet, these factors can contribute to creeping glucose levels.
2. Why is it important to reverse the trend of slowly elevating blood sugar?
Reversing this trend is critical for several health reasons:
- Preventing Type 2 Diabetes: The longer this goes on the more likelihood it would have turned into diabetes.
- Avoiding Chronic Complications: High blood sugar damages blood vessels and nerves, contributing to heart disease, kidney failure, vision loss, and neuropathy. The kidney failure one iis serious, and it is going up since metabolic disease is on the rise. You can read more on that here.
- Protecting Cognitive Health: Elevated glucose is linked to cognitive decline and an increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease (sometimes called type 3 diabetes).
- Reducing Oxidative Stress: Chronically high glucose contributes to inflammation and aging, and nobody has time for that.
- Improving Energy Levels: Stable blood sugar improves energy, focus, and overall well-being.
- AND, a vanity reason – there was no way I was going to lose some stubborn fat (that pesky last 10 pounds) if my insulin levels were locking down my fat cells.
3. What would have happened had I not fixed this trend?
Without intervention, several negative outcomes could have happened over time. Think Metabolic Disease:
- Progression to Type 2 Diabetes: Prediabetes often progresses to diabetes if underlying causes are not addressed. So I’m addressing them!
- Increased Cardiovascular Risk: Elevated glucose can stiffen arteries, increase blood pressure, and promote atherosclerosis.
- Organ Damage: Prolonged high glucose damages the kidneys (diabetic nephropathy), eyes (retinopathy), and nerves (neuropathy).
- Weight Gain and Fat Accumulation: Insulin resistance often leads to fat storage, particularly around the abdomen, worsening metabolic health. My fat storage was around my thighs. It would not budge.
- Systemic Inflammation: Chronic glucose elevations fuel widespread inflammation, which can exacerbate aging and diseases like cancer.
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I could have waited, kept doing all the things, and hoped that a change in weather, new walking shoes, or just being optimistic would work. But it never does. Sometimes we have to break old patterns, change things up, LEARN something new, and UNLEARN those things that are holding us back. Being proactive to change this dangerous trend most likely prevented significant health problems for me. It took me a few weeks of not seeing changes although I noticed the food noise went away pretty quickly, and then I started noticing a change in my blood glucose numbers, my ketones and the scale weight. Notably I have lost a little over 11 pounds so far with this experiment and I know that 1 pound of this is visceral fat. I’m working on dropping more visceral, and not stopping until I do.
I have been following the work of Dr Sean O’Mara for years, and only 1/2 way did his protocol as I felt the fasting would not work for me. Then I discovered Candi Frazier who teaches how to fast properly for women, and how to stack dense nutrition to work with the menopausal woman’s body. THAT was the puzzle piece I was missing. I can go more into that in a different post in how I adapted that information for me. You can follow her on IG as she drops some truth bombs all of the time.
Dr Sean talks about over training, and I was for me. When I slowed down some of that work, my stress levels went down. I still move, but I do walking, some weights and some sprinting. Sprinting, according to Dr Sean, will trigger our bodies to burn visceral fat which is a very unhealthy fat that is hidden in our bodies. It wraps around organs including our hearts, and it can infiltrate our muscles. It is highly inflammatory, too. So I wanted it gone and I wanted the stubborn fat on my body gone. I could not do that with over training, high blood sugar and disrupted sleep. It was time for a change.
I’ll write more on this in the future. Stay tuned for Part 2.
Drop me a note or comment if you have any questions—I respond to all my messages. You can follow me on Instagram for the easiest and best way to keep up with me, my n=1 experiments and other lifestyle wellness ideas.
https://www.instagram.com/lindaslivingwell
Disclaimer: I am not a doctor or your nutritionist. This blog is information for entertainment purposes only. All of the things I share on video, posts, stories, email and other writings are not medical advice. Please consult your own healthcare provider before making changes to your diet and/or exercise programs.