sugar metabolism

How to Sabotage Your Blood Sugar (For Real)

❌ Stop doing these things If you want healthy blood sugar regulation.

Lots of times people come to me with concerns about their blood sugar, and they’re already doing a lot of things *right*

They know they need to eat a healthy balance of macronutrients and to move their bodies every day, but here are some surprising things many people don’t realize can spike their blood sugar and sabotage their efforts.

1️⃣ Eating Carbs Alone

Without protein, fiber, or fat, carbs are quickly digested and cause a sudden spike in blood sugar.

2️⃣ Eating While Stressed

Stress hormones signal cells in the liver to release glucose into the bloodstream as an energy source to face the perceived threat. That’s not helpful if real sugar is also coming in the form of food.

3️⃣ Coffee on Empty Stomach

Coffee triggers the release of adrenaline (a stress signal), which signals cells to release sugar into the bloodstream. This can set the stage for poor blood sugar regulation for the day.

4️⃣ Dinner Late at Night

Food is meant to be digested and then utilized for energy. If you eat a large meal right before bed, the excess energy will be stored as fat or disrupt blood sugar levels in the night.

5️⃣ Sleep Deprivation

Studies show that even one night of sleep deprivation can worsen insulin resistance the next day.

What did I miss?

Have you noticed other surprising things that disrupt your blood sugar?

Reference

Singh T, Ahmed TH, Mohamed N, et al. Does Insufficient Sleep Increase the Risk of Developing Insulin Resistance: A Systematic Review. Cureus. 2022;14(3):e23501. [link]

Blood Sugar Problems in the Family? Open Up.

Factors that influence blood sugar balance 👇

But first, if blood sugar problems run in your family, that does not mean you are destined for them too.

Genetics and age are admittedly 2 factors you cannot control.

But there are many other factors that also influence your risk for insulin resistance and blood sugar problems.

Factors you CAN control include:

✅ Diet

✅ Exercise

✅ Stress

✅ Hormones

✅ Sleep

When you tip the scales in your favor by optimizing these factors you can control…

…you set yourself up for a lifetime of health 🙌

📲Tag a friend in the comments who might find this helpful!

Sugar Crash—Explained 😮

👀 Pause the scroll and spend a minute with me…

Ready for a crash course in exactly what happens at the cellular level when you eat too much sugar at once?

(let’s say—a big gulp slushie 🥤)

When the sugar hits your digestive tract, it’s absorbed into your bloodstream as glucose (aka blood sugar)...

…which signals beta cells in your pancreas to release insulin (a hormone) into the blood as well.

⚠️ Remember this: because we’re dealing with a slushie here, a large spike in blood sugar triggers a large spike in insulin.

Insulin facilitates the movement of glucose into cells so it can be used as energy 👏👏

Sounds great EXCEPT…

Because of the sudden nature and magnitude of the sugar spike and insulin spike, glucose is quickly moved into cells and blood sugar drops dramatically (the CRASH 🫨)

Cue hunger, cravings, shakiness, brain fog, anxiety, you-name-it.

👉 The point is that our bodies were not made to deal with excessive sugar intake.

If repeated day in and day out, eating high amounts of sugar or refined carbs without healthy fats, fiber, and protein…

…is the main cause of insulin resistance.

If you’re still with me, like ❤️this post and follow 🚶‍♀️for my upcoming posts on how to keep a healthy blood sugar balance.

Subtle Signs of Insulin Resistance

Signs of Blood Sugar Imbalance You May Not Know 👇👇

But first it’s important to be clear that you cannot know if you have blood sugar problems strictly by the way you feel.

💥 The only way to know is to test.

That being said, here are some of the outward signs:

▪️ Belly fat

▪️ Sugar Cravings

▪️ Energy Crashes

▪️ Brain Fog

▪️ Mood Swings

▪️ Skin Tags

▪️ Darkened Skin Creases


These signs give us clues that you may have insulin resistance, which means your cells have become less responsive to insulin and less effective at using glucose from your blood as energy.

Left unchecked, insulin resistance can also fuel inflammation, weight struggles, and heart disease 😬

Be sure to like ❤️ this post and follow🚶‍♀️for more posts coming soon on how to understand and optimize your blood sugar.