When old patterns resurface
I am just going to say it, Happy Fall!! This week we get to usher in another season and there is just something about the change of seasons that energizes me.I wanted to share something kind of vulnerable with you today- some old feelings that have come back to the surface. I bought myself a CGM(continuous glucose monitor) for my birthday and signed up for the 1 month trial. I LOVE biofeedback and am a science geek at heart so the thought of being able to see what my body was doing as far as glucose response day and night was pretty exciting to me. I also have a family history of diabetes and know that surface level health is not enough at this stage in my life. I put the first sensor on this past Monday and panicked when it said my glucose dropped dangerously low the first night, then I realized it was just calibrating and that wasn't accurate- LOL! Just like any new "toy" or gadget, I was finding it fun to scan the sensor a few times a day to see what was going on with my blood glucose. Imagine my surprise to find out that my fasting glucose was in the prediabetes range, and my glucose was fairly high all day and night. For some reason I thought I would have pristine glucose numbers because I work really hard on my diet, exercise and stress management. Not the case. My mind immediately went to , "what other foods do I restrict" to try to get my glucose numbers down. I know that after menopause women are more sensitive to carbs, but the thought of "going keto" made me feel so defeated. I have worked for years to manage my HPA axis dysfunction, correct my chronic undereating and over exercising, and become more resilient to stress and just felt like I had failed or that my body had failed me. After multiple messages with their Registered Dietitian on staff, I calmed down and we have a plan. The fact that I have been eating a low carb diet for so long, and that I was chronically undereating for literally decades can be contributing factors to my consistently higher than expected glucose levels. The stress of not providing my body with enough nutrients(or carbs) has possibly put me into what is called adaptive glucose sparing. I am going to be doing a carb experiment this week where I test my glucose response after 30g of carbs. I will eat only that food(bananas, honey, oats, beans, etc) first thing in the morning and wait 2 hours before eating anything else to see how my body responds to that carb load. After this experiment, we will have more information and know how to move forward. One thing I do know is that no matter what the outcome, I have to look at this as a gift. A learning experience where I now know that tracking STILL triggers some obsessive/restrictive behaviors for me and that it is a slippery slope. Click here to listen as I discuss this on IG TV I would love to hear from you- do you have any old behaviors that you think are gone, however get triggered by certain things? |
1 Comments
Sep 18, 2021, 7:30:21 AM
Maggie White - Oh how they fly back at times. I just recently had blood work done and my cholesterol is more elevated than usual, have been eating too much cheese, I know that. I have had elevated LDL for years even though I am basically whole food plant based with a cheese challenge. My mom had the same cholesterol issue so quite sure it is a genetic deal but my risk factor changed recently with the placement of an iliac vein stent. My number only changed slightly but my risk factor changed, not something within my control. Yes I can be better about the cheese and am working on that but accepted the fact I now need the med because of the stent, not a diet catastrophe. I immediately thought "let me change my diet more" but as I looked at how I eat, genetics play a big part and I cannot change that. Slippery slope for sure.