How to lose weight by checking blood sugar

How to lose weight by checking blood sugar? seems like a weird question, but you can. From the ordinary breakfast of pancakes or sandwiches to heavy dinners and light snacks in between, our blood sugar levels continue to swing depending on what we eat and what we decide not to eat.

Unfortunately, having this severe fluctuation in blood sugar over a long period can cause serious health issues like insulin resistance that eventually lead to type 2 diabetes and PCOS for women.

In this article, we will discuss simple ways you can follow to maintain your blood sugar levels optimized and avoid weight gain along with other health risks caused by insulin resistance;

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How to lose weight by checking blood sugar?

Here are some ways that checking your blood sugar can help with weight loss:

Being aware of how different foods affect your blood sugar through testing can help you make better food choices. Carbs that spike your sugar rapidly are less ideal for weight management.
You’ll see patterns of how your blood sugar responds after meals over time. This feedback can motivate you to adjust portion sizes or meal composition for steadier levels.
Testing after meals helps identify “problem” foods that cause your sugar to soar unusually high. Avoiding these triggers can reduce calories in the long run.
Checking your sugar if it drops too low after eating tells you that you may have over-estimated your portion. This prevents overeating for energy.
Monitoring both pre- and post-meal readings shows whether medications, supplements, or lifestyle changes are effectively managing your blood sugar. Good control supports weight loss.
Discussing regular testing results with your doctor or diabetes educator helps them tailor a nutrition and exercise plan perfect for your metabolism.

Being engaged in self-care through blood sugar checks increases awareness of health goals like healthy weight. This accountability boosts weight management motivation.

How long to wait after eating to check blood sugar

There is no single definitive time to wait after eating to check your blood sugar. However, here are some general guidelines:

For most meals like breakfast, lunch, or dinner: Wait at least 2 hours after starting to eat before checking your blood sugar. This allows time for food to be digested and your blood sugar level to peak after the meal.
For snacks: Wait at least 1 hour after eating the snack before checking your blood sugar. Snacks cause a smaller spike than meals.
If experiencing highs or lows: You may need to check sooner than the standard times to determine if your blood sugar is rising or falling too quickly after eating. Consult your healthcare provider for individualized advice.
For testing after taking medication: Check your sugar before eating if taking medication to see your baseline. Then test 1-2 hours after eating to see how your body responds to the combined effects of food and medication.

At night: Try to check right before bed to get a sense of your nighttime sugar level. But don’t check within 2 hours of a late evening snack or dessert.

Ideal blood sugar levels for weight loss

To keep your blood sugar level normal, your reading has to be:

Fasting: 4.0 to 5.4 mmol/L (72 to 99 mg/dL) .
2 hours after eating: Up to 7.8 mmol/L (140 mg/dL).

Unlike the gradual rising and falling, which normally happens throughout the day when eating, sugar spikes occur after eating foods that have a very high amount of sugar, or when eating carbs that break down into smaller glucose units.

If you checked your blood sugar after eating and turned out it’s higher than normal, then, you can follow these tips to avoid being in the danger zone of gaining more weight and developing diabetes.

Eat less carbs

Going on a low-carb diet or even a zero-carb diet, like the keto diet, for example, will make sure that your blood sugar won’t rise.

As known, carbs like sugar and refined carbs present in bread, cereals, rice, and desserts have a high glycemic index. These foods are easily digested and absorbed in the blood causing a sharp rise in blood sugar.

Moreover, refined carbs are stripped of fibers and vitamins which make their digestion harder and slower, and make you full after eating.

So, eating refined carbs makes you crave more food, especially sweets, and cause weight gain.

Then we can conclude that replacing carbs with low-glycemic foods like whole grains, fruits, and legumes is better to prevent sugar spikes.

Glycemic index meal calculator

Check out the glycemic index calculator, to know if the carbs you eat (high, medium, or low) are in the glycemic index.

Maintain a healthy weight

Studies proved that weight loss could improve insulin function to control blood sugar levels more effectively. Also, it was proved that insulin resistance is linked to obesity.

Check out your BMI to know if you are (underweight, normal, overweight, or obese).

So, maintaining a healthy weight can prevent blood sugar spikes that can lead to more weight gain.

Exercise

Doing more exercises has been shown to increase insulin sensitivity, which means that insulin can function better in lowering blood sugar and preventing sugar spikes.

Fortunately, both high-intensity and moderate-intensity exercises are effective in improving insulin sensitivity and decreasing blood sugar.

Make sure you are exercising at least 2 hours per week, and to know more about how to plan your exercises perfectly check out:

Drink more water

Believe it or not, dehydration can cause rising blood sugar. As the body upon dehydration increases the secretion of a hormone called vasopressin that causes water retention, therefore, this hormone doesn’t allow the kidney to get rid of excess sugar through urine. So, water and sugar become locked within the body leading to high blood sugar and insulin resistance.

So make sure to drink at least 2 liters of water every day.

Apple cider vinegar

Introducing some vinegar in your diet shows to have many proven health benefits including weight loss and sugar control.

Having a cup of diluted vinegar after a meal reduces the glycemic index which helps to prevent sugar spikes.

You can make it a habit to drink 1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar diluted with water every day, you will be surprised with the results.

Eat Cinnamon

Studies showed that cinnamon increased insulin sensitivity and reduced blood sugar when taken after a high-carb meal.

Spicing your food with cinnamon or maybe just drinking it with milk can help you stabilize blood sugar.

Reduce Stress

Learning how to manage stress is an important part of controlling blood sugar levels and preventing spikes. As being on stress stimulates the liver to release glucose stored in the blood, which raises sugar levels.

So, to avoid stress-triggering blood sugar spikes, try some yoga exercises to help you relieve stress.

In conclusion, blood sugar levels depend on multiple factors and you should learn how to improve them. However, to adjust this part of your health consider making these simple changes in your lifestyle to enjoy gradual improvements in your health.