Raise your hand if you can relate to any of these:
- You take the term hangry to an all new level.
- You feel like a brand new person after you eat.
- You have a very difficult time losing weight.
- You constantly crave sugar.
- You always feel thirsty and use the bathroom a lot.
- You often feel anxious and sluggish.
- You find it difficult to stay focused.
- You have trouble sleeping through the night.
- Your cuts and bruises seem to take a long time to heal.
If you are sitting there thinking, “Yes! Yes! Yes!”, the problem could be that your blood sugar is out of whack.
But don’t stress….there are simple things you can do to better balance your blood sugar, improve your energy, enhance your mood, productivity and metabolism. But before we get to that, let’s talk science.
Blood sugar (blood glucose) is the sugar that the bloodstream carries to all cells in the body to supply us with energy. The sugar comes from the food we eat. Your blood sugar levels change throughout the day and are typically at their lowest point before your first meal.
After you eat, the body responds by secreting insulin, a hormone produced by the pancreas that allows your body to either use the glucose from your food, or store it for future use. Insulin regulates your blood sugar levels, and tries to prevent them from getting too high or too low. Consistently elevated blood sugar levels can lead to insulin resistance, which can lead to pre diabetes and type 2 diabetes.
When your blood sugar is balanced you’ll likely feel energetic, happy, productive, and sleep well.
When your blood sugar is not balanced, you are at a brief sugar high or at the bottom of a crash.
Our brains need glucose to stay alert and when we’re running low, we have a hard time staying focused. That’s why it’s really hard to concentrate on an empty stomach.
When blood sugar is stable- we feel energetic, our bodies release fat, muscle is protected and cravings are reduced.
Here are 12 simple things you can do to control your blood sugar:
1. Avoid foods that cause a major spike in blood sugar
Like refined white sugar, white breads and pastas, or anything with a high glycemic index like soda.
The Glycemic Index is a numerical scale that tells us how quickly and by how much a particular food can raise blood sugar. The lower the GI or glycemic load, the less it affects blood sugar and insulin levels.
Foods with a Low GI score, like apples, grapefruit, broccoli, lentils, nuts and seeds are great for keeping blood sugar levels stable.
Foods with a Medium GI score are good when you need quick energy, but don’t want to spike your blood sugar. Medium GI foods include brown rice, oatmeal, sweet potatoes and peas.
2. Plan your meals.
When you take the time to meal plan with fresh, good quality ingredients, it can really help control your blood sugar and ultimately improve your mood, energy and overall health!
3. Focus on eating nutrient-dense meals
Use fresh ingredients and avoid processed foods. When you fill your plate with colorful, whole foods that are minimally processed and low GI, they work to lower your blood sugar levels and avoid spikes, while foods with added sugars can heighten glucose levels.
4. Ensure your main meals are well balanced.
They should include protein, healthy fats and carbohydrates. When we consume healthy sources of carbohydrates with plenty of good fat and protein, the glucose from the meal enters our blood slowly, which is what we want.
5. Eat protein with most meals.
This will help slow the release of glucose into your bloodstream when it’s included with every meal. Protein is also important for the growth and repair of muscle tissue.
6. Exercise
Exercise helps cells in your muscles take up more glucose in order to use it for energy and tissue repair and lowers blood sugar in the process. Long term exercise also makes cells more responsive to insulin and helps prevent resistance. Try to get your heart rate up and sweat at least 3 times a week.
7. Sleep
A lack of sleep can raise stress and appetite hormones (cortisol and gherlin) that make you hungry. This makes it harder to say no to those sugary snacks, so be sure to get 7 – 8 hrs each night!
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