[Mini] Supporting Stable Blood Sugar Levels | Ep. 57

In this mini episode, you'll learn about why blood sugar regulation is so important for hormone health, overall health, and what you can do to start getting your glucose under control.

Check out Ep 56 for the longer form conversation on this topic!

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Chapters

• 0:04 Importance of Blood Sugar Regulation
• 7:51 Understanding Menstrual Cycle Nutrition

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:04

Hey and welcome to this mini episode where I'm going to be talking about blood sugar regulation. Blood sugar regulation is something that is so important for all humans, but also all menstruators, because when our blood sugar gets out of control and our insulin gets all whacked out, that can have big time impacts on what's going on with your cycle, and it can also impact your stress, and if you've been here before, you'll know that stress is not great for your cycle. Even if you haven't been here before, you probably or maybe know that too. So if you like what you hear today, you want the longer form version of it. You can check out the earlier episode from this week, which is the longer form episode on this same topic. This mini episode is designed just to give you a little appetizer, a little snacketizer, to serve either as a refresher for you or so you can start here and then go back to the bigger episode. So let's jump into it. Blood sugar regulation is important for all of us, but especially if you are somebody who has irregular cycles, unpredictable periods, or if you have just totally MIA periods, this will be a really good area for you to start on as you're making these changes towards a healthier lifestyle Because, again, dysregulated blood sugar can have big impacts on your cycle but also how you feel. Now, when you do balance your glucose glucose blood sugar we use those terms interchangeably that can have a big impact and a benefit to curbing cravings, fighting constant hunger when it comes to fatigue, brain fog, of course, hormonal and fertility issues. Also skin conditions, sleep, symptoms of menopause and perimenopause. All these things can be benefited by balancing your blood sugars and avoiding these big spikes and troughs in your blood sugar.

Speaker 1: 2:13

Now, a change in blood sugar is supernatural. Well, it's natural, our body is designed to do that. But when we are loading our bodies up with some of these processed foods with tons of added sugars, that's where the problem lies. So I will talk through some real, practical, applicable ways that you can, in your daily life, start to support your blood sugar levels. But just know that, yes, yes, overall, our blood sugar is designed to do this. This is how our body is supposed to function. But the thing that we need to dial back is the spike. That huge spike is not great for our mitochondria. Mitochondria, of course, is the powerhouse of our cells, helps support our overall energy levels and ability to create energy, also when insulin levels are high, which they would be after a blood sugar spike, that high insulin level is going to trigger your body to store fat in the liver, muscle and fat tissue. And so if that's not something you're looking to add on to which many people aren't whether it's for aesthetic reasons or for your health reasons right, that's just another reason to focus on blood sugar regulation.

Speaker 1: 3:39

Now let's jump right into what can you do to support better blood sugar levels. The first thing you can do is start off your day with a savory meal. Don't go for the sugary breakfast, the sweet breakfast can do is start off your day with a savory meal. Don't go for the sugary breakfast, the sweet breakfast. How can you focus on getting 30 grams of protein in your breakfast? If that feels like a real big goal for you, start off with 20 grams. You can think about a Greek yogurt bowl with chia seeds, maybe with nut butter berries. You could opt for a couple of eggs with avocado toast and turkey slices. Maybe trade out the turkey slices for cottage cheese. Or a third option there go for a high protein smoothie. And, of course, you're going to make that a more savory smoothie, less sweet. So how can you incorporate protein and fat into that, maybe through avocado seeds. Berries are good because they're high in fiber and relatively low in sugar, so those would be good ones to consider as you're trying to make some tweaks to your breakfast. Now I'm really optimistic that if you make these changes in your breakfast your breakfast Now. I'm really optimistic that if you make these changes in your breakfast, that you will see changes that same day in your energy levels, like this will be something that quickly you get the reward from your change. So, savory breakfast. That's where you'll start.

Speaker 1: 5:04

The second thing you can do is start getting some movement in after your meals. So whether you're picking your most carb heavy meal of the day if that's all you can do, is one, maybe you're doing some calf raises underneath your desk, maybe you are just taking a lap around the office real quick with your work buddy. Whatever works for you, the important thing is moving your body and actually using your muscles that are going to take that insulin, or rather take that glucose, into your cells. The third thing that you can focus on here would be eating vegetables first when you sit down for your meal. So maybe you're looking at what you already have on your plate and how can you just eat the vegetable component first? Or maybe it's thinking, okay, well, I'm going to have spaghetti tonight, so I should probably get a salad to have first. I should probably, just when you sit down to your plate that has potatoes and broccoli and salmon, just go for the broccoli first, because the order in which you eat your food will have an impact on what it does to your blood sugar.

Speaker 1: 6:16

Now I want to round off this mini by mentioning three things that you might think are healthy. You might think they're better for you, but they could be negatively impacting your blood sugar. So the first thing would be doing a fasted workout. Now, this can work for some people, yes, but if you are somebody who has hormonal imbalances, if you have unpredictable periods, if you have no period, then I would really encourage you to eat something before you work out in the morning. Overall, this is going to send more signals of safety to your body, right? It's going to keep those cortisol levels down, or at least not give them an excuse to jump up super high, real fast, first thing in the day to throw off your blood sugar for the rest of the day.

Speaker 1: 7:03

So if you are trying to get your period back. You're trying to regulate your cycle. Eat something protein and fat forward before you get your workout on. The other thing that I see people doing from time to time would be avoiding fats, right. So it's really important still to include fats and I know this isn't the 90s anymore, so hopefully you're up to speed with the rest of us but fats are really important for hormone production. Cholesterol is the building block for our hormones. So don't be afraid to add avocado, don't be afraid to add butter, don't be afraid to incorporate something that has a little bit higher fat than maybe what you are comfortable with.

Speaker 1: 7:51

The third and final thing I'll say is don't expect yourself to eat the same way the whole month, or meaning your whole cycle. In the second half of your cycle, between ovulation and your period, you will need to be more careful about your blood sugar because naturally you'll have lower estrogen levels during that time and that's going to leave you more prone to, or rather less sensitive to, insulin. So I hope this was a helpful sneak peek. Let me know what you think by rating and reviewing the show. You can always DM me at Bridget Walton with any questions or comments or clarifications that you're looking for. Check out the full episode if you want to dive deeper there too. All right, thanks so much. We'll see you next time.