I'm Hormonal | PCOS, periods, gut + hormone health insights

[Mini] Stable Sugars While Traveling: Five Easy Places to Start | Ep. 87

• Bridget Walton, Women's Hormone Coach • Episode 87

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Blood sugar management is essential for hormonal health and overall well-being. We explore five focus areas to help regulate blood sugar, especially while on the go.

• Identifying the impact of blood sugar on energy, mood, and hormonal balance
• Practical snack suggestions for busy lifestyles
• Tips for choosing healthier options at restaurants
• Importance of sleep for stable blood sugar levels
• Movement as a tool to manage stress and blood sugar

Today I mentioned Cymbiotika's magnesium l-threonate pouches which can be supportive of quality sleep. They're my current magnesium go-to pouch. Use this link for 15% off your Cymbiotika purchase.


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Speaker 1:

Guys, hear me out when I tell you that blood sugar regulation is so important for your overall health and also, yes, for your hormonal health. If you are somebody with irregular cycles, if you are somebody who is trying to get those cycles back into a normal rhythm, then this is going to be a really important first place for you to start, even if you don't just have irregular cycles, getting your blood sugar under control and more regulated, stable, can have a positive impact on cravings, on constant hunger, fatigue, also brain fog. It can impact hormonal and fertility issues Also and I've got like what? Four more things here. I pulled these from Glucose Goddess's website. Skin conditions, wrinkles, poor sleep, menopause symptoms, also mental health symptoms and your immune system can all be impacted by getting your blood sugar regulation under control. So that's why we're focusing on blood sugar regulation today or this week. In today's mini episode, I'm going to be walking you through the five focus areas I want you to keep in mind while you are traveling or if you were just on the go for work, you were out and about. These are going to be perfect for you to make blood sugar regulation really practical and actionable. Now, if you haven't listened to tuesday's episode yet go back and check that out, because it will make today's episode make a lot more sense. In that episode, I also covered the four foundational tips that I want you to focus on first, which are starting your day with a savory breakfast, starting at least one meal a day with a vegetable starter incorporating apple cider vinegar to the beginning of at least one meal a day, and then, fourth and final, getting some movement in of at least one meal a day, and then, fourth and final, getting some movement in after at least one meal a day. So I'm not going to cover those again here. Go back to the main episode of I'm Hormonal, episode number what is that? 86 earlier this week and check that out. Then come back here for some dollops of sunshine. These are going to be really helpful for you, and this is what I did. This is what I still do when I'm traveling. Really quick though. I want to say welcome. If this is your first time listening, then I'm Bridget, your host. Of course, I'm a women's hormone coach and the host of I'm Hormonal, and on Thursdays we have these short mini episodes to really help integrate what we learned in the longer form. Episodes on Tuesdays help integrate what we learned in the longer form episodes on Tuesdays. So welcome, welcome, welcome.

Speaker 1:

Let me walk you through what are the five categories I'm going to be running through and then we will dive right into it. Number one snack suggestions. Two restaurant hacks. Three sleep. Four, beverage choices and timing. And then five, stress, because, yes, your stress levels will also impact your blood sugar levels.

Speaker 1:

Okay, let's come back to snacks. In a dream world, you wouldn't need snacks because you would get three full, totally satiating, totally delicious and robust meals. But we live on planet Earth, so sometimes we need snacks. Now you'll have to plan ahead for some of these things, but you can do it. I believe in you. Let me tell you what are the snacks that I think are like that are my go-tos and why they're good.

Speaker 1:

When it comes to supporting your blood sugar levels, I focus on making sure I have some sort of nut or trail mix packed. Sometimes, if I'm in a pinch and I'm stopping by the store, I'll see what kind of protein bars they have, and ideally a protein bar that has little or no added sugar in it Kind of hard to find. Also, boiled eggs. I love eggs, sometimes cheese. You can also get away with a protein smoothie, say that you make a smoothie in the morning and then you're out on the road for the day and you have it for later on, then I think that's a really great option too, because what you'll notice about all of these is that it's really focusing on the protein and fat aspect of the meal, meaning that higher protein, higher fat, less sugar that's what's going to keep your blood sugar levels more stable. That's what is going to prevent you from having that energy dip afterwards, from having a blood sugar spike and then drop.

Speaker 1:

Another note on snacks, and this is kind of specific to if you're at a conference or you're at a team meeting on site somewhere. A lot of the snacks that I see shared at those locations are croissants or muffins. It's a sugary drink, maybe it's chips, something like that. Now, if you are really hungry, you should eat something, or if your blood sugar is low, you should eat something, hopefully a snack that you prepared ahead of time in accordance with one of my earlier recommendations. However, just know that if you are going to dive into that little snack table with the muffins and croissants, what that will do is spike your blood sugar and then you're probably going to have a drop after that.

Speaker 1:

So if you're like dang, why do I have no energy, even though I'm snacking Girl? That is why Number two on the list, restaurant hacks. So it's tough, right when you're out to dinner for a work meeting, or whether you're just out to dinner with friends or with your partner or whoever it is in your life, or I'm a big fan of going out to dinner by myself, actually. So if you're like me, let me know on Instagram at Bridget Walton. I love to find other gals out there who love to dine by themselves.

Speaker 1:

Anyway, you will find that a lot of restaurants have no surprise vegetable-based appetizers, right, there's so often a Brussels sprout-based appetizer. Or, of course, you could get a side salad. Of course you could see if there's a hummus and veggie situation. If they don't have anything, I mean you can go crazy gals. You can just ask them like hey, I would love a vegetable. Like what can I do to get a vegetable around here? Now, soup is a good, is a good final option too, thinking of soups that have chunks of vegetables in it, as opposed to a soup that has been pureed and therefore all the fiber and the vegetables are just pulverized and gone. Another thing you can do is ask them for apple cider vinegar. They may or may not have it Can't hurt to ask, but that would be in alignment with the earlier episode's recommendation of incorporating a couple teaspoons of apple cider vinegar at the beginning of your meal in order to help support stable blood sugar levels.

Speaker 1:

One last thought here on restaurants. When I'm in and about, I always am trying to find a sushi restaurant, because I know that there's going to be a seaweed salad, there's going to be shishito peppers, there's going to be miso salad Not that there's a ton of veggies in there, but anyway. Sometimes it's really hit or miss, but I love to go to sushi because I know that A it's going to be like clean eating or cleaner eating, and I know that there are going to be a couple of veggie starters that I really like. Plus I just I just like sushi, you know.

Speaker 1:

The third thing that I want you to focus on is setting a bedtime for yourself. Like, act like you are seven years old and set yourself a bedtime, because this is really key for probably, your overall mood and happiness. But also well, I don't mean to project myself onto you If you can survive on five hours of sleep. I can't. Anyway, getting an adequate amount of sleep is going to be supportive of more stable blood sugar levels.

Speaker 1:

The next day If you are cruising on, you know, maybe you did a red eye and then you got no sleep like your blood sugar levels will be impacted because your stress levels are higher. It's a chicken or the egg situation, because also irregular or dysregulated blood sugar levels can negatively impact your sleep. But just make that a priority. Really, if you are at a conference or you're at a team meeting where people are always staying up until midnight or later, just set a reasonable time, set an alarm on your phone and just meet that plan that you set for yourself earlier on in the day. If you can, it would be helpful to stop eating at least two hours before you go to sleep, because sometimes if you have a sweet treat in the evening or maybe you're consuming some alcohol, that can still impact your blood sugar for a couple of hours. Right, you eat at 9 pm. Your blood sugar is going up and going down for maybe three hours. So during that time, while you are asleep, you could be woken from your slumber because you have low blood sugar. So, anyway, hope that makes sense. The takeaway is to try to finish eating at least two hours before you're going to sleep.

Speaker 1:

One other honorable mention here magnesium is a really good supplement to take that supports both sleep and blood sugar. So magnesium glycinate is one that can be supportive of both of those things. Also, if you're a Symbiotica gal out there and I'll share a discount or a coupon code in the show notes here but magnesium L-threonate is really good for sleep. So if you are looking for just like something that's really easy to travel with maybe you don't like to swallow pills or you don't want to travel with a powder then Symbiotica makes it really easy with these packets because super easy to travel with them. Take your magnesium L-threonate and fall asleep like a little baby.

Speaker 1:

Fourth, I want to talk about beverage choices and timing. The first one is going to be caffeine related. I encourage, encourage, encourage you to enjoy your caffeine with, but not before, breakfast. If you're having your caffeine before breakfast, maybe you're already a little bit stressed or maybe you haven't gotten the best sleep. That caffeine is going to increase your cortisol, your stress hormone and your adrenaline, and that can also cause your blood sugar level to go up too. So again, that's not inherently bad, but that's not the best you can do. And if you just are able to eat breakfast eat that savory breakfast with your coffee you're going to be much better off and your energy levels will be much better sustained throughout the day.

Speaker 1:

The second beverage I want to talk about and I alluded to this before is alcohol, because alcohol is doing absolutely no favors to your blood sugar. Your liver plays a huge role in blood sugar regulation and, of course, it also plays a big role in pulling these toxins from alcohol out of your system. So drinking is going to do a bamboozle on your liver, which will then impact your blood sugar regulation, and it will impact your sleep, which we just talked about, and also stress, which is next. Sleep, which we just talked about, and also stress, which is next. Fifth and final, if you are stressed, get up and move your body. I know this is easier for me to say here sitting in my office than actually being at a conference or at your meeting, but if you're like, wow, I'm stressed today, get up, take a lap around the conference center, because by actually using your muscles, that's going to bring that glucose into your cells and therefore you won't have such high blood sugar levels and hopefully, your cortisol levels will follow. All right, my friend, that is it for today.

Speaker 1:

Thank you for listening to this mini episode of I'm Hormonal. Connect with me on Instagram at Bridget Walton, and keep your eyes peeled for a rebrand that I have coming up in May here. I'm really excited about it, and what that means for you is a great new array of free resources and downloadables that will make keeping balanced hormones easy and automatic for you, especially while you are on the road traveling. So thank you again for listening, especially all the way to the end here, and I will see you on the next one.

Speaker 1:

If you loved today's episode and got something good out of it, make sure you subscribe so that these episodes show up automatically in your feed, no work needed on your side. Let's put it on autopilot. As always, I need to give you my reminder that the information I share with you here is for educational purposes only, and it should not be used as a replacement for medical advice or diagnosis. Now, if you are, on the other hand, in the market for some one-on-one support, then I would love for you to take me up on my offer for a free strategy call. You can find these links and more in the show notes.