Factors like the food you eat, what you drink, how much and how often you get physical activity, and the medication(s) you take all impact your glucose levels. Using a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) can help you learn what’s impacting your glucose and manage diabetes.
Key points:
A CGM is a great tool for managing diabetes. It gives you glucose readings throughout the day, which allows you to learn about trends and patterns. You can use what you learn to start making small changes to see how they affect your time in range. Try different changes to find out what works best for you!
Here are some factors to keep in mind that may be impacting your glucose levels.
There is no one diet or eating plan for diabetes that works for everyone. Healthy eating patterns that are proven to work for managing diabetes include:
Work with your healthcare team to figure out what eating pattern may be best for you based on your needs and goals. When making changes to what you eat, you can use your CGM’s daily graph to see the impact day-to-day. Use the CGM’s time in range information to see how well your eating plan is working.
Explore below to see how different foods and beverages impact your glucose.
Carbohydrates (carbs) raise your glucose the most, but some will raise it more than others.
Protein and fat slow how quickly food impacts your glucose, which can help keep levels in your target range.
Alcoholic drinks can raise your glucose at first due to their carbohydrate content but may also cause low glucose levels 24 hours or longer after drinking.
Peter loves to eat white toast with breakfast. He wants to learn more about how toast impacts his glucose levels. He checks his glucose level and trend arrow on his CGM and then eats three pieces of toast. Two hours later, he checks his glucose and trend arrow again and sees that it rose above his target range.
The next day he tries two pieces of toast, and repeating his glucose checks, he sees that his glucose stays in his target range. He continues to check how the toast affects his glucose over the next few days, changing factors like the type of toast and what foods he eats with it. Using his CGM readings, he sees that he has the least rise in his glucose when he eats 100% whole grain toast with eggs and avocados.
The Diabetes Plate makes building balanced meals simple—no counting, calculating, weighing, or measuring. It guides portions and food choices, giving you a balance of protein, non-starchy veggies, and quality carbohydrate that will help you manage your glucose.
Maria usually has chicken thighs and white rice for lunch at noon. They each take up about half of her plate. Using her CGM, she notices that when she eats this for lunch, her glucose goes above her target range around 1:00 p.m.
Using the Diabetes Plate, Maria changes her portions so her rice fills a quarter of the plate and the chicken thighs fill another quarter of the plate. She also adds a green salad to half the plate. Her glucose still trends up after lunch, but she is not above her target range!
Usually, when you’re physically active, you’ll see your glucose levels go down because it improves the way insulin works and your body is using glucose for energy. Because of this, physical activity can be a great way to help you stay in your target range and the benefits last long after you’re done.
If you’re having trouble keeping your blood glucose levels in your target range, you can try:
You can use your CGM to check your glucose before, during, and after an activity to see how it affects your glucose. Keep in mind that some activities like weightlifting or sprints cause your body to release stress hormones that can raise your glucose. Learning what types and what amount of physical activity affects your glucose can help you manage your diabetes.
Sara looks at her CGM and notices that every day last week her glucose went slightly above her target range after eating lunch. She decides to try walking for 15 minutes after her lunch to see if it helps. The next week, she looks back, and while her glucose still goes up after lunch, it stays in her target range.
You can also use your CGM to work with your doctor to make decisions about your medications. By checking your daily glucose graphs, trend arrows, and time in range, you can see if and when you are going out of your target range. This can help you and your doctor decide if you should make changes to the amount or timing of the medication you’re taking. After a change, you can use your CGM’s readings to see how it worked.
Using her CGM, Jasmine notices that her fasting glucose levels have been creeping up, even though she hasn’t changed her eating plan or physical activity. She has been living with type 2 diabetes for 10 years now. Her doctor talks to her about adding a new medication, but Jasmine isn’t sure she wants to. Her doctor suggests they try it and see if it works to help her reach her fasting glucose target. After starting the new medication, Jasmine looks for trends and notices her fasting glucose levels return to her target range. She also sees her time in range increasing so she decides to stay on the new medication.
Stress can make glucose levels rise and bring you out of your target range. Having diabetes can sometimes lead to high stress levels. For some, using a CGM can make it easier to manage diabetes. Your CGM can also help you see how your glucose levels change when you are stressed.
Example: José is feeling stress from managing his diabetes. Sometimes, he gets overwhelmed when he thinks about all the things he has to do to stay healthy. The next time he feels overwhelmed, his CGM alarm goes off and he sees his glucose is trending upward. José meets with a therapist and discusses ways to cope with stress. He starts breathing exercises when he feels overwhelmed to help manage his stress. Over time, he finds this helps his glucose stay steady.
Getting seven to nine hours of good sleep each night is one of the best things you can do for your glucose to keep it more stable.
Having low glucose at night can make it hard to get restful sleep. Using a CGM with alarms set at the right levels, adjusting your evening insulin, having a small snack if needed, and timing your physical activity can help you avoid lows and sleep better. Work with your diabetes care team to fine-tune your CGM alarms and establish a steady bedtime routine. You can also use your CGM to compare your glucose levels on days you slept well to days where you did not sleep enough and look for trends.
When you’re sick, your body may release hormones that cause your glucose to go up. However, you may also be eating less than usual if you lose your appetite. Check your CGM regularly to see how your glucose is responding to being sick.
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