Hi 👋

I'm wondering what you all think about testing blood sugar as a tool for weightloss. My fasting numbers have always been good at the doctor's office, like 70's range. But at my last thyroid appointment, my doctor mentioned that my A1C had gone up to 5.0. I'm not sure what it was before, but I know I've never tested in the 5 range.

So first of all, is testing helpful for weightloss? Second, does being in the 5 range mean I'm closer to diabetes? Am I insulin resistant? Some doctors believe that unless you're a compulsive eater, if you're obese, then you're insulin resistant.

My paternal grandmother is diabetic and has been since her 30's and my little brother almost went into a diabetic coma without knowing he was diabetic. He was admitted to the ER for chest pains and they tested his blood sugar and were amazed he was lucid. They thought he had irreparably damaged his kidneys and was only one point away from dialysis. 😢 Since then, he's lost over 100 pounds and is off of his insulin and pills. He was 30 when he got his wake up call. i don't want to wake up one day and realize I should have done things differently. Would a meter help with prevention?

No takers? 🤔😁

I test my own blood sugar at home 2 hours and 3 hours after I have eaten something, also test my blood sugar while fasting and make notes. I use it as a tool only because I was diagnosed pre diabetic prior to starting this woe. It has been very helpful to me to see how my body responds to certain foods. After being on this woe for over a year and choosing foods with low GI numbers, I like what I see on my meter. I don't test every day now but just periodically. I believe this woe and IF I am healing my insulin resistance over time. I still have to visit my dr and do an A1C but I am guessing I have that within normal ranges by now too as I stay extremely low carb and very minimal protein every day. I found protein unless real fatty was raising my blood sugars higher than I expected so if I have protein it's a fatty cut and small portion. Early on though, I found this to be a helpful tool for myself as I refused to go on any meds and chose to do this with diet/exercise alone. These home meters aren't always accurate but all the same just another tool that can help. It's really a personal choice and if you feel it would help you continue your journey then I would go for it. 5.7 to 6.4 is pre diabetes so it's good you are jumping on this woe now before you are diagnosed diabetic. I am one of these people that armed myself with as much knowledge when I first started this as I could and testing my blood sugar was part of that process for me. I have many family members with type 2 diabetes and I just didn't want to be one of them. It's something I know I will have to manage for the rest of my life.

Thank you! What meter do you recommend?

It always helps to have more information rather than less. A 5 is not worrying by itself, but you may find more information about certain foods that will help you. Here is one recent article how to do that, Dr Davis and Chris Kresser have other articles on using a blood sugar meter:
http://www.wheatbellyblog.com/2016/...ng-blood-sugar/ A fasting insulin number (taken only in doctor's office and at the same time as a fasting blood glucose) would be another marker.
Condsider ordering a BG meter and strip kit from one of the on-line Diabetes Warehouses. Look at their popular package deals to get a 100 strips to start you off, currently I'm using the True Metrix.

To answer the first part.
Is it helpful to weight loss?
No or at least not directly. If you are staying clear of simple sugars, or foods that are quickly broken down to simple sugars then you blood sugar will not rise from food. Checking it will not make any difference. If you are still eating refined sugars, or foods that make simple sugars quickly, then you may want to look at your blood sugar.

However, I would not recommend the latter idea. Any rise in blood sugar is accompanied by a rise in insulin, and a subsequent switching of ketone production, and a reduction of satiety.

For a time I looked at mine, but I was worried about low blood sugar when training, and was curious about how high it would go physiologically in response to exercise.

The best thing you can do to stop the chance of developing type II DM is to stick to this WOE. If checking your sugars helps in that then use them but don't get hung up on the numbers, just carry on with a LCHF diet.

You can learn how particular foods affect your blood glucose -- that could be helpful. For example, some people seem to get spikes from artificial sweeteners, while others don't. On the other hand, protein doesn't usually raise blood glucose much, but could spike insulin (there's no meter for insulin response).

For me, the primary way to lose weight is to lower insulin. And so I eat almost no carbs, moderate protein, and moderate-high fat. Since I'm not diabetic, I don't get much use out of knowing my BG, although I test on occasion. There is very little more I can do to lose weight, other than to fast -- which is what I do.

Wow! Thank you all for your thoughts. I've heard Dr. Davis talk about the benefits of testing your blood sugar but I know Dr. Fung thinks that since insulin is the key, besides a low carb diet, he recommends moderate meat intake and fasting. Then Dr. Phinney talks about a low carb diet that doesn't necessary include lots of dietary fat until you've used up you "on board pantry" of stored fat. I guess I'm just trying to find my groove. It seems that aside from a low carb diet, it's up to us to decide which guru to follow or what applies to us. But I would be curious to find out if foods and amounts of foods are spiking my blood sugar. But if insulin can rise in the absence of a blood sugar spike, then it seems like it's maybe not as helpful as some would believe. I'm just confused and desperate to find what works for me. I do eat low carb and I fast 18:6...which is why the increased A1C freaked me out.

And there is even a guru who doesn't think the A1c is all that reliable a marker. https://chriskresser.com/why-hemogl...eliable-marker/
The blogger who has the most information about foods that raise insulin in absence of raising blood glucose is Marty Kendall, https://optimisingnutrition.com/201..._insulin_index/ but you may be getting confused by details which are secondary to eating a "well-formulated" Low Carb meal and fasting.