Continuous Glucose Monitors: A Window Into Your Diet, Exercise, and Metabolic Health
If your blood sugar isn’t balanced, you may feel that something is off but you just can’t put your finger on it. Your labs are normal, so everything should be fine, right? Your A1C and fasting glucose levels are only a piece of the picture. How does your body respond to individual meals and lifestyle habits? Check in with your body throughout the day to see if you notice any symptoms that could mean your body is struggling to manage your blood sugar. Sometimes these signs are easy to ignore - they may just seem “normal” for your busy lifestyle - but they could be a clue that your body is calling for help.
Everyday Signs of Blood Sugar Issues
If any of these sound familiar, balancing your blood sugar with the help of a continuous glucose monitor can make a huge difference:
That wave of afternoon tiredness: Feeling wiped out or ready for a nap after eating lunch, even if you got a good night’s sleep. Looking at you, 3pm slump!
Weight stubbornly clinging to the belly: No matter what you try, that extra belly weight won’t budge, and losing it feels harder than ever.
Cravings for coffee, chocolate, or sweets - especially in the afternoon hours.
Strong cravings for sugar or carbs: Reaching for cookies or chips—especially between meals—becomes an almost irresistible urge.
When you start eating carbs, you feel like you can’t stop - or you may eat a lot in one sitting, despite being full.
Feeling “foggy” or forgetful: It's tougher to concentrate, and mistakes happen more easily, especially after meals or during busy days.
Headaches or lightheadedness: Headaches sneak up or you feel a little dizzy—sometimes just before eating or after skipping a snack.
Mood swings or irritability: Small frustrations turn overwhelming, and you notice short tempers or anxious feelings popping up for no clear reason.
Feeling inflamed - insulin resistance occurs when insulin can’t do its job properly, so your pancreas releases a lot to try and reduce your blood sugar. This can leave you in a high-insulin state, leading to insulin resistance. This is a pro-inflammatory state (and also tells your body to put weight on your belly area).
Waking at night or sleeping poorly: Interruptions in sleep, night sweats, or restless tossing could signal blood sugar drops - or spikes - during the night.
If these symptoms are part of your daily life, know that tracking blood sugar (like with a CGM) can uncover patterns and help guide small changes that make a big difference.
Wearing a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) can be a transformative tool for anyone seeking better blood sugar management, especially for those dealing with conditions like PCOS, insulin resistance, and prediabetes, as well as those pursuing weight loss. The science shows real benefits, supporting not only self-awareness and behavioral change but tangible improvement in metabolic health.
What is a CGM?
A CGM is a small sensor worn on the arm that shows your blood sugar levels in real time through an app. Wear it for 2 weeks to learn which meals keep your blood sugar balanced and lead to better energy levels. A CGM is a window into your blood stream to connect your symptoms with food choices. The best part: you don’t have to make major changes! Wear it, share your data with your nutritionist, and experiment with different food combinations to keep the meals you love in your life!
PCOS and CGM: Personalized Support
For people with PCOS, who are at increased risk of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes, CGMs enable real-time monitoring of glucose changes in response to food, exercise, and stress. They make it easier to identify post-meal and exercise related blood sugar changes, supporting proactive management and early intervention. This immediate feedback can also enhance motivation for lifestyle changes and empower users to target interventions that yield the best personal results.
Insulin Resistance and Prediabetes: Detection and Reversal
CGMs have been validated as effective screening tools for early insulin resistance—detecting blood sugar patterns that often precede elevated HbA1c and frank diabetes. Studies document that CGM use in those with prediabetes or insulin resistance leads to improved lifestyle behaviors and better glucose control. As a result, earlier detection and targeted intervention can help reverse or significantly delay progression from prediabetes to diabetes.
Weight Loss: Real-Time Motivation
For those seeking weight loss, CGM use supports increased physical activity and improved dietary habits by providing instant feedback and reinforcing healthy behaviors. Randomized controlled trials confirm CGM use is associated with greater weight loss compared to traditional glucose monitoring, as well as increased motivation for exercise and better adherence to prescriptive lifestyle modifications.
Practical Takeaways
CGMs provide personalized, actionable data for blood sugar management in both healthy individuals and those with metabolic risk factors.
Clinical research continues to show that wearing a CGM empowers individuals with personalized data and insight to improve and sustain metabolic health.
They enable better management of PCOS, early detection and reversal of insulin resistance and prediabetes, and facilitate weight loss efforts.
My personal experience with CGMs:
As a nutritionist, it pains me to know that all the years I was dealing with health issues my blood sugar was the culprit. It led to worsening PCOS symptoms, weight gain (especially during those stressful grad school years), chronic fatigue and irritability. My A1C was always fine, and my fasting blood sugar was in the healthy range - no further investigation necessary, right? Wrong. I started working for a company part-time that gave people CGMs and access to a nutritionist to assess their glucose data and create plans to mitigate glucose spikes - with the intention of weight loss and blood sugar balancing. I began wearing a glucose monitor to experiment with foods and realized I had some work to do. My morning oatmeal was spiking my blood sugar WAY higher than the healthy limit and causing a cycle that looked like: crash - coffee - crash - carbs…
Oatmeal?! With its high carb and low protein content, I was setting my days up for disaster. Guess what? I still eat oatmeal! I just learned how to balance the macronutrients to best support MY system.
Interestingly enough, I’ve assessed hundreds (if not thousands by now) of CGM data, not everyone has this experience. Some people do fine with a 50g carb breakfast, others really need to get 100g protein daily to see results in weight loss and glucose management. Using a CGM provided me with direct insight into what was going on in my body after my meals and during my exercises.
This is why I began incorporating prescription-free CGMs into my own private practice in the last year. Leave the trial and error in the past and experiment with monitoring your own glucose levels for a couple weeks or months. Reach out to learn more if you’re new here, or book an appointment for a CGM Assessment if we’re already working together.
To your health and happiness,
Brittney
