What My Glucose Arm Sensor Taught Me About Sugar Spikes, Stress, and Energy

Today, I want to talk with you about something I have been living with these past few weeks, something that has truly been an eye opener for me. Blood sugar. Not in a scary way. In a curious, gentle, let us understand our bodies better kind of way.

Lately I have been wearing a little sensor on my arm called Lingo. It is a continuous glucose monitor, which is just a fancy way of saying it shows me, in real time, what my blood sugar is doing all day long. And let me tell you, it has changed the way I see my meals. Things I thought were so healthy were sending me on a little rollercoaster I could not even feel. Other times I was pleasantly surprised. This is the gift of it. It takes the guessing away and shows you your own body's story.

What is a sugar spike, really?

When we eat, especially foods rich in carbohydrates and sugar, our blood sugar rises. This is completely normal. Your body is designed for it. The question is not whether it rises, but how fast, how high, and how gently it comes back down.

A spike is when it shoots up quickly, like a rocket. Your body then releases a rush of insulin to bring it back down, and often it overshoots, so you come crashing down just as fast. That crash is the part we feel. The afternoon slump. The sudden craving for something sweet. The tiredness after a meal that should have given us energy. The little wave of irritability or brain fog. Many of us live on this rollercoaster every single day and simply think, this is just how I am.

Over time, these constant sharp rises and falls can ask a lot of the body. They can affect our energy, our mood, our cravings, our sleep, and the way we store fat. Steadier blood sugar tends to mean steadier energy, calmer moods, fewer cravings, and a body that feels more at ease. This is not about fear or restriction. It is about smoothing the ride.

A gentle reminder before we go on. I am a holistic health coach, not your doctor, and this information is not medical advice. If you live with diabetes or any blood sugar condition, please walk through all of this with your healthcare provider.

Why it matters over time

In the moment, a spike shows up as that afternoon crash, the cravings, the brain fog, the sleepiness after a meal. But I have been curious about what happens when this rollercoaster runs day after day, year after year, and it is worth understanding gently.

And here is what I found. Every time our blood sugar rises, the body releases insulin to move that sugar into our cells. When the spikes are big and constant, the pancreas has to pour out more and more insulin, and over time our cells start to listen less. This is called insulin resistance, and it is a bit of a turning point, because high insulin makes it harder to burn fat and easier to store it, especially around the middle. So the very thing that keeps spiking us can also make weight harder to release, hunger more constant, and inflammation more likely.

Over many years, if blood sugar stays poorly managed, this same pattern is linked to bigger concerns like type 2 diabetes, heart health, and even the faster aging of our tissues, as excess sugar quietly attaches to our proteins. I do not share this to scary anyone. I share it because it is genuinely empowering. These are not sudden events, they build slowly, which means the small, steady choices we make now truly matter. Our bodies are remarkably forgiving when we start giving them what they need.

What my own sensor showed me

I want to share some of what I actually saw, because it truly surprised me. I eat very healthy, and yet.

My beloved morning fruit, eaten first thing on an empty stomach, sent my sugar up 30 to 40 points all on its own. But when I ate my eggs or my avocado first, and then had my fruit, my levels stayed right in a healthy range. Same fruit. Completely different ride.

My plain oatmeal was another one. On its own it spiked me almost instantly. But when I stirred in flax seeds, chia seeds, and a few nuts, it still rose, but so slowly and gently. The fiber and the fat changed everything.

Pasta, any kind, gave me an instant spike. But when I ate my vegetables, my salad, and some protein first, and saved the pasta for after, it was so much kinder to my body.

And here is one I found fascinating. Fruits are not all the same. Blueberries and strawberries were gentle for me. Cherries, peaches, mango and watermelon sent me much higher. So now, I never eat fruit on an empty stomach, and I lean on the berries a little more.

And here is the part that truly delighted me. Eating the very same foods, simply in a different order, helped me drop a few more pounds. I did not eat less. I did not give up the things I love. I just changed how and when. When the body is not riding those big spikes and crashes all day, it seems to let go of what it does not need. That felt like such a gift.

I share all of this not as rules for you, but to show you how personal this is. Your body has its own story. Mine simply reminded me that it is not only what we eat, but how and in what order.

It is not only about food

This is the part that moved me the most, and it is so close to the work we do together.

One afternoon I was stuck in traffic, running late to pick up my son from his martial arts class. He did not have a phone, so I had no way to tell him I was on my way. I could feel myself getting tense, my whole body tight, my mind racing, all the way until I finally reached him. Later I looked at my monitor. My glucose had jumped about fifty points. I had not eaten a single thing. That was pure stress, moving through my body.

This is the thing we forget. Our bodies do not know the difference between a real danger and a worried mind. When we are stressed, the body releases sugar into the blood to help us run or fight, even when we are just sitting in a car. So all the calming we practice together, the breath, the meditation, the letting go, it is not only for our peace of mind. It is metabolic care too.

I saw the other side of this as well. Vigorous exercise gave me a quick jump, and then it came right back down, which is completely normal and healthy, the body using that fuel. And meditation. Meditation brought my glucose beautifully low. After my morning practice my levels often settle right down into the seventies. Calm, steady, at ease. My own sensor showed me, in numbers, what my heart already knew. When we soothe the nervous system, the whole body softens, right down to the sugar in our blood.

Small things that smooth the ride

The beautiful part is how much power we have here, with very simple, everyday choices. Here are some of the gentle shifts that have made the biggest difference for me and for the people I work with.

• Start your meal with the fiber and the green things. When you eat your vegetables and your protein before the starchy or sweet part of the meal, the sugar is absorbed more slowly. Same food, gentler wave.

• Add protein and healthy fat to your carbohydrates. A piece of fruit on its own can spike faster than the same fruit with a handful of nuts or a spoon of nut butter. Never let a carbohydrate travel alone, I like to say.

• Move your body after you eat. Even a ten minute walk after a meal helps your muscles use up some of that sugar, so less of it lingers in the blood. A walk after dinner is one of the kindest things you can do for yourself.

• Be gentle with the naked sweets. The sugary drink or the pastry eaten alone, on an empty stomach, is what sends us highest. Pairing it, or enjoying it after a meal instead of before, makes a real difference.

• Sleep and stress matter more than we think. Poor sleep and high stress can raise blood sugar all on their own, no food required. So all the calming, breathing, and resting we do together, it is blood sugar work too.

When life is happening

Here is the thing though. Life goes on. There are birthdays, gatherings, celebrations, and sometimes we want to enjoy the food that is not on our usual list, and that is exactly as it should be. Food is joy too. I never want blood sugar awareness to turn into one more thing we feel guilty about.

I had a birthday during these two weeks. I made myself a gluten free, low sugar chocolate cake, but the filling was real whipped cream with a little sugar in it. And oh, it was absolutely delicious. I ate my slice after a big dinner, and I knew, I just knew, that the whole meal plus that cake was going to send my sugar up to the roof.

So on evenings like this, I like to support my body. And this is where a little helper has earned a place in my routine. It is a supplement from doTERRA called MetaPWR Assist.

Here is what it does, in simple terms. The star ingredient is mulberry leaf extract, which naturally slows the enzymes that break down carbohydrates, so instead of sugar rushing into your bloodstream all at once, it arrives more slowly and gently. MetaPWR Assist also contains berberine, which helps support healthy insulin sensitivity and metabolic function, along with cinnamon, a spice long studied for its role in healthy glucose metabolism. Together they help smooth the ride rather than stopping it altogether. I think of it as giving my body a little extra support when I know I am going to enjoy a higher carbohydrate meal.

That birthday night, I took two capsules about thirty minutes before I sat down to eat. And here is what surprised me so much. After that big dinner and that cake, my sugar only rose into 110. I truly expected it to soar. And then, slowly, over the next two to three hours, it drifted gently back down into the eighties. In doTERRA's own two week study, participants saw their average glucose come down noticeably in just one week of using it, so my own little experiment felt right in line with that.

Another little discovery from this experiment has been how much digestion matters. I have also been taking doTERRA TerraZyme, a blend of digestive enzymes that helps the body break down proteins, fats, carbohydrates, and fiber so we can absorb more of the nutrients from our meals. It is not a blood sugar supplement, but I have found that when my digestion is working well, my energy feels steadier and my meals leave me feeling satisfied instead of sluggish. Healthy digestion is one more piece of the metabolic puzzle that we often overlook.

I want to be honest with you. A supplement is never a replacement for the way we eat, move, and rest. It is a support, one helpful piece alongside the real foundation. And I do not share this to say, eat cake and take a pill. I share it because life is meant to be lived and enjoyed, and it feels so good to have gentle tools that let us say yes to the celebration while still caring for our bodies. Balance, not perfection. That is what I am always reaching for.

If MetaPWR Assist is something you would like to try for yourself, I would be so happy to help you order it, and to get you set up with 25% off. Just reach out to me and I will walk you through it.

The heart of it

We spend so much of our lives feeling our bodies from the outside, guessing, blaming ourselves, wondering why we are so tired. Getting a peek at what is happening on the inside has filled me with so much compassion for myself, and for you. Our bodies are not working against us. They are always, always trying to keep us in balance. Sometimes they just need our help to smooth the ride.

You do not have to overhaul your whole life. Start with one thing. Eat your greens first. Take the walk. Pair the sweet with something nourishing. Small and steady, that is how real change happens.

✨ Let us start the conversation

If your energy, cravings, or afternoon slumps have been wearing you down, this is something we can look at together. Book a FREE 40 minute consultation with me and we will talk about your days, your meals, and simple steps that fit your life.

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With love,

Luba