My journey with the Nutrisense program—I Messed Up

Welcome to Week 2! As you may remember, my name is Logan, and I’m the Content Manager here at Nutrisense. I’ve just completed my second week of using the Nutrisense program and wearing the Continuous Glucose Monitor [CGM]. I am continuing to feel more energetic and confident this week as I settle into my new routine.
I have continued working with Carlee from our team of dietitians to discover what meals my body reacts to best [and worst].

As Week 2 began, we started analyzing foods are working well with my body’s makeup. For example, we found that my blood glucose levels react very well to the spicy Thai basil chicken and rice that I like to make, but not with the chicken and carrot recipe I made for dinner on Tuesday.

I check my CGM when I wake up and before and after every meal to register how my routines and meals are affecting me throughout the day. This has been helping me stick to the new habits that I have committed to. Additionally, I have been trying to commit to set meal times instead of working my meals in and around the other things that take up my day. I realized that my eating schedule has become more erratic since beginning to work from home last year.

This week was the beginning of a very big learning curve for me. Carlee [the dietitian that I am working with from the Nutrisense team] and I had discussed that I may have a problem with my glucose levels. She helped me monitor my progress over the last two weeks and I am relieved to report that I do not have any issues. Having her help me understand what all of the data collected with my CGM meant was invaluable.

You may have been told that you shouldn’t eat late at night. After this week, I can tell you all that my personal data has confirmed what I believed to be an “old wives tale.” When I woke up on Wednesday morning, I saw that I had a spike late Tuesday night as a result of eating late. Carlee confirmed that it was due to my eating dinner at 10:30 PM [I was working late and didn’t want to pause to cook]. Our bodies’ hormones that break down food don't function as well that late. That night I had chicken and vegetables, which is a meal that does cause my levels to rise more than others. In addition to setting a deadline for my nightly meals, Carlee and I decided that I should move this meal to one that I eat for lunch and see if my body’s hormones process it better earlier in the day.

I burned a total of 1250 Kcals this week on the Peloton bike. I am still exercising four times a week. I still struggle with shortness of breath shortly after beginning my workouts, but I am beginning to feel more energetic further into them which feels amazing and encouraging.

The thing that I am most excited to report back [even after my Sunday blip and late night eating lesson] is that I am continuing to drop weight! I am now down to 241lbs from my original 250lbs! On reflection, this week has been very exciting. Using Mealime and Peloton has made sticking to this program much easier for me since both of those tools do most of the planning for me regarding my exercise and recipe prep. I burned a total of 1250 Kcals this week on the Peloton bike. I am still exercising four times a week. I still struggling with shortness of breath shortly after beginning my workouts, but I am beginning to feel more energetic further into them which feels amazing and encouraging. I have really enjoyed applying data and numbers to my body’s reactions and feelings with Carlee. I think that I am beginning to understand my body better and look forward to continuing to streamline my routines and habits to suit it even better.

I have included a daily breakdown of my data below in case you would like to see what I was working with this week. On Sunday, I had a lapse of will and parted from my commitment. I forgave myself for it but after a look at my data from that day I renewed my commitment to myself and feel empowered to continue my journey to my healthiest self.

Check back in next Wednesday to see how Week 3 goes and don’t forget to check out my vlog entry for this week where I go into more personal detail about my experiences.

Monday:

Breakfast: Latte 9AM | Glucose Peak: 97

Lunch: Spicy Thai basil chicken w/ rice | Glucose Peak: 71

EXERCISE: 20 mins

Snack: Popcorn | Glucose Peak: 89

Dinner: Chicken Sausage w/ brussels sprouts and mashed potatoes | Glucose Peak: 80
1569 Total Calories

Tuesday:

Breakfast: Cappuccino & Overnight Oats 930AM | Glucose Peak: 80

Lunch: Spicy Thai basil chicken w/ rice | Glucose Peak: 109

EXCERCISE: 25 mins

Snack: Drink | Glucose Peak: 80

Dinner: Not listed | Glucose Peak: 75
1564 Total Calories

Wednesday:

Breakfast: Cappuccino 930AM | Glucose Peak: 88

Lunch: Chicken Bowl 1030AM | Glucose Peak: 67

Snack: No snack today | Glucose Peak: 86

Dinner: Grape Avocado Fish Tacos | Glucose Peak: 81
1514 Total Calories

Thursday:

Breakfast: Cappuccino 1030AM | Glucose Peak: 92

Lunch: Grape Avocado Fish Tacos | Glucose Peak: 90

EXCERCISE: 20 mins

Snack: Protein Shake | Glucose Peak: 84

Dinner: Chicken Fried Rice | Glucose Peak: 81
1849 Total Calories

Friday:

Breakfast: Cappuccino 1030AM | Glucose Peak: 90

Lunch: Breakfast Burrito | Glucose Peak: 102

EXCERCISE: 30mins

Snack: NONE

Dinner: Sweet and Sour Meatballs | Glucose Peak: 101
1768 Total Calories‍

Saturday:

Breakfast: Cappuccino 1030AM | Glucose Peak: 91

Lunch: Quiche | Glucose Peak: 97

EXCERCISE: 30mins

Snack: Quiche | Glucose Peak: 96

Dinner: Sweet and Sour Meatballs | Glucose Peak: 101‍1768 Total Calories

Sunday:

This day was a lapse for me. After I slipped from my commitment to myself, I resolved to continue on a stronger note and stick to my committed program.Check in next week for my progress.