Promo code SPRING2022 will be automatically applied at checkout!
Back to Success Stories

Amanda Seitz on Using the Nutrisense CGM Program for Optimal Wellness

Amanda Seitz on Using the Nutrisense CGM Program for Optimal Wellness
"Just knowing that I had real-time access to witness my blood glucose response would give me the willpower to resist . . . It was fun and definitely helped keep me on track with my goals."
Amanda Seitz on Using the Nutrisense CGM Program for Optimal Wellness

Hi Amanda! Tell us a bit about yourself!

Hello! I am a 33-year-old dog mom living in the Arizona desert. I am currently studying holistic nutrition therapy and loving every bit of it. I love learning and am passionate about using real food to fuel a healthy, thriving body and mind.

How did you find us, and what made you want to try the Nutrisense CGM Program?

When I have downtime, I enjoy reading. The more I started reading about blood glucose and its impact on the body and mind, and I knew this was something I wanted to learn more about. I had always heard that high blood sugar levels cause diabetes. I thought that was all they did. 

When I started learning about all the other health issues that chronically high blood glucose levels can contribute to, I knew I had to get my hands on a continuous glucose monitor (CGM). I needed a prescription to try one out, and I didn’t know how to get one, so I let the idea go for a bit.

Then one day, I was listening to an episode of The Period Party Podcast by Nicole Jardim. She was talking about her recent experience with a CGM device from Nutrisense. 

She spoke about how great the experience was and how helpful the nutritionist support was. I was so excited that I jumped on the Nutrisense website and signed up that next day!

That’s great! So, would you say learning more about your health and nutrition were your main goals for your journey with the Nutrisense CGM Program?

Yes. My primary goal with the Nutrisense CGM Program was to learn how I could optimize my food choices to support steadier blood glucose levels for my specific body. 

I also hoped to learn how different exercise routines and stress may impact my daily blood glucose levels. I was also hopeful that regulating my blood glucose levels would finally help me kick the massive sweet tooth I’ve had forever.

How long did you do the program?

I did the NutriSense CGM Program for three months. I chose three months because I did not change anything in the first month. I wanted first to see how my regular daily routine and food choices impacted my blood glucose levels. 

In the second month, I changed my diet based on what I learned. 

In the third month, I focused on sustaining my new diet. I started tracking responses to my exercise routine to learn how those puzzle pieces fit together with maintaining my blood glucose levels. 

The three-month program was the perfect length to meet my goals.

What overall takeaways can you share from your experience with the program?

My CGM experience was incredibly eye-opening. My top three takeaways are: 

1. How quality sleep (or lack thereof) impacts blood glucose levels the following day. 

2. How weightlifting specifically has a significant impact on blood glucose levels.  

3. How stress, like a stressful meeting at work, impacts my blood glucose levels.

So, did you work with a nutritionist to tweak all these factors? 

I did work with a nutritionist for the first 30 days. My nutritionist was extremely helpful in allowing me to understand how to read all of the data that NutriSense provides. 

She helped me understand things like AUC [area under the curve] and how to interpret what all the data means. 

She also provided me with tips that I implemented to make my dietary changes sustainable over the long term. 

She provided me with reviews of all my data and progress highlights too. These were all very helpful in learning which foods supported stable blood glucose levels and which did not.

Did all of this help with accountability? 

100%! I loved the accountability that this program provided me with. There would be times when I may have been craving sugar or pizza

And just knowing that I had real-time access to witness my blood glucose response would give me the willpower to resist. 

Every day was like a competition for how stable I could keep my blood glucose. It was fun and definitely helped keep me on track with my goals.

Did you ever eat some of those (or any other!) foods to test your responses? 

I tested so many things. One of the most surprising things I learned was that my blood glucose is extremely sensitive to potatoes—regular and sweet potatoes

Just a couple of bites of potatoes spiked my blood glucose, and it helped me adjust my diet so that I only eat potatoes on days when I’m lifting weights to keep me more balanced. 

Another surprising thing I learned was that foods labeled with “low glycemic index” cause my blood glucose to spike a lot! I no longer trust the “low glycemic index” labels on food. 

I learned that oatmeal is not blood glucose-stabilizing food. 

I experimented with this and found that adding healthy fats and protein to my oatmeal could lessen the blood glucose spike, but it still causes quite a big spike. Many people don’t realize that oatmeal–even plain—is a lot of carbohydrates.

And you mentioned exercise, sleep, and stress as well—what are some things you learned about these factors while wearing the monitor?

Regarding exercise, I learned that weightlifting has the most significant impact on stabilizing my blood glucose levels. More so than yoga or running did. It makes sense, given that excess glucose is stored in our muscles.

For sleep—there was a night that I did not sleep well, and the next day, my blood glucose was extremely sensitive. Things that typically don’t cause such a big spike caused a significant spike the day after not getting much sleep. My blood glucose levels were on a rollercoaster all day.

Stress was very interesting to see real-time responses for. There were days when I hadn’t eaten in hours, and I would see a blood glucose spike during the times I was in stressful meetings at work. These stressful interactions caused just as big a spike in my blood glucose levels as some meals did. I was very shocked to see this.

That’s fascinating! So, what would you say the biggest takeaway from your health journey is so far?

My biggest takeaway would have to be my realization that I ate a high carbohydrate diet and didn’t even realize it. Everything I ate during the first month of this experience was carbohydrate base; grains, sometimes processed refined carbs like bread and tortillas. 

I had no idea before this experience. I still eat carbohydrates, but I get them from real food sources like vegetables and fruit, and I balance them with my activity level, protein, and healthy fats. 

I had such a great time sharing everything I learned with my family. They were shocked by some of my findings. We all really enjoyed learning how certain things impacted my blood glucose levels—I’m going to share some of my more surprising results on my wellness Instagram page soon too! 

I also loved the Nutrisense app! It functioned seamlessly, the chat feature was fantastic, and it was super easy to navigate.

The entire experience was so eye-opening; I loved it. 

#joinnutrisense

Be the author of
your success story

Abbie Honaker on Learning More About How Different Foods Impact Blood Glucose

Abbie Honaker on Learning More About How Different Foods Impact Blood Glucose

View Story
Russell Battles on Dialing in on Nutrition with the CGM Program

Russell Battles on Dialing in on Nutrition with the CGM Program

View Story
Meredith Standridge on Her Health Journey with Nutrisense's 12-month CGM Program

Meredith Standridge on Her Health Journey with Nutrisense's 12-month CGM Program

View Story