Glucose sensor in self-test: I measured my blood sugar for two weeks
“Do you have diabetes?”, “Are you sick?”, “Why are you doing this?” – Questions after questions reached me as I told my family and friends about my plan to track my blood sugar for two weeks. Mostly astonishment and slight skepticism, because nobody initially understood why I, as a person who was fortunately in good health and not preoccupied, decided to stay for 14 dayswanted to leave.
“Glucose monitoring” is one of the most hyped trends of this year and is becoming more and more popular. Also and especially among “normal people” like me, i.e. actually healthy and relatively mindful people. Most people associate a prick in the finger with a small blood glucose meter with diabetes. I still remember that my grandfather had to regularly measure his blood sugar with a drop of blood from his fingertip. But what does the term “glucose” actually mean?
Glucose: Energy supplier for the body's cells
The blood sugar value indicates the sugar content in the blood. It changes depending on food intake and is usually measured in milligrams per deciliter. It tells us how much sugar (glucose) is present in dissolved form in the blood. Glucose is considered the most readily available source of energy for cells in the body and is a naturally occurring carbohydrate.
The hormone insulin makes glucose from the blood available to the cells, acting as a “key” to the cell’s “lock” to open the gate for glucose. If insulin is missing, glucose cannot enter the cell and the sugar level in the blood rises. Hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia are metabolic disorders that occur when the blood sugar level is either too low or too high. As a guideline for healthy people without diabetes, a fasting blood glucose level of less than 100 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dl) after eight to ten hours without food and no more than 140 milligrams per deciliter two hours after eating is considered normal. For comparison: During the self-experiment, my average glucose value was 99 milligrams per deciliter.
Private
As I said, I am now in excellent health and decided to carry out glucose tracking out of pure curiosity and for the purpose of medical insights. I kept seeing posts about the topic on social media, and I also noticed that more and more people in London were wearing the small, round sensors on their upper arms that measure glucose levels every minute.
Apps such as ZOE, Lingo (for the UK market) and Hello Inside, which are then connected to the sensor, analyze the data and provide direct, easy-to-understand insights into your own blood sugar cycle and the effects of various factors, among others, Sport,, cycle, on the glucose values.
One of these apps isHello Inside, a German start-up that provides a platform for metabolic health and uses blood glucose monitoring to encourage people to understand what's going on inside them and what their bodies are signaling to them.
In addition to the app itself, the sensor plays an essential role in my two-week self-experiment. The so-called Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM) is a small device that monitors blood sugar levels and measures them in real time. The small sensor with a diameter of 21 millimeters and a height of 2.9 millimeters as well as a flexible filament of less than 0.4 millimeters, which is inserted just under the skin, is placed on the back of the upper arm and measures the blood sugar level using the tissue fluid. This is the fluid that surrounds the cells and therefore provides a similar measurement to the values measured directly in the blood. The small but subtle difference: Tissue glucose never corresponds to blood sugar, but tends to be slightly delayed. This means that the measured values do not reflect blood sugar exactly, but rather provide a representation of it about five to 25 minutes later.
Every minute, the data from the sensor is collected by the associated app (“FreeStyle Libre 3” app) and transferred to the Hello Inside app for analysis. Then we move on to the concrete evaluation and interpretation of the data and possible tips and insights from the values.
Glucose sensor: How to attach and wear it
Admittedly, I was a little nervous before attaching the sensor. Numerous reels, YouTube videos and testimonials later, I dared to attach the sensor to my arm on a Friday morning on an empty stomach (the recommendation is not to eat anything for two hours before and after attaching the sensor). The process itself is easy to carry out, and the included explanation and video tutorial will help clear up any uncertainties. Nevertheless, it must be said that it is an invasive procedure. Finally, a tiny filament is inserted under the skin. This also explains why I didn't want to film my face when I attached the sensor. But I can reassure all future people who want to track their glucose levels. It really didn't hurt at all. The soft spot on the back of the upper arm is not very sensitive to pain, and the automatic mechanism for attaching the sensor is quick, straightforward and does not hurt. For me - for comparison - a finger prick test on the fingertip is more painful than attaching the sensor.
After attaching the sensor, I scan it with the associated app and the first measurement, calibration and initialization takes place. After an hour the time has come and I can officially track minute-by-minute measurements and see my current glucose value in the app. The data from the sensor app is transferred directly to the Hello Inside app, and there I can find more detailed information such as descriptions of my activities, e.g. lunch,, sleep, enter and add details that can help with analysis and interpretation. In this way, certain fluctuations in the glucose curve can be understood and explained.
Glucose sensor: My findings
Already on day one it was noticeable to me how consistent and stable my curve was. It should be said that I eat relatively healthily and eat little sweets and don't eat very large portions. Still, I was surprised that even after one glassMy curve remained relatively stable at dinner. One explanation for this may be that I was physically active both before and after and went for a walk with my dog, i.e. I was moving.
In the days that followed, I was completely focused on constantly checking the app to see how my values behaved after eating. It definitely became quite an addictive process to constantly check for glucose spikes in my chart, and I definitely got on my friends' nerves by having me at every dinner, coffee date, or after-school session. Work drinks told everyone my current values.
Even though there weren't any big surprises apart from a large pasta dinner consisting of penne with tomato pesto and mozzarella as well as parmesan plus a very sweet cocktail and my values remained constant for almost the entire test phase, I definitely took away and learned a lot for myself. I was far more conscious and mindful during the tracking phase, also entered my sleep data and paid much more attention to my diet and daily rituals.
To my surprise, using the sensor was very easy and uncomplicated. I had read in various online forums that the sensors sometimes fall off and don't hold up when exercising or showering. I can't confirm that, for me it held up and worked perfectly, and apart from a little caution when putting on and taking off shirts or sweaters or drying off after showering, I didn't even really notice that I was wearing a sensor. For those who want to be extra careful, especially during workouts or other physical activities, there is a patch that can be stuck over the sensor. By the way, removing the sensor is very easy: you pull it off the skin together with the plaster-like adhesive surface surrounding it.
Was the two weeks a success? For myself, there were no absolutely new or incredibly transformative insights. However, I honestly didn't expect that, after all, I was already quite conscious of my diet beforehand.
However, my mindfulness and focus have been extremely sharpened, and I personally am a big fan of data-driven analysis of my routines and health patterns. This was further reinforced by this self-experiment. I would therefore also advise healthy people with balanced eating habits to try glucose tracking.
Glucose sensor: This is what the experts say
This mindset also supportsNatalie Grahl, nutrition and health consultant andThe influencerin this area. In the interview she says: “If your values are stable, congratulations – you are doing a lot of things right! A sensor can still be exciting for discovering even more subtleties. For example: How do you react to stress, poor sleep or different levels of exercise? For many, glucose tracking eventually becomes reassurance and motivation to maintain good habits. So it’s not just about problem cases, but also about optimization.”
Natalie Grahl regularly tracks her blood sugar and tells me one of her favorite hacks when it comes to constant, “good” blood sugar levels:
“The order is king. Always start a meal with fiber or protein. Salad or vegetables first, then the carbohydrates. This slows down the rise in blood sugar enormously. And: Never combine fast carbohydrates (like white bread) without a protein source. My favorite example: If you like pasta, choose whole grains and combine them with a protein source like lentils or chicken - this keeps the curve more stable.
For Natalie it is important not to obsessively avoid every tip, but rather to understand what is good for your own body. Glucose tracking is like a mirror for the metabolism. It is precisely these insights and learnings that I found so exciting about the experiment. Supposedly healthy snacks such as muesli bars or cappuccinos with oat milk can have a massive impact on blood sugar. Anyone who tracks gets to know themselves and their body better and can then make conscious decisions.
Dr. Anne Latz, Co-Founder's vonHello Insideand doctor, emphasizes the importance of one's own mood and personal well-being. She says: “The actual glucose level is one thing, but how do you feel straight after eating? Or after a workout? Are you full for longer or does the craving come back quickly?” These emotional, subjective onesand reflections are at least as important as the quantitative analysis of the data. She recommends incorporating exercise after a meal. Even a short physical one, like loading the dishwasher or going for a three-minute walk, can make a difference.
She also measures her blood sugar regularly with a sensor, but now it's more out of pure curiosity and curiosity to see how various factors affect her blood sugar levels. This can be the case, for example, when a new season or a new phase, such as the beginning of the next cycle, is approaching or Dr. Anne Latz travels a lot and her body is therefore confronted with changing circumstances.
Glucose sensor: my conclusion
After 14 days the sensor automatically ends for me and I would have to attach a new sensor for further analysis. The two weeks only provide a small, initial insight; for more precise and detailed information, it is recommended to check the glucose values for at least four weeks.
And even if you don't necessarily want to wear a sensor to monitor your blood sugar, you can thanks to social media accounts like that ofNatalie Grahloder Glucose-Influencer Jessie Inchauspé akaGlucose GoddessFind out more about the topic and pick up practical tips. There are currently 83K posts on TikTok under the hashtag #bloodsugar and a whopping 733K on Instagram. Here too, a clear sign of the trend potential of blood sugar measuring. I won't be tracking my glucose level any further for the time being, but I'm taking my findings from the two-week test to heart and will continue to find out about new insights and glucose hacks on social media.
