People with Diabetes Archives

The Power of Food Logging: A Smarter Way to Manage Diabetes with Glooko

Food and nutrition play a vital role in achieving a healthy lifestyle. This is particularly important in diabetes management, especially for people living with Type 2 diabetes.

In the Glooko Mobile App available on the App Store and Google Play Store, people living with diabetes can easily log what they eat at home or while on the go using our food tracking feature, a popular functionality that always receives praise from our users.

Through our integration with the world’s largest dietitian-verified grocery database of more than 1 million items from over 46,000 grocery brands, users of the Glooko Mobile App can accurately track their meals and snacks in a variety of ways and create a personal log to better understand how food and nutrition impacts their diabetes.

Glooko offers many options for logging food intake:

Search the largest grocery database on the planet: Easily find and add generic or branded foods by typing the name into the app. Learn how to use this feature…
Use the innovative voice capture capability: Simply speak the name of a food item to log it in Glooko. Find out how to use the voice capture feature…
Scan barcodes: Use a smartphone camera to scan packaged food barcodes to instantly access nutritional information and effortlessly add to the app’s log. See how to use the barcode scanner functionality…

By viewing food and nutrition data, including carbohydrates, calories, fats, and proteins, alongside insights from their connected diabetes and health monitoring devices, medications, and insulin, users can uncover trends and make smarter food choices. Since people don’t need to log into multiple platforms to manage both their diabetes and nutrition data, we’ve recently seen an increase in food logging frequency and more tracking of localized food items around the world.

More ways to eat smart and track more effectively using the Glooko Mobile App

To better serve the diverse needs of users around the globe, Glooko has localized food items searchable in German, French, Spanish, Italian, UK English, and US English to support people living with diabetes in these regions.

Frequent users can also save time by creating custom food entries for their favorite meals — perfect for quick re-logging of their go-to foods.

Glooko Mobile App users can complement their food logging with quick notes using free text or the dropdown menu option to provide details like miscalculated carbs, overeating, dining out, or skipped meals. These notes help communicate important context to their healthcare team who can provide more information dietary or medication recommendations as needed.

Share nutrition data with healthcare providers

While we’ve really focused on the benefits of food tracking for people living with diabetes, healthcare providers and care teams also benefit from this feature. They can view this logged nutrition data alongside their patients’ other health data in Glooko to have a more comprehensive view of everything affecting their patients’ diabetes.

The evolution of our food tracker

Glooko plans on further innovating its app to provide advanced food analysis tools, including micronutrients, more photos, and easier logging, and personalized nutrition insights with real-time feedback on how specific food choices directly impact a person’s health. An advanced, data-driven approach will empower people living with diabetes to make even timely, smarter, and more informed decisions about their health.

Download the Glooko Mobile App today

Ready to take diabetes management to the next level? Download the Glooko Mobile App from the App Store or Google Play Store and start logging food, tracking health data, and uncovering insights that support better living with diabetes.* *Not all product features are available in all countries.

*Not all product features are available in all countries.

Design a New Resistance Exercise Program With Glooko’s Resident Fitness Expert!

Welcome back to my blog. I hope you’ve read my previous blog post on how to increase your daily physical activity and how to design an aerobic exercise program. In the previous post, I talked about how to design a new aerobic exercise program for yourself. This time, I’m going to discuss the benefits of adding resistance exercise to your exercise routine. I will explain some of the benefits of resistance exercise and will give you some tips on how to design and stick to your program.

*Just remember that before you start any exercise program, it’s always important to ask your healthcare provider to make sure you are medically cleared to exercise.

What is resistance exercise?

Resistance exercise, also called weight lifting or strength training is a mode of exercise in which you will use a form of resistance (body weight, elastic bands, weights) to build strength and increase muscle mass.

Benefits:

Resistance exercise is beneficial for many reasons. As we age, we lose muscle mass and bone density and research has shown that resistance exercise can help prevent the loss of both muscle and bone.

Additionally, since muscle tissue is sensitive to insulin, research also shows that by building more muscle mass and increasing insulin sensitivity, most individuals with diabetes can better manage their blood glucose.

There is also evidence that indicates adding resistance exercise and improving muscular health can be beneficial in helping us maintain independence in performing activities of daily living, preventing the risk of falls and injuries, and the risk of other age-related chronic conditions.

Programming:

Starting a resistance exercise program on your own can seem challenging, but by being aware of key factors and knowing how to address them, you can set yourself up for success. Here are important things to consider and how to approach them when beginning your resistance exercise program:

Mode: You can choose between free weights (such as dumbbells and barbells), weight machines, resistance bands, or simply your bodyweight. It’s best to start with weight machines if you have access to the gym. Resistance bands and bodyweight exercises are also excellent options to start with and learn the movements especially if you don’t want to go to a gym.
Intensity: For adjusting intensity, you need to determine your movements, weights, sets, repetitions, and rest period:
- Movement selection: It’s always best to choose movements that involve more than one joint such as squat, deadlift, push up, row, and shoulder press. There are lots of variations to these exercises. For the start, let’s stay away from free weights (dumbbells and barbells) and instead do bodyweights (meaning use your own body weight as resistance), resistance bands, or weight machines.For bodyweight movements like squats and push-ups, your body weight provides the resistance. Focus on proper form and technique before adding external weight or resistance. If using resistance bands, choose bands with a level of resistance to match your current strength level. Start with a lighter band and gradually progress to heavier ones as you get stronger. If using weight machines, pay attention to how to load, unload, and adjust the machine for optimal body positioning.
- Weight selection, sets, repetitions, and rest period: You can load your movements by adding weights, choosing different body positions, or using different bands. The more you load the movement (meaning the more you add resistance), the lower the number of repetitions. And you should always feel challenged towards the end of the repetitions in each set. For example when doing 3 sets of 8-10 repetitions, when you get to the 7th or 8th repetition in each set, you should feel that it gets noticeably more challenging. That’s how you know you have chosen the right amount of weights!
  
  If it’s the first time doing resistance exercise, start with bodyweight movements, and bands and aim at doing 3 sets of 8-10 repetitions regardless of how hard it feels. As you get better at doing the movements and learn the technique, you can start using machines, free weights, or heavier bands and follow the rule above to choose the right amount of weights. When choosing machines and free weights, you can start with 2 sets of 10-12 repetitions and work your way up to 3 sets of 10-12 repetitions or 3 sets of 8-10 repetitions. Remember the lower the number of repetitions, the heavier the weights.
  
  Also, you need to rest for 30 to 90 seconds between each set.
Frequency: Start off with 1-2 times per week and aim at increasing it to 3 times per week.
Duration: Always aim at completing about 8-10 exercises (3 sets of 8-10 reps) that cover major muscle groups in each session.
Progression and variation:
- Progression and variations are two key elements to help you get stronger, build muscle mass, and help keep you motivated. You can do this by:
  - Changing the order of exercises you do
  - Doing different exercise variations (for example, if you’ve been doing barbell back squats, switch to front squats)
  - Changing the number of sets, repetitions, and weights
  - Choosing between machines, free weights, bodyweights, or resistance bands
Exercise form and technique: Exercise form is crucial when doing resistance exercise. That’s why it’s recommended that beginners start with bodyweight exercises and resistance bands to learn and master movements first. Multi-joint movements such as squat, deadlift, shoulder press, chest press, and row all need practice. Never rush to begin loading your movements. If you are not sure of your technique, join a local gym and ask for a free personal training session. You can also use online resources such as this exercise library from American Council on Exercise (ACE).

Best Practices

Adherence is crucial to the success of any exercise program. Here are some valuable tips to help you stick to your new resistance exercise routine:

Pay attention to your form. Proper form and technique are important to avoid injury. One of the reasons people drop out of exercise programs is experiencing pain or injuries. So, make sure that you learn the proper forms and techniques with minimal loads before loading your movements. You can watch yourself in the mirror or even film yourself to see your form later.
Make it fun: Choose exercises and variations that you enjoy. If you like what you’re doing, you’re more likely to stick with it.
Prevent excessive muscle soreness. Pay attention to how your body responds after each workout. Some soreness is normal, especially when starting a new program or increasing intensity. However, excessive soreness that interferes with daily activities is a sign that you may have progressed too quickly. And let’s face it, excessive muscle soreness after exercise is not fun! You can avoid this by progressing slowly. For example, if your goal is to do 3 sets of 8-10 repetitions, increase the weights only when you can complete 3 sets of 10 repetitions without feeling excessive fatigue or soreness the day after.
Allow for recovery: Give your muscles time to recover between workouts. Adequate rest is essential for muscle repair and growth, as well as reducing soreness.
Be patient and realistic: Understand that progress takes time. Avoid comparing yourself to others and focus on your own journey.
Reward yourself: Celebrate your achievements, both big and small. Rewards can help reinforce positive behavior.
Overcome barriers: Identify potential obstacles and develop strategies to overcome them. Whether it’s lack of time, motivation, or resources, having a plan in place can help.
Monitor your blood glucose. Remember to monitor your blood glucose before, during (if possible), and after an exercise session to learn how your body reacts to your new exercise routine. Take a look at this resource from the American Diabetes Association (ADA) and see how you can get started safely with exercise while monitoring your blood glucose.
One way to keep track of your blood glucose is to download and use the Glooko app. You can also connect and sync your activity tracker app, including iHealth, Fitbit, or Strava, to Glooko. This way, you can see both your blood glucose and activity data in one place. This way, you can always review your own data and determine what works best for you.

Now, it’s time for you to start creating your resistance exercise program using the guidance above. I hope this information can help you in your journey to lead a healthier and happier lifestyle.

Yours in Health and Fitness,

Sanaz Nosrat, PhD, CSCS, ACE PT

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Tips for Better Diabetes Management When Travelling

Welcome to a new series from Nurse Amanda full of useful health tips for people with diabetes! I’ve been a registered children’s nurse for over 23 years and I’ve had a special interest in diabetes for over 11 years.

To kick off this new series, our first blog post will cover travel. With school out for the summer, you may have a holiday booked. I certainly look forward to the family holiday every year. However, living with diabetes and organising a holiday is not just about what clothes to pack, it’s a whole load more. Diabetes also needs to be planned for during vacations.

TRAVEL TIPS

Set an alarm on the Glooko® Mobile App to remind you to order your consumables and GP prescription well in advance.
Take double the amount of equipment you need and carry it in your hand luggage. If you are travelling with a partner, split the equipment between both bags, just in case one gets lost. Sometimes airlines will permit extra luggage if they are contacted prior to arriving at the airport.
Always wear some form of diabetes I.D. to alert others to your chronic condition.
Make sure you have adequate travel insurance and the company has been made aware that you have diabetes.
You can ask for a customs letter from your health care team to help you through security with your insulin and pen needles.
Always carry some hypo treatment and be prepared to test your blood glucose more regularly. You could use a Bluetooth enabled blood glucose meter (BGM) to sync your results with Glooko for your care team to support you whilst you are away.
If you use an insulin pump to manage your diabetes, some companies can provide a holiday pump service, so you can take a spare insulin pump with you. There’s no harm in asking. If this is needed, you can login to your Glooko account and see your latest device settings to programme the spare pump. Don’t forget to take your back up insulin pens as well!
You can keep an eye on your glucose control through the recently redesigned Glooko® Mobile App.
Track your food during your holiday with the Glooko Mobile App on your phone so you can see how different foods affect your diabetes.
You may have a change in your activity levels. You can also track these within the Glooko ® Mobile App to review how it affects your glucose control.

You also need to think about what kind of holiday it is. Will it be warm or cold?

TIPS FOR TRAVELLING IN HEAT

Please note, not everyone with diabetes will react the same to weather changes or changes in physical activity. Although some find heat can increase the sensitivity of insulin resulting in hypos, it is not always the case. Experiment how your body responds to heat changes and be fully prepared. You can keep a log of your symptoms in the Notes section of the Glooko app and also log any physical activity.

Keep your insulin and meter as cool as you can without freezing it so the insulin does not get damaged.
Store spare insulin in a cold or cool place. Most hotels have a fridge.
If you are using an insulin pump, consider changing the insulin cartridge more regularly than at home, especially if your blood glucose is rising.
Keep your pump and insulin out of the sun as much as possible. Consider using an insulin cooler bag.
Your cannula may not stick as well being in and out of the pool or the suncream formula, so consider some form of extra adhesive.

COLD WEATHER TRAVEL TIPS

Keep your BGM close to your body as much as possible to keep it warm.
Add some extra wrapping around your BGM and insulin.
If you’re sleeping in tents or somewhere cold at night, make sure your BGM is in bed with you next to your body. Be careful not to roll on it and cause damage.
If the insulin has frozen or does not look clear with specks or lumps in it, throw it away and open a new vial.

Another worry may be if you are travelling across time zones and treating your diabetes with an insulin pump and basal settings. To alleviate anxiety, try these tips.

TIPS FOR TRAVELLING ACROSS TIME ZONES

A time zone change of up to four hours can be managed by adjusting the insulin pump’s clock to the new destination time.

Time zone changes of four hours or more can be managed by adjusting the insulin pump’s clock by four hours before you board the plane. After a couple of days, you can change it to the destination time. On return, use the same method to revert back to your home local time. You can also set reminders in the Glooko app to alert you to change the time.

Remember to check blood glucose levels more frequently whilst doing this and treat any short-term complications accordingly.

I hope you follow my tips for a better diabetes management experience while travelling.

And most of all, enjoy your holiday!

Amanda Stoney, RN (CHILD), BSc (HONS), Specialist Practitioner, PG Certificate

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Design A New Aerobic Exercise Program with Glooko’s Resident Fitness Expert

Welcome back to Glooko’s blog on exercise and physical activity.

I hope by now you’ve read my previous blog post on how to increase your daily physical activity. In that post, I shared why daily activities are important for our health and suggested some tips on how to incorporate them into your routine. This time around, I’m going to discuss the benefits of adding structured aerobic exercise into your life and give you some tips on how to design and stick to your program.

Before you start any exercise program, it’s always important to ask your healthcare provider to make sure you are medically cleared to exercise.

WHAT IS AEROBIC EXERCISE?

“Aerobic exercise,” also referred to as “cardio” or “cardiorespiratory exercise” is any rhythmic, repeated movement that is performed for at least 5 minutes. Some examples include brisk walking, jogging, running, swimming, bicycling, the use of an elliptical machine, water aerobics and a step class.

Aerobic exercise has numerous benefits for you whether you’re a person living with diabetes or any other related chronic conditions, or living without any chronic condition. According to the CDC and WHO, these benefits include having better glycemic control, easier weight management, prevention of heart disease and high blood pressure, a better blood lipid profile (think of your cholesterol, LDL and HDL), and better sleep and mood.

DESIGN YOUR AEROBIC EXERCISE PROGRAM

So, how should you start? Here are four important variables that you can modify to design your aerobic exercise program.

Mode: This is the type of exercise you can do. I know “walking” is a popular form of aerobic exercise, but not everyone needs to start with that. You might like the elliptical machine in the gym better than walking. Or you might prefer a dance class at your local gym, while another person might prefer water aerobics. Pick an exercise and see if you like it. You can mix them up as well and have a variety of activities that you can pick from when you want to work out.
Duration: Now it’s time to decide how many minutes you want to do the activity. You can start with 10 minutes and increase that over time. Aim to finally achieve 30 minutes of this activity in each session. How do you gradually increase the duration of your activity? Here is an example: after completing three sessions of aerobic activity, you can increase the duration of the fourth session by 3 to 5 minutes. Keep on doing this until you reach your 30-minute goal.
Frequency: This is the number of times you need to repeat this activity during the week. You can start with once per week and increase that gradually to 3 to 5 times per week.
Intensity: It’s also important to decide at what intensity you want to work out. Aerobic exercise can be performed in low, moderate or high (vigorous) intensities. One way to determine the intensity of your exercise is to purchase a heart rate monitor or a fitness tracker, many of which are compatible with the Glooko® Mobile App. The other way you can determine the intensity of your workouts is with a talk test. When you are at a low to moderate intensity, you will be able to carry a conversation, but won’t be able to sing. When at a high (vigorous) intensity, you can’t say more than a few words without pausing to catch a breath. So what intensity should you start with? It’s always better to start with low to moderate intensity. You will enjoy your moderate intensity workouts more and chances are you will stick to them as well!

You now have four main variables of mode, duration, frequency and intensity to modify and design your workouts. It’s important to emphasize that it’s always better to increase the duration and frequency of your activity first, and if you like, you can then increase the intensity. Always remember to increase these variables gradually. This way, you are more likely to adhere to your exercise program and the risk of musculoskeletal injuries will be lower.

HOW DO I STICK TO MY NEW AEROBIC EXERCISE PROGRAM?

It’s time now for some tips to help you adhere to your new aerobic exercise program.

Make it fun. Choose an activity that’s fun for you. Exercising should not be boring, uncomfortable, or painful. It’s possible to enjoy an exercise program and still reap the benefits.
“No pain, No gain” is a myth. Exercise doesn’t have to be painful to be beneficial. Most people don’t enjoy higher exercise intensities and feel too uncomfortable while doing it. If you are one of those people, remember that you can stick to moderate intensity and still get all the benefits. Research from Sports Medicine shows that low to moderate intensity aerobic exercise is more enjoyable than high intensity aerobic exercise, especially if you are new to the exercise program.
Start slow. I know it might be exciting to go all out at the beginning, or to test your abilities to see how intense or how long you can work out, but It’s safer and more enjoyable if you start slow and let your body adapt and get used to the exercise program gradually.
Spread out your workouts. You can complete a 30-minute workout in one session or spread it out during the day. For example, you can go for a brisk walk three times per day each time for 10 minutes rather than completing a 30-minute walk at once.
Consider doing low-impact activities. If you have any issues with your feet, such as peripheral neuropathy, or if you experience pain in your joints from time to time, it would be safer and more beneficial if you choose non-weight bearing aerobic exercises like swimming or bicycling. Always wear comfortable shoes and inspect your feet after each workout for any potential irritated spots.
This is a long-term goal. Although you might experience positive changes in mood and energy levels immediately after each session (which is great!), you need to stick to your program for a couple of months at least and make it an essential part of your new healthier routine to experience most of the benefits of aerobic exercise.
Be kind to yourself. It’s possible that you may miss some of your planned exercise sessions, become frustrated and even decide you want to stop exercising altogether. Just remember that this is a lifestyle change and everything can’t be perfect all the time. Be kind to yourself and get back to your plan every time you relapse. It will eventually become easier to stick to your exercise plans.
Monitor your blood glucose. Be sure to monitor your blood glucose before, during (if possible), and after an exercise session to learn how your body reacts to your new exercise routine. Take a look at this helpful information from the American Diabetes Association and see how you can get started safely with exercise while monitoring your blood glucose. Don’t forget to use the newly redesigned Glooko app to sync your blood glucose data and track your aerobic exercise routine. This way, you can always look back at your health data and find out what works best for you.

It’s time for you to start creating your aerobic exercise program using the above guide. I hope this information can help you in your journey to a healthier and happier lifestyle.

Yours in Health and Fitness,

Sanaz Nosrat, PhD, CSCS, ACE PT

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Glooko Launches Sleek New Mobile App Design to Make Diabetes Management Easier

Today, we launched a sleek new look to the Glooko® Mobile App, which makes it easier for users with diabetes to navigate, organize their data in one place and share their data with their doctor and extended care team. We’ve also streamlined data visualization, so users can seamlessly view all their data at once.

The modern look and feel of the Home screen allows for quick access to the user’s most used actions, including seeing glucose trends, logging medication, and tracking food and exercise.

For new mobile app users getting started with Glooko, we’ve simplified the onboarding process and customized it to fit individual goals.

From easily connecting to their clinics and sharing reports with their care team to using the Quick Add slider to conveniently add food, insulin and exercise, the free Glooko Mobile App, available in the App Store and Google Play Store, goes where people with diabetes go.

Wondering what went into the redesign of our digital health app? We sat down with some of the Glooko team members, including Director of Product Design Amanda Martin, Product Designer Ben Stone and Product Manager Chase Sutton, who worked behind-the-scenes to learn more about the process.

What were the goals and motivation behind the Glooko Home screen’s new look? How did you decide what features to highlight in the Home screen?

While we always take into account feedback from our users, our team performed extensive research and interviews to see what opportunities existed for changes in the app that would result in the greatest improvements. Through this, we landed on focusing our efforts mostly on the Home screen, the onboarding process for new users, and modernizing the user experience.

In this high-impact space, we reimagined how to display insights for users through side-by-side and detailed charts and graphs with all the pertinent data, including its sources, in one place. We added Quick Add buttons for easily tracking food, insulin, medication and other actions important to people with diabetes.

Through our interviews, we learned that users like to feel connected to their doctors and care teams and view that as a major benefit of Glooko. We wanted our users to have a direct link to them, so we added to the Home screen an easy way to reach and share data with them.

We also learned that we needed to improve the onboarding experience by making it quicker to get started and sync diabetes devices. This process was a hurdle for users in the past and we sought to simplify it in the redesign. There’s now a space on the Home screen for new users who are looking to get started with Glooko.

What are some of the main takeaways from the redesign of the Glooko Mobile App? How will this help current and new users?

For both current and new users of Glooko, the updated navigation on the Home screen helps users access key features more efficiently as the older version had many features tucked away and hard to discover. We put popular features, like food logging and sharing data with care teams, front and center on the Home screen—all available with one scroll and featuring the latest synced data.

For new users, we really wanted to give them an easy onboarding experience. We learned that the earlier version of the Glooko app’s onboarding was somewhat complicated and could be viewed as a turn off for people just joining and looking to take full advantage of our digital health app.

The reimagined onboarding is guided and shows new users what to do in a very organized, “bite-sized” way that allows them to easily complete it at their own pace.

What’s the new onboarding process like? Is it easier and does it have less steps for new users?

We learned through our interviews that the onboarding process definitely needed an overhaul. Users would go to the first step of syncing their device and then never went any further with the process as they found it too difficult. Our takeaway was that we needed to get new users to the Home screen right away.

In the new process, users now start on the Home screen and can complete the onboarding tracker, which includes syncing their device, tracking their insulin and completing their Glooko profile, in any order and timeframe. Users now get to experience all the features of Glooko right out of the gate!

How did you take feedback from people living with diabetes when making these changes that improve the experience of the Glooko Mobile App?

Connecting with users and hearing from them is incredibly important to our design process.

We have a human-centered design team, so it was integral that we talked to actual Glooko users to hear their feedback. We took what we learned and brought sketches and concepts for improving the Glooko Mobile App back to them. It’s a cycle that we go through all the time, but one that we really valued in this project.

Our team had some great conversations during this process with users who synced once to those who were very active in the app and constantly logging food. Each user group who provided us with feedback helped inform our decisions in the redesign.

We also used insights from data in the app to verify our theories around user engagement during these interviews.

What’s some of the feedback you’ve received from test users on the new look?

They’ve all been very excited about the improvements to the Glooko Mobile App.

We’ve received the most feedback about the modern look and feel, responsiveness and colors. Users are also pleased with the personalized way the data is displayed, whether it’s a continuous glucose meter, blood glucose meter or other compatible device.

The simplified, consistent and clean approach to the new experience will continue to resonate with our users—new and existing.

What other changes will be coming in the future to the Glooko Mobile App?

We have an ambitious and exciting roadmap for the mobile app, and much of it is focused on data.

We want users to better understand their overall health, so we’re looking to develop innovative and detailed charts and graphs to enable the next-generation of diabetes insights. These new data insights will give people with diabetes and their care teams the ability to make smarter decisions to improve their health.

Additionally, we’ll introduce personalized nudges that will help encourage behavior change and guide users to better lifestyle decisions in the coming future.

While all these future upgrades are very exciting, we’re giving both people with diabetes and their doctors the ability to see the power of Glooko and what connected care really is in our new reimagined version today.

The Glooko app is now available in the App Store and Google Play Store.

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Time to Move More! The Benefits of Exercise and Physical Activity from Glooko’s Resident Fitness Expert

Welcome to a new blog series from Glooko focused on the benefits of physical activity and how to incorporate more movement into your daily life. While we’ll focus on physical activity and fitness for people with diabetes, everything I share can be enjoyed by anyone.

So, who am I? I’m Sanaz Nosrat, a clinical research scientist at Glooko. I have a PhD in exercise science with multiple certifications from the American Council on Exercise and the National Strength and Conditioning Association. I also have multiple years of experience as both an exercise science researcher and personal trainer.

I’m hoping this new blog series will help you live a more active lifestyle. So, get ready to join me on a fun journey towards a healthier and happier you!

Wondering how you can get started with being more physically active today?

You have probably heard many times that physical activity benefits your health. Maybe you are wondering how to become more physically active without making significant changes to your daily routine. Or perhaps you have already started being more physically active, but are unsure how to keep it up.

This month, I’ll share the benefits of physical activity and handy tricks to incorporate more movement into your daily life.

WHAT IS PHYSICAL ACTIVITY?

Think about physical activity as any movement you do during the day. It can be something as simple as standing up for a couple of minutes after an hour of sitting. It can be walking to the bus or subway station, or even taking a few stairs instead of taking the elevator.

“Physical activity” is not structured or programmed like “exercise,” which makes it easier to incorporate it into your daily life, especially if you are struggling with following a strict exercise program or going to the gym several times per week. Of course, both exercise and physical activity have multiple health benefits.

BENEFITS OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

Physical activity has several benefits for everyone, including people living with diabetes.

Research has shown that increased physical activity during the day (such as adding walking to your routine) can positively impact body mass index (BMI), waist circumference and resting heart rate. Interestingly, research has also shown that daily activities can positively impact how we internally process carbohydrates.

Think about it this way: the more you move during the day instead of just sitting down, the more you increase your daily caloric deficit, which can help with better blood glucose and weight management.

Below are some steps you can take to increase your daily physical activity.

Start small. Try to add any physical activity you can afford to your day, but don’t rush it. If you just started being more physically active, think about doing 10 minutes each day for the first couple of weeks. You can even break it down into 2 minutes of walking around your home for every hour of sitting. You can also go for 5 to 10 minutes of walking each day whenever it’s feasible for you to take a break.
Be creative. Everyone is different, and we all have specific daily routines. Use your creativity and find what activity—whether it’s walking, standing, stretching, doing work around the house, climbing stairs, grocery shopping, dancing to your favorite music—works best for you.
Ask friends or family to join you. It’s always good to have some support, especially if you feel less motivated to do the activity you want to do. By doing this, others around you will also benefit from being physically active, so it’s a win-win!
Use an activity tracker. Using an activity tracker as simple as a pedometer, a device that counts steps, can help you increase your physical activity. Research has shown that users increased their physical activity level by 26.9% after using a pedometer for 18 weeks. There are also several apps, including some that the Glooko digital health app is compatible with, that you can download on your phone to track your physical activity and steps.
Don’t postpone it. We all have been there. It’s always tempting to postpone tasks for later in the day. Once you have less energy and feel tired, it will be harder to complete that task. Try doing some physical activity whenever you feel more energetic during the day. As you get used to being more active, you’ll realize that physical activity can actually make you feel more energetic and even happier.
Have fun! Making it fun is one of the most important things in this process. We are more likely to stick to and continue the activities that we like compared to things that we don’t like even knowing that both benefit our health. So, get moving and make it fun!
Monitor your blood glucose. Monitor your blood glucose before and after a bout of physical activity. This way, you will know your numbers, and more importantly, you can track how physical activity impacts your blood glucose.

One way to keep track of your blood glucose is to download and use the Glooko app. You can also connect and sync your activity tracker app, including iHealth, Fitbit, or Strava, to Glooko. This way, you can see both your blood glucose and activity data in one place.

In order to reap the benefits of physical activity, you can incorporate more daily movements like the ones I shared above into your life. Don’t be afraid of trying new things and see what works best for you!

You got this! Now, let’s all do some quick physical activity, shall we?

Yours in Health and Fitness,
Sanaz Nosrat, PhD, CSCS, ACE PT

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Insulet’s Omnipod 5 Compatible with Glooko

Glooko is excited to share that our digital health platform for people with diabetes and related chronic conditions is compatible in the United States with Insulet Corporation’s Omnipod® 5 Automated Insulin Delivery (AID) System.

The automated insulin delivery system, which is composed of the Omnipod 5 App, the Pod and has Dexcom® G6 Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM) System integration, received FDA clearance for use by individuals ages 2 and older with type 1 diabetes in 2022.

As the first tubeless AID system with smartphone control* in the U.S., Omnipod 5 integrates with the Dexcom G6 CGM System to automatically adjust insulin, help protect against highs and lows in glucose levels**, and simplify life for people with diabetes. The system’s innovative Pod uses SmartAdjust™ technology that continuously and automatically regulates insulin delivery based on a patient’s customized Target Glucose.

“With the many benefits provided by the Omnipod 5, we’re thrilled it’s compatible and available to Glooko users in the U.S.,” said David Conn, Glooko’s Executive Vice President of Partnerships and Alliances. “Our partnership with Insulet allowed us to be compatible from launch with this innovative new AID system designed for people looking to better manage their diabetes.”

Through our integration with Insulet, patients using the Omnipod 5 can connect their system to Glooko and upload their data from home via a cloud connection, expediting the time spent with healthcare providers. Healthcare providers can review the data uploaded and view standardized, comprehensive reports in the Glooko dashboard to help gain insights and make decisions to optimize care.

“The team at Insulet appreciates the support Glooko provided to make the launch of the Omnipod 5 possible and successful,” said Dr. Trang Ly, MBBS, FRACP, Ph.D., Senior Vice President and Medical Director, Insulet. “This System has been life-changing for so many people living with type I diabetes and we look forward to continuing to see its impact.”

Along with the Omnipod 5, the Glooko platform is also compatible with Insulet Corporation’s Omnipod DASH®.

At Glooko, we’re continuously increasing the number of devices that are compatible with our digital health platform, and over 3 million users around the globe have benefited in managing their health with our tools. We’re currently compatible with a majority of global diabetes and health monitoring devices on the market, which gives patients and their healthcare providers flexibility in managing their diabetes and related chronic conditions.

*For a list of compatible smartphone devices visit omnipod.com/compatibility

**Study in 240 people with T1D aged 6 – 70 years involving 2 weeks standard diabetes therapy followed by 3 months Omnipod 5 use in Automated Mode. Average time with high blood glucose in adults/adolescents and children, standard therapy vs. 3-month Omnipod 5: 32.4% vs. 24.7%; 45.3% vs. 30.2%. Median time with low blood glucose in adults/adolescents and children, standard therapy vs. 3-mo Omnipod 5: 2.0% vs. 1.1%; 1.4% vs. 1.5%. Brown et al. Diabetes Care (2021).

Study in 80 people with T1D aged 2 – 5.9 years involving 2 weeks standard diabetes therapy followed by 3 months Omnipod 5 use in Automated Mode. Average time in Target Glucose range (from CGM) for standard therapy vs Omnipod 5 = 57.2% vs. 68.1%. Average time in Target Glucose range (12AM -< 6AM) from CGM in standard therapy vs. Omnipod 5 = 58.2% vs 81.0%. Average A1c in standard therapy vs. Omnipod 5 = 7.4% vs. 6.9%. Median time with low blood glucose from CGM: standard therapy = 3.43% vs. 2.46%. Sherr JL, et al. Diabetes Care (2022).

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Glooko Mobile App Simplifies Tracking Food Intake for People with Diabetes

Food is a critical component in the management of diabetes.

People with diabetes can use the Glooko mobile app, available in the App Store and Google Play Store, to easily log their food intake and keep a historical account of how food affects their chronic condition.

The data from daily meals can be viewed alongside data from compatible diabetes and health monitoring devices, medications and insulin to reveal trends and patterns to better understand what is affecting a person’s diabetes

Tracking food consumption in our digital health app can be handled in multiple different ways, including by searching the food database, using voice capture or scanning a barcode.

Database Search: Manually search for a generic or branded food item in the Glooko mobile app by typing in its name to track it. Learn how to use this feature…
Voice Capture: Speak the name of the food item that should be added to the Glooko mobile app’s food tracker. Explore how to use this unique functionality that is not available in other leading food tracking apps…
Barcode Scanner: Use the camera of a smartphone to scan the barcode of a food item to track it in the Glooko mobile app. See how to take advantage of this feature…

The Glooko mobile app simplifies tracking food consumption while allowing users to explore nutrition facts, including carbohydrates, calories, fats and proteins.

Frequent users of the food tracker can also create personalized custom food entries of their favorite meals, so they don’t need to re-add portions multiple times.

“The food tracker feature in our mobile app allows users to see how the food they’re consuming each day may affect their diabetes,” said Glooko Chief Product Officer Ed Marshall. “Being able to see all the data in one place gives users the ability to understand how they’re doing and make informed decisions about their health.”

The Glooko mobile app and its food tracker feature is also constantly evolving to meet the needs of our global users.

To better support users in the U.K., France, Germany and Spain last year, we added unique regional food items that are searchable in British English, French, German and Spanish to our connected care app.

For handy ways on how to use the food tracker, follow along with healthy eating and living tips from Glooko’s resident dietitian, Bridget Wood, RD, LD, CDCES.

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Conquer the Holidays While Living with Diabetes with Tips from Glooko’s Registered Dietitian

The holidays have always been one of my favorite times of the year. For me, it always involves family and friends coming together surrounded by my favorite thing—food!

After I was diagnosed with type one diabetes, it still remained my favorite season. The love has never gone away or changed, but the role my diabetes plays definitely has.

I’ve gone from the out of sight out of mind approach to having low carb alternatives for every holiday meal to finally being able to both enjoy the holidays and be able to be mindful of my numbers. You can try all of the tips below or even just choose one at a time until you feel like you’ve mastered it!

Be Mindful of Movement

It’s difficult to prioritize movement in the colder months, but it really can be one of the best tools you can use to help keep your numbers in range. Physical activity can not only be a great way to get a change of scenery with your loved ones, but can help with lowering any insulin resistance that may be occurring from any high fat and high carb meals you’re having.

It can also help with digestion and to supercharge any insulin on board you have for a meal or stubborn high blood sugar.

Have a Plan

Just like with any special event and your diabetes, you want to have a plan. Diabetes is not one size fits all—and neither will be your approach to the holidays!

If you know the menu, you can try and plan a dosing strategy or bring a dish or entree that you have experience successfully dosing for to ensure you’ll have a safe option. Some people like to trial foods prior to the holiday, so they are prepared when the actual holiday comes. You can also use the Glooko food tracker combined with your glucose data in our digital health app to do this or to help you come up with a dosing strategy.

Others like to just go along with their day as usual and use it as a future learning tool for holidays and festive parties. The important thing to remember is that despite the outcome—you aren’t a failure! It is just one day, one time of the year, and tomorrow is a new day.

Perfect your Plate

The plate planning method is a great tool to use when planning meals all year round, but especially during the holidays!

By making sure you’re balancing your plate, you’re combining the carbohydrates you’re consuming with the protein and fat in the meal to create a great outcome when it comes to how your body is digesting the food. When we “clothe the carbohydrates,” we can help to reduce spiking post meals. With that being said, too much of an item can delay digestion too much and create spiking hours later, so aim for ¼ plate protein, ¼ plate carbohydrates and the remainder being a vegetable.

Here’s a pro tip: Try to aim for vegetables with a higher fiber content for a boost in blood sugar stabilization and minimize spikes.

Use Helpful Diabetes Tools

Technology can be our best friend when it comes to tackling the holidays.

Don’t forget to use the food tracking feature in the Glooko mobile app to help you figure out the best carbohydrate amounts for your meals. Try to look items up ahead of time so that you’re prepared going into your meal. You can even go back and review your data after the holidays have passed so that you can make adjustments to your plan.

A fitness tracker can help you see your activity levels and be a gentle reminder to increase your movement if you’re dealing with stubborn highs. Many different fitness devices are even compatible with Glooko, which by connecting your device allows you to see all your data in one place.

Remember, it’s only Temporary!

It’s just one day or one season.

Blood sugar spikes can happen any time, but the holidays and time spent with your family do not. Blood sugars are going to fluctuate during the day regardless and sometimes the added stress of worrying about blood sugars can make any insulin resistance you’re experiencing from decreased movement worse.

And if you’re looking for a tasty treat that is blood sugar friendly, I’ve got one for you! This chocolate chia pudding can do triple duty as a breakfast item, snack or even a dessert! Chia seeds have a low impact on blood sugar levels (thanks to lots of fiber!) and can be extremely filling for a small amount. Some people don’t like the texture, which is understandable! You can get around this by blending it up until it is smooth.

Double Chocolate Chia Pudding Recipe (PDF)

No matter the outcome of your festive treat feats—I hope you have a happy holiday season and find the food tracker feature in Glooko helpful in all your holiday food adventures!

See you next year!

Bridget Wood, RD, LD, CDCES

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Tackling Blood Sugar Challenging Foods with Glooko’s Registered Dietitian During Diabetes Month

As your friendly neighborhood registered dietitian nutritionist, diabetes educator and type one diabetes buddy, I couldn’t possibly write this post without saying Happy National Diabetes Awareness Month! While the intent of the month is to bring awareness to diabetes and what it means to be living with the illness, I want to take this time to celebrate our community.

Whether you’re someone living with diabetes or a caregiver of someone with diabetes—give yourself a pat on the back. It isn’t easy living with this chronic illness, yet we wake up every day to face it and whatever else comes along our way. In case someone hasn’t said it lately, you’re doing a fantastic job!

With that being said, let’s dive deeper into some foods that are notorious for causing blood sugar spikes. I like to start off discussions like these with a few disclaimers.

First things first, this post is not meant to be a substitute for medical advice. Please contact your own healthcare provider to obtain personalized care. Second, if you are someone who utilizes medication to manage your diabetes and are struggling with keeping numbers in range, taking your medication as prescribed, carb counting to the best of your ability, and using more advanced insulin dosing strategies to cover your meals (for those on insulin), you may need to discuss this with your provider. At times, there can be a lot of blame and emphasis placed on the food we are consuming when it could potentially be a medication mismatch. Lastly, everyone is different. My diabetes is not your diabetes and vice versa. Some foods may just impact you differently!

In previous blog posts, I’ve mentioned the benefits of fruits and vegetables for people living with diabetes. By simply adding more of these to your plate at mealtimes (of course with taking the carbohydrate amounts into account for those on insulin), you can help improve the way your body handles some of the more challenging foods. Alternatively, by adding some of the foods that help keep your blood sugars in range like fruits and starchy vegetables, you can help transform the way your body handles these foods as well.

Sometimes when we think of planning meals, an emphasis is placed on taking away when it really should be placed on adding nourishing and nutrient dense foods to some of the dishes we already know and love. That being said, let’s jump in and take a look at some of the more challenging foods we encounter as people living with diabetes and ways to make them a little easier to manage!

Pizza

If you were to ask any person living with diabetes what food gives them the most trouble, 9 times out of 10 they would likely reply with pizza!

Even though pizza has all of the pieces of the puzzle “necessary” to promote balanced blood sugars, like protein and fat, it has carbohydrates and fats to make it challenging.

Even still, pizza is not off limits for people living with diabetes.

When choosing your slice, take into consideration things like crust styles. By choosing a thinner crust, you’re able to reduce the amount of carbohydrates, which can reduce impact on blood sugars and minimize those pesky spikes that occur hours later due to the high fat content delaying digestion.

Another alternative that can be used are crusts made with alternative flours, such as cauliflower and broccoli, as these ideally would have a lower glycemic impact and higher amount of fiber to help with blood sugar stabilization. While these could be great solutions, there are several things to take into consideration.

Alternative crusts can have just as much carbohydrates from being mixed with higher glycemic flours like rice flour and even more saturated fats from the cheese that is used to bind the crust together. They also tend to have more sodium due to having extra cheese in the crust in addition to the traditional pizza toppings like pepperoni, olives and cheese, which could cause increased blood pressure levels and dehydration (which can negatively impact blood sugars). Like with traditional pizza, you still have to be mindful of portion sizes when consuming these types of pizzas.

Pizza can have multiple sources of high fat proteins that can further delay the pizza’s digestion. Reducing the amount of these by adding more veggies to your slice or choosing leaner meats can help make the blood sugar response more ideal. Choose options such as onions, peppers, garlic, mushrooms, spinach, tomatoes and arugula as “pickled” items like olives, pepperoncini peppers and artichokes will have more sodium.

When consuming pizza, increasing movement post meals can not only help your body use the insulin you are producing or injecting better, but can also help speed along digestion. If you have not discussed any advanced dosing strategies with your provider, I strongly recommend doing so. A strategy like using an extended bolus feature would allow you to take a portion of your insulin prior to the meal to cover the initial spike, but also allows you to take the rest of your insulin slowly over a certain amount of time.

Pasta

As a diabetes care and education specialist, I would say pasta is one of the main concerns from my clients and rightfully so!

Typically, pasta dishes can have a lot of carbohydrates due to large portions and less ingredients such as protein, which helps slow down the digestion of the carbohydrates. Nevertheless, pasta is ALSO something that can be enjoyed by people living with diabetes. Like pizza, it’s about identifying the best strategy that works for you and is the most sustainable.

When it comes to vegetable pastas (zucchini and kohlrabi are some of my personal favorites), they can be beneficial to people living with diabetes for several reasons, including the lower carbohydrate and higher fiber. They can also be a great way to lower caloric intake for those focusing on weight management.

While a fantastic swap, it’s important to realize that these are not going to taste like traditional pastas. If you’re someone who doesn’t consume higher amounts of fiber on a regular basis, eating a huge plate of vegetables may cause stomach upset, which can cause some who try it to never try again. A way to fix this can be simply swapping out ⅓-½ of your traditional pasta for a veggie based one or more veggies.

Pastas made from legumes like beans and lentils often have high amounts of fiber and protein. With this being said, there are a few things to remember when it comes to these as well.

They don’t taste like traditional pasta. They can often be more dense, which some people may dislike.
They still have carbohydrates! As stated in previous posts, carbohydrates aren’t bad, but it is important to be mindful of portion sizes when planning meals as they will have the most impact on blood sugar levels. At times, people equate these alternative versions of foods as “healthier” and increase their portion sizes without being aware that it can still cause blood sugar to spike.
These are typically more expensive than traditional pastas.

Traditional pasta was one of the foods I didn’t eat for years post-diagnosis. It wasn’t until my education and the emergence of the technology that we have now, that I was able to revisit pasta. Successful ways to consume traditional pasta are adding more vegetables, lowering the amount of fat oils, butter, cheese sauces and meat sauces and monitoring portion sizes. If you’re dining out, combining these methods with your best dosing and movement strategy can help as well.

And one of my favorite ways to eat plant-based is pasta! You can get creative with your ingredients and make it as simple or complicated as you like. By incorporating a high fiber protein pasta, you are able to further amplify the blood sugar friendly benefits of the veggies.

While this recipe below is definitely intermediate to advanced, you can achieve a similar result by simply sauteing fresh mushrooms and adding them into already prepared store bought pasta sauce.

Download a Plant-Based Meat Sauce & Rotini Recipe (PDF)

Oatmeal

Oatmeal is often touted as one of the “best” foods for people living with diabetes. It has a high amount of fiber and is a source of prebiotics. Prebiotics act as fuel for our good gut bacteria and have been shown in studies to potentially aid with glycemic control. It is also one of the more common foods that my clients have found challenging.

Similar to the foods mentioned above, the type of oatmeal and how you combine it with other foods determines your blood sugar response. Instant oats are more convenient, but are more processed which results in less fiber. They also can have more added sugar, which combined with lower fiber can lead to a spike in sugars.

Adding things like nuts, seeds, nut butters and protein packed Icelandic and Greek style yogurts can help to slow down digestion and keep you fueled longer than consuming two packets (which will double the carbohydrate). You can also choose an unsweetened or lower sugar instant oatmeal and control the amount of added sugar portion by adding your own dried fruits or fresh fruit.

Choosing less processed oat forms, such as steel cut oats and groats, will have a much higher fiber content than the instant and rolled oat form. These fiber filled types can be cooked or prepared ahead of time and chilled as overnight oats.

Now, you see why these foods are challenging and ways to make them a bit more manageable. Once you’re able to identify the blood sugar raising factors like high fat content, high added sugar content and low fiber content in these foods, you’ll be able to apply these diabetes detective tools to other foods that cause similar responses like desserts and foods when you are dining out.

Be sure to tag @Glooko or myself (@BalancedWithBridgetWood) on Instagram, and use the hashtags, #BetterTogether and #BalancedWithBridgetWood, in all of your blood-sugar-challenging to blood-sugar-balancing meal transformations!

Your Friend in Food,