Nourished Living

19 - 7 More Tips To Get You Off The Blood Sugar Roller Coaster

• Courtney Podany

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If you’re tired of the energy crashes, intense cravings, and brain fog that seem to show up no matter what you eat, this episode is for you. In this follow-up to the popular blood sugar episode (#3), I’m sharing seven everyday habits that go beyond food pairing to help you feel balanced, energized, and in control—without giving up carbs.

As a Type 1 Diabetic and Nutritional Therapist, I live and breathe blood sugar regulation, and I’m here to show you how simple shifts can make a big difference. Whether you’re new to this or looking to build on what you’ve already learned, these tools will support your body naturally.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • Why blood sugar balance matters for everyone—not just diabetics
  • What it means to “eat protein or fat first”—and why it works
  • How a short walk after meals can lower glucose spikes
  • Why going too long without eating throws your body out of balance
  • The surprising connection between stress, sleep, and your blood sugar
  • How strength training and smart snacking create long-term stability

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Welcome to the Nourish Living Podcast, where I'll be diving deep into nutrition, holistic wellness, and practical tips to help you live your healthiest, most vibrant life. I am Courtney Paani, a nutritional therapist, certified personal trainer, type one diabetic and mom. And I'm here to help you take charge of your health with ease and confidence. Together we'll explore how to nourish your body, mind, and soul in a way that feels good and sustainable. So grab your favorite beverage. Take a deep breath, and let's get into the episode. I. Hello and welcome back to the Nourished Living Podcast. I am your host Courtney Podany, and I'm so glad you're here with me today. Today we are diving into a topic that's near and dear to my heart, blood sugar regulation. As a type one diabetic, this is something that I live and breathe every single day. I could truly talk about it forever because it plays such a huge role in how we feel on a daily basis. It affects our energy, our mood, our focus, and even cravings. And I wanna start by saying this, blood sugar regulation is not just important for people with diabetes. It matters for everyone. Regardless of your background, your health history, or your age, if you have a body, blood sugar impacts you. So today I'm sharing even more practical tips and tricks to help you regulate your blood sugar naturally and feel your best from the inside out. Before we dive in, I want to quickly recap why blood sugar regulation matters because it's about so much more than food. Stable blood sugar is key for steady energy, balanced moods, fewer cravings, and clear thinking. When your blood sugar is on a roller coaster, so you're spiking and then crashing low, you will feel it. That's when things like irritability, anxiety, brain fog, intense cravings, and that classic 2:00 PM crash show up. Now, let me be clear. Carbs are not the enemy. Carbohydrates are your body's quickest and most preferred source of fuel. Carbs, support our brains, our muscles, our hormones, and our metabolism. We absolutely need them, especially from real whole food sources. The key is how we eat them. Carbs are what breakdown into glucose. Your blood sugar, so when you eat them alone, that spike in blood sugar is inevitable. That's why I like to say no naked carbs. When you pair carbs with protein and healthy fat, you slow down digestion and the release of glucose into the bloodstream. That combo helps keep your blood sugar stable, which means more energy, better moods, fewer crashes, and less stress on your body overall. The standard American diet tends to do the opposite, ultra processed and carb heavy meals that send us on a blood sugar roller coaster all day long. And that's incredibly taxing on your system because every spike and every crash requires your body to work hard to correct it. So instead of just focusing on what to avoid, think about what to add, add protein, add fat, add fiber. These are the tools to help your body feel balanced, nourished, and steady. That is basically a quick recap of What I shared in my first blood sugar episode, which is episode three, remember to always eat carbs, protein, and fat every single time you eat, which means meals and snacks. So once you've got the balanced meals in place, here are seven everyday habits that will help your body actually use that glucose efficiently so you stay balanced all day long. When you include all three macronutrients, especially protein and healthy fats at each meal, it slows down how quickly glucose hits your bloodstream. That's the foundation. But today we are building on that. Tip number one is to eat protein or fat. First, let's start with a super simple shift. Eat your protein or fat first. Research shows that the order we eat our food in actually affects our blood sugar response. Starting your meal with protein, fat, or fiber and saving your starches, carbs and sweets for last can significantly blunt the glucose spike from that meal. So if you're having a stir fry, take a few bites of chicken before diving into the rice, or if you're eating out, eat the salad or protein first, then the bread or pasta. And since I wear a C-G-M a continuous glucose monitor, I can personally attest to how powerful this strategy is as I can watch my blood sugar data in real time. Now I want to clear something up. You don't need to eat all of your protein and all of your fat before you even touch your carbs. Even just a few bites of protein or fat first can make a huge difference in how your blood sugar responds, and if your meal is all mixed together like a bowl or a salad. Don't overthink it. You can absolutely still enjoy everything together. Just being mindful of the order you take a few bites in and making sure you've got protein and fat on your plate can go a long way in keeping your blood sugar steady. It's an easy trick with a big payoff. Tip number two, walk five to 10 minutes after your meals. This one is one of my favorites. I'm a personal trainer. I obviously love movement and a body in motion stays in motion. Adding in a quick, simple walk after your meals could actually lead you to be more active throughout your day. And you don't need to do a full workout. Just five to 10 minutes of gentle movement is enough. A walk around the block, tidying the kitchen, or even pacing while you call a loved one. That little bit of movement helps shuttle glucose into your muscles instead of leaving it in your bloodstream, which not only lowers the glucose spike, but helps you feel more energized after eating, and that's the goal, right? We are eating because we need fuel, so we should feel energized after a meal. Not sluggish and tired. Tip number three, do not go more than five hours without eating. Here's the deal. Blood sugar does not like extremes. And long gaps without food can lead to big crashes, intense hunger and reactive eating. Try to eat every three to four hours, especially earlier in the day when your body is more insulin sensitive. You don't have to obsess over the clock, but having a rhythm or schedule will help. This keeps your blood sugar more stable, your energy more even. And prevents that late night snack attack of overeating because you didn't fuel yourself with enough calories during the day. Tip number four, manage and reduce stress. This one is huge. Your stress levels directly impact your blood sugar. Cortisol, our body's main stress hormone can increase blood sugar even if you haven't eaten anything. So even if you are balancing your meals, chronic stress can still make you feel anxious, foggy, or wired. But even small stress reduction habits can make a difference when done consistently. Remember, we are all about consistency over here. So this could look like taking five deep belly breaths before meals, doing a brain dump in your journal. Getting outside for five minutes and putting your bare feet in the grass, meditating, or even just saying no to something that has been draining you. It's not about eliminating all stress, but building your resilience to it. When we're riding the blood sugar rollercoaster, our adrenal glands are working over time to help bring us back into a healthy range. But here's the thing, our adrenals don't just help manage blood sugar. They're also in charge of our stress response. So if you're dealing with daily stress. And your blood sugar's swinging up and down all day, your poor adrenals are on overload. That's why keeping blood sugar stable isn't just about food. It's about supporting your entire body, including your stress hormones. The more we can reduce those wild swings, the less pressure we put on our adrenals, the less burnout we will feel and the more resilient we will become. Tip number five, focus on sleep. Okay. I feel like this is always the first to go when we get super busy, right? It's like, well, I'll just stay up later to finish this project or whatever you're working on, or I'll just get up earlier and go do that. But sleep is critical for blood sugar regulation and good sleep at that. Even one night of poor sleep makes your body more insulin resistant the next day. That means your body has a harder time dealing with carbs and you're more likely to crave sugar or caffeine just to keep you going. It's also super important to make sure your last meal of the day includes protein, fat and carbs, not just carbs on their own. If you go to bed after a very carb, heavy meal without enough protein and fat to balance it out, your blood sugar can still spike and crash while you sleep. Yes, you can still be riding that rollercoaster as you are sleeping. And what often happens is that about four to five hours after going to sleep, you hit a blood sugar low, which will wake you up often around two or 3:00 AM. So if you've been waking up in the middle of the night and you're not sure why it could be your blood sugar dropping, try adding more protein and healthy fat to your dinner to keep your blood sugar stable overnight. This can make a huge difference in helping you stay asleep and wake up feeling truly refreshed. Sleep is when our body resets and it plays a major role in how you feel the next day. Tip number six, strength training. Muscle is metabolically active tissue, meaning the more muscle you have, the more glucose your body can store and use efficiently. Strength training two to three times per week is recommended, and it doesn't have to be intense. Even body weight movements will challenge and build your muscles, and the most amazing thing about that is your body is with you everywhere you go. So there should be no excuses. Yes. Anyway, when you build muscle or move your body regularly, especially with resistance training, Your muscles become like a sponge that soak up glucose. Muscle tissue is one of the largest storage sites for glucose in the form of glycogen, and it's insulin sensitive, meaning it responds well to insulin and helps lower blood sugar. So when you move your body, especially after meals, you're creating a larger or more efficient sponge for glucose to soak into rather than leaving it circulating in your blood and spiking your blood sugar levels. So strength training builds up this glucose sponge, reduces insulin resistance and supports long term metabolic health. Tip number seven, snack smarter. So let's talk about smart snacking. Snacks are not bad, but we want to treat them like mini meals. If you're going to snack, make sure it includes protein and fat, not just carbs. So instead of just an apple, try an apple with almond butter or swap crackers for nuts and seeds. The goal is to avoid the quick spike and crash snacks are a great opportunity. To support blood sugar, not sabotage it. And if you are hungry, eat. I want you to eat when you're hungry. That is your body telling you you need food. Okay, so to recap, the seven habits that support steady blood sugar beyond just food pairing are number one, eat protein or fat first. Number two, walk five to 10 minutes after meals. Number three, do not go more than five hours without eating. Number four, manage and reduce stress, however that looks for you. Number five, prioritize sleep by enjoying a well balanced meal for dinner. Number six, strength train regularly. And number seven, snack smarter. These are so simple. Am I right? Even though they're so simple, they still will make a huge difference over time. And not just in your blood sugar, but in your energy, your mood, your cravings, and your long-term health. And the best part is that you do not have to give up carbs to feel balanced and well. Like some diets suggest you just have to support your body with the right tools. If this episode was helpful and you enjoyed it, please don't forget to subscribe and leave a quick review on the podcast app that you're using. It helps so much in spreading the message of nourishment over restriction. And if you want to take this work deeper, head to the show notes for resources like my ebook, and more info on how to work with me. Thank you so much for hanging out with me today. Until next time, take care of yourself. And remember, food is meant to nourish, not control you. Thanks for hanging out with me today and tuning into the Nourished Living Podcast. I hope you enjoyed today's episode and found something you can start implementing right away to kickstart your nourished transformation. If you loved this episode, don't forget to subscribe, leave a review, or share it with someone who could benefit from these insights. You can also connect with me over on Instagram at Nourished Living for more resources and support. Until next time, stay nourished.