CGM devices for weight management

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lmf1012
lmf1012 Posts: 402 Member
edited July 2021 in Health and Weight Loss
My Facebook feed has been inundated lately with all things fitness or diet related thanks to my recent marketplace searches no doubt and have come across two CGM (Continuous Glucose Monitoring) devices marketed to help with weight loss and metabolic health.

I have ZERO desire to put one of these on (I have a somewhat irrational fear of needles, etc.) but curious what the masses think about measuring blood sugar responses to meals, exercise, and sleep and using that information to adjust eating, etc. to lose weight.

The Veri device seems to be marketed mainly toward metabolic health where as Signos had a definitive focus on weight loss.
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  • Lietchi
    Lietchi Posts: 6,114 Member
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    Unless you have medical reasons to monitor blood sugar, I really don't see the point.

    I lost my weight without even watching my sugar or carb intake, let alone monitoring my blood sugar response to what I eat. Worked just fine. Calories in versus calories out.
  • corinasue1143
    corinasue1143 Posts: 7,467 Member
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    Just googled it. Read the “pro” argument. Basically said CGMs will tell you not to eat sugar. If you don’t eat sugar, your body will burn fat. Hmm. Didn’t convince me. If my body burns what I feed it, doesn’t it still just matter HOW MUCH I eat?
    They didn’t say anything to convince me otherwise.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,970 Member
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    I thought this was for diabetics?
  • TwistedSassette
    TwistedSassette Posts: 8,608 Member
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    There's a lady in one of the support groups I'm in here on MFP who is taking part in a program called Data Driven Fasting, where you basically monitor your BGL and don't eat until it goes below your trigger level. I wonder if these CGM devices are marketing along that same idea - if I were taking part in a program like that, I'd rather have a CGM than have to prick my finger several times a day to see if I'm "allowed" to eat yet.
    Personally, I think it's all just another ploy to make sales. Unless you have a medical need to monitor your BGL, I don't think you really need to be attaching a device to yourself!
  • MargaretYakoda
    MargaretYakoda Posts: 2,330 Member
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    One thing that isn’t often discussed is that all the CGM monitors I know of use sensors that have nickel in them. And, since nickel is a common allergy, that can be a limiting factor for many people.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,130 Member
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    paperpudding wrote: »
    CGM monitors are great for insulin dependant diabetics

    Pointless for rest of us.

    But . . . but . . . but . . . it seems so *science-y*!

    🙄😉🤣
  • MargaretYakoda
    MargaretYakoda Posts: 2,330 Member
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    paperpudding wrote: »
    CGM monitors are great for insulin dependant diabetics

    Pointless for rest of us.

    Maybe.
    If the Apple Watch had a cgm I’d have discovered I am a diabetic probably six to nine months before I did. And I likely would not have developed numbness in my feet and legs. (for whatever reason it hit me pretty fast)

    I’m hoping for the CGM on the Apple Watch. With luck it will happen in September. But probably not.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 8,991 Member
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    Yes, granted there is the possibility of early detection of diabetes if cgm's are incorporated into mainstream devices like Apple watches.

    As a weight loss tool though - pointless.
  • DavidPresland
    DavidPresland Posts: 2 Member
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    As an athlete, it has fine tuned "for me" how soon to have my breakfast before a race, you do not want to be on the downward slope of an insulin spike before a race. It has also "for me" identified some foods that show up as an spike but are actually an inflammatory response to the food you are eating. Again "for me" it identified some foods that I thought were healthy, were giving me sharp insulin spikes, mainly vegetables from the nightshade family. I would have never guessed I was having an inflammatory response to something like sweet green,yellow,red peppers. There is a lot of uninformed information in the above responses, CGM's have actually been banned by UCI the governing body of cycling because of the impact they could have on athletes monitoring and managing their glucose levels during the race. So people saying CGM monitors are great for insulin dependent diabetics pointless for the rest of us" is just not understanding where the the science is on CGM's currently. The only thing that isn't making them mainstream at the moment is the cost, which should come down in price like every other tech when brought to the masses. Garmin has now added the field as an app to their watches and racing computers, and a few CGM companies are popping up that are totally geared towards Athletes, and are integrated with Apple Health and Garmin, one company I am talking to is working to incorporate MyFitness Pal.

  • DavidPresland
    DavidPresland Posts: 2 Member
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    lmf1012 wrote: »
    My Facebook feed has been inundated lately with all things fitness or diet related thanks to my recent marketplace searches no doubt and have come across two CGM (Continuous Glucose Monitoring) devices marketed to help with weight loss and metabolic health.

    I have ZERO desire to put one of these on (I have a somewhat irrational fear of needles, etc.) but curious what the masses think about measuring blood sugar responses to meals, exercise, and sleep and using that information to adjust eating, etc. to lose weight.

    The Veri device seems to be marketed mainly toward metabolic health where as Signos had a definitive focus on weight loss.

    Just to mention, I am the biggest NEEDLE WEENIE on the planet, I have kicked syringes out of a doctors hands when I was young. So I had huge anxiety about installing the CGM, winged, closed my eyes, and then did it and I thought I missed or it didn't work. I virtually felt nothing. One thing of note you have to make sure you put it into your fat flabby area of your arm or belly. so that it is not flexing withing a muscle wall. I am using Nutrisense at the moment, they did tell me they are working to integrate with MyFitness Pal, see how that goes. I am hoping SuperSapiens will be available in the USA soon they are geared towards athletes.
  • 2raj
    2raj Posts: 15 Member
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    You must read/listen to "Glucose Revolution - The Life-Changing Power of Balancing Your Blood Sugar" by Jessie Inchauspe. It is fascinating. You will realise why you want to understand the effect of sugar/insulin on your health and weight.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 8,991 Member
    edited July 2022
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    Most people do not need to balance their blood sugar. Their body produces insulin and does it for them, whether they understand it or not.
    I think we all know excessive amounts of sugar are not good for health or weight without reading a book about it.
    Regardless of that, CGM's are of no value to anyone other than insulin dependant diabetics - and elite cyclists according to PP.
  • ajrfour
    ajrfour Posts: 1 Member
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    I've been using a popular CGM for the past couple of months and have had really good success. Their app, in addition to tracking blood glucose, the app tracks food, workouts, weight, water and sleep. Feeds from Apple Health allow automatic tracking of workouts, weight and sleep but meals and water have to be tracked manually. Water tracking is straight forward - very similar to Myfitnesspal and the food logging is surprisingly good including many of the features of Myfitnesspal including scan, an extensive food database, meal creation, favorites, etc. and summarizes nutrition information along with macro nutrients and cals.

    I miss Myfitnesspal's interface, rich information, etc. Wish there was an integration that allowed me to continue using the pal for the things that it does best.

    Disagree with folks here that discount CGM as an important source of data for health. There are large percentages of the US population that suffer from diabetes, are insulin resistant or otherwise suffering from a high carb/sugar diet.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 8,991 Member
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    and those people in US or anywhere who have insulin dependant diabetes can benifit from CGM's

    plenty of apps that give the rest of information you are using and some people here synchonise smart watches, fitbits etc with MFP

    people who have impaired glucose tolerance, or for whom high carb diet is not healthy - they do not need CGM's.
    we don't need every point of data to change our lifestyles and/or lose weight.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,389 MFP Moderator
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    I see zero value in a CGM. Unless you are prediabetic/diabetic where that may be value in understanding those numbers. Even then, if you keep carbs low and get regular blood work, then you should be fine
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 8,991 Member
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    psuLemon wrote: »
    I see zero value in a CGM. Unless you are prediabetic/diabetic where that may be value in understanding those numbers. Even then, if you keep carbs low and get regular blood work, then you should be fine

    They are very valuable for type 1 diabetics- fir them it isn't any 'may be' and it doesn't replace regular blood work.
    It allows them to quickly adjust to highs or lows of blood sugars, avoid hypos and give right amount of insulin and to do so without frequent finger pricking.

    They are a very good invention when used for purpose.

    Of course this is irelevant to everyone else though.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,389 MFP Moderator
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    paperpudding wrote: »
    psuLemon wrote: »
    I see zero value in a CGM. Unless you are prediabetic/diabetic where that may be value in understanding those numbers. Even then, if you keep carbs low and get regular blood work, then you should be fine

    They are very valuable for type 1 diabetics- fir them it isn't any 'may be' and it doesn't replace regular blood work.
    It allows them to quickly adjust to highs or lows of blood sugars, avoid hypos and give right amount of insulin and to do so without frequent finger pricking.

    They are a very good invention when used for purpose.

    Of course this is irelevant to everyone else though.

    I should have clarified for type II diabetics. My niece is type I and has a CGM and it's super valuable
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 9,914 Member
    edited June 2023
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    Do I use a BGM, negative. Would I use one now that they're becoming more popular, negative. Do I have diabetes, no and my BGL is in the mid to high 4's and have been stable for 10 years. 13+ years ago my BGL was in the mid to high 5's and subsequently like a few here consume a whole food low carb diet which for the most part has helped mitigate that increase along with losing around 55lbs 12 years ago.

    We seem to have a consensus that unless a person is prediabetic or has diabetes a BGM is pretty well useless. I'm going to add a little more context and nuance, as I'm sure y'all suspected this was something I would do. :)

    In 1970 diabetes in the US was around 2% and now it's 11% with an additional 30% prediabetic which translates into about 140 million people. The pathway that elicits that effect is hyperinsulinemia. Hyperinsulinemia which is elevated insulin production is what makes sure there's always enough insulin to remove the glucose from our blood and this process is happening until that production continues to fail and blood glucose levels rise to prediabetic numbers, then to diabetes from the continual increase in blood glucose and the popular fix is medications like metformin which isn't really addressing the cause, but that's western medicine, no doubt about that.

    Does the Dr. check for hyperinsulinemia when we go for a blood test, no, they check blood glucose. Basically a person could and is experiencing hyperinsulinemia when they're showing a slightly higher average and higher but not in the wheelhouse of pre or diabetes, so basically a person doesn't have prediabetes if they're 5.9 but do if they have 6.0 what if from the get go Dr's were checking for hyperinsulinemia along with blood glucose, anyway I digress, that doesn't appear to be happening anytime soon, shout out to the ADA and other governing bodies.

    Back to BGM's. If ultra processed foods which have been on the rise since 1970, dramatically I might add, have effectively created a scenario where people are overconsuming and gaining weight then most of those calories are refined carbohydrates, dietary fats, sugar and salt which over the course since the 70's have directly affected this increase in prediabetes and diabetes and obesity and a few more non communicable diseases then a BGM might be the right fit at the right time. Early awareness can be beneficial and apparently good for cyclists as well. Food for though. Cheers



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