How I keep my Blood Glucose levels steady while traveling | Veri Glucose Monitor
My children wrapped up school last week and we’re preparing to make a multi-day car trip from Naples, Florida back to Buffalo, NY where we will spend most of our summer. Whether traveling for work or taking a vacation during the holidays, traveling can throw off your everyday routine and in doing so have a negative effect on your blood sugar levels. This article is going to cover how travel may disrupt your blood sugar levels while also outline ways I am able to keep my blood glucose level more steady while I travel. These tips are personal to me and my situation and are not health recommendations. I also was able to monitor my blood sugar continuously as I traveled for one week using a continuous Glucose Monitor and the Veri AP.
While reading, it’s important to remember that metabolic health is a spectrum you may be somewhere different than I am on the spectrum. A CGM can help you better understand where you are on the spectrum and therefore make lifestyle decisions that are specific to you. In this article, I am discussing tips that are specific to helping me and those that may have similar metabolic health.
Some links in this post are affiliate links. If you click through and take action, I'll be compensated. Click here for my full disclaimer. Please note I used the Veri AP to personally help me gain more insight on my blood sugar spikes. I do not claim to help cure any condition or disease. I do not provide medical aid or nutrition advice for the purpose of health or disease nor do I claim to be doctors or dietitians. Any product recommendation is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
WHY AM I TRACKING MY GLUCOSE LEVELS IF I DON’T HAVE DIABETES?
When I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes for two of my three pregnancies I became very interested in understanding what was happening to my body when I ate food. After all, understanding this was the key to me staying off of insulin. To better understand food’s effect on my body, I would do a blood test 1 and 2 hours after eating. But even with those two tests, I was missing valuable information. That’s when I asked my midwife for a CGM so I could see what was happening at night. The GCM answered so many questions I couldn’t see before! Now, one year postpartum I’ve been interested to see if my body is handling food any better of if I’m showing signs of pre-diabetes. I knew a CGM would give me those answers quickly and in a way that would help me make changes if I needed to. I believe, the best time to make changes for your health is BEFORE you are diagnosed with with anything that would require continuous monitoring for life. Here is some more information from the team over at Veri on why glucose matters even if you’re not a diabetic.
Why does it even matter to steady glucose levels while traveling?
The quick answer is that you will FEEL BETTER!!! The long answer is that by steadying your glucose levels, you are also steadying your mood, your energy, and your focus! Having a good mood, a steady flow of energy and an alert focus are all valuable while traveling! Especially when traveling with your family. I know that when I feel energetic, alert, and happy, I feel better in my decision making and that helps keep my family safer on the road and also lets me respond to the variety of circumstances that come up when we’re traveling with more patience, love and focus.
HOW DO I KEEP TRACK OF MY GLUCOSE LEVELS WHILE TRAVELING
I personally use a CGM (continuous glucose monitor) paired with the Veri AP. This lets me check my levels throughout the car trip and see if I’m having steady rolling hills (which is normal when eating), or if I’m experiencing rapid and higher than normal spikes.
HOW TRAVEL DISRUPTS YOUR BLOOD SUGAR LEVELS
There are a number of reasons why your blood sugar may be higher than normal while traveling but the four I want to focus on four pillars of metabolic health: FOOD, EXERCISE, SLEEP, and STRESS.
FOOD CHANGES: When you’re traveling is natural that you there are changes in what you’re eating. Changes in the way you eat cause changes in the way your body responds to food! For instance, we travel long distances in a car where we don’t have access to our stove which takes away our ability to make some of our favorite daily staples like scrambled eggs. On the road it seems a lot easier to grab packaged foods and these are often
EXERCISE CHANGES: When you travel you might miss your normal exercise routine or find yourself sitting for longer periods of time in a car or on a plane. These simple changes can lead to higher blood sugar because you’re not using the glucose you normally would in your daily activity. I know when I spend all day in the car, it’s hard for me to hit the recommended 10,000 spikes
SLEEP DISRUPTION: When you travel you may be getting up earlier to catch a flight or get on the road earlier. You also might be sleeping in a bed that’s unfamiliar causing you to wake often and not get a good night’s rest. Multiple studies have shown that repeated awakenings during the night, insufficient sleep, excessive sleep, and irregular sleep all promote glucose intolerance. Not only that, when you’re tired, you decision making is affected and you might find yourself reaching for foods you don’t normally eat. (In my personal case, when I’m tired, I crave ice cream and my willpower is shot because I don’t have the energy or focus to override the craving.
STRESS: Travel can be stressful. Waiting in long lines at the airport, being stuck in traffic, anxiety of flying and so on can lead to you feeling stressed. Stress stimulates the release of various hormones, which can result in elevated blood glucose levels. Here is an article that is more in depth on the relationship between stress and glucose.
The combination of food changes, exercise changes, sleep disruption and stress can also all lead to you becoming sick which is a form of stress on your body. One of the body's defence mechanisms for fighting illness and infection is releasing more glucose into the bloodstream, contributing to higher blood sugar levels.
My personal tips on how I keep my blood glucose levels steady while traveling.
One thing to note, you don’t have to use all of my tips at once! In fact, you don’t have to use any! You can create your own tips that work for your lifestyle and family. A few small changes can make a big difference in steadying your levels and help you feel so much better when traveling.
Pack whole food or healthier pre-packaged food that have less impact on blood sugar. Here are some of the foods I bring with me for long car rides but also, if you forget to pack something these are examples of what you should look for at the rest stops.
Nuts (walnuts, almonds, pistachios)
Pumpkin seeds
Trail mix with mostly nuts and seeds and a little dried fruit
beef sticks (no/low sugar)
Dried sausage (no/low sugar)
peanut butter (no/low sugar)
Cheese sticks
Almond crackers (I eat these with the cheese or peanut butter)
carrots
celery
sugar snap peas
small red, yellow, orange peppers
hummus
I pack the hummus, cheese and vegetables into a small cooler and when we arrive at the hotel, I move those into the fridge.
peanut butter and jelly sandwiches
Love and Chew Superfood almond banana muffins (my kids favorites!)
Top Seedz Crackers (amazing with cheese!)
2. EAT FOODS IN THE ORDER THAT IMPACTS BLOOD SUGAR THE LEAST The order is: vegetables first, then protein and/or fats, and lastly carbs. I try to implement this for my children too. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are so easy to pack for our children so I always try and hand my kids some sugar snap peas followed by a cheese stick or beef stick before giving them their sandwich. The snap peas and beef sticks are also great for eating in the car because they aren’t very messy. Then, I usually give them the sandwich at the rest stop which leads to my next tip. If we’re going to have a treat on the road, I try to make sure it’s after a meal and not on an empty stomach.
3. TIME YOUR EATING WITH STOPPING I try my best to start eating when we are approaching a rest stop so I can move my body within 20 minutes after finishing what we are eating. Usually this is easy because I have two children that have to use the bathroom and a dog that needs to walk. I don’t rush hour rest stop visits and I hold space for about 15-20 minutes to move around, stretch our bodies, and just breathe fresh air. This is hard to avoid when its bad weather, but I feel ANY additional movement, even if it’s a small run to the bathroom, helps steady my glucose after eating rather than just sitting in the car.
4. PREPAVE YOUR WAKE UP TIME. I know, this tip is a little unconventional. The two weeks before we travel I start to wake up at the time we’re going to be waking up when we hit the road. For this road trip we’ll be leaving a lot between 4-5am, so I’ve been waking up between 4:30 and 5am the last two weeks so that I am naturally more in sync with that rhythm when we are on the road. I know this disrupts my sleep a little bit before we travel BUT I’m able to go to bed earlier in my own bed those weeks leading up and it helps that my sleep is less disrupted on the road.
5. LEAVE EARLY! We tend to leave as early in the morning as we can so that we approach our first destination by 1 or 2pm at the latest. We do this because there is less traffic before 6 am and it helps us avoid that 3pm rush hour traffic that adds time to the end of trip. Leaving early also helps us arrive earlier to our destination and gives us daylight time in the afternoon to hit up an outdoor playground, walk around a park, and move our bodies to catch up on the lack of movement from sitting in the car. Lastly, it allows us to get to a dinner place around 4pm, walk around after (which helps bring down your blood glucose after eating), and helps us get to the hotel or airbnb by 6pm to start an earlier bedtime routine, (and get that sleep that helps steady glucose levels!)
6. PREPLAN RESTAURANTS. Before we leave for the trip I look at where we are staying and try to find 2-3 restaurants that have healthier options on the menu. My favorite types of restaurants for traveling are mediterranean diners as they are quick stops and alway have a variety of salad, vegetables, hummus and olives which are all great foods to help keep glucose levels steadier.
7. HYDRATE WITH WATER!! Staying hydrated with water helps curb cravings, keep glucose levels lower, and also keeps you having to stop to use the restroom (which adds some movement to your day!). I avoid sugary drinks and alcohol while traveling as it can disrupt my sleep and my blood sugar levels.
8. APPLE CIDER VINEGAR add a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar to your water bottle to sip on as you travel! Vinegar is known to help reduce blood glucose levels because the acetic acid in it slows down the rate that the stomach empties food into your small intestine. This in turn slows the breakdown rate of any carbohydrates you eat giving your body more time to remove glucose from your blood and therefore reduces the spike you have after eating.
9. MOVE AFTER EATING I know this was mentioned within a few other tips but I can’t stress the importance of moving after eating. Especially after eating dinner or dessert. After sitting in a car all day and then eating dinner, it might feel natural to go crash at the hotel room, but we try our best to walk to and from our diner spot or hit up a playground or park to walk around in before heading home for the night. Movement helps use the additional glucose in your body and lower your blood glucose level.
10. PRIORITIZE SLEEP. This helps manage my stress levels too while traveling. Here is how I do it.
Bring my own pillow! This helps so much while sleeping on the road to have my own familiar pillow with me.
I pack the comfiest pajamas I own
I call airbnbs in advance as some use s strange detergents and different smells right up in my face while I’m trying to sleep can really disrupt me!
I travel with sound machines to minimize noise from outside of the room.
I pull all curtains and make it as dark as possible
I pack lavender essential oil and put a little on our feet before sleeping
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putting it all together
Now that we learned how traveling can impact your blood sugar and a few tips on how to better stabilize it, it’s time to create a little action plan. I use my bullet journal and I plan out
what I’m packing to eat for me and the kids
what I’m packing to be comfortable to sleep (pillow, soundmachine, pajamas, essential oils)
estimate of how long we’re driving each day
estimated leave times
estimated stop times
restaurant options to eat at along the way
parks that are good for running around when we get there
Remember, use the tips that work for you or create your own that work for your body and where you are on the metabolic health spectrum! I use as many of my own tips as I can, but sometimes the circumstances are unusual when traveling and it can call for leaning into the moment and making a decision that feels good at that time. This sometimes involves us stopping at a fast food place for a quick burger and fries because HECK, it’s late, we’ve been on the road longer than expected and we’re craving it. This usually doesn’t happen two days of travel in a row because we feel the effects the next day, but part of traveling is being spontaneous and choosing in the moment what works.
All in all, when we stick to the tips that work for us, we feel our best upon arrival to our destination. And when we’re feeling more energetic, focused, and happy, traveling becomes a much more enjoyable experience for us and our family which leads to us looking always forward to the next time we’re going to hit the road.