A Guide To Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) For Weight Loss 

19 Oct A Guide To Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) For Weight Loss 

Posted at 09:50h in Weight Loss by

Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGMs) can provide valuable insight and data to help with your weight loss. But what is a CGM? And how do they work? If you’re thinking about getting a CGM to understand your blood sugar levels better and help you to lose weight, here’s what you need to know about continuous glucose monitoring for weight loss.

If you’re looking for support with overcoming your challenges, achieving your desired weight and maintaining it long term, we can help. Book in for a complimentary call with us today to find out more.

WHAT IS CONTINUOUS GLUCOSE MONITORING?

A continuous glucose monitor or CGM is a device that constantly monitors and records your blood sugar levels. This is the amount of simple sugar (glucose) circulating in your blood stream. The small sensor is attached to the back of your upper arm and a reading can be taken using your phone, which is typically connected to the sensor via an app, at any time.

Diabetics use blood sugar monitors to manage their sugar levels and ensure they’re managing their diabetes as well as possible. However, maintaining stable glucose levels is beneficial for everyone who wishes to maintain good health and manage their weight.

Historically, monitoring your blood sugar meant using a finger prick device and having to prick your finger to take a small blood sample every time you wanted to test your blood sugar. However, the advent of continuous glucose monitors means that this is no longer necessary. CGMs are making blood glucose monitoring easier than ever.

WHAT CAN A CGM TELL ME?

A CGM can help you get clear on the factors that affect your blood sugar levels. One of the main factors that impacts our blood sugar level is the food we eat. A CGM will help you get clear on how your diet is impacting your blood sugar levels.

Certain foods will cause a rapid rise in blood sugar levels, followed by a sharp drop. This is not supportive of optimal health, stable energy levels or weight loss. Other foods cause a slower more stable rise in blood sugar and provide more sustained energy. Basing our diet around these foods supports our health, wellbeing and weight management.

A CGM will help you get clear on how different foods and food combinations impact your blood sugar levels so that you can minimise those that cause spikes and dips, and focus on those that provide sustained energy.

Factors other than food also impact our blood sugar levels. These include:

Stress / anxiety
Quality and quantity of sleep 
Hydration
Physical exercise

Using a CGM for a period of time gives you a clear insight into the factors that positively and negatively impact your blood sugar. You can use this information to adapt how you eat and live in order to support stable blood sugar levels.

HOW DO CGMS WORK?

There are a number CGM devices available on the market today. A sensor needs to be attached to you, typically on the outside of your upper arm or on your abdomen. The sensors are sticky to ensure they stay secured. The sensor tracks your glucose levels throughout the day. The most popular CGMs have sensors you can remove yourself at home every seven to 14 days. Some long-term CGMs require having the sensor replaced by your doctor but these are typically devices used to managing diabetes, rather than for supporting weight loss and general health.

All CGMs have wireless transmitters attached to sensors that send readings to a device, such as a phone or computer.

Whether you’re sleeping, working, eating, showering or exercising, your CGM device is always recording your glucose levels.

HOW DO I USE MY CGM TO LOSE WEIGHT?

Blood sugar regulation is an important part of healthy weight loss. When we eat a diet high in sugar and starchy carbohydrates, this leads to continuous peaks and dips in our blood sugar. When our blood sugar is elevated, insulin is released to carry sugar into cells and bring our blood sugar back into an optimal range. This sugar can be stored as glycogen in our liver and muscle cells. When these stores are full, the sugar in our blood stream is covered to fat to be stored for later use. This results in weight gain.

Maintaining a stable blood sugar level will supply your body with consistent energy and help prevent fluctuations which lead to fluctuating energy, hunger, cravings and weight gain.

Using a CGM you can observe the effects of different foods on your blood sugar levels and adjust your diet to keep your blood sugar stable. Regulating and reducing your blood sugar level will in turn encourage your body to turn to burning stored fat for energy.

WHAT NUMBERS ARE GOOD WHEN MONITORING BLOOD SUGAR WITH A CGM?

The below chart from Diabetes UK outlines optimal ranges to aim for when monitoring your blood sugar levels:

Your optimal blood glucose targets may vary depending on your age and state of health.

HOW MUCH DOES A CGM COST?

The total monthly cost of a CGM system in the UK can range from around £40-£150 per month, depending on the specific device, insurance coverage, and any one-time equipment costs. The costs can be a significant barrier for some people, and depending on the purpose of using a CGM it may not be necessary to use one for longer than 14 days, while for others constant use is necessary. Working with a professional nutritionist you may be able to better understand and apply advice according to the findings from the data. The cost of CGM devices can be a barrier for some.

WHAT IS THE BEST CGM FOR WEIGHT LOSS?

FreeStyle Libre is one of the most popular and widely available continuous glucose monitors used for weight loss. The FreeStyle Libre Sensor costs around £60.00.

Dexcom is another popular CGM brand with three different devices available.

If you’re diabetic and looking to monitor your glucose levels in order to best manage your condition, it’s advisable to discuss continuous glucose monitoring with your medical practitioner.

DOES APPLYING A CGM HURT?

No! Applying your CGM (which is typically worn on the back of your arm) involves a small pin prick on the first application and the site may ache a little for the first hour or so, but on the whole it is not painful.

WHAT’S THE DISADVANTAGE OF A CGM?

Drawbacks of wearing a CGM for weight loss include the cost of the device or any apps that you sign up for to keep track of your blood sugar levels, which vary depending by brand and subscription charges. In addition, understanding and applying the data you gather by wearing your CGM can be difficult. Working with an expert to decode what the readings suggest about your diet, and how you can apply these to reach your goals, can be a huge help.

A COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH TO WEIGHT LOSS

A CGM can provide valuable insights that will support your weight loss. However, a more comprehensive solution is usually required in order to achieve long term weight loss success. What’s more, working with an expert you will be able to understand and apply data from your CGM.

We are a team of qualified nutritionists who specialise in weight loss. We can support you in overcoming your weight challenges, achieving your desired weight and maintaining it long term. You can use this link to book in for a complimentary call today. This is an opportunity to talk through your challenges with a qualified nutritionist and decide together whether one of our Intelligent Weight Loss programmes is right for you. Or contact us to request a copy of our brochure and we will get back to you soon.

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LINDA ROBINSON

Linda is our Practice Coordinator, helping to keep the clinic running smoothly.

 

Originally from Texas, Linda completed her MBA at SDA Bocconi in Milan. Linda has worked as a Strategy Consultant across multiple industries globally in cities including Kyoto, Paris, Chicago and San Francisco. She developed an interest in nutrition whilst volunteering for an organisation that provides cooking and nutrition education to children and families.

Linda is now settled in London with her husband, two children, and her very bouncy, sociable dog.

SARAH LAW

Sarah has worked with hundreds of clients over the past decade to help them live in a healthy body that they feel confident in.


Sarah spent a large part of her teens and 20’s as a professional dancer battling with orthorexia and an unhealthy relationship with food and her body. This created a desire to understand the human body more so she could finally cut through the confusion and end the cycle of yoyo dieting. This fuelled her passion to help other women do the same.

 

Sarah specialises in supporting women who are struggling to lose weight due to underlying health issues. She’s helped many women manage their weight during and after the menopause, as well as clients with thyroid disease and immune system dysfunction. Sarah loves food and sharing healthy recipes with her clients. Her aim is to ensure that clients don’t feel deprived and instead, achieve their weight loss and health goals in a positive and sustainable way.

 

To enquire about working with Sarah, please contact us.

AILSA HICHENS

 

Ailsa is one of our most experienced practitioners. She specialises in helping clients to lose weight, develop a healthy relationship with food and finally feel comfortable in their skin. Ailsa’s mission is for everyone she works with to enjoy the journey and that working with a nutritionist should not be a punishment, but your access to a new possibility.

 

Ailsa is not only an experienced weight loss nutritionist, she is also a skilled coach. She helps our clients overcome emotional eating, destructive habits and self-sabotaging behaviours that have prevented successful weight loss in the past. Ailsa has spent years in clinic working with clients who have experienced yo-yo dieting and have discovered that long term weight loss is not just about eating less until you can stand it no longer.

 

Working with Ailsa you will be comprehensively supported, not only in improving your nutrition and lifestyle, but also your eating habits and your relationship with food. When you work on all these elements together, the results can be truly astonishing.

 

To enquire about working with Ailsa, please contact us.

Test Nikki is our Practice Manager, managing our team of practitioners and heading up the day-to-day running of the business. Nikki is involved in the strategic development of our practice, coming from a strong business background in town planning. A Florida girl, Nikki relocated to the UK in 2014 with her husband and two children.

NIKKI ANDRIANI

Nikki is our Practice Manager, managing our team and heading up the day-to-day running of our clinic.

 

Coming from a background in town planning, Nikki is involved in the strategic development of our practice, continually ensuring we are delivering the very best service to our clients.


A Florida girl, Nikki relocated to the UK in 2014 where she lives with her husband, two children, and her rescue dog Skyy.

STÉPHANIE ACHAR

Stéphanie is a skilled nutritional therapist and functional medicine practitioner with additional training in eating disorders, disordered eating and obesity. She believes that working towards both physiological and mental health is key in achieving optimum wellbeing.

 

Stéphanie’s personal experience of emotional eating and the ongoing struggle to find the right support led her to combine the science of nutrition with behavioural coaching to motivate and empower her clients. She specialises in helping people who struggle with their weight and their relationship with food. She helps them develop a healthier and more peaceful relationship with food and their bodies.

 

To enquire about working with Stéphanie, please contact us.

INNA WEARN

Inna is passionate about supporting women on their journey to improved health and wellbeing. She believes that the solution to effective weight loss does not lie in ever more restrictive diets, but a more sophisticated approach that optimises health and vitality, as well as promoting effective weight loss.

 

Working with Inna you will benefit from her in-depth knowledge of female health and hormones. She will support you in developing a healthy diet, lifestyle and mindset that ensures you reach your ideal weight and maintain it in the years to come.

 

Inna is passionate about food with a wide repertoire of delicious healthy recipes and meal ideas to ensure your weight loss journey is as enjoyable as possible!

 

To enquire about working with Inna, please contact us.

ANIA MASON

 

Ania is a firm believer that improving your health and losing weight should be a positive, empowering journey, not one centred around deprivation.

 

After being diagnosed with two autoimmune conditions in her twenties, Ania spent several years educating herself on the power of food and nutrition. She put it all into practise and changed her diet and lifestyle, reversing her endometriosis and thyroid disease. After experiencing such a significant improvement in her health, Ania had a big desire to help others. She embarked on a four year journey to study nutrition, graduating from the Institute for Optimum Nutrition with distinction.

 

Ania specialises in autoimmunity and works with clients who have underlying health issues preventing successful weight loss. Her expertise enables her to successfully support our clients with conditions such as hypothyroidsm (underactive thyroid), PCOS and diabetes. 

 

To enquire about working with Ania, please contact us.

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