Protein Power
Listening to the body's needs
“Are you ready? My husband lovingly asked before he stamped the continuous glucose monitor into my left tricep.
“Yup.” I smiled back. “Let’s do it.”
Click.
Like magic within an hour, this little needle and bluetooth device gave me moment to moment data on my iPhone.
The CGM rests on the back of my arm like a big wort. It doesn’t hurt, but definitely feels clunky while sleeping on my side or getting dressed.
For the next two weeks, I get to track how my body responds to glucose and learn how insulin resistant I am.
I did this experiment in February for the first time and it opened my eyes—bridging my mindful eating practice and my interoception with science.
Having this physical reminder of a CGM offered my hands and mouth an additional cue to pause before I put food in my body. Instead of listening and noting my body’s typical hunger cues—watering in the mouth, hallow sensation in my stomach, slight shakiness in my muscles and a zoomed in focus in my eyes. I now had this extra layer of curiosity and pressure to understand what’s happening to the body on a molecular level.
Each time I ate something I would check the app on my phone—curious to learn how my body immediately responded to that burger, piece of fruit or chocolate chips. I would then check back in with myself and ask, “What do I feel right now?” To be honest, I didn’t notice the sensation of my blood sugar increasing unless I ate a straight up sugar bomb like a glazed donut or cookie. I did notice the sensations when my blood sugar dropped—feeling depleted, dizzy or lethargic.
After a few days of tracking what I normally ate, the pressure to make wiser food choices increased. I dreaded seeing the shaded purple area on my glucose graph, which indicated a blood sugar spike. I felt extra motivated to turn them all blue or keep my highs and lows more level.
My initial intention of wearing a CGM wasn’t to jump on the trend. Instead it was to understand how my insulin might be affecting my hormones and my overall health.
Collecting present moment data gave me insights that my mindful eating practice couldn’t tell me.
For instance, eating a banana and peanut butter was not a protein dense enough breakfast to kickstart my day. My CGM taught me I was experiencing the “dawn effect” in the morning, which was a spike in my blood sugar before I even ate. Fueling with a high sugar and low protein option wasn’t actually giving my body the energy it needed.
Watching the data of my glucose monitor, I was able to work on mitigating this by eating a heavy protein based breakfast (think 20-30 grams) before having my coffee. And an added bonus if I walked or moved my body vigorously enough so that my body would “eat up the glucose” before sitting there in my blood stream.
This blew my mind because intuitively, my body was not hungry for four eggs or a big bowl of yogurt and fruit. This is where science gave me data to adjust to my body’s needs on a deeper level beyond my own intuition.
It took me a few months to start noticing different cues from my body. I noticed what actually eating enough protein felt like in my body. Full and satiated without feeling heavy. I was baffled that eating a blue cheese mushroom and onion burger on a brioche bun hardly shifted my glucose. Never in my life did I think I would be choosing a Chomp Turkey meat stick as a mid-day snack.
My diet went from eating mostly vegetarian plant based to eating animal protein daily. For how active my body is, I was learning that beans and rice as a complete protein was not cutting it. My former morning breakfast where I made 1 fried egg was a joke at attempting to fuel my body sufficiently.
In a recent conversation with Lauren Chambers, nutritionist and hormone health coach, on the Centered in the City podcast, she called out the limiting beliefs many women can have when it comes to nourishing our systems properly:
I am not a man so I shouldn’t eat that much protein.
My meals need to be small and dainty because I am a woman.
It is so true! We all have many limiting beliefs when it comes to fueling our bodies. Having a CGM helped me fuel my body with a new intention. My intention was to listen to my body while prioritizing balancing my blood sugar.
Here I am, about 5 months later checking in on my glucose again.
I am celebrating that the shifts I made in my nutrition since February are having lasting impacts on my blood sugar. I am no longer having the “dawn effect” in the morning. My blood sugar is staying more balanced throughout the day because I am eating more protein with every meal and snacking less.
As I write these words, there is a part of me that scoffs because the word “protein” has become so trendy in the health world I didn’t want to believe it. But I am here to say how much more satiated I feel. There is less wandering energy in my hands or mouths to graze throughout the day. A sturdiness in my bones and emotions I didn’t expect.
I also note how much energy it takes to eat this much protein. When I first started to invite myself to four scrambled eggs for breakfast, my body cringed because it felt too much! But five months later I have trained my body to be hungry for breakfast. If I eat a meal with not enough protein, I notice this deep primal hunger lingers. Almost like my cells are thirsty for their amino acids.
What I love most about the CGM is that your results are yours.
Learning your own personal data helps you make more informed choices about what your body needs. Not what influencers are telling you to do. But instead, you get to notice and learn the rhythms and language of your body. You get real time data to help you build a deeper noticing practice.
Wearing a CGM is not a forever practice for me. But I do think it is helpful to do once or twice a year as a way to build a deeper relationship to my body on a molecular level, however not outsource my mind/body connection.
Noticings Practice:
I invite you to notice your mind/body connection when it comes to fueling yourself. Feel free to share with me your thoughts and insights.
What are your body’s signs and signals of hunger?
How do you know if you need more protein or food?
What ways do your wearables empower your mind/body connection?
Here are some of my favorite protein options:
Practice mindful eating with me here.
My favorite protein powders & products:
Tejari is a great complete vegan protein option. Each serving is 20 grams of protein. I have been loving the vanilla flavor. So easy to stir into almond milk or add to my favorite recipes. My body can easily digest it and it tastes delicious.
Collagen Protein from Needed. This isn’t a complete protein but I love adding it to my morning coffee, smoothies, oatmeal and other recipes. (20% off with code: Center)
Painterland Sisters Yogurt is insanely creamy and delicious! Lactose free so my stomach can enjoy it. Each serving is 21g of protein. I love adding blueberries, pumpkin seeds, almonds, walnuts, chia seeds and ground flax seeds for a full bountiful breakfast.
Chomps Turkey Meat Sticks are pretty good. I can’t get into the beef ones, but the turkey taste really good and are great to travel with as an on the go snack and protein booster.
Interested in learning about more of my favorite food products of 2026, check out this episode of the Centered in the City Podcast:
Other Recipe Inspo:
Chocolate Green Smoothie Recipe
Chocolate Chip Protein Truffles