Factors affecting your line

See.
Understand.
Change.

If you think blood glucose is only changed by the food you’ve eaten recently, think again.

Your metabolism is constantly adjusting to everything happening in your life, not just what you eat.

🧠 Stress spikes glucose (yes, just thinking and feeling can do it).

💤 Poor sleep messes with regulation (you’ll wake up with higher levels).

🚿 Even a hot or cold shower can trigger a response.

Your body is always balancing energy demands. What you ate yesterday, your hormones, your emotions all influence your glucose line.

This is why Limbo doesn’t just focus on food. Understanding these patterns helps you make better choices, adjust habits, and improve your metabolism in a way that lasts.

Key factors affecting your blood glucose

🔬 Food & nutrition factors

  • Type of carbs (simple sugars spike faster than complex carbs)
  • Total amount of digestible carbs
  • Fibre content (slows glucose absorption)
  • Fat content (slows digestion and delays glucose release)
  • Protein content (moderates response, but can later raise glucose)
  • Food order (eating protein and fat first lowers glucose peak)
  • Liquid vs solid meals (liquids spike faster)
  • Ultra-processed foods (often spike harder)
  • Meal size and total energy load
  • Hidden sugars and starches (sauces, dressings, breading)
  • Frequency of eating (snacking leads to more insulin responses)
  • Alcohol (initial dip, delayed spike, variable depending on type)
  • Artificial sweeteners (can still stimulate insulin or affect gut)

🕰️ Timing + circadian factors

  • Meal timing (early morning and late-night meals spike more)
  • Circadian rhythm misalignment (eating against your biological clock)
  • Irregular eating patterns (confuses metabolic regulation)
  • Time since last meal (fasted vs fed state)
  • Length of fasting window
  • Shift work or jet lag

🏃 Movement + exercise factors

  • Post-meal movement (helps flatten glucose)
  • Type of exercise:
    • HIIT may spike temporarily, then improve sensitivity
    • Resistance training improves baseline regulation
    • LISS helps flatten post-meal spikes
  • Timing of exercise relative to meals
  • Muscle mass (more muscle = better glucose disposal)

🧠 Stress + emotional factors

  • Chronic stress (elevates cortisol → higher glucose)
  • Acute stress or anxiety
  • Cortisol awakening response (raises glucose in early morning)
  • Depression or burnout
  • Emotional eating patterns

😴 Sleep factors

  • Sleep deprivation
  • Poor sleep quality (fragmented or insufficient REM/deep sleep)
  • Irregular sleep patterns
  • Sleeping too much
  • Sleeping for long periods in the daytime
  • Sleep apnea (raises glucose and insulin resistance)

💊 Biological + health factors

  • Hormones:
    • Menstrual cycle (especially luteal phase = higher glucose)
    • Menopause (can increase insulin resistance)
    • Thyroid dysfunction (affects metabolism and glucose)
  • Illness or infection (immune response spikes glucose)
  • Inflammation (low-grade inflammation affects glucose)
  • Medications (e.g., corticosteroids raise glucose, metformin lowers)
  • Gut microbiome composition
  • Insulin sensitivity/resistance
  • Genetic predispositions
  • Metabolic flexibility (ability to switch between fuel sources)

💧Hydration + electrolyte factors

  • Dehydration (concentrates blood glucose)
  • Electrolyte imbalance (affects energy and glucose handling)
  • Alcohol-induced fluid loss

🧪 Environmental + contextual factors

  • Temperature (cold can lower glucose temporarily)
  • Cold exposure (may cause spike or dip depending on duration)
  • Altitude (can alter insulin response)
  • Pollution and air quality
  • Light exposure late at night

Limbo dawn

Blood glucose rises in the morning

You’ll notice that your line is lower when you’re asleep than awake. That’s because your body needs a lot less energy overnight. When you first wake and get up, your body increases your blood glucose to give you the energy it needs to get going. As you’ve used up your stored glucose overnight, this should be fueled using your stored fat.

📈 First thing in the morning, you may notice a rise or even a spike.

🔋 Your body provides the energy it needs to get going even if you haven’t eaten. The glucose will come from stored energy.

🫓 Most people are in mild ketosis by the time they wake up (regardless of whether they’re in Limbo), which means the body is using stored fat as its main fuel source.

😴 When you’re asleep, the line usually drops to a low level because you don’t need as much energy as you do while awake.

💺 The line can also drop low when you’re sitting down for a long time because most of your boy is at rest.

📈 You don’t need to eat to bring your line up - your body has enough energy stored to do that. Throughout the Limbo program, you’re training your body to get better at this process.

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