Joey Thurman enjoys a scroll-stopping well being and health problem. After we linked and he shared that he was about to do a 24-hour Dunkin’ Donuts problem whereas sporting a steady glucose monitor, I mentioned, “I would like in.” Thurman, a Chicago-based health professional, who’s labored with a variety of clientele from WWE wrestlers to hedge fund executives, is understood for placing his physique via self-experiments to raised perceive what his shoppers would possibly undergo.
“I’m a human guinea pig myself,” he advised me. “I like actually seeing what occurs to my physique and the way I really feel.”
This time, he got down to devour nothing however Dunkin’ Donuts a la carte for a complete day whereas monitoring his blood sugar response. Suppose sandwiches, wraps, donuts, bacon snacks, and occasional. I jumped in to deliver a feminine perspective to the metabolic insanity. Outfitted with steady glucose displays (CGM) and a meals log app, we wished to see if resistance coaching, walks, and apple cider vinegar may blunt the injury, or whether or not the glucose curler coaster would run the present.
What the Numbers Confirmed
I aimed for roughly 2,000 energy and 100 grams of protein. Nonetheless, it proved to be a problem at a series the place donuts and croissants rule the menu. My precise log got here in at just below 2,400 energy: about 94 grams of protein, 202 grams of carbs, and 129 grams of fats. Joey went larger in each sense, consuming 4,500 energy with a a lot increased protein goal. He carries far more muscle mass than I do, so his goal made good sense.
My blood sugar began secure sitting at my 85 mg/dL baseline, but it surely rapidly became a Six Flags curler coaster journey that by no means appeared to finish. By the point of the problem I had been sporting the CGM for 10 days, so I knew my regular patterns properly. Most meals would spike me to 95-98, rarely cracking 100 except dessert was concerned. But each single Dunkin’ meal launched me into the triple digits.
Thurman’s ranges had been barely totally different however equally revealing. His glucose was within the triple digits many of the day and even hit 160 mg/dL at one level.
The spikes had been only one factor, it was the relentless frequency. To hit our protein aim, Joey and I needed to eat 5 instances all through the day, roughly each three hours. This created a metabolic nightmare the place we’d set off one other insulin response earlier than our glucose may even return to baseline from the earlier meal. Our pancreases had been working extra time, pumping out insulin to take care of waves of refined carbs, by no means getting a break to let our blood sugar really stabilize. Make sure you try his video as he logged your entire day! He even added a management day a day previous to see how Dunkin Donuts would influence his blood sugar with none exercise concerned.
Why Bioindividuality Issues
The variations between us had been fascinating and sure rooted in bioindividuality. My blood sugar by no means soared into excessive highs, but it surely lingered longer after meals. Thurman defined that is perhaps as a result of excessive fats content material. “These are increased fats meals, which slows gastric emptying,” he famous once I described my sluggish glucose clearance.
However essentially the most fascinating distinction confirmed up in a single day. My knowledge settled into the 80s mg/dL and stayed regular. Joey’s, however, had a pointy drop to 73mg/dL at 3:15 a.m., which was so much decrease than at any level all through the day for him, adopted by a rebound spike to 140 mg/dl. All that seemingly a liver glucose dump that coincided precisely with him waking up.
“I dropped right down to 73 [mg/dL] at 3:15 AM, after which at 3:45, it jumped as much as 140 [mg/dL],” Joey mentioned, checking his sleep knowledge. “I used to be awake at 3:48. The very same time. That’s straight coinciding.” For athletes and lifters who usually wrestle with sleep high quality, that sort of glucose swing is a reminder of how meals decisions and meal timing would possibly ripple into restoration.
Energy vs Starvation
What struck us each was starvation. Regardless of consuming 4,500 energy, Thurman was ravenous. “The starvation was actually fascinating,” he mirrored. “I felt extra full than some other day having half the energy.”
I felt the identical approach, and we had been each “hangry” all day.
The offender, he defined, was seemingly the shortage of fiber on the Dunkin’ menu. On the Dunkin’ day, Joey consumed simply 11 grams of fiber, whereas his common is a minimum of six instances that quantity. Whereas fats slows gastric emptying, it doesn’t set off the identical satiety indicators as fiber-rich meals. We had been consuming continually however by no means feeling really happy.
How Motion Impacted Blood Sugar
From a coaching perspective, the outcomes had been combined. Thurman loved the pump that comes with carb-loading. He saved his exercise easy and accessible. He did three working units every of again squats, bench press, and cable rows, totaling about 12-15 compound motion units. “My exercise was nice. I imply, I’m all the time vascular, however I used to be all pumped up, able to go,” he mentioned.
My expertise was totally different. I tackled a lower-body HIIT circuit. I may nonetheless carry, however my legs felt heavy, and the power swings made it laborious to remain centered. By dinner, the bacon-and-donut combos produced what felt like a pharmaceutical yo-yo of power and mind fog.
Thurman’s post-meal exercises and walks made a dramatic distinction, he recalled. Along with resistance coaching, he additionally tracked over 14,000 steps that day. “It stayed just about secure your entire time from that stroll a number of hours beforehand,” he shared. “Motion is the most important distinction maker, and a brisk stroll is the quickest, best and handiest hack.”
I additionally give credit score to his skeletal muscle performing like a glucose sponge, pulling sugar out of his bloodstream via insulin-independent pathways.
The Sensible Takeaways
So what do you have to take from this metabolic rollercoaster journey?
Stroll it off, actually. A stroll after meals is a straightforward however highly effective instrument. As Thurman put it: “5 to 10 minutes after a meal. Do it thrice a day. That’s half-hour of motion with out ‘figuring out.’ Sesame Avenue math,” he defined with a smile.
Protein helps, but it surely’s not a protect when paired with excessive fats and sugar. We each hit our protein targets however nonetheless felt undernourished and glucose spikes had been nonetheless frequent.
Fiber stays the muse for satiety and secure power. The considerably decrease ranges of fiber than what we each had been used to left us hungry your entire day.
Timing issues. Consuming too incessantly earlier than glucose from the final meal would clear saved our blood sugar ranges elevated between meals.
The Psychological Sport
The psychological part proved as vital because the physiological. Thurman’s perspective on deliberate indulgence versus guilt-driven restriction was significantly insightful: “In the event you’re going to have a day the place you go loopy, be ready mentally. It’s worthwhile to know your self and your responses. In the event you can’t have a cheat day with out beating your self up the subsequent day, don’t.”
He advocates for reframing “cheat days” as strategic refeeds round high-activity intervals. “Construction it round an enormous exercise day, like leg day.”
The Backside Line
You may’t outlift donuts eternally. Protein and train blunted the glucose spikes, however fats, sugar, and low fiber nonetheless dragged our focus, starvation, and restoration.
The info confirmed what we each felt: train helps so much, but it surely isn’t a free go. A easy stroll after meals can work wonders, however it could possibly’t fully override the metabolic price of consuming like a toddler at a birthday celebration for a complete day.
Most significantly, this experiment bolstered that sustainable well being is about making knowledgeable decisions and understanding the implications. Generally which means strategically deliberate indulgence round exercise. Generally it means strolling away from the donut case solely.
