Plexus Slim: A closer look

I feel like I haven’t spent enough time telling you about the actual product…. so here are some details on Plexus slim:

Plexus is a supplement drink mix that was originally developed to regulate and improve blood sugars readings.  Plexus works on 3 different aspects of blood sugar control:

1.  It uses all-natural, low-glycemic sweeteners to maintain balanced blood sugar levels

2.  It uses alpha lipoic acid, a natural antioxidant, that helps metabolize glucose

3.  It uses a proprietary blend of ingredients including magnesium, chromium, and stevia to increase insulin sensitivity, helping to make glucose available to the cells.

Imbalances in blood sugar can have negative impacts on your body — for those with trouble losing weight, blood sugar highs and lows affect the hormones that tell you you’ve eaten enough.  For me and other people with diabetes or pre-diabetes, the roller coaster of blood sugar readings can have negative impacts on other parts of the body.  I started on plexus slim not to lose weight but to get my blood sugar back into normal bounds.  As I have seen this happen, I have also found that I’m less prone to want the unhealthy, refined sugars I did before.  It has been a positive feedback process, as improving my blood sugar regulation keeps my hormones in check and allows me to make wiser food choices for my blood sugar and for Cystic Fibrosis.

If you want to give it a whirl, check out my website at:

http://cysticfibrosis.myplexusproducts.com 

Or please email me with questions at:

duboismiller@gmail.com

Having my cake… and eating it too!

I’m two weeks in to this plexus journey and am eager to share the results.  I’m still working through the numbers and averages, but had to post this update in the meantime.

We had a dinner party for Adam’s work tonight.  The food was delicious — lots of fajitas and tortillas and bacon-wrapped jalepeno deliciousness.  There were also some killer desserts.  Now I would usually use all of my will-power to avoid these.  It would either leave me feeling deprived OR I would indulge and find later that my blood sugar was over 200.  This would result in feelings of disappointment and discouragement.  Well, tonight I made the conscious decision to have some (or maybe 1.5 servings ) of this beautiful chocolate cake with berries and whipped cream.  I mean, I didn’t want to be a rude guest.

When we got home I prepared for the test.  Pricked my finger, and saw this:

WHAT?!  For non-diabetics, under 140 2 hours post meal is considered “normal.”  A 1.5 piece-of-cake-splurge would have sent me over 200 easily.  I was so excited at this result — not because it gives me a green light to make this a pattern — but because it indicates my body is processing sugars in a more reasonable way.  VICTORY!  Full and happy tonight.

PRE-Plexus Slim Blood sugar baseline

I wanted to take a moment to paint a picture of my blood sugar baseline Pre-Plexus Slim.  (why do I cringe every time I type “slim”?  I think it’s from years of hearing about how underweight most Cystic Fibrosis patients are and the need to bulk-up, put on weight, maintain a good BMI, etc.  Maybe I should call it PS?! Anyway, I digress)

Ever since my elevated A1C (reminder if this isn’t your everyday jargon- this is a blood level that reflects the average blood sugar value over the preceding 3 months.  When it’s elevated it’s sign of diabetes or pre-diabetes), I have been checking my sugars several times throughout a day.  Most docs are interested in your “fasting” numbers and your “post” numbers — fasting being before anything has touched your lips in the morning and post being 2 hours after eating (when you should be back to a “normal” (<140) level.  Pre diabetes is classified as fasting over 100 and post meals over 140.  When I pricked my finger the morning after my elevated A1C phone call I was at 135 (ugh) and very discouraged.  I was afraid I was doomed for immediate insulin dependency.  However, after several months of working on how I was eating carbs, cutting out simple sugars, etc I was able to get my fasting <110.  With CF diabetes, a lot of times your body is producing the right amount of insulin based on your food intake, but it is delayed.  So if I eat a meal that would require 10 units of insulin (theoretically), my body would prepare 10 units but hold onto it too long.  So by the time the insulin shows up on the scene, my body has already started “dumping” the sugars on its own. So what originally needed 10 units maybe only needs 5 now, and then I have too much and the result is a “low”.  For me this usually happens late morning with a number of around 60 or less.

As for my “highs”, those usually occur late in the day.  Many times my reading post dinner would be between 160-200 (maybe over if I splurge on something carb-y).  The day before my first plexus slim dose, and probably the straw the broke the camel’s back, I had a bowl of honey nut cheerios for dinner – my husband was installing can lights so our kitchen was a disaster, I was hungry, and I’m pregnant – so I ate a bowl and checked my sugar later:  214.  Yikes.  This is considered high and not a number I was happy to see.

So, in a nutshell, here’s me PRE plexus slim:

Fasting: Usually 95-110
Mid-morning low: 50s or 60s
Post meals: anywhere from 125-200, usually higher after dinner and more in the 125-150 range after lunch
Post evening splurge*: 180-220

*For me a splurge is a bowl of cereal (my achilles heel), a big serving of popcorn, something sweet-ish that is carby