my experience with Supersapiens

In the past 7 months, I had the opportunity to use the Supersapiens glucose monitor in two different blocks of training and in both cases, I used them for a full month, therefore for the full duration of a menstrual cycle. 

My goal was to use the glucose monitor to evaluate if what i thought my carbohydrates intake during training was correct or not. I simply wanted to match my blood sugar level with the sports science based formula for carbohydrate intake during long endurance training.

What I discovered is way more deeper than I thought because it involves many complex physiological behaviours within the female body and most importantly within the body of a female athlete who deals with endometriosis.

The Supersapiens gave me the opportunity to finally understand what's going on inside me when I experience specific physical symptoms. For instance, I have always suffered with severe low energy availability when I have a flare-up, now I know that when I experience that low feeling, my blood sugar goes very low and my body struggles for real. 

Having this knowledge helped me to create a new structure with my Ironman training and this has been a game changer for me. I have been able to train smarter, with a higher volume, more intensity and avoid big flare-ups that could stop me from training for days. 

Moreover, comparing perceived physical symptoms with real live data from my own body has helped me to establish a routine with my cycle phases. In the follicular phase the body of a woman is able to metabolise carbohydrates more efficiently, whilst on the luteal phase, the female body can not deal with carbohydrates in the same way. This is due to hormones. The drop in oestrogen and the spike of progesterone during the luteal phase can cause insulin "disruption" that can impact either hypoglycaemia and hyperglycaemia. 

What was very interesting to discover was that on my "low" days just before my period or during a flare-up, I go into nocturnal hypoglycaemia which impacts my recovery from training as my body temperature is disturbed by the low blood sugar during the night and it leaves me depleted with sore muscles in the morning. 

In terms of every day carbohydrates intake, the Supersapiens helped me to understand what kind of carbs is good for me or not in terms of glucose loading/carb loading. Funnily enough I discovered that pizza doesn't spike me at all and basmati rice is worse than a tablespoon full of sugar.

Rice is definitely my new weapon in terms of carb loading. 

I tested the glucose monitor during long endurance training and intense workouts and I was pleased to see that my chosen amount of carbs per hour was matched within the correct performance zone of the Supersapiens. 

Overall, my experience with this product is very positive, with one monitor you can get informed about your performance goals and about your everyday physiology.

If i could add a feedback, it would be about adding more education about the female health inside the app, especially around the luteal phase to help athletes and coaches to understand why their glucose level looks completely disrupted and how to train smarter around it.

I really recommend Supersapiens to anyone who is interested in live data and in matching perceived physical symptoms with an inside look at their physiology in real time. 

Blood sugar is just a piece of the complex equation of human physiology, however, it can help you to comprehend more about yourself.