What exactly is a blood sugar log?

Summary: Tracking your blood glucose with a daily blood sugar log is important. Keeping tabs on insulin doses, blood glucose measurements, weight, exercise, and A1C is enough data to make even a mathematicians head spin. Thats why weve made it easy. Here are some of the key diabetes numbers you should be tracking, along with a little lowdown on what makes up a good blood sugar log.

Here are some of the key diabetes numbers you should be tracking, along with a little lowdown on what makes up a good blood sugar log.

You know by now that tracking your blood glucose with a daily blood sugar log is important. (If you dont, check out our article on Five Reasons Why You Should Keep a Blood Sugar Log.) But what exactly is a blood sugar log? And how much information are you supposed to be recording, anyway? After all, keeping tabs on insulin doses, blood glucose measurements, weight, exercise, and A1C is enough data to make even a mathematicians head spin. Thats why weve made it easy. Here are some of the key diabetes numbers you should be tracking, along with a little lowdown on what makes up a good blood sugar log.#1 Blood sugar levelsThere are many parts to good diabetes management, but keeping track of your blood sugar level is one of the most important things you can do. By now, you know that people with diabetes have bodies that cant control blood glucose levels automatically. Instead, they must rely on treatment. Checking your blood sugar level lets you know if your blood glucose falls within a healthy range as well as whether or not you need to treat it.Keeping a log of all your past blood glucose measurements is important because it allows you to see patterns in your blood sugar levels. It lets you see how daily life activities, such as eating, exercising, and taking medicine affect your sugars. This can help you identify certain triggers that may cause your sugars to go too high or low. In addition, an up-to-date log of your blood sugars can also provide your doctor with an easy-to-read snapshot of your diabetes care. This way, you can receive treatment that is tailored to your own unique needs. After all, no two patients are the same.#2 Insulin dosesIf you take insulin to manage your diabetes, your health care provider will likely provide you with an insulin-dosing regimen. However, you may still need to calculate a few of your own doses. Thats where tracking comes into play. It may take some time to figure out exactly how much insulin to give yourself. The bolus doses for food and blood sugar correction are different, which is another tricky thing to keep track of. By recording your daily insulin doses alongside your blood sugar readings, using a good online blood sugar / glucose log book or chart, youre able to see the effect the medicine has on your blood glucose. Then, over time, itll become easier to figure out the right dose.#3 WeightType 2 diabetes and weight often go hand-in-hand. According to the American Diabetes Association, being overweight, or having a Body Mass Index (BMI) above 25 can increase your chances of developing type 2 diabetes. The good news is that losing a small amount of weightjust 10-15 poundscan decrease your risk of developing type 2 diabetes by up to 58 percent. If youve already been diagnosed with diabetes, losing weight still has many benefits. Shedding just 10 pounds can help make controlling your blood sugar levels easier. In some cases, people may even be able to stop taking their diabetes medications. Not to mention the fact that weight loss can give you more energy, help you sleep better, and improve your blood pressure and cholesterol levels.Weight loss can be a challenge for everyone, but it gets easier when you have a goal. If youre interested in losing weight, your health care provider can prescribe a weight-loss plan that works best for you. Tracking your weight can act as a motivatorits easy to see your progress when youre mapping it every day. And on those times you do fall off the wagon (dont worryit happens to the best of us), accurately tracking your weight can help you identify triggers that sway you off the healthy track.#4 ExerciseDaily physical activity has both direct and indirect effects on your blood sugar. For example, being active every day can help lower your blood sugar and making it easier to control. Meanwhile, regular exercise can also help you lose weight, which also improves your overall health.In some cases, exercise can make your blood sugar drop a little too low. By tracking your daily workouts, along with your blood sugar level, using a good online blood sugar / glucose log book or chart, youll be able to figure out how much activity is often right for you. In addition, by monitoring your exercise next to your weight, youll be able to see the direct effect all that extra effort is having on your weight loss goals.#5 A1CHemoglobin A1C, or A1C for short, is a measurement of your blood sugar levels over the past three months. Your A1C is based on how much glucose is attached to a protein called hemoglobin, which is found in your red blood cells. Your A1C is typically reported as a percentage. The American Diabetes Association suggests an A1C of 7 percent or less for people with diabetes. However, your health care team may set a higher or lower goal depending on your personal situation.An A1C test is something your doctor will likely perform, but its important to keep track on your own, anyway. This is another way you can check how your blood sugar levels have changed over time. A lower A1C over time is reassurance that your treatment plan is working well!So, what makes a successful blood sugar log?Blood sugar logs or charts work best, when theyre laid out like a grid. One side will include the date, and the top usually includes the time of day at which you checked your blood sugar. Most people with diabetes check their blood sugar around mealtimes, so its common for a blood sugar / glucose log book or chart to be organized by breakfast, lunch, dinner, and bedtime.Its a good idea to note your insulin doses next to your blood sugar measurements on your log. If youre tracking your weight and exercise, it may work best to include these on a separate log that coincides with your blood sugars.If designing a log from scratch isnt your thing, there are a variety of free online resources available to help. My Diabetes Home offers users a free online blood sugar log available via desktop, mobile phone, or tablet device. There, you can record your blood sugar levels as well as your insulin doses, exercise, and meals. The log is color-coded, which lets you know right away when your sugar level is within your target range. In addition, you can track your A1C, weight, blood pressure, and cholesterol levels on a separate log. When you want to combine them, My Diabetes Home will generate an all-in-one report that you can print and keep for your own records or share with your health care provider at your next diabetes checkup.

About the AuthorLauren Kassien is part of the content development team at MyDiabetesHome. She is currently pursing a Bachelors degree in Magazine Journalism with a concentration in Global and Comparative Public Health at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa.