It's Not the 4pm Witching Hour. It's Your Blood Sugar.
Of all the things I talk about in clinic, this might be the most underrated.
This week I'm covering blood sugar stability, one of those topics that sounds like it belongs in a medical textbook but is actually one of the most practical and wide-reaching things a mother can pay attention to. This is not a diabetes conversation. It's literally about how you feel every day.
A lot of women know something is off, the energy crashes, the 4pm spiral, the mood that arrives out of nowhere and then changes after eating. What most don't realise is that this is physiological, not personal. It's biochemistry - you're not a cranky mum!
I talk through the cortisol-glucose-progesterone triangle, what sleep deprivation is doing to your metabolism, and why breakfast within 60-90 minutes of waking might be the most important thing you can do for how you feel for the rest of the day. I also cover what breastfeeding does to your blood sugar in ways that rarely get talked about, and finish with two supplements worth knowing about.
This week's question comes from my sister Ally, with an almost impossible food hypothetical I've been pondering for weeks. And my recco is a Newcastle local jeweller with the most brilliant business idea I've come across in a long time.
In this episode:
Why the 4pm witching hour might be your blood sugars, not your kids
The cortisol-glucose-progesterone triangle and why these three hormones are so deeply interconnected
How sleep deprivation measurably impairs insulin sensitivity and what that means practically
What breastfeeding does to your blood sugar and why hunger signals can't be trusted postpartum
No naked carbohydrates - what that means and why it changes how your body responds to food
Why breakfast is the most important meal of the day and how to actually make it happen
Two supplements worth knowing about
A note on PCOS/PMOS (got questions? Send them through, that episode is coming)
Links mentioned:
Some overnight oats recipes: