For optimal metabolic health, tracking metabolic health should be part of your regimen. Checking metabolic health:

1. Gain insights into how your body is operating

2) Promotes diet and lifestyle modifications

Knowledge is power; unfortunately ignorance can be deadly in this case. Up to 88% of U.S. adults have some form of metabolic dysfunction, making a healthy life a lot harder when poor metabolic health comes sneaking up on you unexpectedly.

Good news! With devices, wearables and the Carb Manager app available today, tracking can become part of your everyday routine with ease.

It’s easier than you think; this article will make it clear.

What Is Metabolic Health? Metabolic health refers to how your body uses energy. For instance, metabolic health determines how you divide fats, carbs and proteins after eating.

Blood glucose (blood sugar) levels are one of the best measures of metabolic health. High pre- or post-meal blood glucose levels indicate diabetes risk.

One aspect of metabolic health known as metabolic flexibility refers to your ability to switch back and forth between burning fat and carbs, with metabolically flexible people being capable of eating carb-heavy meals before bedtime and switching back into fat burning mode when they wake up!

Sounds appealing? To increase metabolic flexibility, take these steps:

Avoiding refined sugar, trying a low-carb or ketogenic diet, exercising regularly, sleeping well and fasting intermittently are the pillars of health, in other words.

Why Keep Track of Metabolic Health?

Tracking metabolic health is similar to regularly inspecting your car; by being proactive about monitoring metabolic conditions you can catch problems before they become more serious.

Observing blood sugar spikes isn’t necessarily an instantaneous path to type 2 diabetes; behavioral adjustments may be the key. No one develops it instantly.

Even if metabolic syndrome or diabetes have already affected you, maintaining their health means lowering risk factors that contribute to organ and blood vessel damage and chronic diseases.

What should you keep track of? Keep reading.

Metabolic Health Biomarkers
We’ve already discussed metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes as potential metabolic conditions to avoid, but what exactly are we trying to avoid?

For metabolic syndrome to exist, three out of the following criteria must be present.

Fasting blood sugars of 100 mg/dL or greater; elevated waist circumference (this marker isn’t standardized); 150 mg/dL triglycerides or greater; blood pressure 130/85 mmHg or higher; HDL-C levels below 40 mg/dL for men or 50 mg/dL for women
What exactly defines type 2 diabetes? HbA1c levels exceed 6.4% and fasting blood glucose surpasses 125 mg/dL, as indicators of overall glucose levels in the body.

Blood sugar, waist circumference (or body weight), triglycerides, blood pressure and HDL are the key clinical markers associated with metabolic health. Other markers related to metabolism health can include:

As for devices, let’s focus on some: Ketones (elevated ketones are an indicator of increased fat burning)Exercise performanceFasting insulin levelsEnergy levels and cravings between mealsMental clarityAbility to lose weightVarious metabolites to measure fat burning (such as Lumen device). And as for other devices…

Measuring Metabolic Health
There are multiple methods available for measuring metabolic health without needing a medical exam or visit to your provider. Let’s examine further.

1: Wearables

Wearable devices have become ubiquitous. These devices monitor sleep, heart rate variability, body temperature, exercise performance, daily steps taken, and any other metrics related to metabolic health.

Apple Watch, Garmin and Fitbit are three trusted names in wearable technology that integrate seamlessly with Carb Manager so that you can track your wellness journey easily in one location.

2: Glucose and Ketone Meters For an accurate picture of metabolic health, monitoring fasting blood glucose is recommended. Aiming for an ideal fasting blood glucose below 85 mg/dl could lower diabetes risk while anything below 100 mg/dl avoids metabolic syndrome criteria altogether.

Most drugstores sell basic glucose meters, but these devices won’t tabulate and analyze your data automatically – you will have to create your own spreadsheet instead. (And trust us: that can be quite fun!)

Or you could use a device to simplify life – such as the Keto Mojo Meter – which accurately measures glucose and ketones from one drop of blood and stores and displays this data so you don’t need to spend Sunday afternoon huddled over your laptop.

Biosense breath ketone meters should also be considered. By monitoring breath acetone levels, these devices provide insight into your fat-burning capacity.

Lumen is an innovative device that helps track how much fat (vs. carbs) your body is burning by measuring carbon dioxide on your breath – pretty impressive stuff.

Note: Keto Mojo and Biosense integrate with Carb Manager.)

3: Bloodwork Certain metabolic biomarkers–triglycerides, HDL levels and insulin–can only be obtained via traditional lab work. Get a script from your physician or use an online laboratory service (DirectLabs or Ulta Labs are good choices) to order these tests quickly and without hassle.

Track Your Metabolic Health with Carb Manager

Wouldn’t it be great if all your metabolic data could be managed in one central place, without having to navigate an army of apps, spreadsheets and journals?

Carb Manager Premium makes managing your metabolic future simple. Compatible with devices like Fitbit and Keto Mojo, Carb Manager allows you to take charge of your metabolic future and stay in charge.

Record body weight, insulin doses, HbA1c levels, triglycerides levels and any other metrics not captured by wearable devices in one convenient place.

Carb Manager can assist in tracking metabolic data and motivating you to change behaviors to promote an increased metabolism.

Downloading Carb Manager is like having access to the world’s premier health coach in your pocket – not only does it track health data, but it motivates, educates and inspires you towards reaching your fitness goals.

Carb Manager can assist:

Track macros and limit carbs to better manage blood sugar levels, stay accountable to a daily exercise regime, track your sleep (did you know that better rest helps burn more fat?), adopt an intermittent fasting protocol suitable to your body type, lose fat while building muscle…and more.
Wearables or apps won’t improve your metabolic health on their own – that’s ultimately up to you – but when combined with modern tech tools you may find that success comes more quickly.

Disclaimer: Please be aware that this article contains affiliate links. Carb Manager may receive a commission for qualifying purchases made via these links.