How to Maintain a Blood Sugar Log

A log of numbers alone is close to useless. A log of numbers with context is the single most useful thing you can bring to an appointment.

The reason is simple: a reading of 230 mg/dL tells your doctor nothing on its own. The same reading, written beside "biryani, 10 pm, no walk, slept badly", tells them what to change.

What to write down

• The reading and the time.
• What you ate, roughly — "two rotis, dal, sabzi" is enough detail.
• Medicines, if you took them late or missed one.
• Movement — a walk, or a day of sitting.
• Anything unusual — illness, poor sleep, a stressful day, a wedding.

How often

Fewer readings taken consistently beat many taken at random. Pick times and keep them, so the entries line up week to week. Test at least twice a year for HbA1c alongside your own log — the two together are more informative than either alone.

Before an appointment, look at your own log first. Circle the pattern you noticed. Turning up having spotted something yourself changes the consultation from a review of numbers into a conversation about causes.

Paper works. So does a phone note. The format matters far less than whether you will actually keep it up.

See also keeping a log that is actually useful.