A Journey to Outsmart Blood Sugar (Before It Outsmarts Me)

 An engineer’s experiment with fasting, food, and fitness sprinkled with dark humor and a dash of sugar paranoia.

A midlife engineer and lifelong foodie tries to hack his way out of blood sugar trouble, one fast, one squat, and one sarcastic thought at a time.

Let’s be honest — who doesn’t love sugar? Whether it’s the comforting sweetness of chai, a post-meal dessert, or that innocent-looking cookie that somehow disappears by the dozen, sugar is that one friend who makes everything better… until it doesn’t.

The problem is, sugar addiction is as real as it gets. The more you have it, the more your brain craves it. And giving it up? That’s no small feat. I sometimes think quitting sugar might be harder than quitting smoking or drinking — at least nobody offers you a slice of cake for refusing alcohol.

So here I am, a lifelong foodie and dessert enthusiast, trying to make peace with a hard truth: if I want to keep enjoying food without turning my bloodstream into syrup, I need to understand what’s happening inside me.

Maybe it’s my engineering background, but I like to approach these things rationally and proactively — more like a system to optimize, not a crisis to react to. I believe in data, logic, and a fair bit of curiosity. If my body’s running a complex biochemical network, I might as well treat it like one and see what tweaks improve performance. On top of this, a short call from my daughter once from her before visiting her physician to list who in our line of generations have been inflicted by this metabolic disorder.

That’s what led me down this rabbit hole: a personal experiment to understand and manage blood sugar before it manages me.

Like many folks sliding gracefully or, let’s admit it, reluctantly into their mid-50s, I’ve developed a new hobby to worry about aging. But instead of buying expensive supplements or quoting wellness influencers, I decided to do what any sensible, slightly reckless person would do and that is experiment on myself.

Before you imagine a Frankenstein setup with beakers and wires, let me clarify: I’m not a doctor, not a health guru, and certainly not offering medical advice. I’m just a curious human trying to see how long I can keep my blood sugar in check without giving up my favorite foods or my sanity.

The Fear of the Sweet Monster

I’ve always dreaded blood glucose. I don’t have diabetes (yet), but at 55+, I’ve watched too many friends fall victim to the “sweet curse.” Suddenly, their lives revolve around labels, carb counts, and saying no to gulab jamun. And it is also reasonable to say that most of them have been managing this beautifully with the right medicines and diet control.

For a lifelong foodie like me, that sounds like a culinary nightmare. If life’s worth living, it’s worth tasting, right?

My family history doesn’t exactly ease the paranoia. My late father never struggled with blood sugar until very late in life (thanks to some steroid use), while my mother has been managing diabetes for years — with the help of good old metformin.

Flirting with the Borderline

Last year’s blood test told me I’m skating on thin ice: an A1C of 5.5, sitting smugly at the edge between “normal” and “pre-diabetic.”

I’ve been a regular hiker, biker, and occasional runner (these days, running mostly means chasing Wi-Fi signals). For over 15 years, these activities have kept my numbers in check — without forcing me to say goodbye to biryani or pizza. But lately, I’ve hit a wall.

Despite my efforts, my regular morning fasting sugar floats between 85 and 100. Occasionally, I have seen it around 103 as well. Technically, under 100 is recommended, but I want to aim for the golden number — around 80. Because who doesn’t love a clean score, especially when your body’s the report card?

My Own Experience

Everything that follows — these lessons, experiments, and plans — comes from my own personal journey of trial, error, and occasional triumph.

Some are lessons I’ve learned the hard way, others are ongoing experiments that I’m still refining (or surviving). Think of them as field notes from one man’s attempt to outthink his metabolism.

I’m not promising miracles or medical breakthroughs — just honest observations and a desire to understand what truly works. My hope is that if you’ve ever stared at your blood test results with mild panic, you’ll find a bit of hope (and maybe a laugh) in what follows.

Lesson One: Exercise Is Great — Until It Isn’t

Here’s the first thing I learned: exercise works only up to a point.

If you’re in your 30s or 40s, you might outrun sugar with enough jogging and spinach smoothies. But in your 50s, especially if you’ve got a diabetic parent in the mix, the game changes.

At some point, exercise alone stops working. You plateau. Your sneakers still move, but your sugar numbers don’t. That’s when you realize that it’s not about “controlling food,” it’s about avoiding excess food.

A painful truth for foodies, yes, but denial spikes blood sugar faster than dessert.

Lesson Two: You Can’t Overstate the Power of Weight Training

My second discovery is brutally simple: incorporate weight training, especially once you cross 50. People tend to give this a passing look but of late many of us are realizing the physiological impacts behind such workouts.

I’ve learned that building muscle isn’t just for gym bros or selfie enthusiasts — it’s one of the most effective ways to lower blood glucose. Bigger muscles act like glucose sponges, soaking up sugar from your bloodstream.

It’s my personal experience that a simple set of 20 squats can drop your glucose by nearly 20 points. Thanks to my friend Naresh who initiated me in to this. Add 30 push-ups, and you can see a similar dip. The larger the muscle group you work, the more dramatic the immediate drop.

Personally, I’m not a fan of the gym (too much equipment, too many mirrors). So I’ve made peace with home workouts. My routine includes 9 rounds of Sun Salutations for flexibility first thing each day in the morning, and on alternate days, I switch between push-ups and squats.

I started with 20 reps of each at the top of every hour (which, honestly, was ambitious). These days, I’ve settled into a more sustainable rhythm — 3 sets of 15 reps, done at least three times a day. It’s simple, effective, and, most importantly, doesn’t require me to leave the house or tolerate gym music.

Lesson Three: The Dinner Deadline

My third realization is elegantly boring but incredibly powerful: eat dinner early.

Ideally, 3–5 hours before bed.

When I eat by 6:30 p.m., my fasting sugar behaves the next morning. When I push dinner to 9 p.m., my glucose throws a tantrum. Turns out, our bodies hate midnight snacks more than our dentists do.

Lesson Four: Two Meals Are Enough (Most of the Time)

I’ve recently started eating just two meals a day. It sounded impossible at first — like expecting a Bollywood movie to end in 90 minutes — but surprisingly, it feels great.

The first few days were tough. My stomach made noises that could scare a raccoon. But soon, I noticed sharper focus, better energy, and most importantly, less guilt compared to when I did eat. It’s like telling your body, “Hey, I’m the boss here.”

Lesson Five: Rediscovering Grandma’s Wisdom (and My Sense of Humor)

Now, here’s the fun part — or the fasting part, depending on your perspective.

Twice a month, I do a 24-hour water fast, usually on Ekadashi (try to find the meaning of this word on a lunar calendar), a tradition my maternal grandmother followed religiously. I used to tease her for it as a kid, joking that skipping meals was her secret way of trying to find me-time.

Now I realize she was onto something profound.

Skipping two days of meals a month means avoiding 6 out of 90 meals, giving your body about a 6.5% break from constant digestion. I’m now planning to stretch it to a 48-hour fast, doubling that to about 13% “meal-free” livingwithout compromising any routine day to day activities of work, exercise etc

It’s like giving your digestive system a weekend off — from you.

The Experiment Continues

My next annual blood test is on October 28, and I’m oddly excited. I’ll find out if these eight months of twice-monthly fasting have actually nudged my biological markers in the right direction — or if I’ve just been glorifying hunger with scientific jargon.

Either way, I’ve learned something valuable: aging doesn’t have to mean surrendering. It’s about curiosity, control, and the occasional dark humor to keep it all digestible.

I plan to continue sharing my progress or lack thereof here on Medium. My ongoing adventures (and misadventures) in taming blood sugar will unfold as honestly as possible, with all the data, doubts, and desserts that come along the way.

So if you’re curious, struggling with the same questions, or just here for the occasional sarcastic health update, keep following my journey. I promise to make the science relatable, the lessons practical, and the hunger… mildly entertaining.