Community voices
Empowered by Stelo: Herb's path to improved glucose health
Published: Feb. 28, 2025
5 min read
The content in this article should not be taken as medical advice. Please consult with your healthcare provider regarding your individual health needs.
We love to hear from our amazing community of Stelo users, like Herb who has taken his health and wellness into his own hands, using Stelo to help keep a prediabetes diagnosis from progressing. Herb credits Stelo for encouraging him to not only look to nutrition and activity to improve his glucose health, but to work on his stress and sleep, too. Let’s take a look at Herb’s journey and some surprising discoveries he’s made along the way.
Determined to overcome family history
Diabetes runs in Herb’s family—his grandfather and father both had type 2 diabetes, and Herb has been living with a prediabetes diagnosis for roughly ten years.
“I saw what my father went through, and I said to myself, I never want to have diabetes. So, when Dexcom came out with Stelo, and I had the opportunity to purchase it on my own without a prescription—I think it’s terrific! It gives the opportunity to maybe fight off this prediabetes that I have.”
In his first four months of using the Stelo Glucose Biosensor, Herb has experienced some suprising health benefits and is thrilled with the results.
“I have to tell you, I feel great.”
-Herb S.
Experimenting with nutrition and alcohol using Stelo
Herb says that Stelo has acted as a sort of nutrition coach for him. With the help of the Stelo biosensor, he has changed his food choices drastically after seeing how his glucose reacts to certain foods, noting that he has largely eliminated bread, pasta, and white rice from his diet.
“I experimented very much in the first month. I’d have some popcorn. Boom, spike. I’d share a pitcher of beer with friends. Boom, spike. So those are some things I’ve cut out,” he says. And through more experimentation, he realized he could still have an alcoholic beverage or two and that different types had less impact on his glucose.
More adjustments he’s made include cutting back on the milk he puts in his coffee after seeing how the milk sugars can elevate his glucose, and he’s incorporated more protein into his diet to keep his levels stable.
“I absolutely enjoy fish, beef, poultry, and a slew of vegetables with no glucose spikes. One thing I am surprised about is that yams increase my glucose levels where potatoes do not seem to impact me that much.”
Herb’s go-to snacks include edamame and nuts such as cashews, walnuts, almonds, and pistachios, noting that they are tasty and filling options that don’t have much impact on his individual glucose levels.
One of Herb’s favorite parts of using Stelo is seeing if he can keep his glucose within the target range within the Stelo app while he’s experimenting with his food choices. “It’s almost like a game for me,” he jokes.
Learning and investigating with Stelo
Using Stelo has made Herb realize that "health foods" can sometimes contain sneaky ingredients. After multiple instances of seeing a glucose spike from eating tuna salad-a seemingly healthy choice-from a high-end health food store, Herb decided to investigate. He asked the people behind the deli counter about the ingredients, and it turns out, a large amount of sugar was being added to the tuna salad. Something he never would have guessed before using Stelo.
Friends of Herb’s who also use Stelo shared a similar experience with him. After eating a kale salad they frequently purchased from a deli thinking it was a healthy option, they saw a glucose spike every time. Surprisingly, the culprit wasn’t in the dressing when they asked, the deli told them they wash the kale in sugar water.
Realizations like these wouldn’t have been possible without Stelo. As a result, Herb has started looking more closely at nutrition and ingredient labels, asking questions, and being more aware of what he puts in his body. His advice to other Stelo users? Do some investigating. Try for yourself. "Do your own experiments with Stelo."
“Just because something is in a health food store, doesn't mean it's healthy.”
“Just because something is in a health food store, doesn't mean it's healthy.”
- Herb. S.
Leaning into the pillars of glucose health
When Herb was diagnosed with prediabetes, his doctor told him to focus on food and exercise only. It wasn’t until using Stelo that he realized other things, like stress and sleep, are part of the equation too.
Herb recently suffered an elbow injury that caused him severe pain, and he saw his glucose spike as a direct result, proving to him that the stress-glucose connection is real.
After learning that sleep also has an impact, Herb got curious about his sleep patterns. He activated the sleep function on his Apple Watch and realized he was only averaging about six hours a night over the course of the month. His next goal is to work on getting better sleep—another step in his glucose health journey.
Stelo has equipped Herb with the knowledge and tools he needs to work toward his goals and has surprised him with some positive side effects and discoveries along the way.
Herb is pleased with the results he’s seen in his first four months using Stelo and looks forward to more successes, saying, “It’s gotten me thinking about my health more moving forward.”
Reviewed by: Jami Klein,
RN, BSN, CDCES
RN, BSN, CDCES
Jami Klein is a registered nurse and certified diabetes care and education specialist with extensive experience in both clinical settings and diabetes industry.
Written by: Stelo Team
*For Stelo app compatibility, visit stelo.com/compatibility