Blood Glucose Journal Printable (FREE PDF)

Why Use the Printable Blood Glucose Journal?

The obvious answer is to control your glycemic level daily by getting detailed blood glucose information as a response to dietary intake, physical activities, insulin doses, and other related factors.¹

Without checking their blood glucose regularly, patients risk letting their blood sugar spike, which leads to many diseases: cardiovascular disease,^{2 3} diabetic retinopathy,^{4 5} diabetic nephropathy,^{6 7} diabetic neuropathy,⁸ diabetic foot,^{9 10} and impaired wound healing.¹¹ All of those risks could cause complications and shorten lifespan.

The A1C test is great for checking the blood sugar level, but you can only do it every few months at most. More often than not, a needle-prick measurement is enough for daily checks. However, it’s rather painful when you prick your fingers 5-10 times daily. After a while, you could also get callouses on your fingers, which make it harder to prick.

You can use this strategy to check you blood glucose:

• At the start, check multiple times every day. The goal is to learn how your regular foods affect you as much as possible. You’d be surprised that some foods you consider “safe” are not that good for regulating your blood sugar.
• After a while, you’ll get some sense of what foods are more suitable for your habits. You can intuitively decide what you eat because you understand which food does what for your body. You can reduce the frequency of checking your blood sugar at this stage.

By using the blood glucose journal routinely, you might realize some new connections between your foods and daily habits. One of my favorite stories is from a patient who works in a group home. She spends a long time there every day and has to eat whatever they serve, seven meals a week. It’s not feasible to do a very low-carb diet, so she compromises by eating regular foods at the group home’s meals but is more strict with her other meals.

Is It Better to Journal Your Blood Sugar Level on Paper or Phone?

Please use whatever method you feel most comfortable with!

Nowadays, you can use various phone apps, a simple Excel sheet, phone notes, or even a CGM (Constant Glucose Monitor).

A physical journal is just one option available. As a registered dietitian, I found many patients prefer using a pen-and-paper journal. Some of us (like myself) also like the tactile feeling of taking notes on paper. When meeting them directly, showing the collected documents to others (your doctors, dietitians, etc.) is more straightforward. However, digital logs allow you to send the link to your doctors and have them check it whenever possible. Different journaling mediums have their own advantages, so experiment to see what’s best for you.

What is the Blood Glucose Journal Printable PDF?

A blood glucose journal is a diary to note your blood sugar level at specific times in a day.

The following are the indicators that you need to pay attention to when writing the journal:

• Date: The day you fill the journal.
• Breakfast, lunch, dinner, bedtime: The default time to check your blood sugar level.
• Pre: Your blood sugar level BEFORE meal time. You measure the “Pre-meal breakfast” level right after waking up (before eating anything for that day).
• Post: Your blood sugar level two hours AFTER meal time.
• Comment: Additional notes. Use it to add more related information that affects your blood sugar level. Some of them are your physical activity level, specific carbohydrate intake, disease, stress level, therapy/treatment, and insulin injection. These notes are very useful for yourself (as a form of self-reflection) and for doctors (to understand why your glucose suddenly rose or dropped so much).

How to Use the Blood Glucose Diary?

The blood sugar diary is intended for daily use of one month. It’s best to note down your numbers in the journal immediately after measuring. This will help you avoid misremembering some details.

The following is the procedure for using the journal:

1. On the upper right corner (“Month” and “Year”), fill out the month and year you start the journal. For example, April in the “Month” and 2023 in the ”Year.”
2. You don’t need to fill the day because it’s already available on the table. If you start checking the blood sugar on April 10th, start from the 10th row.
3. The target glucose levels (recommended by the American Diabetes Association) are written on the page. If your doctor recommends a different target, you can write it down.
4. Ideally, you check the blood sugar 7 times a day. Twice every meal (before and 2 hours after eating), plus once before bed. For example, your blood glucose level before lunch is 120 mg/dL and 170 mg/dL after 2 hours. So, in the “Lunch” column, write down 120 mg/dL at “Pre” and 170 mg/dL at “Post.”
5. It’s recommended to fill the “Comments” with anything you think is affecting your blood sugar that day. For example: “Glucose rose to 190 mg/dL after dinner because I drink too much juice.”
6. Or, you can write when your blood sugar is highest every day as the “Comment.” For example: “My blood sugar is highest 2 hours after dinner.”
7. Store the journal. If you have enough data, you can notice some long-term trends. For example: you might see that every year, you have trouble controlling your blood sugar in December because you have to attend many Christmas events.

What are the Benefits of Using a Blood Sugar Log?

Generally, a journal benefits you because:

• You don’t need to remember when your blood sugar level spikes, especially if you measure many times a day. Simply reread them!
• Doctors and registered dietitians can use the journal as a source of information about your physical activities, carbohydrate intake, stress level, complications, or other glucose spikes. This helps the medical personnel formulate the best solution for your condition.

For diabetics, a journal specifically benefits you because:^{12 13}

• Both you and your doctor can adjust your insulin intake after noticing spikes or drops in your blood glucose level.
• Your doctors and registered dietitians can use the journal to adjust your glucose target, carbohydrate intake, ideal workouts, or food limitations.
• You can detect and confirm when hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia occurs.
• You’ll begin to take back your life by learning what affects you and improving your dietary habits.

Who should Use the Blood Glucose Journal Template?

You can use the journal if you have concerns about your blood sugar level, such as a prediabetic condition, being pregnant, having hypoglycemia without knowing or using insulin regularly.¹³ According to ADA, a Type-2 Diabetic patient who uses insulin regularly has to monitor the blood sugar at least 4 times a week (2 times fasting blood glucose and 2 times after eating).¹

When Should You Use the IBS Food & Symptom Journal Template?

Use the diary as soon as you get it. It’s not a problem if you can’t do the measurement consistently at the start. After all, filling a journal is not fun for some people.

People assume monitoring their glucose takes hours. In reality, it takes just a few minutes a day and won’t disturb their daily activities.

The blood sugar journal is crucial for a diabetic patient under strict monitoring because of unstable conditions (e.g., hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia). Doctors can use the data from your journal to consider whether your condition has improved or not.

On the other hand, you can use the journal routinely even when you’re not having problems. Some people love to collect data about their health and life. The blood glucose journal can serve as a long-term record and memorabilia.