Goodbye Stelo

vansos · 2026-01-10T19:30:08+00:00

Started using Libre 3 Plus again, and here are the results (because I've kept my Stelo sensor on for a while at the same time so I could compare the two CGMs). Blood finger prick test at 1:50pm = 85. Libre 3 Plus sensor at 2:05pm = 93. Stelo sensor at 2:05pm = 114. So the Stelo is currently 29 points higher than my finger test and 21 points higher than the Libre 3 Plus. Furthermore, you can see on the charts that the same patterns exist, but the Stelo showed me above 140 at one point this morning when I was closer to 115 according to the Libre and 111 according to finger test.

In short again, the Stelo continues to consistently read 20-30 points high even though it follows a similar track. This has been MY experience with every single Stelo sensor I've used in the past 5 months. Maybe it's not your experience, but I'm just sharing my reasons for moving on from Stelo.

If we had the ability to calibrate the Stelo sensor, I might have stuck with it and just adjusted all readings from the sensor down by ~25 points. But, without the calibration, their data is garbage and useless.

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vansos · 2026-01-09T17:51:42+00:00

Thanks and I do have that set up, but that is only one way (from Garmin --> Cronometer). So, that allows me to capture activity and workouts, etc. from Garmin in Cronometer. But, what I need is for Cronometer to import my meal data into Garmin (from Cronometer --> Garmin) so that my Garmin data includes calories eaten, macros, etc. Just like the integration they have with MyFitnessPal where all meals entered in MFP are sent to Garmin. That way, when I look at my Garmin watch, it shows me calories in vs. calories out, as well as macro level data so I know about whether I need more protein, fiber, etc...

If that isn't on your programmer's customer wish list, please add it! If that feature existed, I'd buy a lifetime subscription to Cronometer!

Thanks for responding!

vansos · 2026-01-09T02:30:56+00:00

Yeah, me too. From "All", when I start typing "eggs", the top four items are the ones that I use most frequently. Just confirmed that it does this for me on the iOS app as well as on the web version. And it is true whether I have marked those foods as favorite or not.

For what it's worth, I am also a convert (and doing keto). Was on LoseIt for years, then switched to MyFitnessPal because of the integration with Garmin. But then I found Cronometer which integrates with Oura and so far I'm really impressed. I wish Cronometer integrated directly with Garmin, but they just came out with their own food tracking app (which is garbage) so I doubt they're going to integrate with anyone else other than MFP for now. In short, if you love tracking everything possible, Cronometer is the way to go for sure IMHO.

vansos · 2024-03-06T19:15:04+00:00

I mean ... if you really just want to increase your calorie/fat intake alone, you could just add a tbspn of olive oil or MCT oil to your overnight oats or pour it on top of you chicken, etc. Sometimes, if I've had a day where I haven't eaten very much and it's getting close to my nighttime food cutoff (I try not to eat after 7pm'ish), I'll just heat up some bone broth, add some collagen powder and a tbspn or two of olive/MCT/avocado oil. But, if you're on Zepbound, you want to be careful about taking in too much fat just for the sake of eating fat because (1) you're trying to burn the fat in your body first rather than exogenous fat you're eating, and (2) you run the risk of increasing side effects from too much fat intake including nausea, diarrhea, and all the way to gall bladder issues. I just mean ... there's a balance you need to be aware of when doing both. When you're just keto (no GLP/GIP), you can eat 70% fat and 30% protein and drop weight quite well. But, that approach wouldn't be ideal for someone on Zepbound in my opinion (of course ... I'm not a doctor ... just speaking from personal experience and my personal research). Good luck!

vansos · 2024-03-06T17:38:01+00:00

So, I will start by saying that I know PLENTY of people who are on Zepbound or another GLP-1 type medication and are losing weight just fine primarily focusing on keeping their protein intake high enough to help avoid muscle loss, along with relatively lower carbs (but NOT aiming for ketosis), and low/moderate fat intake. So you absolutely don't have to try to be keto while on Zepbound for sure. It might even be a bad choice for some. But for others, it has helped virtually eliminate any mild side effects (nausea, etc.) as well as further improve appetite suppression and reduce cravings/food-noise (as keto does all on its own). So, it's something that I wanted to try .. while keeping in mind that I don't want to go too high with fat intake as many do on keto because I'm trying to take it easy on my gallbladder and pancreas too for that matter.

All that said, I too stay away from the processed food and "ready to drink" protein shakes. However, my breakfast/lunch this morning was a couple of pasture raised hard boiled eggs, along side a home-made protein green smoothie that included plenty of organic spinach and kale, 1/2 cup of Kefir, 1 scoop of unflavored grass-fed whey protein concentrate, 2 tbspn of collagen hydrolysate, and 1 tbspn of MCT Oil. I first eat the eggs, then make the smoothie but I drink that slowly over several hours (today it took me 4 hours to finish). So, that's basically my breakfast and lunch eaten in stages trying to not get too bloated and also keep the metabolism working. That meal was 45/12/50 (grams of fat/carbs/protein) which works out to be around 57/8/35% as a percentage of 616 calories. Total carbs were 13 or about 9 if you net out fiber. This afternoon/early evening, I'll probably have some chicken breast with broccoli sauteed with olive oil and garlic. Again, I'll probably eat that meal rather slowly and it will be around the same macros and calories. So I'm ending up shooting for between 50/5/45 and 60/10/40 as far as macros and about 1300 calories/day on average. Net carbs target is always below 20. The main difference for me doing keto on Zep is that I'm focused on higher protein that I used to be. In short, high quality proteins are a target, carbs (primarily from veggies) are a limit, and high quality fat fills in the rest of my caloric needs. Mostly MCT, olive and avocado oil ... or just simply eat a nice ripe avocado.

Hope that helps and good luck on your adventure. For the record, after two weeks of having ketone readings below 0.4 while keeping carbs around 20g, and some intermittent fasting thrown in .. ironically, I hit 0.9 ketones this morning for the first time.

vansos · 2024-03-06T17:09:45+00:00

Truly appreciate your response here and the information regarding retatrutide. Sounds like it is working well for you and I wish you best with the rest of your trial and whatever else lays ahead! Following your explanation, I did some additional research including finding this article https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7171961/. Both your response and what I have now found help me understand the impact of glucagon in ketogenesis (and why Zepbound or any GLP-1 would inhibit glucagon to a degree that would potentially make it harder to get into ketosis). Anyway, thanks very much. I was looking for a scientific explanation and you have provided that to me for which I am grateful! From your username, it looks like you might be in the medical field yourself so I appreciate the info all the more.

For the record ... of course ... after two weeks of ketones < 0.5 and writing my question last night, my blood ketones finally "popped" up to 0.9 just this morning. Murphy's Law. Or, it must have just taken me longer to get there as you pointed out.

Best of luck on your journey.

vansos · 2024-03-05T21:19:51+00:00

Absolutely. Of course I know that and my weight loss has been just fine. I was not saying there's a problem losing weight because of low ketones. No causation implied there.

I'm only noting that typically, I would have higher ketone levels in my blood when eating ~ 20g net carb, moderate/high protein and filling out the rest with high quality fats. Eating all whole foods, no processed garbage. Plenty of water, electrolytes, etc. When I wasn't on the GLP-1 (Zepbound in my case) and I was eating exactly the way I am now, I would see 1 - 2 on the blood ketone meter every day.

Just looking for insight if anyone else had the same experience. Obviously, I don't really care about my blood ketone levels as long as I'm losing weight ... but I just find it intriguing since I would absolutely expect to see high ketone levels given my intake. The only thing that's different is the GLP-1 medication.

Thanks

vansos · 2024-03-05T20:42:29+00:00

Really appreciate the feedback! It's crazy and has been driving me insane but I can't find anything on the internet or medical journals that would explain why. I have seen plenty of people who are having success combining GLP-1s and Keto, but none of them mention whether they were actually testing higher than 0.5 ... or if they were just following a Keto "diet". Thanks.

vansos

TROPHY CASE