Gain easier control over blood sugar with these diabetes tracking tips from MyNetDiary
- 4 Minutes Read
Katherine Isacks, MPS, RDN, CDCES - Registered Dietitian and Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist (CDCES)
Learn to use MyNetDiary to its fullest as a powerful diabetes tracking tool.
MyNetDiary makes tracking diabetes a snap to control your blood sugar
Tracking diabetes helps you identify relationships between blood glucose and weight, exercise, medication, and food and beverage intake. When you understand these relationships, you can analyze, plan, and act to better control your blood glucose levels. MyNetDiary offers the complete tracking solution to take charge of your diabetes.
MyNetDiary Diabetes Tracker and MyNetDiary Premium
MyNetDiary's robust Diabetes Tracker is available as a stand-alone iPhone and Android app.
Better yet, a Premium MyNetDiary membership gives you full access to the Diabetes Tracker features plus all other Premium features, including Premium Recipes and Diet Plans. Simply select "Use BG and Diabetes Tracking" in Settings to access the Diabetes Tracker features as a Premium member.
Tracking blood glucose
Blood glucose (BG) is the value that comes from your blood glucose meter or your continuous glucose monitor (CGM). You can display BG as mg/dl or mmol/L in Settings.
"BG" appears at the top of your Dashboard with your average daily, pre-meal, and post-meal BG readings. Tap BG to enter a new BG, set a reminder to check your BG at a specific time, and/or set automatic prompts to check your BG after meals (once a meal has been entered with a timestamp).
Customizing target ranges
To customize BG target ranges and hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) and hyperglycemia (high blood sugar) limits, tap "BG Targets" on the Blood Glucose screen.
You can also select BG target ranges for each testing condition identified by a time period "label," such as fasting, before lunch, after dinner, and before bed. The BG value will highlight in yellow if it is above your target range or red if it is below your target range. This allows you to identify high and low BGs on reports and charts quickly.
Syncing blood glucose data from iOS Health to MyNetDiary
iOS Health app users who sync a blood glucose meter or continuous glucose monitor (CGM) can sync those BG readings with MyNetDiary. Here's how:
- Sync your meter or CGM blood glucose data with the iOS Health app. Contact your meter or CGM manufacturer if you are not sure if your device can sync with the Health app.
- Under "Me," tap "Apps & Devices," then tap "iOS Health App Link." Tap "Link with Health" to go to the Apple Health screen.
- Tap the "Sharing" icon at the bottom of the screen, tap "Apps," then "MyNetDiary." Scroll down to the bottom of the screen, and under "Allow MyNetDiary to Read," toggle to select "Blood Glucose."
Blood glucose labels and notes
Assign a "label" (e.g., "fasting" or "2 hours after lunch") to provide helpful information about your blood glucose reading. You do not need to assign a label to every value, but it serves as a reminder of the conditions under which you tested.
You can assign multiple labels to a value. For instance, you can label your fasting blood glucose reading as "fasting" and "before breakfast."
When you add a BG, tap "Assign Labels" just below the timestamp to see the existing list. If you do not find the label you wish to use, you can tap "Add Custom Label" located on the gear icon.
You may also add notes to any BG reading to better interpret your results.
Blood glucose report
To view your daily tracker values (e.g., blood glucose, insulin, medications, and exercise) throughout the day, tap "Day Timeline" on your home screen. This report is organized into seven three-hour periods, making it easy to compare blood glucose values within the same time period. In addition, you can toggle between daily and weekly views. You can also export reports with varying periods as a PDF file or an Excel spreadsheet.
Blood glucose chart
In the mobile app, you can also see BG graphs in "Charts," giving you a quick visual representation of your readings.
Timestamp for food and exercise
Timing is essential when you review your reports to find relationships between food, exercise, medication, and blood glucose. To use the timestamp feature, turn it on in Settings. Correct the timestamp if you enter meals and snacks earlier or later than the actual time you ate. The timestamp will allow a correct total of your carbs by meals and snacks. For example, snacks eaten an hour apart will show separate carb counts.
The timestamp is also helpful for noting time of exercise. The timestamp will enable automated prompts to check your post-meal BG at the correct time.
Carbs quick view
Monitoring carb intake is a vital part of tracking diabetes. For your convenience, you can view a food item's carb content during food entry without selecting the Nutrition Facts panel. If you do not see a carb count on your food item screen, go into Settings, and choose Total Carbs or Net Carbs as a "Primary Nutrient" or "Secondary Nutrient."
Carb counting type
MyNetDiary offers two ways to track carbs: Total Carbs or Net Carbs. Choose the method you prefer in Settings.
Total Carbs: This method simply counts the total carb grams listed on the Nutrition Facts panel.
Net Carbs: This value subtracts all fiber and sugar alcohol grams from total carb grams. This method may underestimate the total digestible carb load (and, therefore, the expected rise in blood glucose after eating).
Please discuss the best way for you to count carbs with your Diabetes Educator.
Insulin tracking
If you use insulin, MyNetDiary will help you track your doses. If you do not see "Insulin" listed on your app's home screen, go to Settings and toggle on "Show Insulin."
There are many types of insulin, and you can track them all! Under "Insulin" on your Dashboard, choose the type of insulin you use from "Insulin List." If you do not see your type of insulin, select "Track New Insulin" to include it.
After you select the type of insulin to track, enter your dose by tapping "Insulin" from your Dashboard, then choose the type of insulin. Enter the dose and time of dose. You may assign a label or add notes to your insulin dose.
Medications and other important trackers
In addition to tracking blood glucose, insulin, carbs, and exercise, you can also monitor other medications, heart rate, blood pressure, cholesterol, and Hemoglobin A1C. You can also create custom trackers to your heart's desire!
Once a tracker is selected, you can enter your value, timestamp, assign a label, and include comments.
Related Content
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Reviewed and revised by Sue Heikkinen MS, RDN, CDCES
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Jul 18, 2022
