Health News with Steven and Mady - Glucose and The Thrive Formula Way

Feeling wrung out by that 3 p.m. crash? We dig into a clear, practical way to steady your energy without banning your favorite foods. Shannon Hagel’s Thrive Formula centers on three moves—nourish, move, and measure—and we pair it with the Stello continuous glucose monitor to turn guesswork into clarity. Instead of rigid rules, you get small, repeatable actions: build balanced plates, take a 10-minute walk after meals, and use real-time data to see what your body loves and what sends it spinning.

We start with Glucose 101—how fuel enters cells, why spikes and crashes happen, and how processed carbs, skipped meals, stress, and poor sleep nudge your numbers around. From there, we map the Thrive Trio into daily life: protein-first eating, savory breakfasts for steadier mornings, and smart food pairing that lets pasta stay on the menu when you add chicken and olive oil. A CGM makes it personal. You might discover granola spikes you more than cake, or that coffee lands better after breakfast. Two people can eat the same meal and see opposite curves, which is exactly why personal data beats one-size-fits-all plans.

You’ll hear wins that translate to the real world. Linda found calm energy in three weeks. Mark, a 52-year-old truck driver, lowered his A1C from 6.3 to 5.5 in two months by fine-tuning sauces and sides. We also share simple, science-backed tactics: a short post-meal walk, the vinegar trick before carb-heavy meals, and sleep and stress habits that smooth your fasting glucose. Rather than chasing fast weight loss, we focus on root causes across gut, endocrine, and circulation so you build a metabolism that can handle more variety over time.

Ready to trade crashes for consistency? Follow the Thrive Formula, try a CGM to learn your unique fingerprint, and start with one easy win today. If this conversation helped, follow the show, share it with a friend who battles the afternoon slump, and leave a quick review so more people can find it.

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome And Why Energy Crashes Happen
• 2:08 Glucose 101 And The Thrive Formula
• 3:16 The Thrive Trio: Nourish, Move, Measure
• 4:17 Client Wins And Measurable Results
• 5:42 Holiday Sponsor Break: The Santa Stephen
• 10:44 CGM Tech Deep Dive And Real-Time Feedback
• 12:08 Unique Responses And Smarter Food Swaps
• 13:28 Easy Wins: Protein First, Walk After Meals
• 15:04 From Diets To Root Causes And Steady Change
• 17:28 Personal Progress, Smoother Glucose, Next Steps
• 18:08 Resources, Contact, And Closing

Transcript

Steven: 0:27

Good morning, Cross Roads. Welcome back to Health News with Steven and Mady, where we break down the science of staying healthy into something you can actually use, like today.

Mady: 0:41

That's right. Because if you've ever had that 3 p.m. crash where you tray your car for a donut, today's episode is for you.

Steven: 0:51

Yeah. Or you've ever felt like your energy runs out faster than your phone battery, we've got a fix for that. Before we get started, a little disclaimer. Maddie and I are not doctors or nurses. We do not diagnose or treat patients. Anything we share on this podcast is for educational purposes only and does not substitute for professional medical advice. We advise listeners to consult a medical professional or health care provider if they seek medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

Mady: 1:27

Okay. Today we are diving into the Thrive Formula by Shannon Hagel, a powerful practical program that helps people balance their body and reclaim their energy without giving up all the foods they love.

Steven: 1:42

And we'll talk about one of our favorite tools, the Stello Continuous Glucose Monitor, or CGM, a small device that shows exactly how your body reacts to food in real time. It's like having a traffic cop inside your bloodstream saying, Whoa, too much sugar coming through.

Mady: 2:04

Okay, Steven, let's start simple. What's actually happening when your glucose levels go up and down?

Steven: 2:12

Good question. Think of glucose as fuel. Every cell in your body runs on it. You eat food, carbs especially, and your body turns that into glucose. The hormone, insulin, then acts like a key to let the glucose into your cells.

Mady: 2:30

So far, so good. Until the system gets messy.

Steven: 2:35

Exactly. Too much sugar, processed foods, skipping meals, all that causes spikes and crashes. Your body can't keep up. And you end up tired, cranky, and craving more sugar and just plain hangry.

Mady: 2:52

Yeah. And that's where the Thrive Formula steps in. Shannon Hagel builds this program around stabilizing those ups and downs, not with strict diets, but by teaching your body to thrive through smarter choices and steady energy.

Steven: 3:10

So Mady, when you first heard about Shannon Hagel's program, what stood out to you?

Mady: 3:16

Honestly, the simplicity. She breaks it down into three main steps. What she calls the Thrive Trio. Number one, nourish. Choose balanced meals that combine protein, healthy fats, and slow carbs. Number two, move. Gentle daily movement to help your muscles use glucose more efficiently. And number three, use tools like the Stello CGM to understand your body's unique responses.

Steven: 3:51

And it's not one of those never eat bread again kind of programs. It's about pairing foods smartly. Like if you love pasta, add some chicken and olive oil. That slows the glucose spike.

Mady: 4:06

Exactly. And it's flexible. You can follow it even if you are a busy parent working long hours or you know, podcasting about health instead of leaving it.

Steven: 4:19

Guilty. But real talk. Uh Shannon says the goal isn't perfection, it's awareness.

Mady: 4:26

Yeah, that's true. And let's talk results. Shannon shared stories from her clients. One woman, Linda, said she went from constant fatigue and sugar cravings to steady energy all day within three weeks.

Steven: 4:42

Yeah, and Mark, a 52-year-old truck driver, saw his A1C drop from 6.3 to 5.5 in two months just by following the Thrive formula and using his Stello CGM to fine-tune his meals.

Mady: 5:00

That's huge. And he didn't have to give up his morning coffee or his favorite barbecue, just swapped in better sights and learned which sauces sent his glucose sky high.

Steven: 5:13

Shannon also tracks what she calls energy consistency. People report better sleep, fewer afternoon crashes, and improved focus.

Mady: 5:26

I love that she celebrates progress and not punishment. One client said this program made me friends with my body again.

Steven: 5:36

Now that's something worth thriving for. That's exactly right. Well, before we jump to our next segment, a quick word from today's episode partners, the Santa Stephen and Stefan McDermott Publishing. And now for a commercial announcement from our man from the North Pole, the Santa Stephen. He's coming soon.

Commercial: 6:13

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Mady: 9:39

Need a little holiday cheer or a new book to curl up with? Santa Steven brings joy to families all season long. And Stefan McDermott Publishing delivers book that inspire healthier, happier living.

Steven: 9:53

You can call the Santa Steven at 469-230-5956 or log in to thesantasteven.com or drop him an email at Steven@ the SantaSteven.com. For Stefan McDermott's amazing book, go to Amazon.com and search for Achieve Optimal Brain Health with Nutrition by Stefan McDermott.

Mady: 10:44

All right, let's talk tech. The stellar continuous glucose monitor. This little device is amazing.

Steven: 10:53

It's about the size of a coin. It sticks to the back of your arm and tracks your glucose 24-7. Instead of finger pricking five times a day, you can just glance at your phone and see what's happening inside your body. I used to get tickled at that commercial that they did for the finger prickers by B.B. King. He he always was complaining about how that interfered with his playtime with Lucille.

Mady: 11:20

And actually, just before we started a podcast, you change my uh Stello uh CGM. It's it's amazing. Like, oh, that muffin made my glucose uh go up 40 points. Bang, instant feedback.

Steven: 11:40

Exactly. That's what makes Shannon's program so effective. When you see your glucose response, you start making smarter choices. And not because someone told you to, but because your own data proves it.

Mady: 11:56

It's kind of addictive in a good way. You start thinking like a scientist. What happens if I eat breakfast first, then coffee?

Steven: 12:07

Or do I really spike from that granola bar? Spoiler alert. Sometimes granola bar is worse than cake.

Mady: 12:16

Yeah, true. This is why, you know, this past weekend we just made our own granola. And it's so tasty.

Steven: 12:25

Boy, is that a fact. Man, it smelled so good. Oh, yeah. Cooking. Oh man, I wanted a bite right then and there, but I gotta wait till tomorrow morning's breakfast. Yes. But I'm looking forward to it. Absolutely. And Stello Zap is easy, it gives you graphs and helps you learn your unique glucose fingerprint.

Mady: 12:48

Yes, that's the magic world. Unique. Because two people, like the two of us, can eat the same meal. One will spike me while the other one stays stable.

Steven: 13:01

Yes, and we both experienced that side by side when we were both wearing a stello at the same time. Yes. Yours would go through the roof, and mine would just stay stable. And we ate the exact same thing. So it it really is unique to you.

Mady: 13:17

Because it was my unique response of my body to what I ate.

Steven: 13:23

Absolutely. All right, Mady. Let's give the listeners a few easy wins. Okay.

Mady: 13:30

Tip one eat protein first. Start your meal with chicken, eggs, beans, salmon. Have a savory breakfast, not a sweet one. That slows how fast glucose enters your bloodstream.

Steven: 13:48

Tip two. After each meal, move. A 10-minute walk after dinner helps your muscles use up that glucose before it starts turning it into storage.

Mady: 14:01

And tip three, sleep and stress matter. Lack of sleep or high stress raises glucose even without food.

Steven: 14:13

One of my favorites, the vinegar trick. A tablespoon of apple cider vinegar diluted in a glass of water before a carb-heavy meal can flatten your glucose curve. But please don't take it straight from the bottle.

Mady: 14:31

Yes, we want thriving listeners, not coughing ones. Steven, I want to tell the listeners that I am trying the Thrive formula myself, as you well know.

Steven: 14:43

Yes, and I am following it right along with you.

Mady: 14:48

Yes, and I found out what foods and food combinations were sending my glucose up to the moon.

Steven: 14:57

And this is great. And now you are following a meal plan.

Mady: 15:01

Yes, the program is giving you several meal plan options, very well balanced and tasty, as you noticed yourself.

Steven: 15:11

Yeah, I gotta admit, these meal plans are awesome. I yeah, we we have tried so many different diets. We try, if you remember in the last health segment where we were talking about weight, uh, we tried the Ppaleo, we tried the Keto, we tried the Hiltonhead. I mean, we've tried just literally about every diet that's out there, and we've got the books to prove it. And you know, you you got to keep plugging away, you got to keep trying. Don't ever get discouraged and give up. You can't do that. You must move forward. Right now, this Thrive program, I'm telling you, it is working amazing. And it works at a good, even pace. It's not rushed. Because the one thing that we found out is every time we got on a diet that caused us to lose a great amount of weight in a short amount of period of time, we always wound up getting it right back on and then some. So this one's actually working slowly, which is good. You shouldn't drop weight too quickly, that's not healthy. So I think that's very important. I wanted to point that out.

Mady: 16:23

But something else that I want to add is the fact that those are diets. This is a program that's addressing the root cause, which is very important because you're getting on a diet and you know what you're doing, you're just patching the issue, the problem. But if you don't find a root cause why your body is reacting like that, then you will never ever be healthy and back to normal again. This program is uh um helping my body address some uh uh systems, the gut system, circulatory, endocrine, and it's so very important. After a while, your body will be balanced back to normal, and this is when you can reintroduce the foods that you had to stay off for a while while you are healing.

Steven: 17:22

Absolutely. Well, are you happy that you discovered the Thrive Formula program?

Mady: 17:28

Oh, yes, very. I got on this the program this past Monday, and I've already seen big changes. Not only that I lost 1.4 pounds in five days, but my festing glucose on the third day of the program was 111, lower than ever. My glucose graph looks smoother than a jazz playlist. Yay! Yes. All right, friends, today we learned that keeping your glucose steady isn't about being perfect, it's about paying attention.

Steven: 18:08

The Thrive formula by Shannon Hagel gives you the tools, and the Stello G C GM gives you the insight to finally understand exactly what your body needs.

Mady: 18:22

If you'd like to learn more about Shannon's program, visit Thriveformula.com on find her on social media.

Steven: 18:32

And remember, energy, focus, better mood, and fewer sugar crashes are possible when you thrive instead of just survive.

Mady: 18:43

That's a wrap for today's health news with Stephen and Maddie.

Steven: 18:48

Stay curious, stay healthy, and stay thriving. For more questions or answers, or how to reach anybody on the program, or if you want to be a guest, contact us at Crossroads Podcast2023@ gmail.com and we'll get those questions answered or get you on the air. So until next week with more amazing guests, I'll see you at the top. Bye bye. Bye bye.