Josh Clemente on CGMs, Blood Sugar and Founding Levels
Levels co-founder Josh Clemente tells us how a former SpaceX engineer who ate candy for dinner found his blood sugar was off, and what a CGM taught him about carbs.
By The Meat Mafia (Harry Gray and Brett Ender)
Josh Clemente grew up playing rugby, hockey and lacrosse, then got into CrossFit and bodybuilding. He also says he has a sweet tooth that runs from head to toe.
He wasn't gaining weight, so he figured all calories were the same. He jokes that he and his roommates ate candy for dinner several times a week.
Then he went to work as an engineer at SpaceX, which he describes as highly competitive. He says he cut sleep instead of pushing deadlines and worked out late at night.
Around 26 or 27, it caught up with him.
"I realized I feel sick. I feel unhealthy, like, all the time." (04:54)
He describes no energy, a low mood, cold sweats and needing to sit down in the middle of a workday to catch his breath. It didn't cross his mind that food could be part of it.
A friend asked if he'd checked his blood sugar. He bought a finger-stick meter at a drugstore and says his morning readings were around 113, which he calls well into prediabetes range. A doctor turned down his request for a CGM, so he got one in Australia, where he says they were sold over the counter.
He says the first two weeks showed him that meals he was sure were fine, like big portions of sweet potatoes before a workout, sent his blood sugar way up. As he changed what he ate, the spikes came down. That experience became the idea for Levels.
"I think there's a massive amount of diversity in how people respond to the same foods." (28:05)
That's the heart of this conversation: an engineer who started measuring instead of guessing. Below is how he thinks about carbs now and why he says small choices compound. This is his view, not medical advice. Talk to your own clinician about blood sugar testing and what your numbers mean.
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TL;DR: Josh Clemente says that in his mid-20s, as an engineer at SpaceX, he felt sick all the time without knowing why. A friend suggested checking his blood sugar, and his morning readings came back high. Wearing a CGM changed how he ate and led him to co-found Levels. He explains why people respond so differently to the same foods. His views, not medical advice.
Who is Josh Clemente? A former SpaceX engineer and co-founder of Levels, a company that helps people use continuous glucose monitors (CGMs).
Key takeaways
- Around 26 or 27, he says, he felt sick all the time (04:54).
- His morning finger-stick readings were around 113 (07:07).
- He says the book Wired to Eat by Robb Wolf first pointed him toward CGMs (07:07).
- He points to a 2015 Weizmann Institute study of 800 people that found big differences in blood sugar response to the same foods (28:19).
- He says berries are the carbs that work best for him (32:08).
Same food, different response
Josh says people vary a lot in how they respond to the same foods. He points to a 2015 Weizmann Institute study of 800 people without diabetes who wore CGMs and ate standardized meals. Some spiked on a cookie and not a banana, and others had the opposite response (28:19).
How he eats carbs now
He says he eats more carbs than he did five years ago and feels good. He focuses on high-fiber carbs eaten with protein, and berries are his go-to (32:08). White rice, he says, gives him some of his worst responses (32:52).
Small choices compound
He says health comes from small decisions that compound over decades, not minutes, and that every morning isn't a fresh start (12:29). He also says he owns his health data, not his doctor (14:22).
FAQ
Who is Josh Clemente? A former SpaceX engineer and co-founder of Levels.
Why did Josh Clemente start using a CGM? He says he felt sick all the time and his morning blood sugar readings were around 113 (07:07).
Do people respond differently to the same food? Josh points to a 2015 Weizmann Institute study that found big individual differences (28:19).
Related on The Meat Mafia
- Calley Means on metabolic health
- Dr. Shawn Baker on carnivore
- More on Labs, Bloodwork & Wearables
- Browse all episodes
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Not medical advice. This post summarizes a podcast conversation for education. The views are the guest's own. Talk to a qualified clinician before you change your diet, supplements or any medication.
