A blood sugar log is a table where you write down each glucose reading with the date, the time and whether it was before or after a meal. Download a free printable log below: no email or sign-up required.
Each log comes in two versions: mg/dL on US Letter paper and mmol/L on A4 paper. Use the units your meter shows.
Fasting and after breakfast, lunch and dinner. Next to each after-meal reading there is room for what you ate and when you started eating. Tick whether you check 1 or 2 hours after meals.
For checking several times a day, for example with type 1 or type 2 diabetes on insulin. For each meal: reading before, carbs in grams, insulin units, reading after. Plus bedtime and notes.
For prediabetes or type 2 when you check once or twice a day. Write your fasting reading, and an after-meal reading if you took one. Start on any day of the month.
Print as many copies as you need. The logs have no target numbers printed on them: there is a field to write in the targets your care team gave you.
If your care team gave you a different schedule, follow it. Any of the logs has room in the notes for extra checks.
Your care team will look at your averages, how often you are in your target range and when readings run high or low. On paper you work these out by hand or leave them to the clinic.
Paper works well, and many people prefer it. Here is an honest comparison with Glucose Log, the app I make.
| Paper log | Glucose Log app | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free | Free to download. Full history is free; Pro is a subscription. |
| Needs a phone | No | Yes, iPhone or Android |
| Averages | You work them out by hand | Average with min and max calculated for you |
| Time in range, A1C estimate | Hard to do by hand | Yes, with Pro |
| Reminders to check | No | Yes |
| Report for your doctor | Bring the sheets | PDF or CSV report, with Pro |
| If it gets lost | Readings are gone | Encrypted backup |
| Measures blood sugar | No | No: you still need a meter or CGM |
Glucose Log is a simple blood sugar diary for type 1, type 2, gestational diabetes and prediabetes. No account and no ads; your readings stay on your device.
Yes. The logs on this page are free to download and print, with no sign-up. Some meter brands, pharmacies and clinics also hand out free paper logbooks, so it is worth asking.
As often as your care team advises. It depends on your type of diabetes and your treatment: some people check several times a day, others a few times a week. With gestational diabetes, a common schedule is fasting plus after each meal, but your care team sets yours.
Use the units your meter shows. The US uses mg/dL; the UK, Canada, Australia and many other countries use mmol/L. To convert, 1 mmol/L is about 18 mg/dL.
No. A phone or an app on its own cannot measure blood glucose. You need a finger-prick meter or a continuous glucose monitor (CGM). Apps like Glucose Log only record the readings you take. More on why a phone can't measure blood sugar.