Maybe tell us a bit more about yourself?I’m starting gym to lose weight focusing on my belly, however i’m unsure about my diet. I also swim every saturday, I dont know if I am overdoing it.
Help …
Maybe tell us a bit more about yourself?
Members on here are always happy to help, but the information you give isn't enough to have any idea on your diet, the amount of exercise you plan on doing or the amount of exercise you currently do.
What makes you feel you might be overdoing it?
Can you ask your diabetes nurse for guidance on how to manage exercise and insulin?I feel that I may overdo it because my blood sugar goes down very quickly but I want to be more active.
Ok, I started gym i’m going mon-fri for 2hrs late evening (idk if I should cut it down since i’ve just started), I swim for an hour aswell but that is fine. I feel that I may overdo it because my blood sugar goes down very quickly but I want to be more active. As for dieting i’m not sure where to start with that I was suggested to do a calorie deficit i’m not too sure if that would be the right move for me?
I can't imagine being as active as you are AND go on a calorie deficit way of eating - and for how long could it last? I am physically active, and need food to fuel that. As do we all, I might venture to say! (I understand you are type 1 so am expecting lots of sporty type ones to contribute on that one...)
So as a low-carb type two-er, I consider myself fat-fuelled. Plenty of literature on that being a good way to go for those with diabetes, and athletes generally. Plug it in to your search engine and have fun reading up on it - and be prepared to be reading for a long while! The bible, if you like, on the topic is Volek and Phinney's 'The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Performance'.
I watched a great vid from a Low Carb Down Under conference from some years ago, by Prof Caryn Zinn - she is very good on Low-carb fat-fuelled performance and spells it out with great graphics in her slides. The one I am thinking of is low-carb for weight loss and athletes. I highly recommend having a gander at her presentations. And she co-authored a book called 'What the Fat' which is also excellent.
If you’ve only just started going to the gym 2 hours is a long time, what are you doing while you’re there? & do you swim for an hour after or just on a Saturday?
Can you ask your diabetes nurse for guidance on how to manage exercise and insulin?
@okx I have no experience of dieting but I am a regular gym attendee.
I have tried a number of different approaches to avoid the BG drop
- make sure I have no bolus insulin on board when starting exercise.
- have a higher BG when starting. For example, eat a biscuit with no insulin. I think @Juicyj aims for a level between 9 and 12 mmol/l. This is too high for me as anything over 8 will make me weary resulting in a further rise.
- drink very weak diluted fruit juice instead of water
- vary cardio and resistance training - typically cardio reduces levels and resistance training (e.g. weights) can increase them so, with the right balance and order, I can use cardio to lower when too high and resistance training to raise when getting too low
- getting fitter. The more my body gets used to exercise, the lower the impact of the exercise on my levels
- I use a pump so am able to suspend my basal insulin during exercise
What do you do at the gym?
Do you have a program?
Are you varying it in order not to put a strain on your body and the same muscles every day. Fifteen hours a week is a lot of activity and you may struggle to maintain it. Please give your body time to recover.
I’ve been going to to the gym now for the last 4 months and am having good results with both losing fat and controlling blood sugar at the same time.
First important thing to note is that if you want to lose fat a calorie deficit is crucial. Exercise is great for improving your health and is important but it is only one part - diet and a calorie deficit are the biggest things in losing fat. My partner who was very overweight and at risk of developing T2 has been using a calorie deficit for over a year and has now lost over 60lbs - he did this without going to the gym, by eating in a calorie deficit and making sure to increase his general activity (hitting 10,000 steps a day, moving more).
The second thing I have found really helpful since starting the gym is to focus on strength training - it was scary at first but I get so much more from my workouts and am seeing muscle start to increase and fat reduce. As part of this I am eating a diet that is higher in protein and lower in carbs (although I wouldn’t say it is low carb). I’ve found by eating a higher protein diet that my blood sugars stay very stable and I’m not having big post meal spikes or hypos anymore. As a T1D it can be hard to exercise so much and control blood sugars but eating this way has helped me personally so much.
All I can say is to give it a go, don’t try a fad diet, eat within a slight calorie deficit (100-500 calories lower than your maintenance depending on what feels right for you - I aim for 400-500 lower then it gives me some room to stay in a deficit if I need to treat a hypo), start strength training and take your time. You can’t spot reduce belly fat, it will take time and you have to be patient but you will see change throughout your whole body. If you search for ‘body recomposition’ on Google or social media you’ll find lots of helpful information.
Please keep in mind that the person you replied to has type 1 diabetes, so they will never go in remission.I have lost 5 stone on a low carb diet. Both my diabetes nurse and my GP were more than happy. I have a BMI of 25.7 and I want to lose another stone. There’s been loads of help here with recipes etc. I don’t have anything against soup and shakes but it’s not for me. The problem with shakes is it does t teach to eat healthily. I know you get your diabetes in remission by alternative methods. Low carb has proved successful for losing weight and lowering blood sugar.
With exercise and changes in diet you'll need to adjust your insulin doses accordingly.Congrats on the weight loss! I have the same thought about shakes too, when I was in uni I used to do them all the time but then when it came to my meal times I was never hungry (I get full quick and for a long time) which overall made me forefully eat as I fall into hypos. Low carbs is something I already practice but if I do calorie deficit would that be too much?
With exercise and changes in diet you'll need to adjust your insulin doses accordingly.
So if you went low all the time on the shakes, it looks like your dosing for them was a bit off.
Are you carb counting to determine your insulin doses? Have you done any basal testing to make sure that your basal dose is correct?
Thank you, at gym I focus on abdominal so I have yet to use weights fully (just kettlebells). Because I am a recent starter I do not necessarily have a program / routine however, the continuous ones I use are mainly stretches and upper body workouts.