Exercise

cugila

Master
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People who are touchy.......feign indignation at the slightest thing. Hypocrites, bullies and cowards.
Exercise can increase the Bg levels - it can also decrease the levels as well.

It all depends on what sort of exercise, what sort of fuel you ingest prior to exercise, the conditions and a myriad of other things. The best way to see what it does to you is to test before and after exercise. Each person can react differently.
 

hanadr

Expert
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soaps on telly and people talking about the characters as if they were real.
As ken says
Yes exercise can send Bg up or down according to circumstances. However, regular exercise over time is DEFINITELY beneficial. Bernstein recommends weights. I use resistance bands. Same exercise, but MUCH less damage if dropped on the foot. :lol:
Hana
 

Jo123

Well-Known Member
Messages
717
It increases my bg levels when I run for 30 mins, but I persist and have actually stopped testing because it is supposed to do you more good in the long run. I have read that you should not exercise if your bg's are very high because that will make it worse. But if I start with a 5 mine will go to 7 for example.
 

fergus

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,439
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Typically, it's the release of stress hormones, particularly cortisol and adrenaline, which causes the body to produce additional blood glucose in response to exercise.
If the exercise is maintained long enough, insulin receptors within the cells in the body migrate to the surface of the cells where they can pull that glucose out of the bloodstream for fuel, or the production of glycogen or triglycerides.
What tends to happen as a result is that bg levels rise initially during exercise, then fall if the exercise is maintained and potentially for many hours afterwards.
Regular exercise keeps those receptors doing their jobs, which can significantly reduce insulin resistance.

All the best,

fergus
 

NickW

Well-Known Member
Messages
89
fergus sums it up nicely. However, intensity is as (or more) important than duration, as it's intensity which releases the stress hormones and triggers hepatic glucose release. For example a 20 minute walk probably won't raise BG much if at all (and may slightly lower it); a 20 minute interval session will! And likewise, a 90-minute powerlifting session (3-5 reps per set with heavy weights, 5-7 minutes rest between sets) is likely to raise BG; a less intense workout (lighter weights, more reps) might not have as much effect.

Experiment and test to find out how it affects you personally, and use that knowledge to your advantage (e.g. I inject insulin prior to a weights session and can keep a stable level throughout, whereas I know I need to reduce dosages or eat carbs when I go for a reasonable-length run).

You need to be careful with anything that regularly spikes your blood (as those regular spikes may cause damage), but the benefits of exercise are huge as fergus says - particularly for the type 2 where enhancing insulin sensitivity is vital. A mixture of heavy weight lifting and more steady-state exercise would be spot on in my opinion.
 

haptagud

Member
Messages
23
For me it took some testing to find the best way to exercise for my body. Since if my BG was below about 5.5 then it would spike up to around 12-13 or higher. However, as long as my BG is above this before I start then it usually stays around that level or below. I now test about 30min before I run and if my BG is below 5.5 then I take a glass of fresh orange or similar and then I'm usually fine.

Endocrinologist said basically the same thing as fergus, but also if your BG levels fall too low then you also get a liver dump which she said was probably what was giving me the high reading after an hours run.
 

saz1

Well-Known Member
Messages
194
I have recently joined a gym after many years gap to build muscle, lose weight and help with my type 2 and have found that my sugars reduce and will stay low for a long time. I usually have avocado and natural yogurt smoothie with a few berries about an hour before the session and will stay below 5 for hours. I do 20 mins high intensity cardio first (pulse rate 150-170) and then 20 minutes upper body weights.
 

ronburnett

Member
Messages
11
Hi All
Thanks for all the useful information I used to run marathons before the Job and family commitments took there toll.
I've just restarted to take some exercise which at the moment consists of a 30 minutes walk or (hike as my wife described it) around the village.Thankfully blessed with lots of footpaths through fields somewhat uphill and down dale so it provdes a good workout
As I walk very quickly my wife has decided to leave me to it having literally been dragged around
the second time I went out. I'm also building up steadily as I'm somewhat competitive even against myself or the watch and know it will take longer to reach the level of fitness I used to enjoy a case of walking before you can run
 

andy_hull

Member
Messages
23
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
hi

just been diagnosed with type2, i always go to the gym about 4 times a week to do high intenstity cardio vasc for 30 mins pulse of 160-170

ideicided to have an experiment this morning (i think its important foe me to understand how my body reacts to what i throw at it)

basically i fasted as though i was having a fasting blood test

fasting bg before gym was 10.2
fasting bg after gym was 12.5

i only drank water while exersizing

i had my flu jab this morning and by chance i got stabbed by my diabetic nurse who said my bg should have fallen.

for a novice i find all this a bit confusing, and was dissapointed i had made my bg worse, anyway i am going to stick to the same exsersize for a month and then modify it month by month until my bg falls why exersizing.

am i right in thinking that my bg should always fall after exersize

andy
 

mikey

Well-Known Member
Messages
50
Hi Ron,
I'm at a similar stage with this.
I walk for 45 minutes first thing every morning (5 am) and I found that my fasting BG would be 4.8 to 5.2 but after my walk it would be as high as 7.
After a few visits to this forum I started eating some fruit before going out, usually an apple which takes my BG up to about 5.8 or 6.
I also drink a pint of water.
Since I started doing this I find my BG has fallen after my walk and it rises less after breakfast too.
I don't know if this would work for everyone but it may be worth a try.

I used to box and we were always advised to do our roadwork before breakfast as it was believed to burn more fat.
I still think this is true but Fergus is spot on with his information.
On waking most of our carbohydrate reserves are exhausted and so the energy we are using is coming from our fat stores.
Because I am not used to this yet I get a liver dump.
Exactly the same thing happens if I go too long without food even if I don't exercise, which to me, reinforces the stress argument.
I believe that the apple stops the stress reaction and in turn allows my BG to stabilise.

I also believe that too much carbohydrate causes stress but that's for another place on the forum.

It doesn't sound like you have any intention of stopping the exercise, which is the most important thing.

Regards,
Mike.