Exercising with Diabetes (any advice???)

[Mike d]

One can colour their canvas anyway they wish ..... @Guzzler did it perfectly

 

[therower]

And for every 90 year old how many dead people are there.

The last thing I need is anyone lecturing me about a sense of mortality.

So without diabetes would you be immortal?
If your demise is so imminent and certain why come to a place that is only going to reiterate the seriousness of your problems?
Why do you never appear to start your own thread, rather hi jack other people's?

 

[kev-w]

Exercise is good, and as long as you test a lot when you start out your body will tell you what you can & can't do, I'm 33 years in and bet I'll have not trained in that period for no more than 6 months in total, working on the health > wealth principle .

 

[NoKindOfSusie]

perfectly healthy T1s

I don't think you can be a "perfectly healthy T1."

Perfectly healthy people are not forced to take horrible awful drugs on pain of death.

 

[Rokaab]

Perfectly healthy people are not forced to take horrible awful drugs on pain of death.

I prefer to call them awesome drugs - as without them I (and many others) would've been dead well before you were born
I realise you've had problems which you think are caused by yours - and people have told you to get them changed, but that doesn't mean everyone feels awful taking insulin - in fact most feel perfectly fine.

 

[Brunneria]

This thread was started to discuss exercising with diabetes

@NoKindOfSusie
If you want to discuss how you don't exercise, and how meds and T1 are affecting your life, then you are free to do so on another thread, but please do not continue to derail this one.

 

[EllieM]

OK, going back on topic. I'm personally pretty lazy and have never tended to exercise enough (nothing to do with diabetes, I've been bad at sport since birth ) BUT
6 years ago I started to have back issues (again, nothing to do with diabetes, I have a congenitally slightly dodgy spine). I started doing more formal exercise (eg going to gym) to improve my health and (hopefully) fix my back issues (improved core strength). Healthwise, I am so glad I did this as it both fixed my back issues and made me feel much better generally. T1wise, I just always make sure I have plenty of glucose with me. I also find heavy exercise tends to reduce my basal needs the next day, but I regard this as a good thing.
Exercise and diabetes - just go for it . And I was lucky enough to have a personal trainer at the gym I went to who was also T1, so he always understood if I went low during a session.

 

[EllieM]

Oh, not sure if anyone's mentioned swimming yet? It's excellent exercise, but if I'm in a public pool on my own I always both have my glucose by the side of the pool but also tell the life guard. I've never had a hypo while swimming (and I tell the life guard that too), but that's an unnecessary risk which doesn't seem worth taking to me.

 

[johnpol]

resistance training is good for you, not only do you get stronger and fitter but the effects can last for 24-48hrs after. test your bloods before you train, to give you a level. Train with whatever you like, Biking, Running, walking or even weight training, just exercise. All you have to do is follow some simple rules, if you weight train, test first, and have some simple carbs (banana or pears were my favourite) and train, drink plenty, and when you are finished protein drink (optional if not wanting to bulk) test an hour or hour and a half afterwards and refuel (eat and calculate the carbs), but depending how you have exercised test yourself before you go to bed, as your sugars could drop during the night as the effects settle in ( repair and refill of muscles).
You may find after a few weeks of regular exercise your use of insulin will diminish, which on discussion with your DNS and your build up of knowledge and confidence, you can adjust as necessary. But above all @Dray_F96 just do it!! as Nike says, been diabetic for 23yrs and have weight trained both seriously and for leisure, and have enjoyed it all, don't let diabetes hold you back.

Enjoy whatever exercise you decide to do

 

[Circuspony]

Start slowly with whatever you choose to do. Took my metabolism a while to adjust post diagnosis. I would crash very quickly!

 

[zoozle]

I'd suggest attending a DAFNE course if you haven't already - dafneonline.co.uk It will help you get your basal rates correct and identify insulin-to-carb ratios as well as covering exercising with type 1.

How exercise affects your management depends on several things. For most T1Ds, anaerobic exercise (short and intense exercise like lifting weights, and doing sprints) will raise blood glucose levels. On the other hand, aerobic exercise such as jogging, cycling, walking will drop blood glucose levels. That is not the case for everyone of course - I know one T1D for whom the exact opposite is true.

Two books that I would highly recommend on exercising with T1D are:

Your Diabetes Science Experiment: Live Your Life with Diabetes Instead of Letting Diabetes Live Your Life by Ginger Viera

and

Diabetic Athlete's Handbook: Your guide to peak performance by Sheri Colberg

They are both excellent and will cover almost all of what you want to know.

 

[rubecula]

it took me a while to get my exercise routine sorted. At first I used to test after every exercise but my regime is now:
After breakfast take two-thirds of indicated insulin
Start exercise an hour later
Halfway through test blood glucose level
If low (less than 8) take some Lucozade, amount depend on how low. If less that 4 stop exercising
Recheck blood on finishing to make sure it's safe to drive.
HTH

 

[Notwithstanding]

Hi Diabetes family,

I am quite a new diabetic at around 6 months since being first diagnosed, I've put my weight back on, currently my normal weight before being struck with diabetes and my b/g levels have been great with my Hba1c dropping from a 146 to a 46 from October to January.

Now, I want to challenge myself to get back active and exercising again, since I feel much better and have adjusted properly to the insulin I'm taking.

I've always enjoyed sport and keeping fit so I just challenged myself to go to the gym today and had a very good light session, which I enjoyed but wanted to know any tips from you guys about how to exercise whilst keeping my diabetes well managed.

Any tips, feel free to drop any advice as it would be much appreciated and helpful!

Regards
I was diagnosed 11 years ago. Great shock ! I was determined that I would control it without recourse to drugs , insulin etc. I lost three & a half stone (diet). I ate a lot more healthily - & a big cut in the amount I ate. I stepped up my exercise to at least 4 one & a half sessions each week. I exercise fairly intensely - weights, strength, cardio, stretch & floor exercises. I walk at least 2000 steps each day ( fast pace). I have kept all of this up for the last eleven years. For the last three I have been on the Michael Mosley 800 cal. no carb. diet ( slightly relaxed after the first 6 months). I am six feet three inches tall, weigh twelve stone 4 pounds ( have been for 11 years). My age is 68. My hbA1c is 35 & my regular blood checks are never above 7.0 after meals ( usually well below). I have never had to have any drug or insulin treatment whatsoever. My BP is 115 / 60 & resting BPM 45. Cholesterol 4.5. Make what you will of all this, but I KNOW that what I have done has been totally effective.
Just get down the gym & exercise hard ( clear it with medics). Go on the Mosley diet (food is delicious & plentiful). Watch what you eat. Simple !
Dray_F96

 

[Notwithstanding]

That should be at least 20000 steps per day.

 

[Ian_P]

Hi Diabetes family,

I am quite a new diabetic at around 6 months since being first diagnosed, I've put my weight back on, currently my normal weight before being struck with diabetes and my b/g levels have been great with my Hba1c dropping from a 146 to a 46 from October to January.

Now, I want to challenge myself to get back active and exercising again, since I feel much better and have adjusted properly to the insulin I'm taking.

I've always enjoyed sport and keeping fit so I just challenged myself to go to the gym today and had a very good light session, which I enjoyed but wanted to know any tips from you guys about how to exercise whilst keeping my diabetes well managed.

Any tips, feel free to drop any advice as it would be much appreciated and helpful!

Regards

Dray_F96

Welcome to the Type 1 club Dray_F96

Many congratulations on bringing your HbA1c down to 46 - that's a really remarkable achievement and is so important. There's a lot of evidence now that good control, especially in the first year after diagnosis pays dividends later in terms of reduced complications etc.

It's described in the medical literature as the concept of "metabolic memory", and theories are now evolving that it may be possible to extend the honeymoon period after diagnosis though exercise and tight BG control, possibly by maintaining residual Beta cell mass.

I've found that regular exercise is the key to getting good results. Because we're administering our insulin peripherally by subcutaneous injection (instead of the pancreas releasing it directly into the liver's blood circulation at a higher relative concentration), we're much more dependent on our muscle mass to process the sugar spikes. Unfortunately the higher peripheral levels of insulin do then make us more susceptible to hypos too ...

Please go on a DAFNE course (or equivalent) to gain a better understanding of this if you haven't already.

Gary Scheiner's book "Think Like a Pancreas' also has excellent advice on managing exercise in T1D.

Personally I highly recommend using a CGM to develop more of a feel for how to manage your BGs with exercise. You might be able to get an Abbott Freestyle Libre on the NHS, but also have a look at the Dexcom system which has alarms built in, which are just brilliant with exercise. You can set a safe low alarm limit and then eat some carbs, or stop exercising.

It's well worth trying a CGM even just for a fortnight to develop a better understanding and personal intuition into self-management. We're all different, and exercise particularly alters the insulin sensitivity over the next 24-36 hours.

I can explain more about the physiology behind this (upregulation of muscle glucose transporters) if you are interested.

With best wishes,

Ian

 

[michita]

Hi Diabetes family,

I am quite a new diabetic at around 6 months since being first diagnosed, I've put my weight back on, currently my normal weight before being struck with diabetes and my b/g levels have been great with my Hba1c dropping from a 146 to a 46 from October to January.

Now, I want to challenge myself to get back active and exercising again, since I feel much better and have adjusted properly to the insulin I'm taking.

I've always enjoyed sport and keeping fit so I just challenged myself to go to the gym today and had a very good light session, which I enjoyed but wanted to know any tips from you guys about how to exercise whilst keeping my diabetes well managed.

Any tips, feel free to drop any advice as it would be much appreciated and helpful!

Regards

Dray_F96

Hello

I exercise regularly. I find it rewarding and I really enjoy it

One of my rules to avoid hypo is to exercise before meal when fast acting insulin is not on board. So I exercise before dinner after work or in the morning before breakfast on non-working days. Works well for me.

 

[Madmaureen]

You know what, this is getting ridiculous. If that was the case how come most of us are way past 35?

Yes totally agree ridiculous type1 for 48 yrs still going strong!!!!

 

[Fairygodmother]

Hi @Dray_F96, well done getting back to your former weight, and congratulations on your superb HbA1C! I think you’ll find exercise enhancing, and it’s great that you’re getting back to a pre-diagnosis existence plus added insulin etc.
I agree that a Dafne course - I don’t know what they call it in your neck of the woods - would help you too. It sounds as though you’re doing everything right so far but lots of us have found it expands our knowledge.
Back to exercise. Personally, I find it’s harder to maintain good levels if I don’t have some exercise. it’s undoubtedly beneficial. I think that we each have to use a certain amount of experimentation to discover just how different forms of exercise affect us and to ensure there’s always carb to hand while we find this out.
In the early, pre-testing days (no portable bs testing equipment developed back then) of my long friendship with T1 I always made sure I had some carb with me when setting out on a walk or a ride, which were the forms of exercise I took back then. Yes, simple stuff, but very little had been explained when I was first sent home from the hospital with some stainless steel syringes and a few vials of insulin.
I soon discovered that the temperature and previous food intake, as well as effort and duration, had an effect whether I needed the carb or not.
Swimming meant leaving glucose tablets accessible by the side of the pool.
I think that the 48 years I’ve had T1 have been enhanced by enjoying outdoor, and indoor exercise, on the land, on a horse, in the water and under the sea. That early need to experiment meant I was ready to try most things, including scuba diving at a time when British clubs refused to take on people with T1 (I trained outside the UK).
Exercise is beneficial to T1. It’s not just that it makes us feel good, and healthier too, it’s the fresh air, the views, the unexpected sights, the wonders of underwater life and topography, and sharing it all with others.
Oh, and the pleasure of post-exercise food and drink of course.
And the pre-exercise banana.

 

[Zilsniggy]

And for every 90 year old how many dead people are there.

The last thing I need is anyone lecturing me about a sense of mortality.

Who's lecturing who here?

 

[Zilsniggy]

Yes totally agree ridiculous type1 for 48 yrs still going strong!!!!

Well said! Sick of all this doom and gloom nonsense. If people decided to get control themselves instead of sitting on here wingeing and bringing everyone else down with them, they'd get on a lot better. This 'poor me' mentality is becoming wearing.