Hi fellow diabetics,
I’m looking for some advice around how you handle post-exercise hyperglycaemia following anaerobic activity, specifically HITT.
During lockdown I found myself stuck at home with a lot more time on my hands and needing to do something to stay active and healthy which would help improve my BGs (or so I thought), so I jumped on the HITT bandwagon and found that I absolutely loved it.
However, I also found that unlike usual cardio / aerobic exercise which definitely causes a drop in my sugars, HITT causes a massive spike. When I spoke to the diabetes centre and asked for advice, they told me I should be reducing my background and basal by 20 % to prevent the dreaded post- exercise hypo. I became increasingly frustrated as the advice and my blood sugars were telling completely different stories.
I’ve since done a lot of online research and found more information to suggest that T1s often need additional insulin just prior or after HITT, due to the liver releasing more glucose in response to the stress interval training causes. And us obviously not being able to produce the appropriate insulin response, as would happen in non-diabetics.
Through some experimentation and close observation I’ve found that I can safely do HITT with a starting glucose of 6 or below without needing any additional carb. And that, for me, having a little bit of IOB before I begin followed with an extra 1-2 units straight after seems to stop the immediate post- exercise spike I was noticing.
However... I tend to workout about 4pm and eat dinner around 6. I’ve been applying the usual 20% reduction to my mealtime insulin which is causing a MASSIVE spike before bed - sometimes reaching 19mmol. I’ve still applied a reduction to my bedtime basal and find I’m waking up in range. Because whilst I’m asleep my liver is replenishing it’s glucagon stores from the glucose in my blood....
but is there any way to stop that post meal spike, without causing / delaying a hypo overnight? I’ve really found a new love for this type of exercise and really don’t want to stop, but am finding myself feeling very frustrated about the negative impact it’s having on my BG, albeit temporarily. Does anyone have any advice or experienced similar?
I’ve got an appointment with the dietitian who specialises in sports nutrition next month so hoping she can shed some light on this. I do think this also highlights that some of the advice / literature on exercise and hypos needs updating- specifically for anaerobic exercise at least.
thanks for reading!
Victoria
I’m looking for some advice around how you handle post-exercise hyperglycaemia following anaerobic activity, specifically HITT.
During lockdown I found myself stuck at home with a lot more time on my hands and needing to do something to stay active and healthy which would help improve my BGs (or so I thought), so I jumped on the HITT bandwagon and found that I absolutely loved it.
However, I also found that unlike usual cardio / aerobic exercise which definitely causes a drop in my sugars, HITT causes a massive spike. When I spoke to the diabetes centre and asked for advice, they told me I should be reducing my background and basal by 20 % to prevent the dreaded post- exercise hypo. I became increasingly frustrated as the advice and my blood sugars were telling completely different stories.
I’ve since done a lot of online research and found more information to suggest that T1s often need additional insulin just prior or after HITT, due to the liver releasing more glucose in response to the stress interval training causes. And us obviously not being able to produce the appropriate insulin response, as would happen in non-diabetics.
Through some experimentation and close observation I’ve found that I can safely do HITT with a starting glucose of 6 or below without needing any additional carb. And that, for me, having a little bit of IOB before I begin followed with an extra 1-2 units straight after seems to stop the immediate post- exercise spike I was noticing.
However... I tend to workout about 4pm and eat dinner around 6. I’ve been applying the usual 20% reduction to my mealtime insulin which is causing a MASSIVE spike before bed - sometimes reaching 19mmol. I’ve still applied a reduction to my bedtime basal and find I’m waking up in range. Because whilst I’m asleep my liver is replenishing it’s glucagon stores from the glucose in my blood....
but is there any way to stop that post meal spike, without causing / delaying a hypo overnight? I’ve really found a new love for this type of exercise and really don’t want to stop, but am finding myself feeling very frustrated about the negative impact it’s having on my BG, albeit temporarily. Does anyone have any advice or experienced similar?
I’ve got an appointment with the dietitian who specialises in sports nutrition next month so hoping she can shed some light on this. I do think this also highlights that some of the advice / literature on exercise and hypos needs updating- specifically for anaerobic exercise at least.
thanks for reading!
Victoria
