If exercise can result in high readings what should I do?

[HurricaneHippo]

Don’t forget the hour was likely the peak and it’s relevant what you were beforehand. The goal most of us have is no more than 2mmol higher at 2hrs; allowing for a peak (which even non diabetics get remember) and a decent return to near normal in a decent amount of time all indicating you coped with that particular meal well. Not sure what you started at or if you would have got there without the bike ride (quite possibly as it looks a pretty low carb meal) but it’s a good feeling when it works eh?

Yes yes yes! Best feeling ever, before the meal it was 6.2, then just out of curiosity the hour later was 9 and then 6.9, two hours after meal. And yes I do wonder what it would have been if I didn’t do the peloton. I did think the meal wasn’t that bad!

 

[Stephen Lewis]

I do a very intensive 40 minute weightlifting. and recently after I had gained weight my blood sugars (FL) will increase after this exercise. My A1cs do not change by much. If I eat too many carbs on the day before exercise, especially fruit, my sugars will also increase. When my weight was 10 lbs less I stopped having this increase and started decreasing after exercise. I think weight and the pre-exercise carb intake are both important but your 'balance' point is probably not the same as mine. Definitely keep up the exercise. (I used to take insulin and now only have 500 mg Metformin a day with low carb diet and exercise).

 

[HurricaneHippo]

I do a very intensive 40 minute weightlifting. and recently after I had gained weight my blood sugars (FL) will increase after this exercise. My A1cs do not change by much. If I eat too many carbs on the day before exercise, especially fruit, my sugars will also increase. When my weight was 10 lbs less I stopped having this increase and started decreasing after exercise. I think weight and the pre-exercise carb intake are both important but your 'balance' point is probably not the same as mine. Definitely keep up the exercise. (I used to take insulin and now only have 500 mg Metformin a day with low carb diet and exercise).

So amazing that you’ve managed to come off the insulin by taking up exercise and a low carb diet- that’s wonderful, well done you. And yes thank you for the advice- I definitely won’t stop something I’ve really started to enjoy. I’ve never liked exercising, but the peloton has changed that. It’s so addictive. Bonus being I’m getting slowly getting better at it .

 

[KidDougi]

I do a very intensive 40 minute weightlifting. and recently after I had gained weight my blood sugars (FL) will increase after this exercise. My A1cs do not change by much. If I eat too many carbs on the day before exercise, especially fruit, my sugars will also increase. When my weight was 10 lbs less I stopped having this increase and started decreasing after exercise. I think weight and the pre-exercise carb intake are both important but your 'balance' point is probably not the same as mine. Definitely keep up the exercise. (I used to take insulin and now only have 500 mg Metformin a day with low carb diet and exercise).

I also weight train. To me, it sounds like your pre-exercise carbs, taken the day before, are being stored in you liver and muscles. And this release is what you are seeing as the increase.
My suggestion would be to reduce your pre-exercise carbs for a week and see what the changes are. Do you still have the energy you need for the training session? Do your blood sugars go up as high?
Keep in mind that carbs are not the only way your body finds energy. Calories are literally the amount of energy a given food has. A quick comparison of foods with different carb values will show you that calories are not directly related to carbs. For example fats have very high calorie content with zero carb content. The only real difference is how our bodies processes the food to extract the energy. Generally the process for extracting energy from carbs is quicker. Within a couple of hours after eating, depending on the type of carb.
I have seen an example, on this forum, of a guy who is on a near zero carb intake yet still has the energy to weight trains to a high level. A photo of him has been posted.

https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/index.php?threads/Is-a-very-low-carb-diet-healthy?.183425/

 

[KidDougi]

I’ve been doing the peloton, I enjoy it and I’m terribly unhealthy so my average HR is always above 150. It’s spiking my sugars to 8. I usually ride before a meal so my fasting levels are going to look bad for the GP

Shall I stop spin? Should I just walk? Will it get better as I lose weight and get fitter?

seems a shame to give it up!

After years of sitting in front of the TV, when I first started on the cross-trainer my heart rate was also going crazy. At over 50 years of age, at the time, my heart rate was clipping 200!! I would guess that my average was easily 170+.
I felt comfortable with my pace and effort but I knew that was too high, so I spoke to my General Practitioner. The first thing they did was to book me in for an ECG. After that came back okay, they said I was safe to continue but that I should ease back a little on the intensity and try to keep within the guidelines for my age, i.e. “220-my age”, as a peak heart rate. I have never been very good at taking instructions but carried on at a pace that I was comfortable with, on the basis that the ECG said that my heart was healthy, not something I would recommend to others though!
With time my heart rate settled and is far less erratic and extreme now.

I also train while fasting. Again with time and a carb controls diet. My BG levels don’t go up as high. In fact there are days where they barely move from the pre-workout levels. My logic for this is that in the early days my liver was realising all it reserves. But that now there are little or no reserves, hence my BGs stay lower and more constant.

The only advice I would give is listen to your body. It is far better at looking after itself than we are!!

 

[coby]

I do a very intensive 40 minute weightlifting. and recently after I had gained weight my blood sugars (FL) will increase after this exercise. My A1cs do not change by much. If I eat too many carbs on the day before exercise, especially fruit, my sugars will also increase. When my weight was 10 lbs less I stopped having this increase and started decreasing after exercise. I think weight and the pre-exercise carb intake are both important but your 'balance' point is probably not the same as mine. Definitely keep up the exercise. (I used to take insulin and now only have 500 mg Metformin a day with low carb diet and exercise).

Stephen that must have been amazing to come off the insulin! It just shows what can be possible for a lot of us. I'm not on insulin and hope it never gets to the stage where I am told I need it. I am type 2 and just on one metformin per day. Well done

 

[HurricaneHippo]

After years of sitting in front of the TV, when I first started on the cross-trainer my heart rate was also going crazy. At over 50 years of age, at the time, my heart rate was clipping 200!! I would guess that my average was easily 170+.
I felt comfortable with my pace and effort but I knew that was too high, so I spoke to my General Practitioner. The first thing they did was to book me in for an ECG. After that came back okay, they said I was safe to continue but that I should ease back a little on the intensity and try to keep within the guidelines for my age, i.e. “220-my age”, as a peak heart rate. I have never been very good at taking instructions but carried on at a pace that I was comfortable with, on the basis that the ECG said that my heart was healthy, not something I would recommend to others though!
With time my heart rate settled and is far less erratic and extreme now.

I also train while fasting. Again with time and a carb controls diet. My BG levels don’t go up as high. In fact there are days where they barely move from the pre-workout levels. My logic for this is that in the early days my liver was realising all it reserves. But that now there are little or no reserves, hence my BGs stay lower and more constant.

The only advice I would give is listen to your body. It is far better at looking after itself than we are!!

Oh wow thank you so much, that’s really helpful