A basic question about exercise

[marleemacd]

Hi there,

This is my first post, apologies for such a simple question.

I was diagnosed at 40 two months ago while in hospital for something completely unrelated - at first I was typed as 1, but there's now some confusing test results and I'm to go back in three months for another blood test. (My result was high at 11%, but blood pressure and cholesterol were normal. The GADS test showed no antibodies.)

I'm overweight but have lost a stone, two more to go, I'm confused about the timing of exercise. I eat breakfast, take 500mg metformin and then cycle to work, 5 miles or so, taking about an hour. (Very slow, I know, I haven't cycled in about 20 years.)
So I test my blood at a bit over an hour after breakfast, and the results are always over 9. Am I going wrong in my timing of the cycle run, or should I ignore that and focus on finding the right breakfast? I've given up wholemeal toast, any fruit, any muesli, but porridge and skimmed milk are still not denting the high figure. The exercise is working weight-wise, trouble is, I start work at half seven and can't really get up any earlier than 5.45, so I'm nervous that the solution is to wait an hour after breakfast before setting off...
I'd be grateful for any advice, cheers!

 

[lilibet]

Hi
Im not sure re specifics for type 2's but some people find that exercise can make bg go a bit higher - body either dumps glucose from your liver because it needs more 'energy' than you've given it or the stress hormones involved in exercise (adrenaline, cortisol) can inhibit insulin from working. This is of course not good if you are already insulin resistant.

It might take time for your body to adjust to exercise, or you could try something slightly more carby and see. Does it maybe impact on bg later in the day instead?
Im not sure how you tackle it though

Sorry!

 

[sugarless sue]

Hi marleemacd, the porridge may be causing the high number.Many diabetics just cannot eat porridge because it puts their levels way up too high!!How able trying scrambled eggs for breakfast and see if that makes a difference to your numbers? An hour after breakfast is almost exactly the time that your blood sugars will 'spike' with porridge.Have you tested two hours after to see what it is then?

 

[marleemacd]

Hi there,

Thanks very much for your responses. Today my fasting level was 6.6, after porridge and an hour's cycling it was 13.9, down to 9.0 an hour after that. I'll give scrambled eggs a go tomorrow morning, at least the pan will be easier to clean....

Cheers

Marlee

 

[Trinkwasser]

I have improved somewhat since I got my insulin resistance under control (mainly low carbing and alpha lipoic acid) but am still prone to liver dumps if I overrexert myself in the morning. A friend is considerably worse. I have learned not to do too much until the afternoon when things work properly again.

You could tinker with your breakfasts, I am comparatively carb intolerant then but find a high protein moderate fat low carb mix will keep me relatively even for most of the day, the fat provides ketones as fuel and the protein can be converted to glucose as required in a much less peaky way then taking carbs. I favour fish (or meat) with salad and some olives and a couple of buttered oatcakes, more ideas here

http://loraldiabetes.blogspot.com/2006/ ... fasts.html

Have a look at his pages on testing while you're there, his information is distilled from many people over many years. Nothing works for everyone but something works for most people!