carbs and exercise

[jacko]

hi all,
have been reading through the forum over the last couple of days,paying a bit more attention to all the views on carbs, or lack of carbs which seems to be the more popular approach. i am told i am type 2 but believe myself to be type 1, however i am into my sixth month of a lantus basal-bolus regime. as a regular gym goer and 3 times a week 30-50 min runner i am wondering if any of you guys out there could enlighten me as to what way you approach the whole carb thing along with different types of exercise. i often load up, or sometimes overeat prior to a session,although i do use the opportunity to indulge in a little bit of chocolate or two! lookin for a few ideas or maybe a different approach if there is one. i often have to cut a gym session short with levels below 4, sometimes at unexpected times in my session,this is safe enough as i can test in the gym,it is while out for a run that i am a bit more cautious. i would like to extend my run times past the hour but have gotten into a nice little comfort zone up to the 50 min mark with no problems,wary of pushing the extra bit, especially as all running is done on my own. hope to receive a bit of feedback,there has to be some more fit-freaks out there!

 

[hanadr]

I've heard of low-carbers, who use no extra carbs to run marathons

 

[Nellie]

i often have to cut a gym session short with levels below 4, sometimes at unexpected times in my session,this is safe enough as i can test in the gym,it is while out for a run that i am a bit more cautious.

I don't low carb, I also don't like to eat solely to fuel my exercise, but I've found that I can't get away from it completely. There again, neither do non diabetic runners.
I always take my meter with me and stop and test . Its the only way that you'll know whats happening. After a while you'll begin to realise your patterns but its imposible to know exactly what will happen since there are so many variables. (heat, hills etc)
For a long run I cut insulin with the meal before and dripfeed with dextrose, one about every 20 minutes
Actually I always go down to about 60 (3.3mmol) but obviously you have to stick with what you feel safe with. It used to be at about the twenty minute mark, now with a pump (which I cut basal right down to .1 unit an hour) its a bit later probably 30 minutes in. I then take the dextrose and carry straight on. I 'ran' a marathon using this technique. One important caveat is that I'm neither young nor fast. If you are looking to run fast, this might not be appropriate for you.
This mornings run I was out for 1hr 38, I cut breakfast insulin 50%, and had 3 dextrose tablets during the run (pre pump it would have been 4-5 tablets) I also cut my lunch time insulin to avoid a hypo this afternoon.

 

[jacko]

i asume you must wear a belt of some description to carry your glucose tablets and your testing kit. what type of monitor do you use? the one i have is a little bulky to be carrying,i wonder if there is a very compact kit out there. thanks for your advice,i will start trying to reduce insulin before runs and try a few longer runs with glucose tablets. happy running!

 

[fergus]

Hi Jacko,

I'm a low-carber, but otherwise share a similar approach to Nellie. I'm not comfortable with blood sugar levels over a certain level (mid 5's) so there's no way I'd do what some diabetic long distance runners do - set off with blood glucose somewhere from 8 - 10. :shock: That's a bit mad in my book and relies upon taking too much insulin for the food eaten.
There are so many variables though. I know, for example, that 5.5 will drop a little by the end of a 10k run, but only within a certain time since the last insulin dose, say 1.5 hours. Over that time, my blood sugars are more likely to rise by the end. The speed also effects blood sugar, with sugar levels more likely to rise during a faster run.
My only conclusion is that there are almost too many variables to accurately predict outcomes. I seem to do better if I concentrate on how I actually feel rather than what the science says - instinct is a great ally if we listen to it carefully.

Probably not a lot of help, but there you go.

All the best,

fergus

 

[timo2]

Hi Jacko,
Just in case you missed this in the general links section.

:arrow: RUNSWEET.COM

I tend to do some moderate carb loading before a run and then have something fairly quick
acting mid run.

Regards,
timo.

 

[Nellie]

asume you must wear a belt of some description to carry your glucose tablets and your testing kit. what type of monitor do you use?

Yes, being female I'm always looking for just the right belt. I have three, two specially designed for carrying all the bits and pieces for trail running (thats popular round here) and one little lightweight one bought from the market for 5€. I find the market one is the best!
As to meters, I use my normal one for everyday and thats a bit of a pain since I have to carry strips,meter and pricker and they're hard to manipulate with sweaty hands. For races I use an accucheck compact which has strips inside and a pricker stuck to the edge.Its a bit heavier but the ease of use makes up for it. If I were in the UK I'd use it all the time but they don't sell it here and I have to buy strips in the UK so its too expensive for everyday use.