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Diabetes Type 1 and Diets/Healthy lifestyle

G

Georgia4

Member
Messages
9
Location
Manchester
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi everyone I am new to this page. I'm Georgia I have been diabetic since I was 8. Recently I have started to look after myself and go to the gym and take my carb counting more seriously as I am on injections and carb count. I am finding it SO difficult to give the correct insulin doses before and after workouts I find no matter what I do I'm either really high from over eating before/after a workout or I'm going low all day or evening both totally pointless when you are trying to loose weight but have to have sugar and carbs for your blood sugars. Does anyone have any tips and tricks for me? What kind of things do you guys have before the gym (healthy snacks to keep sugars stable) or after the gym. Also I hate bananas and I know how good these are for balancing sugars and keeping them stable Also does anyone exercise on an empty stomach without injecting?? Helpppp
 
Hi @Georgia4

Carb counting is absolutely crucial to good control so you've made a great start

I recommend the book Think Like A Pancreas because that's what we have to do.
 
I start exercise slightly higher than normal and then top up with glucose tablets as necessary.

Do you always go to the gym at the same time?
 
Hi @Georgia4

I'm another diagnosed @ 8.

What insulin are you on..?

Don't worry about bananas.. Though I used to love em, they didn't do me any favours...

Welcome to the forum by the way!
 
Hello @Georgia4, welcome to the forum

Balancing your blood sugars both during and after exercise is notoriously difficult! So don't be too hard on yourself, it's far from easy.

As @azure has said, it's often a good idea to start with a higher than ideal BG. Most of us tend to have a BG drop over time, especially with lengthy periods of exercise. Shorter, more intense bouts of activity can often see an initial spike. But that's not always the case for everybody.

What I did for my distance cycling, was to stick at a fairly consistent pace and worked out my rough BG drop over a set period. I seen that I'd typically need 15g or so carbs per 30 mins to keep my BG steady. So I'd make sure that I kept feeding my body that amount with gels and carb based drinks. It seemed to work fine

I also did the above for running and swimming to, you can do it for every type of exercise - providing that your pace is somewhat consistent for the whole thing.

Gels and liquids will be absorbed quicker than foods, so ditch the bananas and get a drink that you like!

As for post exercise hypos, it's always best to use a reduced I:C ratio as our insulin sensitivity increases a good bit after a workout. Unfortunately there is no formula for this, you just have to find what works for you - so it's a frustrating case of trial and error that's not entirely consistent... Good note keeping will certainly help though

Good luck!
 
I do a lot of walking, is is so hard to predict how much to take, because an hours walk may be longer and be out 2 hours( go walking with my partner). I was up Beacon Hill yesterday afternoon, took less insulin, everything was fine. Got back and tested again, 3.4, so I only had 3 dolly mixtures, then before dinner 9.0 !! It can be so frustrating, always planning everything ahead and then a low
 
If eating fairly soon before exercising I will take half my usual bolus that seems to reduce later hypo risk.
 
Everyone is different. I was advised to reduce my bolus, if dancing after my meal (e.g. eat 6pm, dance 8pm). I found that reducing by 30% at lunch and/or 20% at dinner worked for me. I also had to lower my basal by 2 units, or I'd go hypo the following day.
As I said, everyone is different, so you have to find out what works for you by trial and error.
 
Im 17 and have been diagnosed 7 months. When i do exercise it depends. I like to be at then high end of normal. My nurse has told me to be high 5's at least before i go horse riding or the gym. If its not i have a cereal bar. I will test just before and just after exercise. After i ride, i always have an apple to keep my levels up. After the gym I don't usually need anything, as my levels often increase and later decrease. Keep a diary of your levels to figure out a pattern, as this is what my consultant has advised me to do at the moment to figure out what happens.
 
Hi. I assume you are on Basal/Bolus. I try to enter my gym time with a BS slightly higher than average - perhaps 7-8 mmol and check BS immediately after. We are all different and it's important your Basal is balanced. My DN sensibly suggested having small piece of fruit before gym which I sometimes do.
 
@Georgia4 , agree on the recommendation for the book Think Like a Pancreas.

There's also a couple of good websites that are set-up for people who have type 1 and enjoy exercise/sport, one is Runwseet and the other is ExCarbs, here they both are:

http://www.runsweet.com/

http://www.excarbs.com/

On MDI I just took 50% less bolus if exercising withing an hour or two of injecting as I had a tendency to go low , for snacks I just ate banana's ( I know you said you don't like them but they are a powerhouse of nutrition) or snacks like oatcakes/bars.
 
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Look up the "glycemic index" of various carbs. Some carbs raise your sugar more than others. Avoid the high glycemic foods like white pasta and bread, and white spuds.
 
Hey Georgia,
saw your post and going through similar issues. I was diagnosed last year so only just starting this journey. Thanks for posting this, I've found the replies really useful too!

A few things that have helped me
Start gentle.
Measure glucose before you start and in between each exercise or every 15 mins to get a sense of what is going on as you do it.
Remember also to give yourself a pat on the back half way through!
Measure again when you finish your session and then maybe after at 30 and 60 mins
This is an absolute pain to do and means longer sessions, but I find it really helpful. It then means you can fine tune your glucose levels as you go too. I find dried fruit quite helpful for this as they are small juicy nuggets. Also, starting to measure less during the gym sessions (after a couple of months) as I now know what's happening as I do it.
Also, starting to feel the benefit in the rest of life now.
That's my tuppence worth
Good Luck with it all.
R
 
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Jaylee said:
Hi @Georgia4

I'm another diagnosed @ 8.

What insulin are you on..?

Don't worry about bananas.. Though I used to love em, they didn't do me any favours...

Welcome to the forum by the way!
Click to expand...
I'm on novarapid and tresiba for 24hr. I wish I liked them but I can't even stand the smell haha.
 
That's a great idea. Thanks so much I will definitely try this so nice all the support on here when sometimes you feel so alone. X
 
Thank you so much!! Maybe I'll have to just hold my nose and eat them haha as everyone says how amazing they are for your sugars!
 
Thank you I will try this! See I automatically feel like my sugars would go low if I went to the gym on 7-8 but like you say I would need to try it and everyone is different. I usually like to be around 10-14 before I exercise which isn't great really just saves the stress of having to deal with hypos all evening. Thank you for your help
 
Thank you so much lovely I will do! Thank you for your support as it's just so hard sometimes!
 
Definitely need to try this as I think this could work for me as I will continue to go low after exercise! Once you've lowered your insulin you have to make sure your eating good too so that's a good idea haha. Thank you so much
 
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