Eating before or after gym

Unfortunately no straight forward answer, simply do what works for you but alot of factors to consider. If exercising after food how much less qa to take, if after you eat do u still need a reduced amount of qa, what intensity excercise will be done. Erik you need energy (sugar) during excercise.

All the above can only be answered by testing before, during and after.

Even if exercising before you eat you may need a carby snack to prevent a hypo from your basal whilst exercising. Good info and science on runsweet.com have a google. Monitor closely and any problems encountered adjust next time to try and fix.

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I used to run at the gym and had to eat before and after exercising! I mean it depends what you will be doing there really as to how much you will need in regard to carbs etc. I used to have a meal perhaps 1-2 hours before then a snack such as a banana afterwards and with the support of my diabetes nurse had to adjust my insulin on the days I was running. Good luck!!


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Oh and lots of testing to establish a pattern!


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Hi,

I agree totally with the lots of testing part. I gym 3 times a week, it does take a while to establish a pattern specially since your sugars will fluctuate based on the TYPE of exercise you do. If you do CV with cortisol and adrenaline releasing into your blood your sugars tend to rise, if you do strength training you drop when your body is not used to it (i.e. new exercises), but when it gets used to it the drop is much smaller if at all present. These are very very general rules, since you will respond differently. For us gents too the increase in testosterone will make us more insulin sensitive so each unit could be either more/less effective depending on how much a boost in the hormone you get.

What I do is usually have my glucose tablets with me and my test kit and check every 30mins or when I don't feel too well. Sometimes it is hard to distinguish what the symptom of a hypo is against one of muscle fatigue so best to check, but if I suddenly loose all strength out of the blue that's often my cue to a hypo. Try to exercise with someone who knows you have diabetes to start off with, it can help a lot.

Hope that helps,
Frankie

xmas said:

I'm type 1 and I've joined a gym and from tomorrow I will start at 7am

I normally have something like beans on toast for breakfast but what I need to know should I have this before or after the gym

Any ideas guys

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Eat before or you'll get a liver dump, obviously it's trial and error and a reduced dose of insulin is recommended otherwise you may hypo, rigorous testing before, during and for several hours after is highly recommended.

I have diabetes but reading this forum is like trying to learn a new language! QA? CV? Cortisol? Liver dump? I was hoping this forum would provide answers for me, not more questions

Hiya.

Im T1 and worked at fitness first for years.
It would delend on sugar levels pre training.
If you can stabilise sugar levels an hour prior, so that if you do require substantial food you can eat and digest somewhat first.
I used to have a crafty mars before hand but eventually worked out that it wasnt necessary.
If you train for an hour, you are better off making sure your sugars are good first and eat after training sessions.

Exercise takes a good while to kock in and r3duce your sugars.

At 7am i would eat a snack first r3gardles of sugar levels...unless ludicrously high.
Eat brekkie after.

xmas said:

I'm type 1 and I've joined a gym and from tomorrow I will start at 7am

I normally have something like beans on toast for breakfast but what I need to know should I have this before or after the gym

Any ideas guys

Click to expand...

First things first.
Are u a pump user or are you on injections?


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If I go to the gym after breakfast I make sure I have something like a bowl of cereal probably around 100-130grams cereal I.e muesli etc and will reduce my insulin intake so would take 6 units when really it should be like 10 units etc. if I decide to go the gym in the evening before my evening meal and my sugars are between 5-8 before going to the gym, I'll help myself to a chocolate bar with no insulin. My sugar levels after my workout is usually around 4 or 5. My HBA1c levels are usually around 5 or 6. I mean this works for me, I wouldn't recommend this to everyone though.

njm said:

I have diabetes but reading this forum is like trying to learn a new language! QA? CV? Cortisol? Liver dump? I was hoping this forum would provide answers for me, not more questions

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QA- Quick Acting ( bolus insulin )
CV- Cardio Vascular

I agree, it's not easy lol ( Laugh Out Loud )