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Energy "pick me ups"

SamJermy87

Member
Messages
23
Location
Leeds, UK
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Hey all!

Me at pre-diabetes (Type 1), I had a sweet tooth. From early childhood through to 29 years old I ate and drank sugar like no other. Yet somehow I am still a decent average build (slight dad-bod on the tummy area now though) and generally always been quite healthy (excluding the autoimmune part of course).

Here in lies my current issue.

Back in my normal working pancreas days if I was tired, fatigued or just feeling a bit unmotivated to get stuff done I would down a fizzy drink or a big bag of sweets/chocolate. This would always perk me up. I did this *frequently*. I was never one for tea or coffee as I have never enjoyed the taste.

Now in my post-diagnosis state I find myself often feeling tired with no real way for that food/drink based "boost".

As a non-hot-drink drinker, what can people recommend to replace my life long quick fix to extra energy solution which was sugar?

I find myself sitting in the living room in the evening working late into the night on my laptop and struggling to concentrate whereas before I wouldn't be having this problem.
 
Caffeine via diet drinks?
 
Carbs make you tired. You get a buzz from the sugar high, but this is relatively short lived and then you get cranky once your glucose levels crash. Carbs are as addictive as crack cocaine and once hooked it does take a huge about of willpower and self control to not keep getting your sugar fix. However, once you wean yourself off carbs your energy levels are not such a rollercoaster of ups and downs. Many people find they have more energy on a low carb diet once the body gets adjusted to burn fat (ketosis) once glucose is low. Making the adjustment to less carbs does take a while and some people suffer from ‘carb flu’ once they reduce the amount of carbs they eat. You just need to stick with it and eventually you don’t get urges to eat high carb food.
 
Is low-carb advised for all diabetics? Or is this a Type 2 over Type 1 thing? I eat about 3500-4000 calories a day and my evening meal is usually 200-300g of carbs. The concept of cutting out carbs feels like madness. A massively expensive crazy idea.
 

Hi. I have to agree with @Art Of Flowers regarding the carbohydrates. Certainly, many in the NHS advise you eat a "healthy diet" (ahem) but many, many of us here who are getting our levels down and keeping them down are doing so on a low carb diet. Cutting carbs may sound like madness...for me going back to eating anything like 200-300g of carbs would be madness. It is also definitely not expensive! I spend way less on **** my body didn't need than I ever did. I average 1500 calories a day but never count them on any regular basis as I am not concerned at all about weight (and I know that it is carbs that cause most weight gain), I have enough energy and I am 2.5 years post transplant (not caused by diabetes) so need to be strong enough to keep healthy (note - 4 renal doctors and my diabetes consultant are all in favour of my diet). It's only "crazy" to those who don't know that carbohydrates effectively turn to sugar in the blood and will increase blood sugar (and therefore increase the likelihood of complications down the line). Look into it a bit more. I hope everything goes well for you.
 
SamJermy87 said:
Is low-carb advised for all diabetics?
Click to expand...
Absolutely not. T2 dietary requirements are very much diffident to us T1's @SamJermy87.

Low carb diets are there for you if you wish however and some do offer some benefits, although you'll only know yourself if they suit you, your lifestyle and most importantly - your diabetes.
 
You could just pick a suitable chocolate/treat and bolus for it. I mean you're probably not going to be able to adequately bolus for an industrial size pot of haribo and gallons of full fat Coke. But you could probably deal with a mars bar, or an ice cream. Have a little experiment with wha treats you can manage with your insulin, what portion size you can deal with. Obviously if your insulin can't deal with it the treat isn't going to have a pick me up effect, it'll just spike your blood sugars and make you feel even more exhausted. But if you've adequately bolused for the treat it will have a pick me up impact. It just might take a bit of planning, and possibly pre bolusing, to manage it.
 
SamJermy87 said:
As a non-hot-drink drinker, what can people recommend to replace my life long quick fix to extra energy solution which was sugar?
Click to expand...

Banana, that is what I eat when I need an energy boost, obviously you'd need to bolus but that shouldn't be a problem you @SamJermy87
 
Type 1s can tolerate more carbs than type 2s because we can inject to cover them. I go for moderate carbs myself (but at 5ft3 am probably a lot smaller than you) so roughly 130g carbs a day) obviously some days will have way more - birthdays, night's out etc.
 

Strangely enough.. I worked with a young non D guy a few years ago who would pretty much get through a shift on countless cans of "relentless"?
He was a cheery, buoyant "life & soul" type when knocking em back. But the opposite end of the spectrum when he ran out..
The same goes for a middle aged guy I'm currently working with regarding these drinks... (Though, I have no idea of the brand.)

Having had a bit of a R&R life style I've seen the effect of "Coke" too...


SamJeremy87, only you can decide what works for you.
Now the "health & safety" warning.
Just keep that meter handy & spot the trends, if your experimenting with the old treats...
 
@SamJermy87 as a type 1 there is nothing to stop you eating snacks, it's just that you need to carb count them and bolus insulin for them, just as you would when eating a meal.

The low carb thing is something that some type 1s do, but it's not compulsory. You can eat and drink* what anyone else eats and drinks as long as you balance it with the right amount of insulin with the right timing for what you're having.

The reason I choose a lower carb lifestyle is because I find my control much easier to achieve - I find if I'm not having starchy carbs I'm not having as much insulin, so any miscalculations in carb counting and insulin dosing have less of an effect. I don't get the post-meal spikes followed by the crashing lows I used to get.

*I drink diet drinks and okay, I gave up the full sugar stuff over 30 years ago, so I'm used to it - and I can still remember the days when Diet Coke was sweetened with saccharine and was sort of dry and bitter! These days they taste so similar that I don't always notice if I'm served the full sugar stuff by mistake. But not drinking tea, @SamJermy87 ? Now you've lost me.....!

 
Hi @SamJermy87,

Have you considered lower carb treats? I used to snack on "healthy" cereal bars, then I realised they make me spike but what seems to hold my levels and keep me feeling full are snacks like a Babybel, nutty Graze box, small amount of blueberries or raspberries or Greek yoghurt.

Thanks to the Forum I've also discovered Whey Hey protein ice cream. It's a small pot but only 8g of carbs compared to the usual 20g+ and hasn't caused spikes.

Obviously everyone is different so no promises my suggestions will work for you but might be worth a try
 
Hi @SamJermy87 . As pointed out, you are free to follow whatever route best suits you with regards to diet and management.
T1 and T2 diabetes are very different and as a T1 you need to find what suits you as T1.
An evening meal of 200/300g carbs would slow me down considerably, but that's just me. A bit like filling my car with diesel and then loading an extra 100gallons in containers and putting them in the boot.
As for " treats "to give a boost , a banana with peanut butter and a favourite of mine malt loaf. You may need to bolus as others have said.
Energy drinks are obviously an option but beware...........
You may find yourself wearing a wet suit on a jet ski skimming the waves on the North Sea with an electric welder under your arm. ( sorry personal joke for @GrantGam ). Joking apart overdoing energy drinks can in some instances make you feel worse than better.
Just a thought but a reduction in your evening meal carbs maybe to 150g might help and also give you more options later in the evening.
 
I fully agree with @therower.

When following a carb based diet, T1's tend to have the best results on a moderate level. So for me, that's somewhere between 150-200g carbs.

In short, moderation tends to be the best option unless you're wanting to make sacrifices or compromises. But you'll find out for yourself what is your ideal balance of macros
 
SamJermy87 said:
Now in my post-diagnosis state I find myself often feeling tired with no real way for that food/drink based "boost".
Click to expand...

Have you checked your bg when feeling tired? If they've crept up too high, then, by definition, there's insufficient insulin in you to allow glucose into cells to be burned as energy, hence, you'll feel sluggish. It's like a mini-version of how you probably felt pre-dx. A correction dose to tweak it back down would do for that. Or, if they've dipped too low, there's just not enough glucose to power you.

Or, you might just be working too hard! Watch some telly or book a holiday!
 
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