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Exercise and Blood Sugar Level

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Samantha_joe

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4
Hello :)

I am starting to do some exercise as part of my weight loss plan but I'm a bit confused as to what my blood sugar level should be before exercise for effective weight loss. I have been searching through google and some sites are saying around 5.5mmol, is this correct?

Can anyone help?

Thank you
 
Hi Samantha,

You should find the following article useful which gives some guidelines on exercise for type 1's:

http://medweb.bham.ac.uk/easdec/prevent ... ercise.htm


I exercise for 60-80 minutes each evening and reduce my insulin dose by a third and eat a banana during the session, I prefer to be around 8mmol/l before commencing.

Good luck on the weight loss! :)
 
You might want to work out your carb requirements first before worrying about weight loss - eat a reasonable amount of carbs and check your BG frequently (at first) to see what happens. Once you know that, you can decide whether you want to reduce meal insulin by an appropriate amount or eat extra carbs.
Personally, I'd rather cut down on regular meals and eat while exercising than reduce pre-exercise meal insulin to avoid high BG (but I do have to eat 40g for 30min swimming).
 
Samantha,

It'll depend on the type of exercise you are doing, how long you'll be exercising for etc. For strenuous exercise I tend to aim for 8ish. Also important to make sure they're reasonably steady and not rising/falling too rapidly.

Emma
 
5.5 is far too low to be starting exercise! If you are below 7, eat something carby, if above 12, delay exercise until your BG comes down. Have a look at www.runsweet.com it has a section on starting exercise & some tips on what to do. You need insulin in your system to metabolise sugar to fuel the exercise, but too much insulin will send you hypo quickly. It's a careful balance & carb replacement for exercise over 20 mins is a must (even if you are trying to lose weight) but a short period of intense exercise can raise BGs. It's not easy to get right. Test before exercise, every 30 mins and 15 & 30 mins afterwards.
Good luck.
 
The instructor at my gym tells me to be 10 at the start of my class.
Take in small bag of jelly babies and juice.
And most importantly my BG level testing kit!
Test after the class and sit n rest for half hour nibble my butty/yogurt [pre packed] before driving home.
Always play SAFE...!
Anna.x :D
 
Its very important WHEN you start your workout: 1 hour after a meal; 2 hour or 3 hour. If you do cardio reduce your insulin by 1/3 or eat many quick carbs like bananas or drink regular COLA (with sugar). If you train with more weights eat extra carbs and don't decrease your insulin. For me the best time to workout is 1 hour after meal.
 
Since we are talking about exercise in the context of weight loss, I would suggest a drink that is lower in (BG-neutral ) fructose than cola/lucozade/fruit juice.
You can get (comparatively cheap) glucose powder at Boots/ Holland and Barrett (£1.50 per pound rather than £10 per pound of glucotabs)
 
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