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Exercise and blood sugar

B

Barbara57

Member
Messages
9
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
I've had prediabetes for a while but am now become more proactive in dealing with it. I joined low carb program nearly a month ago and am pleased with results so far.I've started using my glucose monitor more but results sometimes confuse me.
Please can anyone explain why blood sugar should rise from 5.7 (half hour after waking , no food but a small binge yesterday) to 7 after a coffee then an hour of exercise but still no food.I thought it would have dropped.
Thanks
 
Barbara57 said:
I've had prediabetes for a while but am now become more proactive in dealing with it. I joined low carb program nearly a month ago and am pleased with results so far.I've started using my glucose monitor more but results sometimes confuse me.
Please can anyone explain why blood sugar should rise from 5.7 (half hour after waking , no food but a small binge yesterday) to 7 after a coffee then an hour of exercise but still no food.I thought it would have dropped.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Well done on taking action on your prediabetes!

Many diabetics (of all types) experience dawn phenomenon and/or foot on the floor effect.
It's your friendly liver pumping some glucose in your bloodstream to give you an energy boost to get you sterted for the day.
Liver isn't the smartest so it doesn't realise you don't deal too well with glucose.
 
In addition to Dawn Phenomenon that @Antje77 mentioned, our "helpful" livers can also dump glucose to give us energy when it notices that we start exercising. Depending upon the type of exercise, our body can then become more efficient at using the insulin and our levels drop but something that stresses our body (e.g. lifting very heavy weights or cycling up a steep hill on a wet windy day) can cause our levels to rise and any stop start exercise (such as HIIT or weights) may not lsat for long enough to reach the insulin efficiency phase.
Regardless of the type of exercise, our body tends to use more glucose and longer term we can see reduced levels. With Type 1, I have to reduce my insulin for up to 48 hours after a hard work out.
 
Antje77 said:
Well done on taking action on your prediabetes!

Many diabetics (of all types) experience dawn phenomenon and/or foot on the floor effect.
It's your friendly liver pumping some glucose in your bloodstream to give you an energy boost to get you sterted for the day.
Liver isn't the smartest so it doesn't realise you don't deal too well with glucose.
Click to expand...
Thanks Antje77 for your reply
I'd read about it but is it just the dawn phenomenon still causing the rise 3 and a half hours later after no food and an exercise class? I think what I'm trying to say is 'how long does this phenomenon last?'
Thank you
 
Barbara57 said:
I think what I'm trying to say is 'how long does this phenomenon last?'
Click to expand...
To be honest, that is like asking "how long is a piece of string".
We are all different but many of us find eating a small amount helps
 
Barbara57 said:
how long does this phenomenon last
Click to expand...
In the absence of food your body is using its stored glucose to fuel itself, the exercise is creating an even greater demand for energy. Your body is simply moving fuel from storage, where you can't see it, into your blood where you can see it, and more importantly use it.
It will continue to use its stored glucose until it has been used up, then it will start using its other energy source, stored fat.
 
The above answers could be right for you. This is a very strange condition for some to the point of wanting to scream at times. For example I used to have fasting blood glucose in the low 5's, I was wondering how some were getting 4's. I kept trying different things such as removing oats completely (after reducing) and adding more meat / fish protein. I got my fbg down to low 4's or late 3's, but my A1c went up slightly, I searched for spikes via 6 different monitors and the Freestyle Libre (nothing past 6, apart from an apple experiment (6.4)).

I would suggest sticking with what you are doing with small educated intuitive tweaks. I tend to believe that insulin resistance is behind alot of the blood sugar staying elevated. I am not sure of your age, but a life time of building resistance will take months / years to reverse. I saw the benefits of beginning to reverse IR when despite having at the time a late 5 A1c my BP was 135 / circa 75, with consistency this is now circa 120 / 70.
 
In Response said:
In addition to Dawn Phenomenon that @Antje77 mentioned, our "helpful" livers can also dump glucose to give us energy when it notices that we start exercising. Depending upon the type of exercise, our body can then become more efficient at using the insulin and our levels drop but something that stresses our body (e.g. lifting very heavy weights or cycling up a steep hill on a wet windy day) can cause our levels to rise and any stop start exercise (such as HIIT or weights) may not lsat for long enough to reach the insulin efficiency phase.
Regardless of the type of exercise, our body tends to use more glucose and longer term we can see reduced levels. With Type 1, I have to reduce my insulin for up to 48 hours after a hard work out.
Click to expand...
Thank you
I have so much to learn! I guess the body is a finely tuned machine and I need to read the manual..
Thank you...very grateful
Mbaker said:
The above answers could be right for you. This is a very strange condition for some to the point of wanting to scream at times. For example I used to have fasting blood glucose in the low 5's, I was wondering how some were getting 4's. I kept trying different things such as removing oats completely (after reducing) and adding more meat / fish protein. I got my fbg down to low 4's or late 3's, but my A1c went up slightly, I searched for spikes via 6 different monitors and the Freestyle Libre (nothing past 6, apart from an apple experiment (6.4)).

I would suggest sticking with what you are doing with small educated intuitive tweaks. I tend to believe that insulin resistance is behind alot of the blood sugar staying elevated. I am not sure of your age, but a life time of building resistance will take months / years to reverse. I saw the benefits of beginning to reverse IR when despite having at the time a late 5 A1c my BP was 135 / circa 75, with consistency this is now circa 120 / 70.
Click to expand...
Thank you Mbaker
I guess it's early days then for me to expect miracles.I'll persevere with the low carb diet and not get too hung up on numbers, especially as I'm seeing good weight loss and very pleasing reduction in BP readings by just changing diet.It’s all progress
Thank you
Best wishes
Barbara
 
catinahat said:
In the absence of food your body is using its stored glucose to fuel itself, the exercise is creating an even greater demand for energy. Your body is simply moving fuel from storage, where you can't see it, into your blood where you can see it, and more importantly use it.
It will continue to use its stored glucose until it has been used up, then it will start using its other energy source, stored fat.
Click to expand...
Thank you catinahat.
 
Bg can also be affected by
sleep, quality, quantity or lack of
Stress
Excitement
Medications
Illness
Temperature
And I'm sure many more.
For example, I've skipped breakfast most days this week and the morning my bg rose highest was a day when I kept missing trains and transport connections. No food involved all. Bg dropped immediately I got to my destination :banghead:
 
Thanks you for your reply MrsA2.
It seems the more I find out the more complex it becomes.Still, it's good to know these things. Can I ask then if you think there's an optimum time to test blood sugar?
 
Barbara57 said:
optimum time to test blood sugar
Click to expand...

I can understand that some people use testing as a way of focusing on their T2, especially the fasting test. If the first thing you think of is your blood sugar then I suppose you are more likely to make better food choices through out the day.
For me though its only worth sticking a pin in my finger if I'm going to learn something useful, some knowledge that will help me to gain better control.
The fasting test for me is just a number, I can do nothing to influence that number, if its high its not because I've done a certain activity or eaten a certain food.
It's true that your fasting level can give you some idea of how your T2 is progressing or hopefully improving, but I don't need to know that every morning, an occasional check every few months would tell me that or I could wait for the HbA1c of course.
Testing around food is when you gain the really useful information that allows you to design a diet that is suitable for you.
Even then when i have tested a certain meal or foodstuff several times at possibly different times of the day, I see no point in testing it every time I have it, I have already learned everything I need to know about that meal.
You need to devise a testing regime that suits you and gives you the data you need to improve.
 
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