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Exercise & BG

JRTwalker

Well-Known Member
Messages
67
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Something I have been meaning to ask for a while.
I take a brisk power-walk almost every morning for around 45-50 minutes, sometimes longer. I often see fasting BG levels a hour or so later having not eaten since 15hrs previously, around the 6.5 to 7.2 mark, sometimes even higher.
On a rare day that I didn't exercise but went the morning fasting and otherwise relaxed I have seen readings in the region of 5.2.
Is this normal and my Liver doing what it should?
The benefits of exercise are tangible but it feels like this might be holding my BG at a higher level than if I don't!
Is there a work-flow test regime established that I could follow for a few days to get a clearer picture of what is happening since I am struggling to see what different foods and fluids specifically do to my BG to be honest.
Been on Low Carb now for 6months and awaiting my next HbA1c test sometime soon to show whether I'm holding my gains (Oct 16 - 100, Jan & Feb 17 - 37).
 
Exercise can drive BG up, and it typically does so if it's more towards the short/intense side of things.

If you want my honest opinion, the exercise in itself is a million times more important than the 5.2mmol/l vs the slighter higher 7.2mmol/l. What use is trying to protect your body with good BG control if it's not getting the exercise it needs?

You may want to switch to longer periods of exercise at a lesser intensity, that may result in a a slightly smaller BG rise; although the rise you are talking about is very small already. I can still appreciate your frustration with regards to a potentially beneficial activity like exercise having what seems like a negative impact on your diabetes management.

You could always try eating something prior to as well. Even something carb free like cheese may help to stop any potential liver dumps from happening.

Again though, the rise you are talking about is very insignificant indeed.
 
When we eat we are advised to have things that raise our BS by 2 mmol or less. Your exercise regime is doing this without food. While @GrantGam is minimising the effect of this I would say it is not especially good for you. I would agree that maybe a less intense walk would probably be better. Also does your BS stay high for an extended period after exercise or does it come down quite a lot afterwards? You could probably do with checking after you walk hourly for a few hours to see if the overall effect lowers your BS.
I would also not say that a 2 mmol rise for a diet controlled Type 2 is "insignificant" but hey what do I know.
 
Let's not incorrectly jump to conclusions here.

There are a number of reasons people consume foods that are low on the glycemic index, but it has little relation to the blood glucose increase associated with exercising.

"Getting into shape" is not something that happens overnight and your body's ability to regulate your blood sugar levels is no exception. Our bodies release stored glycogen as glucose into our blood stream when we engage in higher intensity exercise. That's a natural response and a basic human adaptation.

Unfortunately, our bodies aren't always the best at knowing when to stop that process which is why many of us (type 1 and type 2) may experience TEMPORARY hyperglycemia after exercise. However, this is a short-term side-effect which is VASTLY outweighed by the benefits of exercise. It's also a side-effect that largely goes away after some repetition and frequency.
 
Hi @JRTwalker, I get the opposite of you. If I walk at say 11.40 mins per mile for 2 miles I get a drop to circa 4.0 mmol from a 5.2 - 5.4, then a rise and then back to around 4.6.
I have found that HiiT based weights does not give me a rebound. As you are doing cardio, you could try HiiT based static cycling, I find this great for guaranteeing low readings and is claimed to give you the benefit of longer cardio (definitely improves V02 max) using a 3 minute warm up, then flat out for 30 seconds, slow peddling rest for 1 minute, then repeat x 3 (4 if you are feeling a little sadistic).
I remember reading that some have success by mixing cardio and resistance in the same session - I can't remember which way round, but you could try both.
 

That is exactly why I suggested that the OP measured his BS at hourly intervals to see what happens after more time..
However as a diet controlled Type 2 if I ate something that boosted my BS by 2 mmol I would stop and think about whether I ate it again.. I also suggested less strenuous walking could result in lower bloods the OP needs to check. I do find i a bit worrying tho when someone suggests that boosting BS by 2 mmol is "insignificant" - for me it would be a shock.
 
bulkbiker said:
I do find i a bit worrying tho when someone suggests that boosting BS by 2 mmol is "insignificant" - for me it would be a shock.
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That someone would be me then, @bulkbiker?

bulkbiker said:
However as a diet controlled Type 2 if I ate something that boosted my BS by 2 mmol I would stop and think about whether I ate it again..
Click to expand...
You're getting hung up on eating, but we're talking exercise and it's impact on the OP's BG; are we not? If you want to keep this analogy somewhat compared to eating though, then we could argue that a rise from 5.2mmol/l to 7.2mmol/l would still leave the OP in the green, seeing as the alleged "spike" is <7.8mmol/l circa one hour post exercise?

As @TorqPenderloin has said, the benefits of exercise vastly outweighs that of such a menial temporary BG rise. If you're to contest that, then I'd be concerned...
 
GrantGam said:
You're getting hung up on eating, but we're talking exercise and it's impact on the OP's BG; are we not?
Click to expand...

No, I am not getting "hung up" on anything I was simply suggesting that a 2 mmol rise would slightly concern me if it was something I ate- hence my suggestion, similar to yours, that the OP tried some less strenuous form of exercise to see what effect that has.
 
To the original poster, please don't give up on you're exercise goals - it is undoubtedly worth it and the benefits are huge. In another discussion someone mentioned the diabetic athletes handbook, I bought it from amazon quite cheap and it is excellent! I am afraid there is no easy answers for exercise (even after you read the book) you will need to do a lot of tests and make discoveries! Rises in blood sugar levels is common in shorter more intense exercise, as someone else said and this is the same for everyone not just diabetics. But exercise will subsequently increase your insulin sensitivity which is good for type 1 and 2. I Daren't tell you how high I've been - I can walk into a spin class at 15 and be 4 when I leave. The blood sugar levels will even out as you're body adapts to the exercise and time length. I am currently experimenting with running for longer times (2 hours plus) and making startling discoveries. After years of not touching any kind of sports related glucose products I realise that the body needs them to perform best- but that's a long story. Please persist with whatever exercise regime you want to! You're body is diabetic in terms of how you use glucose and or make insulin BUT so many functions are the same as everyone else - you're heart needs exercising, you're muscles need work and resistance so give it to them!
 

I have been playing this game of diabetes for more than 3 years, and my experience is that ordinary walking for 30 minutes does nothing to my levels, it neither increases nor decreases them. However, more strenuous activity such as housework (and I don't mean light dusting) does raise my levels, and raises them far more than I like. I find this happens particularly in the mornings and impacts on my pre-lunch levels and thereby my post lunch levels.
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If I save any strenuous housework to later in the day it has less of an effect. (By the way, I try really hard not to do any at all. )

Perhaps you could try leaving your power walk until later in the day? See what happens then.

Just to back up what @bulkbiker said about a rise of 2mmol/l or more. The aim of the game is to keep our variances as small as possible. It is big variances and big swings up and down again that cause the damage. To me, whether they are caused by food, exercise, stress, or whatever, matters not. Swings are bad for us and our bodies. We do suggest to newcomers that "no more than 2mmol/l post meal is OK" because they are new and need encouragement with more generous targets initially. Once 2mmol/l is achieved then it is up to them whether they lower this target or not. At 2 hours, the flatter the better.
 
When I played squash , my next bolus had to be 50% less than normal. When I now spin [ arthritic knees stopped my squash, but I can still cycle a lot] such exercise does not really affect my next bolus. Should it??
 

This is really where patience will pay dividends. My bloods increased by upto 2mmol after exercise and I managed to control it to a degree by eating 6 almonds before going to the gym. However after about 12 months my insulin resistance greatly improved due to the exercise and now I only get a modest rise of about .5mmol without almonds. that is from about 2 miles on the rowing machine and 40 minutes of resistance training (weights). I personally did not consider this the same as the rise from food as this type of training 3 times per week or more will greatly improve your ability to deal with higher carbs further down the line. As an example my fasting BS 18 months or so ago was around 6.4 not a disaster but after 12 months at the gym it is now consistently 5. so any initial rise is far outweighed by these types of results which i'm sure you will see.
 
bridia12 said:
When I played squash , my next bolus had to be 50% less than normal. When I now spin [ arthritic knees stopped my squash, but I can still cycle a lot] such exercise does not really affect my next bolus. Should it??
Click to expand...
I think it's entirely person to person thing but some things may make a difference. sometimes spin can be quite endurance based and aerobic plus it generally doesn't last more than 45 mins to 1 hour. I find this steadily burns up the fuel and blood sugar I have. Plus if your accustomed to the activity the after effects of insulin sensitivity won't be as great. Which is why you maybe don't need to drop you're bolus after as much. Our instructor at last night's spin threw me off by doing short bursts of high intensity - which usually raises my blood sugar during the activity activity then I have to be careful of after burn. I hadn't prepped for this as I would usually have more insulin on board for short bursts.
 
Thank you all for responses and ideas - there is no doubt that we are all different to some degree and learning will hopefully bring about some improved control on my part.
Over past couple of days I have the following results :
Yesterday - no intake but 50 mins walk at 07.30. (I tend not to break sweat with this these days although to walk faster would be jogging)
09.30 fasting 7.1
12.00 fasting 6.3
14.30 fasting 5.6
some low-carb intake - kippers in brine
17.10 6.3

This morning I had to get somewhere else meaning I had to skip my walk
06.45 fasting 7.1
11.00 fasting 5.8

What this says to me is that fasting may be having detrimental effect and that the walk I usually do at 7.30 each morning may not cause a rise in BG as that may just be dawning effect alone?
My working day is often a bit erratic and I don't take enough time out for eating unless I feel hungry which I often don't these days. I'm going to try measuring what happens with almond snacking every couple of hours see what difference that might make.
Should get my next HbA1c results in just over a week's time.
 
I powerwalk in the evenings. My BG usually lowers unless I go very fast, over 45 minutes or add weights.. then it will rise.
3 hours dancing will definitely see a big rise which I control with snacking on a few almonds throughout the session.
You may just need to tinker with your exercise a little to make it work for you.. a little slower or not for so long ?
 
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