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Exercise causing higher BG levels ?

daisyduck

Well-Known Member
Messages
988
Location
Great Yarmouth
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
I am Type 2 and normally quite active and on a LCHF diet. I also walk (fast) every day.. approx 45 mins.This seems to happily keep my BG levels between 5 and 8 at most, with no medication.
However. I love to line dance. I do this two evenings a week for about 3 hours a night. That normally causes a temporary rise to the 9's but comes down quickly the next day.
The big problem comes when we go to dance festivals. I'm just back from one today with a morning reading of 10.3
We'd been there since Thursday and I've danced for at least 6 hours each day.
I stick to my LCHF diet so what is happening and how can I stop this rise please ?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Hello,

Although not type 2, I find that less strenuous activity (walking, cycling, etc) tends to bring BGL down. Whereas cardio-vascular based exercise (short distance sprints for instance) can cause spikes, initially.

I would have though that with long duration, low intensity exercise such as line dancing - you'd see an improvement in BGL.

"Exercise can trigger the body to release stress hormones like adrenaline which stimulates the liver to release glucose, or cortisol which makes you more resistant to insulin."

https://mysugr.com/high-blood-sugar-after-exercise/

I have heard that high fat content in your diet can help to minimise BGL spiking. However, you have clearly said that you already follow the LCHF diet. How about having a few handfuls of nuts or something before your next line dancing class and see whether that affects your post exercise BGL? If it does, then with your next dance festival - you could maybe aim for a breakfast or lunch with a higher fat content than you typically have?

Sorry I have no definite answer for you but I'm sure someone will soon

Grant
 

Thanks Grant.

That's an interesting read. At least it's not just me...I do love nuts so I'll try that.

I usually have egg and bacon for breakfast, but when dancing a lot, I'll add a high meat content sausage and mushrooms

The dances vary in intensity, some are really fast. It's probably more like a marathon though.. 26580 steps on my Fitbit.!
I also drink lots of water while dancing, probably 3 litres over a 6 hour session, but that must be essential and surely can't affect BG ?
 
Yeah it's a pretty good website, plenty of information on there.

High meat content sausage, so you're avoiding the carb loaded ones such as the Richmond brand? Try throwing in an avocado as well, I'm not sure how you'd incorporate that in your meal but they're sort of a diabetic super food (as you'll probably already know).

I wouldn't worry about the water intake.

Grant
 
Absolutely avoiding that type of sausage ! I try not to go under 95% meat content.
Best I've found are Musks, Newmarket, Debbie Andrews. Black Farmer and even a Lidl premium at 97% meat content
 
daisyduck said:
Absolutely avoiding that type of sausage ! I try not to go under 95% meat content.
Best I've found are Musks, Newmarket, Debbie Andrews. Black Farmer and even a Lidl premium at 97% meat content
Click to expand...
I'd give the raised fat intake pre-exercise a go and see how you get on. There are some diabetics on here who see a raise in blood glucose levels with protein, but I think this is negligible for most people.

Judging from what that link tells us it would seem like it's your liver that's causing your raised blood sugars.

Keep us posted as I'm curious to find out how you get on

Grant
 
I always have high readings after exercise. Higher than before doing the exercise and it doesn't matter what type it is: weights, running, walking or yoga.

I'll spike to about 8 or 9 but then come back down within a few hours.

I've been told that it's from a liver dump mid exercise, because it's trying to feed your body the glucose it needs to keep going.
 

Thanks tpaz, that does seem to be the case. My after dinner walk, approx 45 mins and 5000 steps usually brings my readings down to 5 to 6, but if I exercise over an hours duration, it usually goes up, like you to 8 or 9
 
Just a quick update. I tried the nuts tonight. I took a pack of smoked almonds to the dance. Nibbled them throughout the evening .. three and a half hours dancing .. my BG is now 6.1 .. much better than the 8 's or 9 's it had been after dancing with no snack.
 
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