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Exercise

ptmagnew

Member
Messages
5
Location
Reading
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Hello,

I'm 27 and was diagnosed two weeks ago with Type 1. I usually go to the gym 3 to 4 times a week for cardio and weights (nothing too crazy, just to keep myself healthy). I'm looking to start back but a bit nervous about taking a hypo because my sugars seem to drop quite quickly when I walk. E.g. If my BG is 12 and I go for a 10 minute walk, it usually drops to around 5 or 6. Has anyone any advice about what they do pre and post workout to help control their levels?

Thanks,

Peter
 
I would eat some cabs before the gym.
Maybe take a sugary drink with you instead of water. I tend to use cordial which allows me to dilute it as much as I want rather than energy drinks which are fixed.
Always keep your hypo treatment with you.

Trial and error will help you work out how much carbs you need and when as we are all different.
Take it easy at first and build it up over time.

And, take a look at runsweet.com for more detailed advice.
 

Hey, thanks for this, I really appreciate it
 
My understanding (possibly incorrect) is that cardio reduces bg, and weights will increase it. Having said that, different people's bodies vary quite a lot in how they react to exercise so it's a question of trying it out and seeing. When I go to the gym I rarely find it changes my bg much so I
1) blood test before I start (and have something if it's less than 5.5ish)
2) carry glucose and my meter and test if I feel shaky. (Of course, it can be hard to distinguish between a hypo and "I want to die now, please may I stop exercising?" but I've yet to keel over at the gym, though I do sometimes go hypo and take some sugar.)
When I was using the freestyle libre (I've stopped now because I became allergic to the sensors) it was particularly awesome at the gym, as I could do a quick swipe of my arm in between the different exercises.

Disclaimer: I just go for an hour for cardio and core type exercises.... (5 years ago congenital weak back issues were making it uncomfortable to stand/walk for more than 30 minutes but long term exercising has meant I can go back to long walks with my dogs and husband without any hint of discomfort)
 

Thanks Ellie
 
ptmagnew said:
Thanks Ellie
Click to expand...
Agree with Ellie M.
Long slow cardio or HiiT will drop BGs
Weights may increase it (they do for me) if you are strength traiing
Test and test to see what happens.

I did 15 minutes of HiiT yesterday instead of the weights I had planned. Result was a plummet of bgs but if you have good hypo awareness a slosh of lucosade will fix it quickly.
My method is currently to add 25% for weights and -50% (insulin that is) rather than snack but then I am trying to minise my carbs and not gain fat!

Don't let it stop you doing what you normally do. Just have the jelly babies on standby!
 
EllieM said:
When I was using the freestyle libre (I've stopped now because I became allergic to the sensors) it was particularly awesome at the gym, as I could do a quick swipe of my arm in between the different exercises.
Click to expand...
I love the idea of CGM or Libre when exercising.
However, I find my BG drops quite quickly if I have got my levels wrong.
With the 15 - 20 minute delay in interstitial fluid BG detection, I find the CGM/Libre is too late at catching my hypo.
Unfortunately, this just means lots of finger pricking between exercises. My gym sessions are something like: finger-prick - 30 minutes on the cross-trainer - finger-prick - 20 minutes on the treadmill - finger-prick - glucose - weights - abs - finger-prick - walk up the hill home - finger-prick
Thankfully, as I start exercising, my blood is pumping well so I don't need to prick very deep to get it out.
 
I’ve been training for around 12 years now and find that long steady cardio makes my blood sugars drop so I always keep glucose tablets or gel on me when I go running or cycling. HIIT training, resistance training and anything that demands a lot of power or strength tends to cause an increase in blood sugars, so I usually just keep an eye on them throughout and give myself a bit of insulin as and when required to avoid my sugars shooting up into the 20’s (this has happened a few times during circuit classes and metafit classes!!) Sometimes if my sugars are dropping this will stop the ‘increase’ caused by these types of exercise but it’s usually only when I test during that this would become apparent!! So I really recommend testing during whatever exercise you’re doing to see what’s happening in your body!

I also find afterwards depending on what type of exercise I’ve been doing my blood sugars will either continue rising for a couple of hours or drop pretty quickly, I have to make sure I keep an eye on it all the time to avoid any issues!!

This will be different for everyone probably but it’s always been the case for me and anyone I’ve spoken to about it.

My consultant at the hospital told me CGM would be great for this but I just don’t trust the freestyle libre at all so I’ve continued with finger prick testing even though it’s a pain to do during classes!

Hope this has given some insight xx
 
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