How does exercise and what you eat (not carbs) affect blood sugars

Can't do the science and you are being a tad specific on your questions.
All through experience. I would say that it's been noticed that after a low carb meal, a walk, nothing too strenuous, helps your blood glucose levels decrease.

More strenuous exercise, because of your liver helping give your Muscles more glucose, often leads to higher blood glucose levels.

So I would eat before a walk, and after strenuous exercise.

If you are preparing for extended stamina then intake of low carbs is necessary before during and after.

Do not take energy drinks or juices as these metabolize too quickly and give you a spike that you don't want. Small pieces of fruit are ok, but bananas are a big no, no!
Water, and lots of it.

Hope that helps.

There are diabetics on here that can help you.

pmtbrew said:

Over the last 8 months I've managed to get my A1C down from 110mmol/mol (12%) to 37mmol/mol (5.5%), I've managed to drop my fat mass and increase my lean muscle mass.

I've been told that it is likely I will have the gliclazide removed from my medication, so I have been looking into the effects of diet (how protein/fibre with food affects blood sugars) and exercise (what exercise is best, when is the best time to exercise with respect to eating a meal, what muscle type will use the most glucose) and There does not seem to be much information / research into this. All I have manged to find is

1) A study ( Effect of eating vegetables before carbohydrates on glucose excursions in patients with type 2 diabetes) which indicates that eating veg before a meal will reduce post meal blood sugar spikes. How does protein affect blood sugars, is there a golden ratio of fibre/protein/carbs? I know this is a simplification, but it would be a good starting point.

2) Vague references of Type 2a muscle fibre being the most energy demanding

3) Studies showing that high intensity interval training is the best exercise for controlling blood sugar (but cannot find any information on when is best to exercise - before a meal/after a meal etc.)

Has anyone got experience of how fibre/protein affects their blood sugars and the best form of weight training to increase insulin sensitivity?

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Hi there,

Congrats firstly on your progress.

Okay - you have lots of questions, but unfortunately there is no 'right' answer as such. Have a look at this link that explains some of the basics around exercise: http://www.teambloodglucose.com/TeamBG/Questions_-_How_exercise_help.html

In answer to your questions:

1) I am unaware of such a study, but would certainly be very interested to read about it.
Really as far as a 'golden ratio' goes, I don't think there really is one - or certainly there will be conflicting ideas on what's best.

2) Not sure of the relevance of type 1, 2a or 2b muscle fibres. Why not just focus on exercising in a way that you enjoy - it's all good!

3) High intensity interval training does have an excellent effect on controlling BGs, although it's best to mix both high intensity with a 'cool down' of moderate exercise in order to avoid any potential BG spike afterwards.

Best way to increase and maintain insulin sensitivity is to exercise regularly. Building muscle you will create more of a demand for glucose and create more available receptors (GLUT4 transporters) for glucose uptake.

There is no right and wrong answer as to when to eat with regards to exercise, but for high intensity training I would suggest afterwards - You are likely to get a BG spike during your training but you will also deplete your muscle and liver glycogen (glucose) stores. In the 30mins or so after you finish your training, you will have a 'window' to re-stock these with glucose and so could in effect eat a guilt free meal (including carbs) with no corresponding BG rise.

Hoping that helps a bit.

A lot of people spend a lot of time studying a lot of your questions in a lot of detail and come to a lot of different conclusions

Your get answers from body builders, endurance athletes, the elderly, the obese, the casual runner, the fanatic Cross Fit enthusiast, and the yo-yo dieter. What works, what doesn't, why, why not, why the first thing is mistaken, why the second thing is a lie, do this but never do that, or do that other thing all the time but this other thing in moderation.

Answers are almost impossible to come by, so my advice would be to deliberately lose your concern about min/maxing your performance and your diet. You'll get lost in all the theories (seriously) and end up with paralysis by analysis.

That said, if you are weightlifting, make sure you are weightlifting enough to hurt and build up muscle. Then, make sure you are getting enough protein and that you are getting enough rest between workouts. When you do cardio (something you can work into weightlifting for a killer workout) do interval training, but not every day. Alternate your intense cardio workouts with casual, light exercise that breaks a sweat but doesn't leave you gasping on your off days.

Consider "fasting," even if that just means only eating in one eight hour window each day. It's a long shot, and not super well researched, but waiting 16 hours to "break your fast" may possibly kinda sorta improve insulin resistence and make your body more efficient at burning fat. Or not.

But when you exercise, you burn off those glycogen stores, and your body will prioritize filling them up first. Overall, keep exercising, eat nutritious food and only rarely cheat (like, once a month) and you'll get all the macro nutrients you need, as longs as you prioritize protein, get enough fat, and fill the rest with carbs.

pmtbrew said:

Has anyone got experience of how fibre/protein affects their blood sugars and the best form of weight training to increase insulin sensitivity?

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Diabetics have a greater incidence of gluconeogenesis than non-diabetics due to the way our endocrine system is set up. As a result protein taken in absence of carbs tends to have a greater impact on our blood glucose levels, pushing them up.

pmtbrew said:

I've started on a new gym routine (20 minute run followed by 2 hours weights) and not just have the blood sugars dropped, but stay consistently low for 48hr after exercise.

I found the exercise immediately before/after exercise was not as good a a small intensive exercise (the run seems to be the major influence in the blood sugar drop).

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Two hours weights seems a lot. Typically, you should be fatigued within the hour if you are pushing your weights properly. Regardless, weight training, as @Bebo321 mentions, increases GLUT4 transporters, which makes you more insulin sensitive, however, the other side is that the stress process and glycogen demands of weight training mean that your blood glucose levels tend to increase during training.

To sum it up, typically, weight training and high intensity training has a larger impact on increasing insulin sensitivity in the long run, while elevating glucose levels during exercise. Lower intensity training, e.g. long distance running, lowers the blood glucose level during exercise.