Insulin & Calorie Counting? Pro advice needed

[Danny Francis]

Hi

This is a technical question so ill try and keep it short and sweet. For the last year i have been focusing on building muscle/Burning body fat and have been keeping a daily journal on how many calories/carbs/protein & fats i have been consuming on a daily basis. But if i had a low blood sugar lets say 3 and i ate 1 banana containing 20g carbs/100 calories, Would i still count the calories from that banana if no insulin was required? Assuming that most of the calories come from the sugars itself from the banana. i know insulin's primarily role is to store excess sugar as liver or muscle glycogen but if insulin is simply not being secreted to store the sugar then surely i wouldn't need to count the calories for that banana?

Much appreciated if anyone can help.

 

[CarbsRok]

If you have diabetes it's the carbs you count not the calories for insulin adjustment and dosing. Oh and quick acting carbs are required for treating a hypo not a slow burning banana.

 

[Spiker]

I'm not sure what your question means tbh. For what purpose are you counting the calories (the ones you want to know if you can ignore in certain cases)? For weight loss? Weight gain? Insulin dosing? Are you a T1 diabetic?

If you are T1D then like CarbsRok says you need to count carbs not calories for insulin. If you are T1D then you always need to dose for carbs unless you are using them to correct a hypo. If you are doing intense or extended exercise you can and should reduce the dose but rarely if ever eliminate it altogether.

 

[Spiker]

Hi
i know insulin's primarily role is to store excess sugar as liver or muscle glycogen

Not really. Insulin's general function is to get glucose into cells of many types. Storing glycogen is just one specialised function. More important than that is the metabolisation of glucose in cells, without which there wouldn't be much point storing glucose, because (with few exceptions) our cells wouldn't be able to use it.

In addition insulin has a large number of signalling and regulating functions.

 

[Danny Francis]

Hi

I'm a Type 1 diabetic just to clear things up.

Thanks for responding and yes I know your right, I'm still learning about how insulin metabolizes energy in various cells, mitochondria etc, But from a basic point of view I'm just trying to understand that if I didn't take insulin for a piece of fruit then surely the sugars won’t get absorb properly into the body and counting the calories for that piece of fruit becomes irrelevant.

I just assume that because most of the calories come from the sugars itself within a carbohydrate snack, and if the insulin is not present to absorb and metabolize the sugar as energy then it just becomes worthless and its main purpose is then to just elevate blood sugar level.

I might just be over thinking it here lol but I hope you understand and the reason why I'm asking is that because I'm currently physique building, I need to target a certain calorie intake for weight loss and muscle growth and if I hit my target but have a low blood sugar level and have to correct it with a piece of fruit. Do I still count the calories if its only purpose is to elevate blood sugar level?

Much appreciated for a response

Danny