Low Carb and Excersise

avi · Mar 28, 2009

Hi

I'm new to the forum, and looking around I see a lot of people on Low Carb diets, I have done the low GI one and know how that works and follow the Dafne regime. I was wondering if you are on low carbs what do you do about excersise, don't you need the carbs for that? I walk a lot and usually cut back on the insulin the meal before or eat an extra snack. I lost an awful lot of weight before being diagnosed but have now piled the pounds on and would really love to shift it and gain a bit tighter control of my BG, its not too bad but I do get some high readings, especially the fasting ones recently, and no matter what I try nothing seems to work.
Avi

cugila · Mar 28, 2009

Hi avi

See you are T1.5 on Insulin. Not my forte I'm afraid ( T2 Byetta).

Have you tried typing excercise into the search box, top right. you will see lots of Posts relating to this subject. Just browse, if you have the time. If you can't find what you want - come back and ask.

Ken

jessie · Mar 28, 2009

Hi Avi,

It's taken me a while to pluck up the courage to start exercising again, but I came accross this post that helped me get back on track...

First try 15 mins and then build up so that I could make a note of how the exercise affected me. Different types will have different affects. Officially you should not exercise over 13 or 14 mmol

Some advice I was given when first diagnosed is to have a snack before the gym and take slightly less insulin than would be normally required to cover it. By doing this, your blood sugar is elevated slightly before you exercise, then drops to a normal value post-exercise. For example: I eat a peanut butter + jam sandwich and a banana before the gym. Normally this would be 8 units of Novorapid. I inject 6u, which allows for the drop during exercise. I exercise for only 30-40 minutes, so you may need a larger discrepency, or alternatively, take an isotonic drink with you. I take Lucozade sport or Powerade for football/cricket matches as they last a lot longer than 30 mins.

The danger (as already pointed out) is if you start with elevate bn level and it is some hours since your last insulin injection, that level will go higher... I've found that out the hard way. And if your bn level is fairly normal to low before exercise it's only going to go lower. By having a small meal about 1 hr before exercise and injecting, that insulin is used during the exercise to use the carbs and give you energy. I never exercise now without having a small meal 1-1.5 hrs before.

Good luck! Jessie.

fergus · Mar 28, 2009

Hi avi,

There's no shortage of myths surrounding diet and excercise and the one about carbs being necessary beforehand is another one I'm afraid.
The body can use free fatty acids for fuel, in fact they're a more reliable and much more abundant resource than glucose, which often runs out just when you need it the most!
The body will run on either fuel, but I find my stamina is much greater without carbs.

All the best,

fergus

avi · Mar 28, 2009

Hi Fergus
Pardon my ignorance, but if you excersise without carbs won't you have a hypo, how does it work then?
Avril

fergus · Mar 28, 2009

Hi Avril,

Sure, if the insulin you inject exceeds the glucose in your bloodstream, then you'll probably have a hypo. But it doesn't necessarily follow that you have to eat carbs to avoid a hypo.

If you have a carb free meal, you will need very little insulin to cover it. The body will make some glucose out of the protein in the meal and if the insulin / glucose are properly matched, you won't have a hypo.

The beauty of this is that the very low levels of insulin involved have two advantages. Firstly, the fluctuations in blood sugar levels will be relatively small in comparison to a meal high in carbs. Secondly, low insulin levels are crucial in allowing efficient use of free fatty acids as a fuel.

All the best,

fergus

IanD · Mar 28, 2009

I'm T2 so what I do won't apply directly. I don't deliberately eat carbs, though have perhaps 50 g per day. I have at least as much energy as I had when I ate lots of carbs according to the NHS/DUK diet.

I play tennis (mostly doubles) for 1½ to 3 hours, & I don't run out of energy. I sometimes test between sets & if I go below 5, I have a dried apricot. (I'm 70 & still very active.)

hanadr · Mar 28, 2009

I eat low carb MOST( Monday's cake was a rarity) of the time and do 4 exercise classes at the gym each week and at least 1 HARD walk. When moving around the local area, I leave the car at home and walk, at least as far as the bus stop. I also care for a toddler grandchild one day a week. I am 62 and slimmer and fitter than I was at 45

avi · Mar 28, 2009

ahhhh!
I think I'm getting it now, thanks everyone, I got my low GI book out again today, and was thinking of cutting back the carbs with each meal for now to see how I get on. I do like my bread though thats the only thing, but I think I'll manage.
Avril

fergus · Mar 28, 2009

Avril, PM me if you're interested in some very low GI bread, 4.25g carbs per 100g!

All the best,

fergus

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