taking insulin when weight lifting

jamesmacc

Well-Known Member
Messages
66
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
,
im type 1 diabetic and have been working out and eating healthy for 6 months now, now i have lost a lot of fat and gained a bit of muscle im taking things futher , im starting stronglifts and have ordered weights and a bench. question is im reading that the body needs insulin for muscle to grow and people do this by eating carbs after workouts so that your pancreas releases insulin and helps the muscles absorb nutrients and grow/recover.
Im wondering if i should workout just before my main meal at 6 pm and then inject my insulin followed by some healthy carbs with my meal? my other question is do i need carbs like a non diabetic does to grow. NON diabetics use carbs to get the body to produce and release the insulin where as i inject it, could i inject it and simply eat something non carb related like chicken salad like i do now?
I have been on a low carb diet for the 6 months and have greatly lowered my insulin, im wondering if i should eat some more healthy carbs and there fore take a bit more insulin? i dont want to risk my health for the benefit of looking better, hopefully i can find a safe way to gain muscle and maintaining good sugar levels.
any type 1's on here who do weights or building muscle through other ways?
thanks
James
 

tim2000s

Expert
Retired Moderator
Messages
8,934
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Other
Hi @jamesmacc, there are a few of us that do this kind of thing. For bulking, I personally eat lower GI carbs like Sweet Potato and Brown Rice as part of my regular meal plan, rather than focus eating carbs specifically in relation to the workout I am doing. I also eat a relatively high protein diet (2-2.5g of protein per kg of bodyweight) and make use of supplements. In my first phase of doing this I found I gained a significant amount of lean mass (about 8kg).

I adjusted insulin to match carbs consumed, which worked for me. Others may have different experiences.
 

jamesmacc

Well-Known Member
Messages
66
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi @jamesmacc, there are a few of us that do this kind of thing. For bulking, I personally eat lower GI carbs like Sweet Potato and Brown Rice as part of my regular meal plan, rather than focus eating carbs specifically in relation to the workout I am doing. I also eat a relatively high protein diet (2-2.5g of protein per kg of bodyweight) and make use of supplements. In my first phase of doing this I found I gained a significant amount of lean mass (about 8kg).

I adjusted insulin to match carbs consumed, which worked for me. Others may have different experiences.

Thanks for your reply, 8 kg of lean mass sounds awsome :) i will need to try brown rice, i was reading that long grain white rice is low GI too? i need to set myfitnesspal back up and see how much protein im taking on board, i was aiming for 180 grams a day but right now i have no idea how much im actually getting