Type 2 in need of nutrition advice when cycling

[Sugarless Keith]

In a nut shell I was diagnosed early 2011, since then I've lost around 20lbs, I was prescribed Metformin (3 times a day) and at last test all my levels had reduced to a "normal persons" levels and the nurse was happy with my progress. I used to cycle regularly and wish to take it up once more now that I have recovered from an ankle op which had kept me off the bike for a while.

My main reason for this is that my weight loss has levelled out but I still need to lose a fair bit more.

The problem I have is that I'm fairly clueless as to what & when I should be eating, I tried googling it but I seem to either see hits from cycling experts extolling high carb drinks, shakes & meals or from type 1's talking of reducing insulin prior to rides.

At present I am working 7 miles from home over a varied terrain so a nice work out twice a day, I've tried cycling in a couple of times however I am finding that mid morning (around 1-2 hours after cycling in) I am finding that I lack energy.

I know that everyone is diferent however I'm hoping that someone out there could point me in the way of some helpful hints and tips as to what I could eat & when to allow me to commute daily, maintain my energy levels and lose weight.

Also should I be asking my Dr for a test meter to allow me to regularly check my BG's before/after exercising?

 

[borofergie]

How many carbs do you eat a day? How hard do you cycle?

 

[Sugarless Keith]

How many carbs do you eat a day? How hard do you cycle?

I'll give you todays diet & cycling info. (I ride a hybrid)

up at 6am one slice of wholemeal toast, small glass of orange juice, walk dog for half an hour
7 am cycle to work, drinking water en route
7.41 miles, which took 48 mins, average speed 9.4mph, max speed 28.8mph average heart rate 158bpm, average bike cadence 62rpm. (There was a fair head wind)
on arrival i ate a Maxi muscle diet protien bar and drank a litre of water.
around 9am muller light yoghurt
12 noon - noodles & chicken
3pm hand full of rice crackers
3.30pm sugar free energy drink
4.30pm cycle home, drinking water again
7.38 miles, which took 37 mins, average speed 12.1mph, max speed 26.1mph, average heart rate 157bpm, average bike cadence 64rpm.
Upon arriving home I had a turkey & salad sandwich (seaded bread)
Tea was around 6:30pm a dish of King Prawns, and some tapas type dish (pastry parcels with ricotta cheese, which I know was naughty)
During the day I've probably drank around 3 litres of water and had one cup of coffee (mid morning) and two cups of tea.

Unfortunately in the past I didn't record my previous rides however I used to regularly cycle 10 mile journeys taking 35 to 40 mins on a mountain bike so I know my current level is far lower than I can do.

By the way I'm 45 years old, 6' 2" & 17 stone.

 

[borofergie]

So according to the old Max Heart Rate = 220-your age, your max heart-rate should be about 175bpm (although in my experience this doesn't work at all). If it was then you'd be riding at 90% intensity, which is kind of hard core, so I'm not surprised you're emptying your muscle glycogen stores.

I can run for 9 miles at about 75% intensity without eating any carbs (well <20g a day), and although I'm knackered at the end of it I don't feel like I'm "bonking".

It seems to me that you are eating plenty of carbs anyway, I certainly wouldn't add any more. In fact it sounds to me like it could be the sugar rush from the toast and orange wearing off and leaving you feeling a "false hypo".

Do you test your blood at all?

 

[Sugarless Keith]

It seems to me that you are eating plenty of carbs anyway, I certainly wouldn't add any more. In fact it sounds to me like it could be the sugar rush from the toast and orange wearing off and leaving you feeling a "false hypo".

Do you test your blood at all?

So should there be something else I could eat pre ride to prevent this?

No, at the moment I don't test at all, should I be asking my GP for a kit?

 

[borofergie]

So should there be something else I could eat pre ride to prevent this?

No, at the moment I don't test at all, should I be asking my GP for a kit?

Certainly not more carbs... How about eat something with fat and protein in it.

You can ask your GP for a kit, although in general they are reluctant to prescribe them to T2s. Most of us have to buy our own, but it's the only real way of understanding your diabetes.

I think that the problem is probably down to the amount of carbohydrate you are eating, which seems incredibly excessive for a T2 diabetic:

• wholemeal toast
• orange juice
• Maxi muscle diet protien bar
• muller light yoghurt
• noodles
• rice crackers
• sugar free energy drink (probably - it depends with "sugar-free" means).
• seeded bread
• pastry parcels

I bet if you tested your BG you'd see that it was very high in the 2 hours after eating any of those things. At best you're going to get massive sugar swings (that will leave you feeling hungry and exhausted). At worst your BG is going to be chronically elevated even between meals...

As an example, most of the (non-insulin) T2 diabetics on this forum would eat between 30-150g a day of carbohydrate (most probably <100g). Any single item on your list is more carbohydrate than I eat in a day.

What was your last HbA1c test?

 

[Sugarless Keith]

Certainly not more carbs... How about eat something with fat and protein in it.

You can ask your GP for a kit, although in general they are reluctant to prescribe them to T2s. Most of us have to buy our own, but it's the only real way of understanding your diabetes.

I think that the problem is probably down to the amount of carbohydrate you are eating, which seems incredibly excessive for a T2 diabetic:

• wholemeal toast
• orange juice
• Maxi muscle diet protien bar
• muller light yoghurt
• noodles
• rice crackers
• sugar free energy drink (probably - it depends with "sugar-free" means).
• seeded bread
• pastry parcels

I bet if you tested your BG you'd see that it was very high in the 2 hours after eating any of those things. At best you're going to get massive sugar swings (that will leave you feeling hungry and exhausted). At worst your BG is going to be chronically elevated even between meals...

As an example, most of the (non-insulin) T2 diabetics on this forum would eat between 30-150g a day of carbohydrate (most probably <100g). Any single item on your list is more carbohydrate than I eat in a day.

What was your last HbA1c test?

I do kind of feel that I have started to slip back into my old habits and I appreciate your frankness.

The last test I had the nurse didn't give me the figures (I think she mentioned they don't call it the HbA1c anymore?) she simply said that the Doc was extremely happy that my levels had reduced to that of a "normal person" without diabetes, however I was sticking more rigidly to the healthy eating then. I think perhaps that I need to take a good old look at my carb intake.
Would you mind telling me what you would eat on an average day?

By the way, you'll be reasured to know that today I'm being much better as it's too windy to cycle so I'm on my other bike (with an engine) and for lunch I've had a piece of chicken with a layered salad (home made so no hidden extras)

 

[borofergie]

The last test I had the nurse didn't give me the figures (I think she mentioned they don't call it the HbA1c anymore?) she simply said that the Doc was extremely happy that my levels had reduced to that of a "normal person" without diabetes, however I was sticking more rigidly to the healthy eating then. I think perhaps that I need to take a good old look at my carb intake.

That's good then Keith! Although you should make sure that they give you the actual numbers so that you can make your own interpretation, rather than rely on their somewhat imprecise definition of "normal".

Would you mind telling me what you would eat on an average day?

I'm not a good example cos I'm one of those "extreme low-carbers" that eat less than 30g of carb a day. In my case that's mainly because I want to run a half-marathon (and ultimately a marathon) without eating any additional carbs. Yesterday I ate 3% carbs, 27% protein and 70% fat (so mainly just meat and grean leafy veg). I can run 9 miles on that sort of diet, so carbs most certainly aren't essential for endurance exercise (...well we'll see when I've done a marathon).

I reckon about 120g a day would be a good place to start. The most important thing you can do is invest in a meter and some strips, otherwise you'll never know how well you're doing.

By the way, you'll be reasured to know that today I'm being much better as it's too windy to cycle so I'm on my other bike (with an engine) and for lunch I've had a piece of chicken with a layered salad (home made so no hidden extras)

Sounds great!

 

[Sugarless Keith]

The most important thing you can do is invest in a meter and some strips, otherwise you'll never know how well you're doing.

Borofergie
Thanks for all of your advice, I rang my surgery and spoke to the Diabetic Nurse, explained what was happening and her response was "I'll pop a meter in reception for you to pick up and I've changed your prescription to add the strips and lancets on"

To say I was impressed was an understatement........in fairness she did mention that in her experience the majority of type 2's say the right things when they come for the check-ups but don't actually do much about it so she seemed happy I was getting to grips with it.

Used the meter this morning and found my readings to be 5.2 first thing in morning then 3.8 2 hours after breakfast (bacon and eggs, no carbs) and a 3 mile walk with the dog.

She did say if it was below 4 to stop taking the lunch time Metformin so I'm down to 2 a day now.

I'm going to a lot more reading on this but you've very helpful, good luck with the training for the marathon. :clap:

 

[borofergie]

Thanks for all of your advice, I rang my surgery and spoke to the Diabetic Nurse, explained what was happening and her response was "I'll pop a meter in reception for you to pick up and I've changed your prescription to add the strips and lancets on"

That's a brilliant result Keith, well done!

Glad it's helpful. I think that if you cut the carbs, you'll end up feeling healthier and more energetic.

Let us know how you get on!

Stephen