When should I eat/take insulin for exercise

[AnnJohnston]

I'm T2 but started on insulin in September (humalog and lantus). I've not been to the gym since I stated insulin and between then insulin and poor diet in December I've gained a stone and a half. I'm really worried about going to the gym though as I don't want to hypo during a class. I normally go to classes after work or in the morning at the weekend. Should I eat and take my insulin before I go or wait and check my levels after? My levels actually used to go higher after a class which I believe can be quite common. Any advice would be much appreciated.

 

[azure]

Hi @AnnJohnston Sadly there's no magic answer as we're all different. I can quite understand your worry about hypos. I advise testing frequently during the class. Tgat way you can be reassured all's well. Sometimes if you get hot, tired and sweaty, it can be hard to tell if it's the exercise or a hypo.

I also advise sticking to the same food/carbs before your class so you know that works.

Always take plenty of hypo treatments and plenty of test strips. Experience will show you what works for you - what insulin/food to have before, what blood sugar is best to have when starting the class, how often to test once you're sorted, etc

Take it slowly to begin with and you should be fine

 

[AnnJohnston]

Thanks for the advice. I'm going to start low carb diet this week then try getting back to the gym when I've got the hang of that!

 

[Rc04]

Try this link http://www.edinburghdiabetes.com/exercise/ I found it really helpful as a guide to get started. Good luck!

 

[AnnJohnston]

Thank you I'll check this out