Type 1, LC and exercise

[mrsjberry]

Hello,

I am new here. Not sure is this should be posted here or in the exercise forum but I'll start here.

I am 35, have been a type 1 for 28 years and use an insulin pump. Recently began eating lower carb as my bg was getting harder to control even with the pump.

I have been exercising fairly regularly for the past month or so. Doing about 60 min of moderate intensity work on an elliptical trainer 6 days a week and 45 min upper and lower body weight training at the gym 3 days a week.

I almost always have to have some sort of carbs after my workout to bring my bg back up. So my question is what is the best way to keep my bg up after exercising without resorting to carbs? Theoretically I should be able to adjust my insulin levels with my pump to compensate but I’ve never been able to successfully get the timing correct.

Right now I am leaning toward cutting back my basal rate aprox 2 hours before I exercise to increase my bg so I have some to burn during the workout.

This is very frustrating for me because I am usually fairly adept at self management but cannot get the whole exercise thing worked out. I did consult my endo but they were of no help, just told me they didn't really know and I'd just have to figure it out.

Thank you for any help,

Julia

[RobLL]

Not an expert, but you may want to incorporate some carbs before and during fairly intense workouts. It may be a lot easier to directly address your body's need for extra energy source than indirectly by varying meds, in fact a lot easier. I usually have two dove chocolates (10 carbs) on the way to the gym, and a protein drink after (40 grams of protein, which has another 5-10 carbs depending on brand, )

[Daryl]

I urge you to read Dr. Bernstein's Diabetes Solution; he goes into great detail on covering yourself regarding exercise. It's pretty detailed, so I'm not going to try to type it all out :).

[dancinbr]

Yes, do read Dr. Bernsteins' new book Diabetes Solution.

You will gain a wealth of "how to" knowledge that he shared with all of us.

Good luck.

In fact to to his site and look at some of the chapters. He may have the exercise chapter online for you to read.

But again, go buy the book and read it, then use it as a reference guide.

This is precisely how he saved his own life. Proper diet (low carbs) and exercise, timed perfectly.

http://www.diabetes-book.com/

Ralph :yum:

[v-effect]

Hi there,

Your exercise routine sounds a lot like mine. I'm also on the pump. I find that sometimes I not only need to lower the basal before exercise, I also need to set a lower temporary rate for several hours after. (BTW, this only happens after a long cardio session, not from weights. YMMV- I'm only toning with weights.) If I do need carbs, I try to stick to tabs since they are very easy to be precise about.
V.

[Daryl]

Hi there,

Your exercise routine sounds a lot like mine. I'm also on the pump. I find that sometimes I not only need to lower the basal before exercise, I also need to set a lower temporary rate for several hours after. (BTW, this only happens after a long cardio session, not from weights. YMMV- I'm only toning with weights.) If I do need carbs, I try to stick to tabs since they are very easy to be precise about.
V.

*emphasis added*

That's an excellent point.

[mrsjberry]

Thanks to everyone for all the recommendations. I did read Dr. Bernstein’s book about 6 months ago but for some reason am drawing a blank on what he recommended regarding exercise. I’ve requested the book from the library again and will reread it as that chapter is not available online.

After some searching online I also came across a couple of articles that offered a little guidance too. As was mentioned I am reducing my basal rate. Currently I’m reducing for 4 hours, beginning about 90 minutes prior to cardio workout. Weight training is a little harder because it actually raises my blood sugar immediately after the workout but it drop down within a couple of hours. Not sure there is much of anything I can do about that one.

One thing that I’ve noticed is my over night basal rate has dropped drastically. I am assuming this is due to the low carbs since this didn’t happen with just exercise alone. I’ve already cut the rate by about a quarter and it is still dropping so I will have to cut it again.
Julia

[Markm]

.... Right now I am leaning toward cutting back my basal rate aprox 2 hours before I exercise to increase my bg so I have some to burn during the workout. .....
Cutting the basal before and during exercise can be a two edged sword. It can reduce the BG drop during exercise. But, if the insulin level drops too low, your BG will shoot up after exercise. I would suggest keeping the basal the same and using glucose tabs to keep you BG up. That way, your BG after exercise should be more stable. You should be able to wortk out a schedule that keeps your BG in the target range, eg. 1 glucose tab every 10 minutes of cardio exercise.

You will find that, after restrictiong carbs for a while, your body starts relying more heavily on fat for energy. The result is that your BG doesn't drop as quickly during exercise. And you won't have to use as much carb to keep your BG up.

Cheers,

Mark