How to Exercise Without Going Low

How to Exercise Without Going Low

As a Type 1 Diabetic, you CAN exercise without going low and without having to eat tons of food.

Yes, it’s true!

My name is Dr. Jody Stanislaw and I’ve had type 1 since I was 7 years old. When I was diagnosed in 1980, I was told I absolutely must eat before any physical activity.

This was frustrating, to say the least. I’d be at the gym eating on the treadmill. I’d have to eat before soccer practice, eat before going for a run, eat during exercise class…eating, eating, eating…in attempts to be healthy. I loved exercise but I got so sick of eating!

Then one day in my 20’s, I decided to start exercising first thing in the morning, before my breakfast insulin shot. I’d still eat because that’s what I was told I must do to avoid going low…but I was shocked when my blood sugar level was now consistently over 300mg/dL after my morning workouts.

This had never happened to me before, doing the same exercise and eating the same amount of food in the afternoon.

It took my years of my own trial and error to figure out what was going on. I originally asked my doctor but he didn’t’ have an answer for me. So I finally figured it out on my own.

Now, I barely have to eat at all before exercise and almost never go low.

Over the 30+ years I’ve lived with Type 1, I’ve learned life-changing tools that I share with others, which is exactly why I’m writing to you today.

I am passionate about helping patients all over the country learn how to be happy and healthy while living with diabetes. It CAN be done!

And a key part of achieving that is by having a thorough knowledge of why blood sugar levels do what they do. So here you go…

HOW TO EXERCISE WITHOUT GOING LOW OR HAVING TO EAT A TON OF FOOD:

Here is the simple answer: The less insulin you have on board before exercise, the less likely you'll go low.

Let me explain...
 
As a Type 1 Diabetic, you make little to no insulin. 

The day you were diagnosed, no matter how much you exercised that day, you were likely 300 mg/dL, 400, or higher. 

Exercise alone cannot make you go low.
 
You must have insulin in your body to go low. SO, it makes sense to realize that the more insulin you have on board, the more likely you'll go low…and thus the opposite is true: the less insulin you have on board, the less likely you'll go low.

This seems so obvious to me now but when I was young, it was so ingrained in my head that when I exercised, I HAD to eat. Period.

When I switched to morning workouts, I hadn’t done a shot of fast-acting insulin for over 10 hours so I had no fast-acting in my system. The only insulin I had in my body was the tiny bit of long acting, which when properly dosed, should not make you go low, with or without exercise.

This is the key to understand...

Humalog and Novolog can last in your body for up to 4 hours or so. So if you take a big dose of insulin and exercise an hour or two later, you will be much more likely to go low than if you were to wait until 3-4 hours after your fast-acting dose, until it fully wears off.

However, this is assuming your basal rate or long-acting insulin is correctly dosed. If it is too high, you could still go low even without fast-acting on board.
 
Furthermore, the smaller your dose, the less likely you'll go low.
 
So if you've taken a small amount of insulin within an hour or two of exercise, you'll be less likely to go low than if you've taken a larger dose.

(My disclaimer here is we all know having good blood sugars when exercising actually depends on multiple variables. I am not guaranteeing anything in terms of having good levels when exercising...I'm just giving you something to consider that will help you reduce or avoid exercise induced lows. Also, by NO means am I suggesting to not eat before being active. Discuss this information with your health care provider before making any changes. ALWAYS have a form of glucose with you during activity. Always. Test often and always be ready to treat a low.

The information I just gave you is priceless. I seriously would have paid thousands of dollars to know this when I was young because it would've saved me years of frustration with having to eat all the time and with trying to figure all of this out on my own!

Do you have questions? I’d love to help. Let's chat. I make time in my schedule when I can, to connect with others because talking one diabetic to another can be life changing. My specialty is Type 1 but I help Type 2’s as well.

If you need help with how to avoid going low during exercise, making sure your long-acting is dosed correctly, how to wake up with a perfect sugar level, or have other diabetes related questions for that matter, schedule a complimentary phone consult with me here: www.ConsultWithDrJody.com/type1

You CAN be healthy and happy while living with diabetes and I’m here to help you make that happen. Let’s chat soon.

To your health!

Dr. Jody Stanislaw

Type 1 Diabetic since 1980
www.DrJodyND.com

 

Medical disclaimer: Information provided in this article is for informational purposes only. This information is NOT intended as a substitute for the advice provided by your physician or other healthcare provider. Do not use the information provided in this article for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease, or prescribing medication or other treatment. Always speak with your physician or other health care provider before making any changes to your health care treatment plan, taking any medication or nutritional, herbal or homeopathic supplement, or using any other new treatment for a health problem. If you have or suspect that you have a medical problem, contact your healthcare provider promptly. Do not disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking professional assistance because of something you've read in this article. Information provided in this article and the use of any product or services related to this article DOES NOT create a doctor-patient relationship between you and Jody Stanislaw, ND. 

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