Hello Everyone!
I am on a weigt loss diet and I have started exercising.I am reducung my basal rate to 20% 1 hour before and during exercise rather than eating extra carbs…this is the first time I have reduced my basal rather than eat however it isn’t running smoothly for me.What is the purpose of reducing your basal…should my levels increase slightly to allow my levels to drop during the exercise??This si what I expected would happen…however when I reduced my basal this morning my levels dropped slightly and I felt the need to eat if I wanted to exercise!Not good when I need to lose weight!!So I thought my basal must be too high to begin with…but I am after doing several basal tests and my levels stayed stable!!!It seems the only way I can exercise is if I eat…but thats just like being on injections!!!What am I supposed to do???
I should also add that I had two eggs for breakfast so I didn’t have any other insulin on board other than my basal!I am justwondering should I retest my overnight basalrates…maybe they are too high??
I exercise at one or two hours after eating a meal such as lunch or dinner, and reduce whatever bolus I take for that food by 50% or 25%, depending on if I’m exercising at one hour or two. It means I start out high, but I’m only high for about an hour or so as it drops down as soon as I start exercising.
This way I’m eating the same amount of food I normally would, but am taking less insulin for it and exercising more, thus presumably there would be weight loss.
If I exercise in the evening or have exercised for an hour or more, I will reduce my basal rate by 10% overnight or for eight or so hours after finishing.
I have never had success reducing my basal rate or disconnecting my pump for exercise. It might prevent me from going low, but almost always it results in my blood sugar shooting up very high (like 300+) an hour or two later, often with ketones. I wouldn’t reduce my basal rate unless I was going to be exercising for a few hours, like skiing all day or something.
Thanks for the reply Jen…Do you have weight loss success by reducing the insulin to cover carbs before exercise?I am seriously down about my weight…I dont want to leave the house…I did stuoidlt practice diabulimia in the past and Im feeling so bad about myself now Im afraid Im going to be temoted to do this again!Anyones advice or opinions are greatly appreciated!xxxx