I’m look for people who train hard and manage to keep their BS in check. I do bootcamp at the gym, walk my dog/child daily & just started the Insanity series. Anyone else really into exercise have tips for me on clean eating and good BS. My last A1C was 8.9 and I’ve just been lazy and need to get back into the swing of things and back on track. Love to hear from you!!!
Hi Samantha,
Im a T1 2 yrs into my diagnosis, and I would consider myself really into exercise. Its almost relaxing for me, and definitely helps control the bg's! I do alot of bodyweight calisthenics, biking, and HIIT training like tabata sprints..similar to insanity.
I have fortunately been able to maintain very tight control(latest A1c 5.6, which is even higher than my meter shows it should be). I am in the honeymoon phase yet too, so that helps.
I find my bs to increase within the first hour during intense exercise due to the body releasing cortisol. I usually give myself a fairly large bolus if I know I will be doing a short, intense workouts. I never lower my basal, but know alot of people do so trial and error rules here. If im biking for more than an hour, then i'll need to eat something or ill start to drop. I always keep some candy or glucose tabs within reach during exercise just to be safe. I get a cgm on wednesday, so im very excited to see how my bs responds throughout my exercise.
As for eating, I eat aorund 100 carbs/day, mostly from vegetables and nuts, and strictly follow the paleo/primal diet. No grains, sugars, processed foods, pretty much anything that comes in a box. I eat little fruit due to high sugar content, if i do ill have some berries. The only dairy i eat is cheese(lots of it!). So that leaves meat, veggies,and nuts and seeds as the basis of my diet. Ill do some whey protein shakes also after a heavy workout to help the recovery process. This kind of eating has put me in the best shape of my life..much better than my pre-diabetes days when i carb loaded(and still worked out alot). Many people think Im crazy for following such a strict diet, but the old comfort foods really dont tempt me anymore. I seem to have grown a taste for fresh, wholesome foods, as i believe most people would if they could stick to this diet for an extended period.
I hope you can get back into the swing of things! Not only does exercise help the bgs, but it acts as a 'destressor' and gives a sense of satisfaction and self worth(at least for me it does), especially when you start seeing results.
Good luck!