I tested my BS and it was 207. I then walked a very brisk 50 minutes and my BS was 117. Im a believer in excersizing lowering your BS numbers.
Back in the "old days," exercising to lower BGs was fairly common. As a kid, if my BG was high, my mom would tell me to go outside and run around for an hour or so. Because the fastest acting insulin we had was regular and there were no pumps, "correcting" like many of us T1s do today wasn't possible (especially for highs in the low 200s). So, I'd go run around for an hour or so and my BG would always come down nicely. I still do that today!
Yep me too MyBustedPancres, Always running around the house & doing some sort of exercise thanks to the urine test (at that time as a kid) showing a 3+ or 4+ in my urine. There was no such things back then as a bs machine. Remember????
Vaguely...I was dx right around the time that home glucometers became widely available. But we still supplemented with urine tests. We had to blot our test strip and then wait like a minute for the result. Ugh. And the blood drop had to be HUGE. And the machine itself weighed about what a brick does. I realize glucometers still aren't perfectly accurate, but at least they are smaller!
I was diagnosed back in 73 so the urine tests werethe only thing around. I do remember those 1st bs machines and how big the machines were not to even talk about how big the blood drop was. Yep remember blotting my test strip and waiting a minute to get the result. It seemed like that minute lasted for hours! I'll go that the meters are much smaller now too.
Neat. ANother important fact.
Insulin only causes your Blood glucose to be stored in any available spare spaces.
ONLY exercise burns the glucose off and gets it out of ones body.
If my BG is too high, I immediately walk/exercise to burn off. And remember since all skeletal cells have their own local stores, you may not see BG change until sufficient exercise to see local stores dropped enough to pull down glucose from blood stream.
Even if you do not see big change , exercise is still doing good by depleting local stores that ensures that local stores will always have room to help regulate BG of blood system by accepting more glucose.
Soon after my T2 diagnosis in 12-08, I was shopping & sampling various breads the market had displayed. I figured "what could a few bites of bread do?" Two hours later, I tested at 208. I got on my Nordic Track for 25 minutes & tested at 103. I couldn't believe it so I tested again with a different meter - 108. I don't use meds or insulin.
I love bread & have tried the high fiber ones but they also spike my BG. Low carb tortillas don't spike my BG. Since then, I've learned quite a bit about processed foods & their impact on BG & unfortunately, bread is highly processed.
For me, exercise usually lowers my BG quickly - sometimes too low. I've learned to only exercise within one hour after a meal or snack.
I remember those days. "Go run around the block". I'm glad I have more tools for the job now, but we could probably all use a few more laps around the block... :)
at what number do you NOT exercise (highs)? We have landed on 300 or above, I keep my son low key, he gets insulin correction, lots of water and free snack if he wants... cheese, nuts, eggs... what do others do?
Everyone seems to have a different opinion about exercise during high BG. I've never been higher than 210 since dx but if I were up to 350-400, I'd go for a walk. A doctor on another forum said mild exercise is fine up to 350.
IMO, any exercise would be better than just sitting, even if it raises BG a bit before bringing it down.
Hi - thanks for your input...my understanding physiologically as to why waiting a bit on exercise, even walking, is that because there is not enough insulin to bring carbs/energy into the cell, a higher risk for DKA exists due to the body breaking down even more protein to allow the additional exercise/muscles to function.
That is awesome! My BS is usually anywhere between 129 and 165. I was diagnosed about 5 yrs ago as pre-diabetic. I am now 62 and have really been focusing on my health and changing my life style, I have joined the YMCA, changed my eating habits, and have been loosing weight. I have also added cinnamon tablets and Braggs apple cider vinegar (3 t to a bottle of water-1-3 times a day) These two things can also lower BS. I have lost 25 lbs. and stopped walking with a cane.
Thank you for your share. I will be testing my BS before and after my hour at the Y today.
Your friend in health, Laurie Green from CA