Just found this forum today and I hope it will be a good source of information.
I have been searching the web for a while now looking for good nutrition information for marathon training and of course, the push is for carbo loading. I might as well eat a candy bar if I followed that advice the sugar reading would be the same. I have done 2 half marathons in the past year along with some other races, and am now training for my first full one in November.
Our local nutritionists at my hospital are not a good resource as they do not understand marathon training, because the focus of the patient population around here is more to an older, more sedentary group and I really don't have the time or resources to go travelling. I function mainly on a lower carb diet, but recently have cut out gluten to see if that will help get my sugars under better control.
All the sites I've been able to find focus on insulin dependent diabetics, not Type 2 diabetics. That is like comparing apples to oranges.
I do understand the disease process extremely well, I just need some guidance on the nutrition aspects. The last half I did a couple of weeks ago, my pre-race feast of a nice steak with broccoli, mushrooms and a small portion of broiled potatoes seemed to work VERY well for my energy levels, but my sugars are still running around 200. I need to get it down.
well, we don't allow multiple postings of the same discussion, but certainly join and comment in the "comment area" over there that you're looking for other type2s who run marathons, and their eating habits. I'll try and find that one member I was thinking about for you.
I think eating "normally" is a good idea? I have been cutting carbs back for a few years and haven't "run" into too many issues w/ running out of gas, I eat a light breakfast and try to clear out the insulin "on board" by eating it 2 hours before I "blast off" so that most of the insulin is gone and the food is still sort of starting to deploy? I've only run one marathon and have T1 but I don't think it matters whether you are T1 or T2 or are "straight" w/ no diabetes, you want to eat fairly normally? I usually skip dinner the night before a race as I want to skip the portapotties during the race but I eat a bigger than normal lunch to make up for it and then a pretty normal breakfast the day of the race.
Insulin dependent diabetes and "Type 2" diabetes (even ones that require insulin) are completely different creatures so the nutrition would be different. It's all in the metabolism. I'm trying to balance the energy requirements with glucose control which has not been going well. Such as when I am running more than 4 miles I HAVE to take a supplement every 30 minutes or I will hit a wall and it is not pretty, but then my sugars go out of whack.
I think this really does need to be discussed on the marathon one since my workouts consist of 3-4 miles/day 3-4 times a week, and a long run on the weekend.
Ah, I get it, the no insulin would perhaps make it a bit tricky I would think you'd need some carbs/ gatorade, etc. but it would be hard to balance that w/ a longer race? There are a few electrolyte sources like Propel that I drink a lot of most of the time to help w/ electrolytes and b/c I like them? There's also this stuff called Nuun that's like a big pill that dissolves which might not be super convenient but it's pretty low carb and has electrolytes too. The best solution might be to get a moderate BG (120-150?) to start a run and run and see how much your BG falls during a run to get an idea how much carb replacement your BG can tolerate? I agree you'd probably need some carbs during a race but I have no idea if like a little metformin would help or not or if you can even get smaller "denominations" of Met?
i know im type 1, but whenever i race, having high numbers is a good thing and only temporary. If you spike and maintain a higher number, does this mean its harder for your bs to come down as a type 2? If so, and i presume it is because you dont have the 'luxury' of jabbing insulin (i assume your not on it), then i hazard a guess its a lot of trial and error on low GI carbs and in moderate dosage. You might want to try Chocolate #9, its a gel which uses agave. Team type 1 use it during triathlons etc, its 80 cals and a low GI carb. Kudos for running marathons, as a type 2 no less. It must be hard to nail the nutrition to have enough carbs on board to fuel your run, but not too much to spike you beyond oblivion.
I take Glucaphage and Byetta. Finding that taking the Byetta just before my half marathons helps me metabolize the supplements better and I seem to have more energy running them.
