Hello everyone, I was wondering if anyone here uses or has any thoughts on the use protein supplements pre/post workout for T1Ds?
Also, I have noticed that I hit highs during and usually after my workouts. During my strength training (which I do 2-3times a week for 60-70min)at about 30min in my BG starts rising and by 60min I am anywhere from 190-250mg/dL. I don't come down until at least 4-5hrs later. I don't lower my insulin for strength training, I do correction bolus before workout and I give myself small amounts of insulin during my workouts (0.05-0.25U)... all to no avail. I still hit highs after my workout. Also, I have noticed that I am starting to hit highs 2-3hours after cardio (I do cardio 4-5times a week for 60-80min)which never use to happen before. Thoughts or advice on this would also be greatly appreciated!
I used to take protein powder pre-workout, but that was back when I was way off the wagon with my management. I'm not sure how it affected my BGs, probably blew them to heck, but I managed to pack on a lot of lean mass while on the supplements.
Considering some of the BG issues you've described, I'd be hesitant to add in something that will most likely just aggravate an issue with post-workout highs. If both aerobics and weight-lifting are causing highs, you have to deal with that somehow. Maybe up the insulin dosage and work on the timing of the dosing to see if you can put some kind of breaks on the post-workout spikes?
My only other suggestion would be to try a different approach. I know that high intensity anaerobic workouts really drop my BGs in a hurry. I'll do repeat sprint intervals for 30 to 60 seconds at 85% max HR and watch my BG drop as much as 60 points in 30 minutes.
Maybe try ending your workouts with some high intensity training to see what that does to your BG.
I just started doing the protein shake thing (I make mine with unsweetened almond milk- zero carbs)in the morning in place of breakfast right before I workout. I usually do cardio and/or strength. I'm used to major carb-loading before workout because I'm always terrified of having a low at the gym. My BG drops significantly after I workout, so at first I was way nervous to not eat anything but the protein shake. Lo and behold I feel like it works! I don't have to eat any carbs (or much) and my BG holds steady through a workout. Today I didn't have a shake before I left (I had a bagel) and I ran but had the shake when I got home to keep me from going low while I ran errands. I feel like it fills me up and keeps me from eating everything in sight. I am starving on the days I go to the gym. But I am curious to see how others weigh in! I hope it's not a bad thing.
Indeed! I always intake some carbs (Kind bar), calculate with my pump and under dose about .7 units for 30 mins of weight training mixed with cardio. (I disconnect from pump during workout.) try reading Diabetic athlete.
I actually do take a protein supplement for breakfast (which is usually before I workout) and then after as well. The breakfast shake is just 2scoops of protein (carbs: 4g) and 1/2 cup of non-sweetened vanilla almond milk (carbs:1g. Post workout is 2scoops of protein- 4g, 1Tbsp of almond or peanut butter (3-4g) and 1 cup of unsweetened almond vanilla almond milk (2g). They are both very low carb and tasty :) I hit highs after workout but it's not because of the protein shakes. No matter what I eat or don't eat I hit a high after working out...
I heard about that book... I think I might need to look into it a little more. That is really interesting that you spike if you don't carb load. Oh the mysteries of T1D!
I do intervals with my cardio which definitely help with lowering my BG and/ or keeping it stable... I might add that to the end of my strength training and see how that goes. As far as protein supplements go, I currently take them and I don't think they are what cause the highs though... I've tried not taking any and I would still hit highs. I guess it's just going to take some "trial and error" to figure this out.
Thanks for the advice!
I am an older woman who was very active and ended up with an adrenal tumor that destroyed my muscles. LADA diabetes followed. I have been working on recovery for over five years, and the thing that has helped me the most was to understand the role of cortisol. http://thinkmuscle.com/supplements/cortisol-supplements/
I adjust my exercise and diet to the time of day. You need to study the diurnal rhythms of cortisol because it can explain why exercising at a different time of day can produce varying results. The technical explanation can be found in Endocrinology textbooks like Willam's Textbook of Endocrinology. Sex hormones and anti-histamines blunt the rise of cortisol about two hours after the cessation of exercise. The anti-histamines include the variety you get in antacid type products. I honestly forget which ones these are.
I suffer from low testosterone, but since I'm an old chick, it is really hard for the docs to figure out how to supplement me. I drop anywhere from two hours to four hours after exercise, and since my workouts usually include both cardio and resistance separated by hours, it is a pain to figure out. My regulation includes keeping track of what my reserve levels are, which I believe implicates the liver stores.
I still produce enough insulin to keep me out of the hospital under most circumstances, so my routine will be different than yours. I usually eat protein before my workouts. I'm doing Bernstein. I take RAW Protein Powder from Whole Foods when I use drinks.
I know I'm dropping when I get cold. My drops will seem to come out of nowhere even with frequent testing after exercise. My best predictor is testing the instant I feel cold no matter what my bg was 20 minutes before on the meter.I'm usually safe up until the two hour mark. I drop more if I sit down rather than if I am walking around. For me, sitting down and watching TV drops my bg if I have exercised even earlier in the day.
Hey there! I get the highs from weight training and anaerobic or high intensity work as well. What's worked for me is to set a 200% increase in my basal about 90 min before I start my workout and it lasts about 15 min after I'm done. This has pretty much helped me level out throughout the workout and afterwards. And I don't spike after my recovery drink and breakfast either as a bonus!
Thanks for sharing, Sheila Fitz. This article is so helpful for me in so many ways other than excercising.
Regarding boshra´s thoughts about highs after workout, those might be explained by cortisol and stress from resistance training according to the article:
"Stress to the human body can include trauma, anxiety, infections, surgery, and even resistance training and aerobics. Recent research has shown that increased cortisol levels also increased protein breakdown by 5% to 20%. (3) Even mild elevations in serum cortisol can increase plasma glucose concentration and protein catabolism within a few hours in healthy individuals. (4) Cortisol increases with increasing time of intense exercise."
Siri,and everyone, the short version is that everyone produces less cortisol at night than in the early morning, so whatever plan works for you to keep your bg in line should be consistent and not swapped AM to PM. Bernstein does not recommend exercise within four hours of arising, but lets face it, you get the exercise in, whenever. I use protein in the am before exercise and will include some low carb vegetables before PM exercise. For mixed exercise, you can reverse the order and do resistance before cardio. Other things to consider are heat/cold and hydration. Bg should increase if you get dehydrated. Speaking as an individual, my bg drops in sustained cold weather. The gym where I lift weights is good about keeping the temp down.
My bg will run higher before I manifest overt symptoms of illness, and naproxen will lower my bg.
My Endo has allowed an Rx for Xanax that I use when I'm experiencing stress beyond my control, and it, too, will lower my bg. (My teens are usually the source.)
I am still not on insulin, and "D" is always on my mind - where am I, what time of day, what was my last meal, am I sick, when did I exercise, what kind of exercise, how long did I exercise, how intense was my workout, how heavy the weights, and in what order did I exercise...etc, etc, etc....ad infinitum.
Hey, thank you for this bit of info! For my workout today (90min)I increased my basal rate for an hour (starting 10min before my workout) by 20% and it worked out well! I did hit a bit of a low after I was done working out, but I believe this is the first time that I didn't shoot up too high and stay high during and after my workout. I'm going to try increasing my basal by only 10% tomorrow and see how that works out. Again thank you for sharing your strategy with me :)
Thank you for this information on cortisol! It was very interesting and informative. I met with my endo on Monday and we discussed the possibility that I may have high cortisol. We decided that we would try some new basal rates during workouts and some new combo boluses after workout before we moved to addressing the possibility of cortisol though. Again thank you!
I don´t know if it matters whether or not you have high cortisol levels, because solution is either way to increase your insulin. From your update in this thread I see you had great success with that and that´s great :) I just thought the more one knows why a high happens the better solutions one will come up with.
Basically, what's happening is your liver is pouring out glucose in response to your exercise, so increasing your basal rate during exercise should help. Since you are doing a correction before, is it safe for me to assume that you remove your pump or suspend during your workouts? If so, maybe you just need to wear it whilst exercising.
In terms of the protein supplements, I would not recommend taking one of the powdered supplements. I am a registered dietitian, and one of the things we learn is how poor the quality of the protein is in these supplements. If you're talking about having a high-quality protein post-workout, that could help with the extra protein requirements you have from strength training. When I say high-quality proteins, I mean foods we eat that contain proteins that are more easily absorbed by our bodies. Animal proteins, especially eggs, are actually the highest quality proteins.
