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kenscircus commented on this post about 5 years agoHi Everyone! I'm curious about members' exercise plans, and how you all have been able to balance hypo's with intense exercise. I find that a piece of fruit with a few nuts and lowering my basal by about 80% for 30 minutes prior to and during my workout seems to help. I also have been...Hi Everyone! I'm curious about members' exercise plans, and how you all have been able to balance hypo's with intense exercise. I find that a piece of fruit with a few nuts and lowering my basal by about 80% for 30 minutes prior to and during my workout seems to help. I also have been exploring starting with weights and ending with cardio, versus starting with cardio and ending with weights. However, I am quite variable and have found recently that my hypo's have gotten more intense, so I have to stop mid-workout which is quite frustrating!!More
Any recommendations or insights will be helpful.
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Tara,
We are so glad to have you joining us and making friends here. Please let us know any way we can be of service to you. And, let us know if you would like to be more involved here like maybe blogging, greeting people, etc... :-)
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Hello Everyone,
I have had T1D since age 15 (I'm 33 now), and only recently discovered the benefits of transitioning to a whole-foods plant based lifestyle. I wish I had known about this for much longer, but I'm pleased to see that Ken also...
MoreHello Everyone,
I have had T1D since age 15 (I'm 33 now), and only recently discovered the benefits of transitioning to a whole-foods plant based lifestyle. I wish I had known about this for much longer, but I'm pleased to see that Ken also discovered this in his 30's and is still in such good health (or better!) decades later. I've been completely avoiding meats, dairy, fish, eggs, etc. for 6 months, and I've noticed a significant decrease (at least 50%) in the amount of insulin (Novolog) that I need to take. I've also been very interested in limiting my fat intake, and the info you provide here excites me to continue on this path. I use an Omnipod insulin pump and a Dexcom CGM, which I've found very useful for monitoring patterns and catching lows before they happen. Just recently I began using fruit to do this, like you Ken, and moving away from glucose tabs. I am so incredibly sick of glucose tabs. They're the worst! But I will never get sick of a Cara Cara orange, or a nice juicy Pink Lady apple!
I don't know if you feel this way, but I often think of my diabetes diagnosis as a blessing in disguise. Who knows what my eating habits would have been if I had never been diagnosed? Now I have a very powerful tool that encourages me to make the best decisions for my health. If only I could have Ken's skills of logging and data analysis- that's where I seem to fall short!
Anyway, I am so grateful to find this website and a group of people with similar challenges (and successes). The info that you all have provided is probably the most useful, concrete, and specific info I've been able to find online for T1D's and WFPB diet. I look forward to reading more and keeping in touch!
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Tara
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The first thing I have learned in preventing lows (and highs) is to know what to expect. There is a lag to everything so preventing a hypoHi Tara,
The first thing I have learned in preventing lows (and highs) is to know what to expect. There is a lag to everything so preventing a hypo needs to take place before it happens. I use my log to know what to expect and when to expect it. Since life is so variable, the log is a continuing thing. The figures I used yesterday or last week can't be reused today. I use yesterday's and last weeks, etc. figures to see what I need to do today - at the moment. It's a predictive process.
More specifically to your question, however; I find apple juice as the easiest, most effective hypo (I call it "crash") prevention. If I overdo the apple juice, it dissipates rather quickly. If I'm doing any sort of workout that is expected to last about an hour, I will just chug about eight ounces of apple juice about ten minutes before the workout - and log it. If I still went low, then I note the timing, blood-sugar numbers, etc. from the log. The next time, I know to increase or decrease the apple juice or add or subtract the timing, so it fills the low without a spike before or after (that's the timing part). If I'm going to do some kind of long term strenuous activity where stopping is not an option, I will mix apple juice in my water bottle. The ratio has to be derived from previous experience (the log). Unfortunately, I'm afraid that you do have to experience it before you can know how to prevent it. It's a continuing process that has to be continuously honed and fine-tuned. Eventually, the tuning becomes second nature. Note: - and please don't tell anyone I told you this: but more insulin balanced with more sugar may seem a bit tight-rope-ish, but, when well balanced, it sure does provide some incredible energy! (When I say balanced, I mean blood-sugar at 85mg/dl +/- 15 mg/dl throughout.)
I would also not recommend nuts (or any fats, for that matter)! Nuts have a "satisfying" feel to them, however they have absolutely no benefit in preventing a low. In fact, any effect from nuts does not even occur until the next day or two and that effect is increased insulin resistance making lows even more pronounced and harder to chase. It sometimes may seem that nuts provide energy, but that is a misperception. The unfortunate part is the resulting insulin resistance lasts for a month or more. Adding to the misperception that nuts or candy bars help prevent a low is that the liver reacts to hypoglycemia by excreting glycogen into the blood stream. The process, however is too slow to stop a "crash", but the later rise can make one "think" the nuts or candy bar did it. Instead, the nuts or candy bar just makes is worse later.
Preventing hypo's, lows and crashes should be easy, but insulin resistance makes it a "spastic" chase. That is why I am so obsessive about keeping insulin resistance as low as I can get it - no fats!
Please understand that I am not a medical professional in any capacity. This writing is only to share what I have learned from my personal experience.
Ken
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Ken
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