Diet Management

[Spikes]

As I grow older I am finding that my body is struggling a little with blood sugar maintenance. I have been tested for diabetes and came back with actually very good results, but it seems that there is a delay that is a little too long between sugar usage and insulin releasing more.

I have been advised to manage this through diet alone, especially since it only happens when I train. So I need a balance between quick acting sugars, and longer lasting to carry me through.

Any suggestions? I can't afford huge medical bills seeing a nutritionist or endocrinologist.

[HuffNpuff]

I can understand the need to avoid spending too much time at the doctors, however if it gets too bothersome then perhaps you should reconsider.

The obvious for fast acting sugars would fruits-because personally I would avoid refined sugars for this purpose. You would need to couple it with a complex carbohydrate to make it last but the timing is going to be important. Does your sugar crash happen during training or not until after?

[Spikes]

Generally I start to crash by the end of the session and sometimes I don't even get that long before I start getting dizzy. If I don't eat I am ok again within maybe half an hour of training, if I rest a little.

I am not sure that fruit would carry me through, though I think maybe it would help if I had it at the last minute.

The trouble is then-would having food in my tummy affect my training?

[jackrabbit]

If you are having issues while training now there is no saying you won't have troubles with it in the rest of your life when you get older and your metabolism changes. There are plenty of comapnies who offer free monitors and coupons for rebates or free monitors with test strip purchases.

You could try glucose tablets from the store. Probably not as healthy as fruit, but they would be less in your stomach while you train if thats a mjor worry.

[HuffNpuff]

I hadn't considered those tablets but you are right-they would give Spikes the sugar boost without the digestive problems. Unfortunately they wouldn't hold out for long enough and would be a sharp sugar spike, but, you could take several as training went on.

[jackrabbit]

The glucose tablets would no doubt spike the blood sugar but with something like a couple crackers for a slower energy source it would probably be possible to not fill your stomach but still have a good balance of quick and slow burning sources.

[HuffNpuff]

You know, turkey and milk are two of the recommended foods for diabetics before they go to bed, possibly with graham crackers too. It holds them over night and stops them having low blood sugar in the morning when they wake up. I can see that something like that could be a nice light, yet lasting snack.

[jackrabbit]

Graham crackers sounds like a good choice. They have some sugar in them as well as larger molecules to break down slower. I'd be leery of milk as it could sour in your stomach but turkey could be useful as well. Why turkey as opposed to any other protein source?

[KevinSK]

Well, one thing is to try gatorade.
Also, while training, getting scared or pretending to get scared pumps your adrenaline which regulates blood glucose levels.