Type 1 Diabetic and Lifting...

koootenay
koootenay Posts: 126 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hey, so I'm looking for info on being diabetic and lifting weight/exercising. Does giving myself a synthetic insulin affect how my body works? I know insulin plays a great deal in losing/gaining weight, but is it the same for building muscle? I have experienced much better blood glucose control with regular exercise and logging my food..well I can say I never forget to bolus with my insulin pump! I haven't been apart of MFP for a long time, but it has changed how I manage my diabetes for the better.

Are there any other diabetics looking to lose weight and build muscle? I'm focusing on building muscle than losing weight, that will come in time. Besides, you can't restrict calories and expect to build muscle, right?

Thanks for any advice and feel free to add me if your looking for a internet friend : )

Replies

  • AMBlass
    AMBlass Posts: 161
    I know many athletes with diabetes (I write for a diabetes blog) and I can confidently say that you can build muscle on synthetic insulin. In fact, some athletes will even use insulin as a doping agent, but you won't have a problem with that. Just manage your blood sugars, exercise and eat healthily and your body will gain muscle. Muscle tissue does require insulin to function, so you definitely don't want to skimp on it. That would be pretty dangerous for a few reasons. You can also work with groups like Team WILD or Fit for D which have expert to help people with diabetes exercise healthily and reach their goals. You can also check out organizations like Insulindependence or Team Novo Nordisk, which have athletes you might be able to email. Also, the book Your Diabetes Science Experiment by Ginger Vieira might be helpful as it helps set people up to understand how their diabetes works best while exercising.

    Let me know if you have any more questions!
  • koootenay
    koootenay Posts: 126 Member
    Wow, Thanks so much for those links : )

    I didn't know of these programs. How do you manage your diabetes through exercise? Sometimes my blood sugar goes up in rare cases but I have a suspicion that it has to do with ketones. In the past I've been a real bad diabetic. In 2009 I went to the hospital 3 times for ketoacidosis. I eventually went to a in hospital program for girls with eating disorders where my endocrinologist spent most of her time. (I DO NOT HAVE AN EATING DISORDER...just making sure you all know that..) It was just a place she could keep a good eye on me while I got better at managing my diabetes. I stayed there 2 months and then I left Vancouver and back home to Victoria. I haven't been back to the hospital since : ) And it hasn't been until I joined MFP that I have been dead on with almost perfect sugars. I'm so happy and no up and downs all day. But I think a couple times my blood sugar was running a little high during the morning and when I exercised, it made it slightly worse.

    I'm interested in hearing your story, and anyone who would like to share for that matter : )
  • jdad1
    jdad1 Posts: 1,899 Member
    bump
  • bettywin
    bettywin Posts: 14
    Wow, Thanks so much for those links : )

    But I think a couple times my blood sugar was running a little high during the morning and when I exercised, it made it slightly worse.


    My blood sugars do this if I haven't had any food in a while and BS are slightly raised. Personally for me, although theres probably no science behind it, I think it's when I don't have much insulin in me. If my blood sugars are raised before exercise, although I like them to be a bit higher than normal (normally around 12-13) I will give myself like a tiny amount, maybe 1 unit. Also I've read something about aerobic and anaerobic exercise. If it's really intense it can make your blood sugars rise. But I don't think that happens to me.
    I always take a cereal bar and bottle of lucozade in my gym bag just in case and check my BS every hour if I'm at the gym for a long session. I normally go to the gym with a BS of 10-13 and after a typical 45-60min session my BS is 5-6.

    Thanks to above poster for recommending the Your Diabetes Science Experiment book, I think I'm gonna give it a try!
  • AMBlass
    AMBlass Posts: 161
    Exercise can cause blood sugar to both rise and fall -- and sometimes both! There are a lot of factors involved, and I'm not really an expert on it at this point so I would have a hard time explaining it. But the resources I sent you should be able to answer your questions.

    Right now, I tend to start with a blood sugar a little higher than normal (I'm in the US so I'm not sure what the conversion is), and then I drop to normal. If I'm already at normal, then I might eat a snack 30-45 minutes earlier (to give it time to digest) and then exercise, and so I usually find myself at a higher number when I'm done (but not high, just normal). I sometimes go low if I have active insulin in my system, so I try to not exercise near a meal, or if I do, I'm more conservative with my insulin. A lot has to do with what I am at the time I'm exercising. It gets a little easier to predict what will happen the more often you do something. It might not work the first few times you go out, but eventually you'll get the hang of how your body works and what you need to do. For instance, a lot of people I know do a temp basal before they work out, but that never worked for me because I always skyrocketed after I was finished. I have an easier time adjusting my blood sugar using food, rather than the absence of insulin, so I have to work that into my overall calorie intake. That's why I tend to workout near a time I would already be eating, like dinner, so that it's not actually adding calories, because I would be eating whether or not I'm exercising!

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