Type 1 Diabetes and keeping to calorie count

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MagicalGiraffe
MagicalGiraffe Posts: 102 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I've literally just started this yesterday and I've already encountered a problem which I'm a bit puzzled on how to tackle. I had a hypoglycaemic attack just before heading to bed, which meant that I needed to get more sugar down me else I would seizure. I was 13 calories under my target for the day but obviously having bananas with yoghurt and a lump of golden syrup mixed in for a sugar blast pumped up my calorie count. For now I've carried that calorie load into my new day, so I'm already 450 off my total for today!

I was wondering if there are any other insulin dependent diabetics who have been faced with this conundrum and if so how they tackled it? I feel that I correctly injected for my carb intake, although there is the chance my I may need to adjust my ratio but I did have a 45min brisk walk earlier in the day so this might have been a low from that.

I very rarely exercise, just introducing it now, so I am going to have to explore how exercise effects my body. Last time I went for a run I had five hypos over 2 days, so you can say my body doesn't like it at all!! Was wondering as well how insulin dependent users tackle their blood sugar when it comes to exercise, do you notice a particular time when you go low?

Thank you!

Replies

  • ponycyndi
    ponycyndi Posts: 858 Member
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    I had to adjust my doses a LOT. I also ate a lot of candies, dried fruit and honey. By the time I lost 35 lbs and am now exercising regularly, my doses are down about 40%. And I keep candies in my purse, car, and night stand. Rather than eating, I prefer to use the candies. They still have calories, but they helped me break the habit of over eating when I go low.

    You can add me if you want.
  • MagicalGiraffe
    MagicalGiraffe Posts: 102 Member
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    The low overeating might have been one of my problems before. I can get a major case of the munchies when I go low whilst sleepy and will just keep eating and then fall asleep. I never really keep sweets etc in the house since I'll eat them if I know they're there, but I guess during this time of change it would be a good thing to have.

    I shall go to the store and buy them, it'll be a test of self control too!
  • jamie_lee80
    jamie_lee80 Posts: 176 Member
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    This happened to me in the beginning as well. I am on a pump so I called my doctor and we made adjustments to my basal rates. Also, an hour before I exercise I set my basal at 50%. I keep raw honey around all the time, I even found small enough bottles to keep in my purse, my desk, my car,etc. When my blood sugar drops I have a spoonful of honey- it brings me back up nicely without a ton of calories. Previously I could consume a days worth of calories to treat a low. I eat my honey, wait 15 minutes and retest.

    Its been 46 days for me now, I completely cut grain out of my diet and have reduced my insulin from 160+ units per day to approx 70 units per day and have also been able to lose 16 lbs by doing so. My blood sugar has never been so good in the 23 years that i've been diabetic! It is possible to do! Good luck to you! Feel free to add me if you'd like, there is also a group on here for type 1 diabetics that gives great advice!
  • MagicalGiraffe
    MagicalGiraffe Posts: 102 Member
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    Honey seems to be something I need to buy then! Might get some rice crackers with it as well so I have another lowish calorie carb that's lower GI to have with the higher GI boost of honey. And they're not something I'll just snack on since the plain ones are nasty on their own!

    Thank you for responses!
  • kristen__Leann
    kristen__Leann Posts: 3 Member
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    I have had similar problems with lows but i usually use apple juice to bring it up and then I don't account for that in my daily calories. The way I see it is I'm not hungry and it's not my fault I'm having to drink this. But it seems to work well for me. I just recently have gotten back to seriously calorie counting so we'll see exactly how well it works along with my weight lose. Also I am on the pump and have had to lower my basal rates significantly in the past 4-5 months because I workout anywhere from 3-5 times a week, even though I have not lost much of any weight due to eating whatever I felt like.

    Hope this helps!

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