Carb Free/ Exercise Question

Hi everyone,

I am at the high end of my BMI and want to lose about a stone before I am officially classed as overweight. I am just wondering if eating one or two carb free meal at weekends would help with this? I think if I did it through the week while I'm at work I would end up having a hypo or feeling like I was going to hypo because when I get really hungry it's often a similar feeling to when I'm just going into a hypo (even if my blood isn't low). However I am also planning on exercise at weekends when I have some free time so I am thinking that a carb free meal may increase the risk of a hypo?

My blood sugar readings are generally below 10 although every so often my 1 unit to 1 CP ratio inexplicably stops working for a week or so. I hypo about once or twice a week at the moment, but not too seriously.

Has anyone on here got any advice?

Thanks,

Rhys

Hi Rhys,

I would say that eating a couple of carb free meals a week won't aid you in weight loss on its own. In my weight loss pursuit I've found that eating little often keeps the metabolism high which burns off more calories. It's about eating the right kind of carbs - brown rice, pasta, sweet potato, wholegrains etc are all good as they have a lower glycaemic index than refined carbs like pizza, white bread, pasta, and so they cause fewer/lower sugar spikes.

See more useful nutrition tips here under the Fat Loss Nutrition Information heading.

Also if you're exercising you'll need some carbohydrate intake beforehand as carbs are the fuel the body needs to function. Eating a carb free meal (and so not taking insulin) then exercising may have unpredictable results - you may have some background insulin left which is accelerated when you exercise which could lead to a hypo, however if you have no insulin in you then the hormones produced as a result of exercise might actually push your sugars up.

Hope this helps!

Simon

I suppose cutting carbs down a bit will help with the weight loss as your calorie intake will go down, it will certainly make managing your blood sugars much easier......

I think in order to see good results the exercise is essential and so I think it will be a BI reduction scenario for you instead of taking on more carbs while exercising and after..........it takes time to establish what activity needs what reduction for each and every individual, but once you know this, I would think dropping some carbs off here and there shouldn't give you much problems with your exercise and blood sugars.......

What BI are you on? When did you last test it?

Simon - thanks very much for the help; especially the link. That's the kind of information I've been hunting for. I have made a lot of dietary tweaks in the last month so hopefully this will start to kick in and I'll see some results soon. I have recently purchased some digital bathroom scales which aren't working properly so I can't yet monitor my weight loss closely. I am now of the opinion that a carb free meal is not the way to go; I just need to keep eating healthily and exercise more.

novorapidboi26 - If by BI you mean background insulin (sorry I am new to this forum!) I am on Lantus. I inject 30 units at 7p.m. My QA is Humalog and it's working on a 1 unit to 1 CP a day.

My Body Mass Index, using the NHS calculator and a pair of unreliable scales, puts me at 24.75 which is 11 stone 4 pounds, 5 foot and 7 inches. I want to lose about one stone over the next few months and maintain it.

I last did my BMI properly about three months ago with my diabetes dietician. My weight is using scales that keep giving me inconsistent readings so I'm going to be taking them back at some point this week.

Thanks both!

I would way that being on Lantus is not really suitable for someone who want to exercise regularly, as you cant adjust it to cope with the higher sensitivity brought on by activity........

I would ask about Levemir.......

When did you last test your Lantus...

That's interesting to learn about Lantus not being flexible. But at the same time I am reluctant to change insulin because my BMs are consistently good for the first time since being diabetic (now almost sixteen years). Before Lantus I was on Isophane for many years which, in retrospect, was fairly rubbish (or at least how I was taking it was not working for me). When I started carb counting about six months ago my specialist nurse put me on Lantus straight away and I now see it as a sort of miracle potion because within days my BMs started to come down to being less than 10 most of the time. Before then it was always too high and then I'd have random hypos. My BMs sometimes go a little haywire, but on the whole I am happy with them.

However I do have a hospital appointment about a new BM machine on the 18th so I will mention it then. Thanks for that information.

I don't really know what you mean by testing my Lantus. I can only presume you mean by having a carb free meal, but I will have wait to see what is meant as this is terminology I am not familiar with.

Thanks again

days to kick in

I trained as a personal trainer a few years ago, and when it comes to weight loss, I learned the following:

1) Aim for 1/2 a kilo per week weight loss. Anything more than 1 kg weight per week is unhealthy and potentially dangerous.

2) Weigh yourself only once per week or less. Your weight will fluctuate from day to day naturally, so daily weighing is not helpful.

3) The best results are seen from a combination of introducing healthy food, as well as exercise that involves both cardio (such as walking/running, cycling, and load bearing, e.g. weights. As mentioned above, lower GI foods such as brown rice and whole grain bread rather than white rice and white bread will help here. You should feel fuller for longer, and blood sugars should be better too as it takes longer to break down the lower GI foods, so you avoid big peaks and troughs in your BG readings.

4) Introduce variety to your diet. One of the most important tasks I was given on my PT course, was to write down everything I had eaten the previous day. I then counted up every different type of food that I had eaten. The aim was to have at least 25 different types of food, e.g. a salad might be 5 different types of food - capsicum, lettuce, tomato, feta cheese, carrot. Having a high number of different types of food means that you are likely to be getting all of the nutrients you need. (Note, 25 different types of chocolate bar is not allowed :-) )

If you are going to begin exercising, then see a doctor first, and start gentle, especially with T1D. I find weights can lead to a hypo fast. "Drizzling" carbs during exercise, e.g. sipping sports drink helps, but you don't want to have to do that too much or you will put on weight from taking in more carbs than you are burning. It is much better to reduce basal insulin prior to exercise, or exercise shortly after a meal, where you have reduced QA.

Hope that this helps.

Warwick.

novorapidboi26 - I haven't tested the Lantus. When I first went on it my specialist said that if I make an amendment, I need to monitor the results on the third day as this is when it's likely to take affect. Ever since I have stuck with that. I think Lantus is fairly inflexible, but I will talk to my specialist about it when I next see her.

Warwick - thank you very much for the above information. Point 4 is particularly useful for me and a great idea. My diet is fairly good; transitioning from white pasta to brown pasta is pretty much all that I need to do now!

Hypos are now more of an enemy to me than they ever were because of the high calorie intake they present me with. It seems like they can 'undo' some of my dietary efforts in one fell swoop. I, too, struggle with exercise and hypos which wasn't even something I thought about when starting this topic. I haven't implemented any of the DAFNE rules on this yet, but will start to review the material when I get my diet straight.

you do really need to test your basal [background] regularly, like every month or so, even if you feel all is well.......but being a DAFNE graduate you should be equipped to adjust your background.......