still new to this whole t1d thing (it’s been like 10 days, going fairly okay!)
i was a very frequent gym goer before diagnosis, and i know i still can it just seems a bit complicated. everyone (my doctors, family, people online) say different things about t1d & exercise.
1. what are your general t
Everyone is so different but these are mine:
Heavy lifting alone raises my BS by about 50-80, while running does the opposite- this is pretty nice if you plan on doing cardio post workout because then no correction is really necessary. I never do cardio after eating unless I carefully dose, as sensitivity to any IOB drastically increases. It takes some planning because of this, and on my cardio days I usually eat about 15g of carbs and do not dose at all and I stay steady or even drop.
One thing you'll notice is that different types of exercise affect blood sugar differently. For instance, aerobic exercise will tend to lower your BG, whereas anaerobic may raise it, at least initially. I keep this in mind when I go to the gym, and I try to balance the scales so my blood stays relatively level. I may lift first and then finish with cardio, or vice versa, depending on what my blood is like going into the session.
Also even for aerobic exercise temperature might affect your results greatly. When it’s hot out, even going for a walk raises my sugar (everything does), vs in cooler months walking the exact same route lowers it.
Use to hit the gym for 2 to 4 hours a day for years, loved it, and it was my place to go to just get energy out and just exist without having to think about much.
Before hitting the weights I'd carb load weigth lifting always tanked me, and carb loading prevented that from happening (I'd start trainng around 7 and finish the hour session around 4.5), then I'd take some more carbs and hit the elliptical and while on the elliptical I'd be sipping at my regular Gatorade it would prevent me from going low (Id stay around 5.5 for the session).
Depending on the day, I might hit the pool for a few laps or move to the treadmill and run for a bit or take one of the various classes that were on offer (from yoga to spinning), after my gym session on my walk home I'd stop at the grovery store and