low blood sugars post ride

hearndenemma

Don't seem to get the food intake right after riding.
On friday morning did 21miles most of it climbing, had 2 weetabix for breakfast, 1.5 l isotonic drink and ceral bar during, then a cake and tea after, then lunch which was cheese and ham sandwich and pavalova for pudding
Mid afternoon had hypo, feeling faint and sick but surely what i ate was enough calories :roll:
any advice ???

mea00csf

maybe better off speaking to a doc/nutritionist. Doubt anyone on here could give good advice on managing diabetes while doing lots of exercise, at least not advice you'd want to potentially risk your life on!

cyberil

I just.had the same thing today, first time ever. Keep some glucose tablets on you for emergencies. Also you need some low gi food for breakfast such as porridge with a banana. That'll see you through for a few hours. You should speak with your diabetes team or doctor in case it is more serious.

Radioactiveman

I sometimes get the symptoms you described and went to doctor and had blood tests etc but nothing wrong.

Within 20 minutes post ride I read somewhere you should get a carb/protein mix down. Seems to work for me, I like goodness shakes either ready mixed or powder

or good old chocolate milk. This seems to help and then I just eat low GI snacks until meal time and usualy have a monster meal. Takes me several hours to get a full appetite back post ride

http://www.obesitypanacea.com/2010/02/c ... rcise.html

matthewhuggett

Hi, I'm a doctor and a diabetic if any help! Are you diabetic, as the other posters mentioned? If so, you probably aren't reducing your insulin by enough post ride. It depends on how far and how hard you are riding but I would suggest for a 2-4 hour ride reduce your pre-ride insulin by approx 10% and your insulin before your next meal by between 30 and 50%. If your ride is in the afternoon and you are on a long-acting evening insulin such as glargine and then reduce it by about 30% too. You will probably find you need to continue reducing insulin similarly for up to 24 hrs post riding. Ensure you are eating high carb meals and also that you test your blood sugar at least hourly when you are riding and eat something when it is dipping below 6. Try not to start riding if your BM is > 12 as you will find it goes up rather than down and you may start to become ketotic.

However, everyone is different so it will take some fine-tuning, It can be complex and sometimes you just don't have a clue what has happened!

Hope that helps!

Matt

ollie_lucas1985

Ok Im a diabetic also, but from looking at your meals throughout the day you must be as skinny twig, becuase what you had to eat wouldnt even fill me up!!..

hearndenemma

Sorry I was not clear i am not diabetic have always had hypo's even as a child but haven't had them for 10 years about the time i have been busy with the kids and not doing any sport!
I am now in my 30's only started riding at christmas and have gone from size 16 to size 8 , so I am a skinny twig :roll: but find it difficult to eat more than that as feel full.
I think maybe I need to eat little and often, I don't take the time to stop when riding in 3 hours i would only stop once but don't feel ill when riding its only post ride. Maybe i do need to see dietician !!

cyberil

You must go and see your GP for a blood test. If necessary they will refer you to a dietician. Btw When my diabetes was bad I lost a lot of weight due to ketones.

sharpybox

Another for recommending a dietician.... NOT a nutritionist as was suggested earlier...

ireland57

There's a fair bit of sugar in what you ate there (1.5 l isotonic drink/ceral bar/cake/cheese/ham sandwich/pavalova for pudding).

Any fruit before and after; any protein after (apart from ham)?

How about a banana/s, fruit cake (no icing), apple - maybe, lean meat and salad?

Three hours is a long ride to be having a light breakfast then 1 x cereal bar as fuel for the ride. Try adding a banana (if I got used to them I think anyone can) with the weetbix before the ride.

Take a banana with you; try to dodge the sugary (manufactured) stuff until the later half of the ride.

A protein shake after e.g. rice milk (I don't have dairy milk), banana/strawberries, honey, whey powder, ice serves me well.
Then about an hour later I eat a meal.........yeah, I know......but it works.......meat and salad/vegs.

It's hard for me to eat before and during and I still struggle with it but it works much better.
I also eat much more after a ride now; recovery is good, energy level better.