Sugar Crash?
Comments
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I agree - teh symptoms sound like running out of sugar/energy, not having too much sugar in blood (as in untreated daibetes). Could be diet - too many carbs and too little fats & proteins, could be just chronic shortage of food - even though you are 'overweight' your body can only take so much hard exercise (and stress ups your energy needs too)
My guess (& I am not a medical person) would be poor diet - get onto the weight watcher people and get them to adjust your deit & calorie intake to allow for regular hard execise? Eat more protein, and a little more fat? (the healthy stuff) and a broader range of carb types
See a nutritionist?
Use the Livestrong site to see where your diet might be lacking - you can see all the macro and some micro nutrients in weekly summaries (If I remember correctly)?
And if your problems dont clear up pretty soon - see a doctor who will listen to you!!0 -
So I'm back from the doctor and he says that my problem is underestimating my calorie use during the day and giving it the beans on the way home. Apparently pushing too hard on my ride is burning up all my glycogen stores at which point my muscles cease to function and i have a crash. Blood sugar was about 5.4mmol.
He suggests ceral bars for a quick hit of sugar before I leave work, however I seem to be doing much better by having a bowl of porridge about 45mins before I leave. I think slowing down has helped as well. I have been averaging about 15-16mph over the last couple of days (really bad weather) and have not had a crash.
Do you think my job would be classified as 'very active' if im on my feet all day teaching?0 -
a 'very active' job would be something like a binman or labourer0
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I think very active is really a job where you are on your feet, AND doing something physical, i.e labourer, tradesman etc.
Glad to hear you are doing better eating more, but you really shouldn't be experiencing such ups/downs in blood sugar on what you were eating, so I still feel something isn't right, or something you are eating isn't agreeing with you. 5.4mmol blood sugar is just fine btw.0 -
Hmm, had another problem on the way home tonight despite the porridge and going slow. I wonder whether it is worth seeing a proper sports nutritionist? I love riding to beat my time on the way back from work but recently ive been too worried to try.
Any ideas where to take this now? Someone at work suggested elevated cortisol levels may be a problem?
Thanks for the input so far.0 -
Stress elevates cortisol levels and eventually releases fats as slow burn energy into teh blood stream if I recall correctly.
After what you & doctor have said I still think you have a diet issue. You are eating more slow carbs and exercising less hard and feeling better for it. Perhaps try not to lose weight so fast, eat a little more protein and fat with your carbs so that the digetsion process goes more slowly and you avoid peaks and valleys in blood sugar. And a professional nutritionist will certainly help you - but if the problem continues - see your GP or get a second opinion!0 -
Did you get the blood test? I think it would be a good idea before you start looking into other areas. Also, I might just add - get yourself a good quality multi-vitamin/mineral supplement. You may be down on essential vitamins/electrolytes through sweating, which won't be helping matters. I recommend seven seas multibionta having tried a few.0
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Not read all the replies, but you should easily be able to do 10 miles home (I am guessing it is 10 miles each way) with what you have eaten during the day. For that distance and time, you would probably use 200 calories at the most.
If you really feel that bad, I would do as has been suggested, get to a doctors and get your blood sugar levels checked, what you experience on such a short ride is not normal.
Your listed diet was particularly great, but it wasn't that bad to be honest, I can eat alot worse and still have plenty of energy for cycling home, or doing a turbo session when I get home without eating since 3pm.0 -
I've been eating a high carb, low fat, low-medium protein diet for years and have been at a good weight for a long time.
When I started to up the ante on the bike I had spikes of energy combined with flat spots all the time. I.e. up and down all over the place.
When I changed to more protein the spikes disappeared and my levels were more stable. The change came within a couple of days.
It's a struggle eating as much protein as I should though. If I eat a decent morning meal with some meat in it I'm in much better shape all day.
I try to dodge sugary food (bananas work for me) before rides now but (sometimes due to stomach bothers) have to have gel or powerbar type food during longer rides.
Thanks to the new food combination I rode 4.5 hrs the other night without a gel. It'll take me some time to get it on track but the direction's good.0 -
I now have access to a blood glucose monitor at work so I think I will do a day of measurments and try to catch a level if I start getting low on the way home. The problem i am also having is being stuck at 13st12 for around five weeks now despite religiously sticking to the calories recomended on livestrong and weightwatchers before that.
I am sure there is something up but the local doctors just don't want to know, should I resort to going in there and saying 'this is a serious problem, please dont laugh me off and start doing some more in depth tests'? To be honest they made me feel as if I was being a pain in the arse on monday.
I am finding that I also get really bad headaches towards the end of the day which seems to be linked. Any recomendations for a nutritionists ? All my local ones seem to be either 'debbie does diets' or pet nutritionists, such is essex life.
welky0 -
Maybe the doctors don't want to know because nothing is up from their point of view (medically speaking).
If we're actually sick we should make some noise.
Not enough water, too much sugar, too much stress.......
If it's just not working how we want it to then we keep adjusting until it's right. N.B. the adjusting part NEVER stops.
Having flat spots when losing weight is normal. It may be just the body's way of saying that it is adjusting too much and it's going to wait for a bit.
As far as an active job goes....I am a carpenter and builder and now teach the trade.
On site work is physically demanding, the teaching is mentally demanding. Standing on your feet all day teaching (kind of rooted to one spot) though is hard on your body.
The diet may need some more protein. It’s how it looks to me.
I can't comment about mineral deficiencies.0 -
If indeed your blood sugars are dropping, you are hypoglycemic. You actually produce more insulin than you need and consequently, end up with low blood sugars. This is often confused with diabetic lows because the results are the same: low blood sugars which lead to confusion, a lack of coordination, and slowed motor function.
FWIW, my wife is a type 1 diabetic and I'm hypoglycemic. When I'm biking, I carry plenty of Gu to keep my sugars up. I'll go through one every hour or so and as long as I stay hydrated rarely have issues. Once you start feeling the effects of hypoglycemia it takes a while to shake them, so it's better to have an extra Gu or two than not have enough.0 -
thesmoothdome wrote:I'm hypoglycemic. When I'm biking, I carry plenty of Gu to keep my sugars up. I'll go through one every hour or so and as long as I stay hydrated rarely have issues. Once you start feeling the effects of hypoglycemia it takes a while to shake them, so it's better to have an extra Gu or two than not have enough.
FROM A FELLOW HYPOGLAECEMIC: What is Gu please?vintage newbie, spinning away0 -
Could be that you have too high a energy use level - you are simply not eating enough and your body is starting to panic - trying its damndest to retain weight, not burn energy during exercise etc. There is anecdotal evidence from POW camps & similar that the body gets used to greatly reduced calorie intake - the same might be happening to you.
If you're logging everything you consume on Livestrong you should be able to see any big nutritional gaps - if you are basically living a stressful life on energy bars and fruit - your fat burning system will not be getting much of a chance to be active. Fruit is quick energy compared to porridge with milk and some fruit, or a wholemeal sarnie with tuna and raw carrot.
How about Backing off on the diet thing for a week, eating healthily not too many carbs , 1.5 g protein per kg body weight some healthy fats and a multivitamin as well as plenty of liquids - water, green tea, broth etc and taking your commute at a comfortable level without looking at the clock and see how you feel. your weight might go up a bit but it may well not. The headaches could be any number of things - stress/tension, lack of fluids, a virus etc.
Find a qualified nutritionist - there must be lists on the internet0 -
gbs wrote:thesmoothdome wrote:I'm hypoglycemic. When I'm biking, I carry plenty of Gu to keep my sugars up. I'll go through one every hour or so and as long as I stay hydrated rarely have issues. Once you start feeling the effects of hypoglycemia it takes a while to shake them, so it's better to have an extra Gu or two than not have enough.
FROM A FELLOW HYPOGLAECEMIC: What is Gu please?
Gu is an energy gel sold in the states. www.guenergy.com . I carry both the gel and the "chomps" which involve a bit more chewing, but it's a nice change of pace.
There are lot of different energy gels out there. Hammer nutrition and Cliff just to name two. The imortant thing is to find one that agrees with your stomach.0 -
I would recommend drinking 750ml High5 4:1 45min before your ride back. I've got a couple of mates who have problems with their sugar levels and they've tried a range of sports drinks and found 4:1 did the trick. I think its something to do with the protein giving a lower peak of insulin and that provides more gradual energy.0
