Question about Exercise

[Oradev]

Recently, I've gotten into Mountain Biking. Before I go, I usually eat a granola bar (17 carbs). And during my ride I'll drink Gatorade.
Now here's the problem. Even though I eat and drink all those carbs during my ride my Blood Sugar dips in the 40 - 50 area about an hour and a half into my ride. I don't understand why its dropping so fast. Does anyone have any suggestions for me on what to eat or drink before or during my ride? I also don't want to eat a ton of carbs before my ride. This will shoot my blood sugar way up into the 200's.

[HeatherP]

My suggestions would be to ad more carbs, but you said you don't want to. Maybe try another 1/2 bar, and then another if that doesn't work.

Possibly some protein might help - I used to eat a yogurt and 1 oz of cheese before walking. Cheese is a good snack, it's got some calories to burn and may help to sustain you.

Don't know if that'll work or not, but I hope you figure it out,
HeatherP

[Shalyndria]

I think Heather has given you great advice on this one. I too would suggest adding protein and maybe some more carbs.

Do you take insulin to cover the granola bar before you ride? If so you might want to try taking a lower dosage or none at all. Another good idea is to drink a lot of water while you're exercising; dehydration can cause hypo's.

Shy
P.S. I took the liberty of moving your thread to a more appropriate forum.

[Oradev]

I don't take any insulin to counter the carbs. Maybe I should try eating a protein bar before I go instead of a granola bar.

[HeatherP]

It's certainly worth a try. You may have to experiment a bit until you find the right thing that works for you.

[jared]

I have been told that if you inject into a muscle that your gonna use (like your legs) then it will drop real quickly. You may want to inject in a different part of your body say your stomach. Hopefully this helps.

[Belinda]

I would take another snack of 15-20 carbs with me and eat about an hour into the ride. Experiment with the time you may need to eat it at 45 mins into it. Also like Shy said if your taking insulin for the granola bar before the ride try less or not any at all. You do know that bikers carry snacks in the pockets of their jerseys and eat while racing...something I learned in Europe this summer.....

[Jenny]

I wonder since you are riding for such a long time that maybe as the others suggested you do more carbs. Maybe double them.