Best time to exercise?

[grace girl]

I've decided to start walking...I've got to do something! I prefer the idea of doing it in the evenings, after dinner, but I know from experience that if I do it right after dinner I'm going to have to drastically reduce my insulin for dinner or I'll go low, have to treat, and really defeat the purpose behind all of this.
Would it be better if I did it before a meal, or wait an hour after to let the insulin get ahead of the game?
Just looking for some input from those of you who do exercise and what works best for you.
Thanks!

[Keezheekoni]

IIRC your a sahm who homeschools, right?

I find I'm much better at exercise around 10 AM...just after the kids are started doing a project/work that doesn't need supervision. I'm not homeschooling anymore, but that's still the best time for me. After dinner and I'm dragging, I just don't feel too much like exercise at that time of night...

At 10am, it's about an hour to hour and a half since I've eaten breakfast and I don't tend to go low as long as I eat a granola bar of approx. 30gm. carbs about 5 minutes before I start my workout. :)

[Kim_in_TN]

Sometimes it is good to exercise before a large meal. That way your body is still in fat-burning mode while you eat. Also, I don't like to exercise (walk) on a full tummy. BUT I am type 2 so I don't want to give you bad advice!

[grace girl]

IIRC your a sahm who homeschools, right?


I am, and I had thought about doing it in the morning. I have a feeling that no matter when I do it I'll probably have one or two of my kids with me...they love walking.

I'm doing this to get into shape, and hopefully lose a few pounds. That's why I'd like to avoid the whole needing to eat so I can exercise thing...makes it all seem pointless.

[MarcS]

I exercise twice a day now. I want to lose the spare tire (I am about 50lbs overweight) just as much as I want to lower my BG. In the morning I use a treadmill and go for about 1/2 hour. At night I generally walk for an hour before dinnner, but am thinking of moving that to after dinner. I bought a scale recently that does BMI (Body Mass Index), and a few other neat features (Water %, etc). Helping me reach my goal.

From past readings I know that my evening reading are higher, so I like to focus my attention there generally. In the mornings I am now in the 80's, so when I exercise I will eat something first (Oatmeal, etc).

[Katie Uk]

Hi,

I've spent a lot of time researching the physiological effects of exercise on diabetes (you name it, I've read it!) but, as always, it can take a lot of trial and error to tailor exercise for oneself - we're all individual!
I train (hard) for 1 -2 hours a day and have found that the best time to exercise is at least 3 hours after a bolus/shot of rapid insulin and directly before my next big meal (so usually about 3-4 hours after lunch and just before dinner is best for me). There are many complicated physiological reasons for exercising at this time but to put it simply there is a lesser chance of hypos during the exercise and hypers after.
If you are interested in learning a bit more about the body's responses to exercise I woud recommend a book by Dr Sheri Colberg called 'The Diabetic Athlete' (not just for 'athletes' but for any diabetics who want to get moving).
Sorry if this is all a bit long-winded but I love to exercise and find diabetic responses to exercise fascinating :D It's my area of interest!

[Alice]

I take my Lantus in the morning. I have finally figured out that the morning is my best time for exercise as I have the least amount of "active" insulin in my body. I still eat a few carbs for energy, but don't really need to "carb up". I watch my numbers afterwards.

I'm just getting back to this after a brief rest following a stress fracture. I will be walking each morning, adding a little each week.

[patricia52]

Anytime you can work it in. Hopefully not just b/4 bedtime. That revs up the metabolism and makes it difficult to fall asleep. Good luck.

[grace girl]

Hi,

I've spent a lot of time researching the physiological effects of exercise on diabetes (you name it, I've read it!) but, as always, it can take a lot of trial and error to tailor exercise for oneself - we're all individual!
I train (hard) for 1 -2 hours a day and have found that the best time to exercise is at least 3 hours after a bolus/shot of rapid insulin and directly before my next big meal (so usually about 3-4 hours after lunch and just before dinner is best for me). There are many complicated physiological reasons for exercising at this time but to put it simply there is a lesser chance of hypos during the exercise and hypers after.
If you are interested in learning a bit more about the body's responses to exercise I woud recommend a book by Dr Sheri Colberg called 'The Diabetic Athlete' (not just for 'athletes' but for any diabetics who want to get moving).
Sorry if this is all a bit long-winded but I love to exercise and find diabetic responses to exercise fascinating :D It's my area of interest!

I really appreciate your insight...you answered my biggest question. My own logic tells me that needing to eat in order to be able to exercise and avoid a hypo is really missing the point...especially if one would like to shed a few pounds. Feeding insulin has created part of my problem to begin with; I don't want to make it worse while in the process of trying to fix it. Thanks!

[Alice]

I wouldn't worry about feeding the insulin too much. Your main longterm goal is to build muscle which will automatically burn more calories than fat. You will also be much healthier cardio-wise...the extra calories will work themselves into the rest of your day pretty easily. Also, I pop just one or two glucose tabs for safety without much of a "peak" and they don't contain too many calories like a snack or meal would add.