From HbA1c 5.7% to 4.9% on exercise in 10 weeks

[Tropo]

I was surprised (shocked actually) today when I got my HbA1c result. It had dropped from 5.7% to 4.9% in just 10 weeks on exercise alone while maintaining a fairly high level of carbs in my diet.

That corresponds to an average BG of 97.

I exercise intensely in the gym about 2 hours a day mainly concentrating on weight training, but doing cardio 3 times a week.

My carb load is spread evenly over many smaller meals throughout the day, but less than my protein level. I usually eat every 3 to 4 hours. This is my main change compared to previous months ie. eating more frequently.

My carbs are mainly complex with a small amount of simple carbs added.

Here's a rundown of my daily carb intake:

Oatmeal - 1/2 cup per day
Full cream milk - 1 litre per day
Yogurt (sweetened, fat) - 250 - 500 ml per day
Cheese (processed cheddar) - 2 - 4 slices
Wholemeal bread - 6 - 10 slices
Beans (baked beans) - 225 grams (including liquid)
Potatoes - not everyday
Noodles - 1 cup
White rice - 1 or 2 cups, but not everyday
Assorted vegetables - tomatoes, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots etc
Orange juice - 1 glass
Bananas - 1
Gatorade - 1 bottle during workout
Apricot jam - 2 tablespoons (always with peanut butter)
Honey - 1 tablespoon as sweetener for my oats
Sugar - one teaspoon per day with coffee

I'm not concerned with fat levels in my food. I eat 5 scrambled whole eggs as my first meal and I switched to full cream milk back in April. I take 6 - 9 grams daily of fish oil to help balance the fats. I cook with butter.

My bodyfat has reduced on this diet.

I've not had any test strips for the last 2 months because the supplier here in Thailand has been out, but hopefully soon I'll get some so I can test my fasting BG and post prandial readings.

[Handybear]

That is great! You have become an inspiration for me to ramp up my exercise program which I have sort of slacked off on lately.

[Evermont]

Seems like you're doing very well! Exercise is key. 2 hours per day on strength training is more than most people would do. Many suggest cardio daily and strength training on alternating days, I wonder why you go the other way.

Are you giving certain muscle groups rest on alternating days? How many different exercises are you doing? Is it like three sets of 10-15 reps on each or something different? Are you doing isolation or compound exercises? Just curious.

Your results speak for themselves, if it works for you then keep it up!

[Tropo]

Seems like you're doing very well! Exercise is key. 2 hours per day on strength training is more than most people would do. Many suggest cardio daily and strength training on alternating days, I wonder why you go the other way.

Are you giving certain muscle groups rest on alternating days? How many different exercises are you doing? Is it like three sets of 10-15 reps on each or something different? Are you doing isolation or compound exercises? Just curious.

Your results speak for themselves, if it works for you then keep it up!

My strength training is really focused on building muscle. My reps vary between 5 and 15 reps with a combination of higher and lower reps on most exercises. I do a lot of compound lifting such as squats, deadlifts, bench presses, military presses and rowing movements along with isolation exercises.

The cardio is done on the rest days from weights. I may do some light movements on these rest days if I feel up to it. I believe it's the weight training that has the most benefit for insulin sensitivity, and therefore I concentrate more on that.

I'm faced with a choice. Keep up this training which in fact is what I've been doing most of the last 30 years and I really enjoy it, or go on a severely restricted diet.

[Larry H.]

Yes exercise certainly helps me too. I have been busy with so many projects the walking for a half hour some mornings has not been possible and I can see in the morning reads that are up some.
I find that carb intake amazing.. I wonder how advanced your diabetes is? When I first got here nearly two years ago people told me they wouldn't eat even one piece of bread a day, let alone potatos and pasta, beans, ect.. I do eat some of them in limited amounts but after two years it seems that by pushing the limits, and no where near yours, that my numbers are showing the strain of the excess carbs. I think from what little experience I have had that you might be opening your self for worse readings latter by taxing the body with all that? Maybe not, but it is progressive.
What ever your doing though is evidently working and I commend you for that. When I was pushing the reel mower around the yard for hours each day last year my numbers lowered a lot too in comparison to what happened in winter when I wasn't.

[xMenace]

Gr8 job!

You can't argue with success.

I reccommend a few more whole fruits, not juice, and add variety. Higher quantity of veggies too.

[Tropo]

I find that carb intake amazing.. I wonder how advanced your diabetes is?

Morning fasting levels were pretty steady between 110 - 120 for the longest time.

1 hr post prandials were as high as 165 (roast dinner)...averaging around 140 - 150.
1 hr post prandials always under 120, but over 100.

I hardly ever posted readings under 100 at anytime of the day, except sometimes after vigorous exercise.

I must mention that although my carb intake seems relatively high, it is always less than my protein intake at any meal. I don't consume any junk at anytime and nothing at all between meals. I eat solely for nutrition, but try to make it as tasty as possible.

To Xmenace: I'm not a real fruit lover. I drink the orange juice immediately before I go to the gym for a fast energy boost and never at any other time. I do try to include vegatables with most meals.

[Tropo]

Yes exercise certainly helps me too. I have been busy with so many projects the walking for a half hour some mornings has not been possible and I can see in the morning reads that are up some.
I find that carb intake amazing.. I wonder how advanced your diabetes is? When I first got here nearly two years ago people told me they wouldn't eat even one piece of bread a day, let alone potatos and pasta, beans, ect.. I do eat some of them in limited amounts but after two years it seems that by pushing the limits, and no where near yours, that my numbers are showing the strain of the excess carbs. I think from what little experience I have had that you might be opening your self for worse readings latter by taxing the body with all that? Maybe not, but it is progressive.
What ever your doing though is evidently working and I commend you for that. When I was pushing the reel mower around the yard for hours each day last year my numbers lowered a lot too in comparison to what happened in winter when I wasn't.

Hi Larry, I tried to include this in an edit of my last post, but couldn't.

To tell you the truth, I was rather nervous before I got my HbA1c results a few days ago because of my high carb intake. I knew that this high intake could be quite detrimental to my BG levels and I was extremely suprised (even shocked) that it was so low.

The very reason I went for another test was to see exactly how I was responding to this diet.

Just because I've posted a good reading now doesn't mean I'm taking on a gung ho approach. I shall continue to monitor my response closely.

I don't know if you caught a post of mine last year where I gave details of a liver accident (cholestasis with severe jaundice) I had 3 years ago. That was when I first discovered elevated BG levels...as part of a basket of tests for my liver. Back then I was posting fasting levels as high as 255 and actually went on diabetic medication (metformin, gliclazide, Daonil) for a while. Unfortunately I had never had a BG test before this time so I don't have much history to check. I was 45 at the time.

[shootist68]

Maybe I glazed over when reading the posts, but are you doing multiple reps low weight, or low reps high weight?

[Tropo]

Maybe I glazed over when reading the posts, but are you doing multiple reps low weight, or low reps high weight?

I do the whole rep range from 5 to 15 with light to heavy weights.

Eg. On compound exercises like squats, bench press, military press or BB rows, I'll start out with some progressive light sets at 15, 12, 10 to warm up, then up to 2 or 3 heavy sets for 5 reps and finishing off with one high rep set of 12 - 15 for a good pump. For isolation exercises I'll work in the 8 - 15 rep range for 3 or 4 sets, always progressing from a lighter to a heavier weight while dropping the reps for each successive set within that rep range. When I say 8 - 15 reps, I'm using the maximum weight I can lift for that many reps.

The primary goal of everything I do is to build muscle. My theory is that by doing that, all my excess blood glucose gets absorbed by the working muscles, and the metabolic processes that build muscle will be needing a lot. That's why I consume a fairly large amount of carbs.

If (I suppose when is more accurate) in the future I step down my training, I'll taper off my carb consumption to compensate. I'll check my HbA1c every 2 or 3 months to check what's going on with my glucose metabolism and adjust accordingly.

[shootist68]

I am on the other side...former weight lifter. In my glory days, 275 lbs, 56 chest 36 waist. Now 360 lbs and a big fat belly. I really am tryig to slim down and lose mass. I'd ultimately like to be 52 chest 38 waist at 230-245 lbs.

I have some cardiologist tests in a few days (at my request), and if I check out, I am going to hit the gym religiously.

I had an A1c of 7, but my BS tests almost normal. I had lost a parent and was eating like **** and almost mainlineing Coca Cola, so I think that accounts for the bad test result. But, I definitely believe I am insulin resistant because of the fat in my body.

I want to decrease fat and build muscle, so my plan is to do at least 30 minutes of cardio per day 5 x per week, and concentrate on rebuilding my chest and back. My arms are fairly big.

[Tropo]

Just an update.

I managed to secure some test strips at last.

My last 2 FBS readings were 103 and 98.

I did 2 post prandial readings at 1 hr on the following meals over the last 2 days:

Steak/eggs + 1/2 cup oats (cooked with full cream milk plus 1 tbsp honey) = 103

300 grams chicken breast/tomatoes + 3/4 cup oats (full cream milk and honey) = 102

A few months ago these meals would probably have registered in the 140s, maybe even higher, but I wasn't eating oats back then, so I can't give an exact comparison.

I don't know exactly why this is happening, but I like it.

[Tropo]

Another update:



I woke up today with a FBS (8 hours) of 102.

I then consumed a large breakfast consisting of:

200g fish, 3/4 cup oats (cooked with full cream milk with 1 tbsp honey), I slice toast (wholemeal), 2 eggs.

My 1 hour PP reading was 79. I immediately retested and got 75.

What is happening here?

My best guess is that after a hard workout yesterday and fasting for 8 hours (sleeping) the muscles sucked in the excess glucose that they required.

[Ronin]

Tropo, et al.,

What is happening? The mechanisim is much more complex than simply loading the muscles. The liver is the primary storage location for carbohydrates and insulin facilitates that storage. During exercise or other forms of use of energy from glucose the muscle, and other, cells call for additional energy which is released from the liver.

Since not all Pre-D's are Insulin Resistant (IR) the fact of the matter is that our insulin does work and make the process of intake, storage and release work for us. Hence dietary modification as well as exercise seems to regulate the system, or potentially pull the process back into normal ranges.

I've been watching my personal BG levels get better-and-better as the cycling season progresses, and I spend more time on the tandem/single than in the winter. I've also been watching the carb intake closer to make sure that I don't over-indulge and also time the carb intake to right before or immediately following heavy-duty exercise.

My HbA1c values tend to support the idea that the program is working - I do my next test on Tuesday and I will see if June was another good month.