Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Jerry Nairn on July 13, 2011 at 9:58am

You said yesterday your "blood sugars were fine." Could you be more specific? When did you check and what were the numbers?
What you've eaten for breakfast is not the issue if you are exhausted after half an hour.

Permalink Reply by The Diabetic Chef on July 13, 2011 at 12:02pm

Yesterday at the beginning of the swim I was 130 during the swim at a half hour i was 120 (so I had a refuel) at the end of the swim I was 150. For me, that's really good control. I've been on the insulin pump now for about two weeks, the first week I kept crashing while in the pool. Today however I started out at 90 and hovered around the low 90's during the swim. After a half hour I was just tired, weak and wanted to quit. So I got out and came home. I honestly expected a different turn out today, perhaps I just needed to rest up instead of pushing myself, I mean three weeks ago I wasn't even swimming at all. So perhaps an hour is a bit much at this point.

Permalink Reply by Jerry Nairn on July 13, 2011 at 2:38pm

Thanks. You're right of course. It doesn't look like a blood sugar thing.
Good advice from Susannah. She would know.
I stick with the comment that it is not about what you had for breakfast. But if you have been consistently failing to get enough recovery you are accumulating more and more fatigue every workout. Recovery is nutrition, hydration, sleep, just plain time off, etc.
It helps me when I think about the fact that we get stronger while recovering, not while working out.
Good luck.

Permalink Reply by The Diabetic Chef on July 13, 2011 at 4:13pm

Ya know Jerry, I'd have to say your right. I'm not really giving my muscles much of a break. Also I'm planning on adding walking (eventually jogging) to my daily schedule as well. Perhaps I'm doing too much, not sure I just know that with the new insulin pump I feel like I have a new lease on life and I have the energy and desire to do stuff. I'd bike ride too if I had one LOL.

Permalink Reply by Susannah Iltis on July 13, 2011 at 12:02pm

My version of a medical disclaimer: everyone is different, these are my opinions, this is how things work for me, nothing is prescriptive. My background: life-long competitive swimmer, type 1 30 years, injections, continuous glucose monitor.

In general, I do not eat before morning swim workouts (1-1.5 hour masters workouts or 1 hour lake swim) or the occasional morning spin workout. I do not want to deal with having to get up 1-2 hours before the swim to take short acting insulin and allow time for food to digest. It is your most insulin resistant time of the day as well just to complicate things. In fact, I usually take 1/2 unit of short acting insulin before a morning swim workout to maintain my BG level throughout the workout and not end up with high BG after the workout. With proper food consumption during the day to support my level of activity, I do not need to eat to fuel for the morning workout (this is my own personal preference). I do eat a substantial breakfast after the workout that is well balanced between carbs, proteins, and fats. This is how my typical breakfast (milk, mixed greens, cottage cheese, blueberries, pumpkin seeds) breaks down:
Cals Fat Carbs Fiber Prot Sugars
468 18.5g 44g 7g 34g 27g
I like to use the web site MyPlate www.livestrong.com/myplate to track my food. It or a website like it really helps you to see what you are actually eating and where your calories are coming from.

If you have been restricting your calories (especially carbs), it is going to take awhile for your body to adjust. My thoughts about your post yesterday was that you were probably not eating enough for your activities and to replenish all your glycogen stores (muscles, liver). Proper hydration could play a part as well.

As for this morning, my guesses would be related to when you ate relative to when you swam, how much you ate, what foods you ate, BG before food, insulin on board, insulin taken to cover food (did you take less than usual amount needed to cover the quantity of food), timing of insulin for food relative to when you swam, quality of sleep, stress level, BG levels during the night, BG after the workout, BG during the workout if you happen to take it. I think that about covers it :)

Several resources that may be of interest
"Nancy Clark's Sports Nutrition Guidebook" by Nancy Clark
"Diabetic Athlete's Handbook" by Sheri Colberg

Type 1 University online course, "Blood Glucose Control During Sports & Exercise." https://type1university.com/index.php?option=com_eventbooking&v...

A local resource is Sally Hara, CDE, RD, and certified specialist in sports nutrition. She's in Kirkland, WA. http://www.proactivenutrition.net/. She will be part of a upcoming workshop on July 26th at Redmond REI presented by the Sports & Diabetes Group NW. Please email me directly for more info on the workshop. iltis47@gmail.com

Susannah

Permalink Reply by The Diabetic Chef on July 13, 2011 at 4:11pm

Susannah you're comment and support was amazing, thank you for taking your time to help me out. I believe I will go back to just eating a small protein/carb snack before my swim (mainly because I don't want to have to get up at 4:00) and then eat a healthy breakfast when I get home. My breakfast is typically under 40 carbs and has good fats/ proteins, that has helped in the past. Just like you stated I am the most resistant in the morning hours, hence me swimming at 6:00 am. I did have a blood sugar crash last night though, I'm wondering if that had anything to do with my performance level today. In either case, I think taking a break today was probably for the best. I'm drinking plenty of water and hope to be able to hit the pool again stronger then today. Thanks again for the tips, suggestions, and your time.

Blessed Diabetic

Permalink Reply by Susannah Iltis on July 14, 2011 at 9:10am

Absolutely, your crash last night will impact your performance and energy levels for the next day. We live and cope with them all the time so it is easy to not appreciate the true toll and stress going through a crash puts on our body. It is good to push yourself, but also to listen to your body when it is yelling at you. Advice that I am trying to follow more times than I ignore, but it is hard when you just want to get out there and go!

I love mojo bars. You may also want to consider liquid nutrition (like a slim fast shake which has carbs & protein and is in convenient serving size and package) before the swim for easier digestion and quicker absorption.

If you are disconnecting for the swim (don't know which pump you have), the Type 1 University course has some great content addressing that topic and management strategies.

I hope your swim went well this morning. I chose to sleep in, but I will be back out there tomorrow morning bright and early.

Susannah

Permalink Reply by The Diabetic Chef on July 14, 2011 at 6:16pm

Hi Susannah, So today I just ate a hard boiled egg and a Mojo bar, my swim was spot on 12 laps in 40 minutes. I left came home and did some massive heavy cleaning, then went shopping. At this point, yes I'm tired... but I seemed to have more energy and felt better during my swim. I think for me at least, eating breakfast before makes me tank out. I hope you enjoy your swim tomorrow.
Violet