Hoe Downs and Blood Glucose levels

**T-Tappin2012** · 08-05-2012, 01:19 PM

Peggy, I tested at 1 and 2 hours after eating and got results of 114 and 119 so no spike at 1 or 2 hours. So maybe HDs help prevent the spike? No more finger pricking today

**Callicrowe** · 08-05-2012, 01:33 PM

Originally Posted by T-Tappin2012

Peggy, I tested at 1 and 2 hours after eating and got results of 114 and 119 so no spike at 1 or 2 hours. So maybe HDs help prevent the spike?

I thought about that, too. If the goal is to keep the insulin levels as level as possible (spikes after eating being normal), then maybe doing HDs a few minutes after a meal would keep it from spiking so much.

**Callicrowe** · 08-06-2012, 09:07 AM

Well that was interesting... fasting glucose this morning 101, 103 after my workout (before eating anything). I think I'll start testing more often after my morning workout and see if that is consistent.

**eshlemania** · 08-06-2012, 10:51 AM

Peggy, I think that if you have diabetic tendencies, you should have breakfast or at least a snack before exercising in the morning. Your body needs something to burn. And if you workout before eating, it tends to shut the metabolism down. 'Member Matt says to eat within the first half hour on waking, so your body doesn't go into metabolism slowdown. So if you exercise on top of not eating right away, it would be more apt to slow metabolism.

**Callicrowe** · 08-06-2012, 11:14 AM

Bev, you have a good point. It isn't my plan to continue working out before breakfast long term. The reason I'm doing it now is because my doctor suggested if I'm trying to see what my glucose readings are in relationship to what I eat that I should not do any exercise between the time I eat and two hours later when I test. I've been having great success in being consistent with my workouts by doing them in the morning, so if I eat breakfast first thing and can't exercise for two hours, that throws off my routine completely. But I don't want to damage my metabolism, either. Maybe a snack is the answer.

My original intent was to test for a month, which I will accomplish in a few days. Then I will change it up. Thanks for the reminder.

**eshlemania** · 08-06-2012, 12:39 PM

Ah, but if you exercise in the two hours and your glucose comes down, isn't that good? Maybe he just wanted to see what your body was doing. I mean that's the whole point about HD's- bringing the sugar numbers down.

**Callicrowe** · 08-06-2012, 01:31 PM

Originally Posted by eshlemania

Ah, but if you exercise in the two hours and your glucose comes down, isn't that good? Maybe he just wanted to see what your body was doing. I mean that's the whole point about HD's- bringing the sugar numbers down.

Doing HDs (or other exercise) after meals to bring the sugar down is exactly what you want. I'm not doing the glucose testing on the doctor's recommendation, but decided that I want to find out for myself what my body is doing. The doctor just advised me on when to test. Exercising in those two hours after eating would have been counter-productive to finding out whether the meals I was eating did indeed cause my sugar to go too high. My A1c has been in the "borderline" range the past two times, and I want to know why.

**just7** · 08-06-2012, 05:11 PM

But does exercising before eating affect how the body handles the food? I'm just thinking "out loud" here......

**Callicrowe** · 08-06-2012, 05:43 PM

Originally Posted by just7

But does exercising before eating affect how the body handles the food? I'm just thinking "out loud" here......

I'm sure it does. The only way to take exercise out of the equation completely would be either to do none at all, or to do it at the end of the day after doing the 2-hours-after-dinner test. Food is only one of the things that affect insulin response and glucose management. Stress, supplements, sleep can also affect it. Anyway, I'll be trying some different testing routines to see what I can discover.