# Increasing my exercise has lowered my BG a lot



## David Hay (Mar 8, 2018)

I was diagnosed 6 weeks ago and started walking 10 mins x 3 each day
this definitely helped reduce my BG after meals. but I was only getting down to between 5.5-6.5 m/mols. (PS I am not on any meds just diet)
I have upped my game and now walk 2x a day for half an hour and include 3 steep hills
the hills really get the leg muscles working and sucks up all the glucose...
Now my reads before meals are around 6.5, but after the 30 min walk the past 5 days I am getting between 4.0 -4.2 m/mol two hrs after meal. 
as I lose more weight Im expecting those reads to get down into the high 3s

exercise and diet are the key (if you can exercise) 
my doctor didnt want to give me drugs even though my A1c was 14.5, 
he told me to go out and exercise and smash this hard
so I have and it is working
so go out and exercise, if you can get your BG down to 3-4m/mol
by exercising it is better than metformin, and I haven't felt this good in years!


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## Mark T (Mar 8, 2018)

4 is probably as low as you want to go.  3 is technically a hypo!

But good on you for the exercise


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## HOBIE (Mar 8, 2018)

Keep going David !


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## Amigo (Mar 8, 2018)

David Hay said:


> I was diagnosed 6 weeks ago and started walking 10 mins x 3 each day
> this definitely helped reduce my BG after meals. but I was only getting down to between 5.5-6.5 m/mols. (PS I am not on any meds just diet)
> I have upped my game and now walk 2x a day for half an hour and include 3 steep hills
> the hills really get the leg muscles working and sucks up all the glucose...
> ...



Well done David but as Mark rightly says, don’t be aiming for a blood glucose level under 4.

Was it a random blood test/finger prick test that registered 14.5 because a Hba1c that high is so massive and dangerous, it’s off the chart! There’s no way you’d have been sent away without meds on a Hb that high. It’s hospitalisation levels I’d imagine! Here’s the chart;

http://baspath.co.uk/Hba1c_table.pdf


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## Martin Canty (Mar 8, 2018)

Congratulations David......

As already said don't aim for lower than 4..... 4-5 is a great target


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## Matt Cycle (Mar 8, 2018)

Well done David, keep at it.  You won't get diabetic hypos if you're not on hypo causing meds despite what people claim.  The whole world will have 'hypos' i.e. blood glucose below 4 mmol/L and not know anything about it as we don't all go around with blood glucose meters.  The issue with insulin is once it's injected it can't be removed so there is the potential for the blood glucose to keep on dropping.


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## Martin Canty (Mar 8, 2018)

Matt Cycle said:


> You won't get diabetic hypos if you're not on hypo causing meds despite what people claim



I hear that claim often despite me telling them that (in a normal world) one just doesn't go hypo without hypo inducing medication (injected or oral). Since coming off Glyburide, despite BG sometimes getting down to near 4.0 I have not had one hypo...


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## Chris Hobson (Mar 8, 2018)

Well done, I hope that you can keep it up. As readers of my wibblings will be aware, exercise really worked for me. I modified my diet too but exercise was the thing that I embraced the most.


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## Mark T (Mar 8, 2018)

Matt Cycle said:


> Well done David, keep at it.  You won't get diabetic hypos if you're not on hypo causing meds despite what people claim.





Martin Canty said:


> I hear that claim often despite me telling them that (in a normal world) one just doesn't go hypo without hypo inducing medication (injected or oral). Since coming off Glyburide, despite BG sometimes getting down to near 4.0 I have not had one hypo...


In this case, yes probably he won't actually get to hypo levels.  But it's possible to get pretty close.  Metformin reduces your liver's ability to secrete glucose.  So being a bit lower anyway plus strenuous exercise (sex!) can be interesting.  No, I can't be bothered to whip out my meter in those cases and find out exactly where I was 

Additionally, there is something called reactive hypoglycemia - there was at least one person on this forum that had that.


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## Martin Canty (Mar 8, 2018)

Mark T said:


> Additionally, there is something called reactive hypoglycemia - there was at least one person on this forum that had that.


That's a situation outside of 'normal' but yes, there have been a few discussions on this forum regarding Reactive Hypoglycemia... 
https://www.hormone.org/diseases-and-conditions/diabetes/non-diabetic-hypoglycemia


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## David Hay (Mar 8, 2018)

no chance of a hypo I am happy with low 4m/mol range. my BG tends to rise slightly once I stop exercising and seems to level off at 6.3 (if I dont eat or exercise)
My doctor and I discussed taking meds and he said no, he wanted me to get it down, he knew I was very fit and was willing to work hard
my average for the past 4 days has been, 6.2; 6.0; 6.3; 5.7; I have lost total of 5kg in 6 weeks 3 more Kg to go to get to BMI 24


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## David Hay (Mar 8, 2018)

Mark T said:


> 4 is probably as low as you want to go.  3 is technically a hypo!
> 
> But good on you for the exercise


Im happy with 4-5 range if I hit a 3.9 after exercise its not so bad as my BG creeps back up to around 6 after 3-4 hrs


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## David Hay (Mar 8, 2018)

Matt Cycle said:


> Well done David, keep at it.  You won't get diabetic hypos if you're not on hypo causing meds despite what people claim.  The whole world will have 'hypos' i.e. blood glucose below 4 mmol/L and not know anything about it as we don't all go around with blood glucose meters.  The issue with insulin is once it's injected it can't be removed so there is the potential for the blood glucose to keep on dropping.


I dont take any meds and my liver function is normal, so my BG tends to creep back up slowly until my next meal
so no real risk of hypo,


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## Martin Canty (Mar 8, 2018)

As a matter of interest, what modifications did you make to your diet (if any)


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## David Hay (Mar 8, 2018)

Chris Hobson said:


> Well done, I hope that you can keep it up. As readers of my wibblings will be aware, exercise really worked for me. I modified my diet too but exercise was the thing that I embraced the most.


Chris yes diet stops it going too high, but exercise is the key, for example this morning my waking BG was 7, 2hrs after breakfast and a 25 min walk it came down to 4.0m/mol 
thats a lot, and the exercise helps me lose weight, exercise is the key but not too strenuous as some peoples BG goes up if they work too hard.


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## Martin Canty (Mar 8, 2018)

David Hay said:


> exercise is the key but not too strenuous as some peoples BG goes up if they work too hard.


My exercise of choice is Yoga, would be interesting to compare BG after a Yin class (slow deep stretching) vs a fast paced Vinyasa Flow


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## David Hay (Mar 8, 2018)

Martin Canty said:


> As a matter of interest, what modifications did you make to your diet (if any)


Low carb probably 20-30 per day, breakfast is eggs sausages mushrooms asparagus (used to be cereal and milk)
lunch is tuna,chicken or salmon salad
dinner is some mixture of chicken breast or fish with broccoli cauliflower, beans, brussel sprouts, onions, carrots. 
and I use cauliflower instead of rice when I make chinese meals
and cauliflower pizza base (which is amazing !) 
snacks include dark chocolate, peanuts, 
no white foods. ie bread, pasta, rice potatoes
Im actually eating more but losing weight
once I get down to my BMI of 24 I will reintroduce some carbs


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## David Hay (Mar 8, 2018)

Martin Canty said:


> My exercise of choice is Yoga, would be interesting to compare BG after a Yin class (slow deep stretching) vs a fast paced Vinyasa Flow


where I live has lots of hills and flat roads, so I do three step hills of around 250 steps each and three long flat stretches
that is also good for the heart. when I walked on flat roads it didnt lower the BG as much
i can drop my BG by 3-4 m/mol in 25 min walk
each hill brings it down 1 m/mol
if my BG 1hr after meal is around 7 I do the three hills and that always brings it back to 4- 4.2m/mol
if my BG is 6m/mol I just do 2 hills and its settles at 4.1 every time
I am lucky in the sense that I work from home for myself and can choose when to eat and when to exercise
that helps a lot


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## Martin Canty (Mar 8, 2018)

David Hay said:


> Im actually eating more but losing weight


Kinda similar to me, I lost over 60lb & ended up at 165 (up a little as we were in Vegas last weekend & diet went by the wayside). I found that I actually ate less but have better ingredients


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## David Hay (Mar 8, 2018)

Martin Canty said:


> Kinda similar to me, I lost over 60lb & ended up at 165 (up a little as we were in Vegas last weekend & diet went by the wayside). I found that I actually ate less but have better ingredients


165lbs = 75 kg
 I am 6'4" so my BMI is around 90kg = 198lbs


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## HOBIE (Mar 10, 2018)

Keep at it David ! everyone is different but you are handling it very well.


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## HOBIE (Mar 15, 2018)

Bump


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## Browser (Mar 20, 2018)

Three or four rounds of golf a week do it for me. Great for the old BG and sheds the calories a treat.


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## HOBIE (Mar 31, 2018)

Browser said:


> Three or four rounds of golf a week do it for me. Great for the old BG and sheds the calories a treat.


Being out is also beneficial


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## HOBIE (Apr 17, 2018)

How is it going David & Browser ?


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## Browser (Apr 17, 2018)

Thanks for enquiring. I’m doing fine. Plenty of exercise (golf and walking) eating quite healthily and as I’m now on my own, I try to find a variety of things to keep me interested and occupied.


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## HOBIE (Apr 18, 2018)

Good to here Browser  Out in the fresh air


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## HOBIE (Sep 15, 2018)

HOBIE said:


> Keep at it David ! everyone is different but you are handling it very well.


Have a read !


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## HOBIE (Sep 18, 2018)

Martin Canty said:


> I hear that claim often despite me telling them that (in a normal world) one just doesn't go hypo without hypo inducing medication (injected or oral). Since coming off Glyburide, despite BG sometimes getting down to near 4.0 I have not had one hypo...


Good stuff Martin !


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## HOBIE (Sep 18, 2018)

Martin Canty said:


> I hear that claim often despite me telling them that (in a normal world) one just doesn't go hypo without hypo inducing medication (injected or oral). Since coming off Glyburide, despite BG sometimes getting down to near 4.0 I have not had one hypo...


Good stuff Martin


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## Martin Canty (Sep 18, 2018)

HOBIE said:


> Good stuff Martin


Alas, not true anymore..... I had one 3.5 a couple of months ago, came out of the blue.... No idea why but I have been pushing my levels to the low 4's


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## HOBIE (Sep 18, 2018)

Martin YOU are a very good example & don't sit still to long


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## HOBIE (May 8, 2019)

Nothing wrong with a good walk ?  Some good examples here


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## belugalad (Jun 1, 2019)

David Hay said:


> I was diagnosed 6 weeks ago and started walking 10 mins x 3 each day
> this definitely helped reduce my BG after meals. but I was only getting down to between 5.5-6.5 m/mols. (PS I am not on any meds just diet)
> I have upped my game and now walk 2x a day for half an hour and include 3 steep hills
> the hills really get the leg muscles working and sucks up all the glucose...
> ...


Hi David,you are doing great with the walking,so that's after meals then?I do a half an hour walk in the morning straight after breakfast,I might try and do my route again after dinner,but it might have to be an hour or so after I have eaten as I have carers coming to the home at 7.15pm for 10 mins and I like to be at home when they arrive,I wish I had the steep hills like you have local to you,I'm glad you shared that though as that's inspiring.
Is it of better benefit to walk straight after the meal then,if so I could eat later?


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## everydayupsanddowns (Jun 1, 2019)

belugalad said:


> Hi David,you are doing great with the walking,so that's after meals then?I do a half an hour walk in the morning straight after breakfast,I might try and do my route again after dinner,but it might have to be an hour or so after I have eaten as I have carers coming to the home at 7.15pm for 10 mins and I like to be at home when they arrive,I wish I had the steep hills like you have local to you,I'm glad you shared that though as that's inspiring.
> Is it of better benefit to walk straight after the meal then,if so I could eat later?



This is quite an old thread @belugalad - David doesn’t stop by any more (last seen over a year ago).


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## belugalad (Jun 1, 2019)

everydayupsanddowns said:


> This is quite an old thread @belugalad - David doesn’t stop by any more (last seen over a year ago).


Thanks @everydayupsanddowns


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## Rose73 (Jun 18, 2019)

I have after meal two hours around 6.5 ? Is this high ? Also fasting around 5 to 5.4 , only few days exceeding that , is this good 

I am trying to manage by reduce the portion and some walking 
But I have doing lots of gym daily since last year and after found my HBA1C going up I start not trust sport a lot and go back to look at my meals again 

It is so difficult to keep yourself healthy with keeping low BG as by time I feel myself weak and losing lots of weight that I don’t want any more as I become so skinny now 

I was watching my weight and looking for reducing my weight six months ago while now I am scared of losing any more as I am scared of become only bones eventually 
Any advise welcome


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## belugalad (Jun 18, 2019)

Ban said:


> I have after meal two hours around 6.5 ? Is this high ? Also fasting around 5 to 5.4 , only few days exceeding that , is this good
> 
> I am trying to manage by reduce the portion and some walking
> But I have doing lots of gym daily since last year and after found my HBA1C going up I start not trust sport a lot and go back to look at my meals again
> ...



I've lost a fair amount of weight and to be honest that has crossed my mind about becoming too skinny,I'm 46 yr male and 5'10" I think I'm going to try and get to 12 stone as I think that's about the average weight,I'm 13.5 now and had been 16 stone,I will get advice at some time as the best route to maintaining that weight when I get to my desired weight,I wish I could be of more help.
It's the loose clothes that bring home the weight loss isn't it


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## Jodee (Jun 18, 2019)

I'm just doing shortish walks and gardening + low carbs and I've lost a stone in weight but I am thinking of increasing carbs in meals occasionally.  Blood glucose is down also + the metformin


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## Rose73 (Jun 18, 2019)

Ban said:


> I have after meal two hours around 6.5 ? Is this high ? Also fasting around 5 to 5.4 , only few days exceeding that , is this good
> 
> I am trying to manage by reduce the portion and some walking
> But I have doing lots of gym daily since last year and after found my HBA1C going up I start not trust sport a lot and go back to look at my meals again
> ...


I am less than 10 stone now with 163 cm height 
I was around 13 stone one year ago


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## Grannylorraine (Jun 20, 2019)

Ban said:


> I am less than 10 stone now with 163 cm height
> I was around 13 stone one year ago


Well done,  10 stone is my goal weight, I started at 13 stone earlier this year, I am 1/2 way there now, so hopefully will make it by Christmas.


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