# Exercise pushes my readings up



## emma interrupted (Aug 9, 2022)

Hi

I am after some advice I am type 2  (diagnosed in Feb hb1ac 126 and then July 58) I have cut down carbs and sugar and joy. And upped my exercise but over the last month exercising has pushed my readings up - I have tried harder workouts like HIIt but also low intensity things like walking and swimming and it always happens. I am hoping to put my diabetes into remission and am concerned that these higher readings will stop me being able to be in remission.

I don’t want to stop exercising as I know losing weight will help and the general health benefits are important 

My readings go from 5-6 to 10-13 ish generally

Any ideas on how to avoid these increases would really be appreciated

TIA


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## Inka (Aug 9, 2022)

Could the heat be affecting your readings? Sometimes in this weather physical stress on the body can cause higher readings. What time do you exercise? Do you eat beforehand?


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## harbottle (Aug 9, 2022)

When you exercise the muscles use their own stores of glucose,  not insulin, so the body responds by generating glucose in the bloodstream to replenish these stores when you finish, hence there's a period of time post exercise when BG is being produced. Adrenalin causes BG to go up as well as it causes the liver to release glucose (Not sure if both of these are related!) I guess the insulin produced in response to the rise in blood sugar is used to refuel the muscles.

If I do a long walk or run mine drops down (Sometimes to below 4 and I feel a bit weird) but it rises up slowly back to somewhere between 5-7 before levelling out when I finish. 

Not sure how you can prevent this as a T2, as our problem is that our insulin doesn't work or isn't there in sufficient quantities to deal with the rise.


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## Kreator (Aug 10, 2022)

harbottle said:


> If I do a long walk or run mine drops down (Sometimes to below 4 and I feel a bit weird) but it rises up slowly back to somewhere between 5-7 before levelling out when I finish.


This is what happens with me also 

If I do a gentle walk, my levels will come down and stay down - if I do more rigorous exercise, it comes down rapidly, then after exercise it rises up then settles back down again (I'm in Remission so it will come back down for me) - if you exet 'stress' on yourself, it activates your 'fight or flight' response - and hence the liver pumps out more glucose for that impending fight! - It's all normal, and nothing to worry about....

Keep up the exercise - it improves Insulin Resistance, and it's good for you!!


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## BigMalc (Aug 10, 2022)

Hi, 
I'm firmly in the low intensity exercise = BG drops, high intensity = BG rises.  It is just a question of getting used to what works for you and eating/jabbing accordingly.  
A pain, but definitely recommend keeping the exercise going 
Cheers
Malc


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## helli (Aug 10, 2022)

It depends upon the type of exercise.
Short repeated exercise (e.g. HIIT or weights) typically raise levels.
Constant cardio exercise typically lowers levels.
Unless your cardio is putting stress on your body.
For example, I can pootle on my bike along the flat tow path chatting with my mates and my blood sugar is unaffected. I can go out for a hard ride around rolling hills and my levels will fall. I can push myself to cycle up a steep hill on wet windy day and my levels will go up.

The other thing I find regarding stressing my body is that my body is stressed if I try to exercise when my levels are high. For me, this is anything over 8 mmol/l but, this varies - some people have said they are fine until about 12 mmol/l.
But if I try to exercise when my levels are high, I struggle. I have less energy and my body is not happy so my levels rise further,


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## emma interrupted (Aug 10, 2022)

Thank you everyone - I will keep doing the exercise and push my dreams of remission back a bit but focus on the positives of exercise for the time being


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## NotWorriedAtAll (Aug 10, 2022)

helli said:


> It depends upon the type of exercise.
> Short repeated exercise (e.g. HIIT or weights) typically raise levels.
> Constant cardio exercise typically lowers levels.
> Unless your cardio is putting stress on your body.
> ...





emma interrupted said:


> Thank you everyone - I will keep doing the exercise and push my dreams of remission back a bit but focus on the positives of exercise for the time being


helli has explained it pretty well.
I got my blood sugars sorted after three months and kept them nicely down to an hba1c of around 42 for around two years without doing any specific exercise apart from just upping my activity levels such as making sure I didn't sit down after eating and did the washing up instead and did a bit more housework like vacuuming and scrubbing and polishing our very old and then tarnished door handles and stuff like that - and the occasional gentle/brisk walk.
Then I discovered VR exercise and ramped up my exercise levels drastically because I enjoyed it and found that if I exercised vigorously for an hour my bloods went up instead of down.
I reduced this a bit by drinking lots of water before and after (dehydration raises the readings) and then by gradually increasing my times by doing ten minutes at a time more frequently instead of one long stint.
I built up to more strenuous exercise by doing gentle warm ups and now I do cool off exercises and meditation at the end too.

That sorted it out for me. I eventually got my aim of an hba1c of 40 last time around and I am hoping to do better next time.


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## PhoebeC (Aug 15, 2022)

As @helli and @Kreator both said it depends on the exercise for me. 

Anything low intensity generally lowers my levels. Walking my levels start to drop about 30-40 minutes in, yoga also makes me drop.

Weight and gym (cardio) training can go either way for me, if it is tricky or putting stress on me then I will go higher.

And my rugby matches I have still got to get to grips with, our warm up can make me go low, but then a 80 minute match spread across over 2 hours makes me sky high 

You cannot beat walking for glucose levels, and weight loss is tricky with exercise, it is all about calorie deficit to loose weight


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## Kreator (Aug 15, 2022)

PhoebeC said:


> You cannot beat walking for glucose levels, and weight loss is tricky with exercise, it is all about calorie deficit to loose weight


Yep, I totally agree with this one! - eg to burn 400 Cals with exercise takes a lot more effort than you might think, only then to tempt yourself with a food reward then un-does that work - and 400 Cals of food isn't much!


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## harbottle (Aug 16, 2022)

Everyone I know who exercises daily complains that they don’t lose weight. When I ask them a bit more about what they eat it’s a load of junk as ‘treat’ after a run or rowing session.


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## helli (Aug 16, 2022)

harbottle said:


> Everyone I know who exercises daily complains that they don’t lose weight. When I ask them a bit more about what they eat it’s a load of junk as ‘treat’ after a run or rowing session.


I gain weight when I do not exercise. Exercise allows me to maintain my weight. I do not feel the need for a “treat“ after exercise but exercise allows me to have treats at other times.
Exercise also provides tone, helps me socialise, gives me energy and a physical outlet to frustrations, as well as allowing me to maintain the diet I enjoy.


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## harbottle (Aug 17, 2022)

No, I don't feel the need for a treat when I do a run. I'm generally not hungry. Going for a run and raiding the chocolate cupboard seems common with people I know.

As a T2 exercise is good as it can improve insulin sensitivity and help keep things like Triglycerides down. (Plus muscles mass helps take in whatever insulin I'm still producing.)


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