# powerwalking!



## D_G (Jul 22, 2010)

Right i am going to start power walking with my friend next week in the evenings 

what i am wondering is what is the best way to do this so i dont go high/low

I will eat dinner at around 7pm and start the exercise at about 9pm. 

So will it be best to reduce my dinner insulin...? or will this make me go high and be unable to exercise? i dont want to have dinner and then have to have an extra snack after coz this sort of defeats the object of the exercise for me!

I know its all about trial and error and whats best for me but i am just worried that after the exercise i may go low in my sleep or something  so just wondering what your experiences are, thanks


----------



## Northerner (Jul 22, 2010)

Might be an idea to set your alarm for 2 or 3 am to do a test at first to be on the safe side. I don't lower my pre-exercise insulin as the exercise doesn't make me start going lower until 4 or 5 hours after then lasts for over a day - so I lower my post-exercise insulin. But I know others who lower their insulin before, and some even manage without (usually pumpers). 

As you are doing the walking in the evening this might mean needing to lower your basal a little. 

Sorry, I'm not much help as I usually exercise in the morning so I can monitor myself and make more adjustments before bed, if necessary. You just need to do lots of testing before bed so you can see how things are heading, and maybe have a snack rather than lowering basal.


----------



## D_G (Jul 22, 2010)

Northerner said:


> Might be an idea to set your alarm for 2 or 3 am to do a test at first to be on the safe side. I don't lower my pre-exercise insulin as the exercise doesn't make me start going lower until 4 or 5 hours after then lasts for over a day - so I lower my post-exercise insulin. But I know others who lower their insulin before, and some even manage without (usually pumpers).
> 
> As you are doing the walking in the evening this might mean needing to lower your basal a little.
> 
> Sorry, I'm not much help as I usually exercise in the morning so I can monitor myself and make more adjustments before bed, if necessary. You just need to do lots of testing before bed so you can see how things are heading, and maybe have a snack rather than lowering basal.



Thanks for the reply Northe  

So i think i will maybe start by halving my dinner insulin and maybe lowering my basal by a unit just to start off with and seeing how that goes? just i dont want to have to eat a snack after i have just burned some calories lol will do a 3am alarm just incase  

 i was afraid no one would see the post, was going to post on general msg board but it would have prob got moved lol.


----------



## Northerner (Jul 22, 2010)

D_G said:


> Thanks for the reply Northe
> 
> So i think i will maybe start by halving my dinner insulin and maybe lowering my basal by a unit just to start off with and seeing how that goes? just i dont want to have to eat a snack after i have just burned some calories lol will do a 3am alarm just incase
> 
> i was afraid no one would see the post, was going to post on general msg board but it would have prob got moved lol.



Hard to say whether you'd need to reduce it that much, I'd tend to go for a smaller reduction, maybe 10%. Try not to worry too much about the snack if you need it - the exercise will continue to burn more energy after you've finished, so it's not just the calories for the exercise you burn off  It will take time to work out so don't make too many changes at once, so perhaps the pre meal but not the basal and see how your levels are in the night and when you wake up.


----------



## D_G (Jul 22, 2010)

Northerner said:


> Hard to say whether you'd need to reduce it that much, I'd tend to go for a smaller reduction, maybe 10%. Try not to worry too much about the snack if you need it - the exercise will continue to burn more energy after you've finished, so it's not just the calories for the exercise you burn off  It will take time to work out so don't make too many changes at once, so perhaps the pre meal but not the basal and see how your levels are in the night and when you wake up.



Ok will do thanks for the advice  God i dont know where i would be without this forum 

Will let you know how it goes monday!


----------



## Copepod (Jul 23, 2010)

Sorry, didn't look at boards at all last night - see "unusual problem at running race" for explanation. 
So, how did your first powerwalk go?


----------



## D_G (Jul 23, 2010)

Copepod said:


> Sorry, didn't look at boards at all last night - see "unusual problem at running race" for explanation.
> So, how did your first powerwalk go?



I start on monday Copepod 

I hope the fish and chops were worth the cycle lol


----------



## D_G (Jul 27, 2010)

Ok so i didnt end up 'powerwalking' but me and my friend ended up trecking up to asda and back instead! we did about 3 hours walking in total! (this included walking round asda lol) left at 9pm and got back around midnight, about 3 and a half miles and burned around 350 calories  (clever blackberry phone lol)

Didnt start off to well as i lowered my insulin for dinner by half....and was only 7.4 2 hours after so had to have a biscuit which totally defeats the object of the exercise! ended up being 4.3 at 2am as well  so yet again another snack needed not too happy!

So maybe i should have an energy drink next time and sip it so i dont spike myself...but at the same time preventing a low? 

Any comments?


----------



## Copepod (Jul 27, 2010)

"I hope the fish and chops were worth the cycle lol" - yes, thanks, but cycled so I could drink the free half pint of beer, and chip shop was on way home.
I'd be careful about using energy drinks, as they're usually basically pure sugar and minerals / salt. What might be better for your requirements is something like a muesli bar which contains both sugar and longer acting starchy carbohydrates - typically oats. 
Walking to supermarket is fine - I get lots of my weekly cycling / walking / running miles when commuting to work, shopping etc, plus generally prefer to cycle to races eg punt orienteering & 5km run last week, urban orienteering tomorrow night, very conveniently in a nearby city where I'm working tomorrow, so I take my fold-up bike on train. Much easier to chat to friends, too, when walking, I find. 
Good luck.


----------

