elevated Blood sugar levels after exercise

Why is it that sometimes my blood sugar levels rise after walking. First thing in the morning,about an hour after exercise and not eating anything my b/s level goes up by about 4-5 points.

[star queen]

When you exercise, the muscles in the body needs more energy to perform. If you have not eaten any food, sugar in the form of Lactose is secreted by the muscle to give the muscle the energy it needs.  If this sugar is not used up during exercise, the sugar is still in the blood and will test higher for an hour or so before being used up by other bodily activities. If you eat before exercise, the sugar from the food intake will take care of the needs of the muscles and get used up before the muscle needs to secrete Lactose so the blood sugar in the blood will test lower.  hope this helps

[bobthetrainer]

star queen, you really need a class in exercise physiology

churchlady1, your blood sugar will vary, sometimes changing by 10-15 points, just based on normal human metabolism (stress, temperature, etc).  Generally, low intensity exercise will decrease blood sugar.  Higher intensity exercise (which sometimes can even be walking for some individuals who are deconditioned) can have a tendancy to increase blood sugar.  Sometimes individuals can wake up with higher blood sugar due to what is referred to as "the dawn effect".  This is a normal physiological state caused by the release of stress hormones early in the morning.

If you are diabetic, the general rule of thumb is that if your blood sugar is between 100-250 it is safe to exercise.  If it is less than 100, eat 15 grams of carbohydrate, and recheck your blood sugar in 15 minutes.  If your blood sugar is 250+ and you have urinary ketones present, delay exercise until it is below 250.

The reason why we don't want people exercising if their blood sugar is <100 is because they can go hypoglycemic.

bob
Registered Dietitian

[sarriah]

Also blood sugar can rise without eating due to the liver dumping it's stores of sugar in a stressful situation such as working out before eating.  Do as Bob the Trainer says and check your blood sugar before excercising and it's a good idea to carry a pouch of fruit juice with you just in case you experience the signs and symptoms of low blood sugar, especially if your work out is going to be intense.

[sirius_girl]

I have been having a real problem with my blood sugars being too high, after a 1.5 hour intense workout.  It was 371.  I had eaten about 300 calories and 40 grams of carbs 2 hours before the workout after a blood sugar of 135.  Any suggestions?

[Cyclingmaniac]

Howdy, sirius girl.....I do triathlons.....I've monitored blood sugars after a 4 to 5 hour workout while testing out my nutrition plan from my sports nutritionist.   Blood sugar immediately after exercising was 378.  I tested my blood sugar every 15 minutes and saw dramatic drops:  271 at post 15 minutes; 168 at post 30 minutes; 121 at post 45 minutes;  82 at post 60 minutes, and 57 at post 75 minutes.   I do tend to go hypoglycemic as referenced by bob.   My nutritionist worked out a pre-race, race, and post race nutrition plan so as to stabalize my blood sugars so that I wasn't havng the wide swings.   Next time you do an 1.5 intense workout, try taking your blood readings every 15 minutes to see the affect and how quickl your sugar adjusts.  

bob might have some suggestions on nutrition.   I'm not a nutritionist and sought professional help bevause I didn't want to end up in another medical tent after a race.  

[Samori]

If you are a type 2 diabetic this is normal if you start to exercise or increase your exercise routine. this is because your insulin receptors can not absorb enough insulin to utilise the sugar. The pancreas then dumps more insulin into the blood and the liver responds to the higher blood insulin level by producing more blood sugar. If the exercise routine is continued over a period of time without a break the insulin receptors will be stimulated, partially reversing the insulin resistance and you will find the rise in blood sugar gets progressively smaller and eventually you will experience blood sugar reductions after exercise. That would be highly beneficial to your health. If you are not a type 2 diabetic you may be pre diabetic and I would suggest you discuss this problem with a doctor specialising in diabetes or an endocrinologist.  

[Eish]

Thx for the info, now, WHY do the levels go up? Can somebody please explain that, it is contrary to conventional sugar theory?

My levels after hard exercise do exactly the same as that of cyclingmaniac, and I am very fit, exercise five times a week, exercise hard, and am spot on on my target weight........

    

[smed1920]

Interesting thread here!  Do you recommend eating before exercise?  How about if it is first thing in the morning on an empty stomach vs. a workout later in the day.  How will eating before a workout affect weight loss.

[Thee_Mayor]

My kids and I just got back from a walking track. After years of partying and a sedimentary lifestyle I have begun the change. The determining factor was a doctors visit. I weighed 203 and he told me I was pre-diabetic. I asked what to do and he said lose weight, quit smoking and exersise. Keep in mind when I say sedimentary I do not mean like a sloth. In my younger days I was very active but work and hangovers sidelined me for a while. I was still active with the kids to a certain extent. I now weigh 175 pounds but still smoke although not as much. I drink once a week. I have been monitoring my blood sugar for about a month now. I am usually around the 80 range 2 hours after a meal. Yesterday I only had two pieces of toast for breakfast and My sugar read 58. I did not check before walking two miles this afternoon. I had a 121 when I got home about 20 minutes after the walk. Is this normal?

Thee Mayor

[Cinney]

My father has Type II diabetes.  I was diagonosed as pre-diabetic a year ago and while I've tested under 100 for two doctor visits, and am not longer considered pre-diabetic, in monitoring myself, I find lately I'm over 100 a couple times a week.  My diet is excellent--I'm very careful..  Two things.  This morning I woke up with a 110 reading and wonder if the D-Mannnose and Cranberry tablets I'm taking for urinary tract discomfort has affected that reading. Secondly, when I returned from an intensive 2-hour hike an hour ago my reading was 102.  Now it's 116. ( I ate a high fiber cereal and cherries for breakfast before the hike.)  Shouldn't my levels be heading lower an hour after this hike--not higher?

Cinney

[marissposa]

Hi there,  you might want to check in on the diabetes forum. Good luck.

[lisagg]

I am a struggling diabetic..I am 226 lbs at 5 ft..I have had trouble with my metformin on my stomach so I am doing novolog pens right now.. I have started a exercise program where I do cardio 3-4 days and wieghts or resistance training 2 days.. I am very sore later that day. My problem is my blood sugars are also spiking after my work out to about 250.. now if I give insulin on that number in a few hours I fell shaky.. I check 15 to hour after work out and it is high. my NP told me to not do any resistance.. i am bummed.. I really want to change my body strength. What should I tell my trainer??

[hailey_1900]

when your blood suar spikes high when working out is that hurt your organs in your body

[tamor504]

Thank you guys so much for this topic. I have recently started working out and have been experiencing the same issue. In the morning, fasting blood sugar is about 110. After a workout on an empty stomach (only intaking aloe vera juice) sugar spikes to 171.

My question, Is aloe vera juice supposed to help diabetics maintain blood sugars?

[Dr Vinod]

Hello!

More often than not exercise will lower blood glucose levels, but there are certain circumstances under which blood glucose levels can actually increase.......

You are having fasting blood glucose levels of 110 before exercise...

During strenuous exercise your muscles need more glucose so they send a signal for more energy which comes from the blood glucose or stored glycogen in your liver.  As your body responds by releasing more glucose and without sufficient insulin, very hard exercise and sometimes even novel exercise will cause a rise in blood glucose levels.

Talk with an endocrinologist.

Take care!

[Gumpha]

Am Diabetic, taking insulin. Recently I have started playing tennis, But immediately after my playing my blood sugar level is high and I feel exterme irritation on my feet, kind of tingling feel....especialy near the fingers. what wud be the cause...pls suggest

[Dr Vinod]

Hello!

Your body recognizes intense exercise as a stress and releases stress hormones that tell your body to increase available blood sugar to fuel your muscles so this is the reason for all the blood sugar release and your symptoms.

If this happens to you, you may need a little bit of insulin after intense workouts.

Talk with your endocrinologist.

Take care!

[kumar53]

Excercise can also increase glucose need. In type2 diabetes, insulin resistance is there inspite of more insuin is there. One action of insulin is that it resist breakdown of energy stores--glycogen, fats etc.Near the constant insulin(own or injected) can remain present in insulin resistant cases. If diabetic need more glucose on excercising and if there is resistance in energy store breakdown as above, how body will get glocose for some urgent/excess need?? I just feel, probably body tend to maintain it by keeping higher glucose levels as per need & use, in this case. As excercising can increase need for more glucose, higher level of glucose can be possible for survival(due to resistance in energy breakdown due to higher insulin levels). Otherway, heavy excercise can be stressful, so stress hormones can be secrated increasing glucose levels.

[EmpathyRocks]

Can anyone explain my situation? I am a Type 2 diabetic. I took Metformin for two years, and for the past five years I've tried to manage it with diet only (Schwarzbein). Mostly my AICs have been around 6, but then I did worse with carbs and my last test 3 months ago was 7.2. I went on the Atkins diet then, mostly 20-30 gms of carbs per day, except for 27 of those days I might have had an average of 75 gms of carbs. My question is about never having low blood sugar times (I probably never go under 100) yet I can have a spike in blood sugar five hours after eating, without going under 100. I have morning highs most of the time as well. Yesterday I ate ate 7 gms of carbs at lunch at 3:30, tested 112 at 4:15, 112 at 4:58, 125 at 6:07 (no exercise), had 7 gms of carbs at dinner at 7:20 pm, tested 129 at 8:22, 130 at 9:54, and 147 at 12:30 am.

[BluWillo31]

if after 2 hrs your blood sugar is below 140 your blood sugar is fine, it will still gradually increase but even after 5 hrs your blood sugar was still fairly low but my guess is you should probably eat lunch a little sooner and put a light low carb snack in between lunch and dinner because for me when my body thinks i'm starving my sugar spikes even at night when i'm sleeping and haven't eaten in hours.. so when i get up i have to eat right away and take my meds and before i do any exercise cause much like everyone above my blood sugar spikes when i exercise.. about 50 points or so.... also to Thee_Mayor the reason your blood sugar spiked is because you had bread.. high glycemic foods even for prediabetics is a major no no.. white bread is a definite no eater and even eating low glycemic foods like whole grain breads you still have to be careful and eat small amounts like 1 slice also as i said above not eating or going long periods in between eating can spike a diabetics sugar cause the body thinks yer starving and tries to compensate. they recommend diabetics eat several small meals a day instead of 3 big ones. if a pre diabetic gets there selves on track they can prevent diabetes and if a diabetic can get there selves on track early they can rid there selves of diabetes but its not easy and it takes a lot of work and u have to maintain it cause it can easily come back if u dont.

[teepee365]

Hi,

I am diabetic. The doctor says I am type 2 since I have signs of insulin resistance like wrinkly skin on my nape etc. I take shots for managing my disease. I ate at 11:30 AM today and exercised at 12:30 for about 35 minutes walk on threadmill and at around 1:15 I checked my sugars, it was 122. I was really happy and I thought ok, the rest of the day my sugars will be lower than 122. Just out of curisity I checked again at 2:45 PM and guess what I was wrong, my sugars has gone up to 192. All these days I thought my sugars would be lower since it shows good numbers right after exercise. This is a mystery to me, can anyone explain the logic behind this please?

Thanks,
anonymous