Cycling and T2

[Dave5616]

Hi
I wonder if anyone can help, I’ve just been diagnosed with T2 diabetes and have been a keen (social) cyclist. A lot of rides I have done have been like ride 100 and Palace to Palace or London to Brighton. Or 50-70 miles rides.

To do these you need the sports gels but as they have a high sugar level what do people use instead of these ?

Any help would be much appreciated

 

[SimonP]

I'm type 1, so can't advise you directly, but I use the same sorts of foods as non-diabetics do (though I must admit I go for food rather than gels, though I do eat jelly babies, kendal mintcake, haribo, etc once I get deeper into the ride). Assuming I judge my background/basal insulin right, once I'm over the first hour and a bit of liver-released glucose, I need to eat ~60g of carbs an hour without any insulin cover which is similar to a non-diabetic.

 

[Carlos]

Type 1 here as well, so not necessarily in the same situation. I second @SimonP's post above on how to handle rides.

Are you on tablets, insulin or diet only? The things to try will depend on your medication and others circumstances. Perhaps the best way is to start back with shorter rides to see how your levels behave and take it from there. There's no reason you can't keep cycling.

 

[helli]

@Dave5616 why do you need the gels?
If it is because your blood sugars are low, you still need sugar.
If it is a convenient "fuel" maybe you can eat something slower burning and keep fueled for longer without the gel.

 

[Dave5616]

@Dave5616 why do you need the gels?
If it is because your blood sugars are low, you still need sugar.
If it is a convenient "fuel" maybe you can eat something slower burning and keep fueled for longer without the gel.

I use gels as fuel on longer rides and thanks for all the replies. I am on tablets for my T2. As all this is new to me I could just be over thinking it. I will start with some small rides and see how that goes and build up to longer ones.
Thanks again for all the help.