Starting in the gym

[Doddy]

So today, I joined a Gym. Have got my induction next week.
I know I can expect my insulin requirements to reduce a bit as I will be more active. However, i keep hearing that taking insulin makes it harder to lose weight. Is this the case and why? I don't want to be slogging my guts out in the gym and not lose any weight.

I am a little nervous as I don't want to hypo but at the same time, i need to push myself so I lose the weight....

any advice would be fab xxx

 

[Cleo]

Hi Doddy,
Great that you've joined a gym. I joined around March and feel so much better for it (mentally and physically). I sleep better and I'm not as tired.
I have never heard about insulin making you put on weight so cant comment on that. I can however relate to your issue with the hypos. I always take a small bag with me with my meter and dextrose tabs so I can test myself and treat if I feel funny. I test before the class begins and at the end. I've never had a hypo during the exercise (well not up until now anyway!). The way I look at it, is that exercise is good for you and I try not to let my fear of hypos get in the way of that. Just keep your meter and glucose close to you and you should be fine 🙂

Good luck !

 

[Redkite]

I can only speak from a type 1 perspective 🙂 My son is insulin treated and when it comes to exercise, a little insulin goes a long way! He doesn't need to lose weight, so when exercising he has the choice of having an extra snack and/or reducing his insulin. If he has a hypo, he has to eat extra too in the form of sugary carbs, so if you're wanting to lose weight you will probably need to reduce your insulin as you won't be wanting the extra snacks! It takes a bit of trial and error to get the balance right - If you intend to do the same type of exercise at a regular time each week, you'll soon get a picture of how it affects your BG levels, and I'd recommend sticking to similar meals on your gym days (ie same carb source each time, and eat at same time of day). We had a nightmare tailoring my son's insulin requirements when some weeks he was eating first, others snacking before and eating late. But being on insulin won't in itself stop you losing weight. Good luck!

 

[Doddy]

Thankyou for your replies.
Im looking forward to doing the gym, and feeling better, losing weight (hopefully)! and it will be nice if I can reduce my basal too 🙂

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

If I stop going to the gym for more than a week my basal requirement does go up, so I'd expect that you would need to reduce basal after a while. My (very limited) understanding is that if you are aiming for weight loss you should exercise at significantly lower intensity - if you are up in the 'cardio' zone you are more likely to release glucose from muscle stores than burn fat (because metabolising fat takes too long and the body knows it needs the energy NOW)

In terms of avoiding needing extra carbs, Lantus won't allow you to adjust for individual sessions, but if you are exercising relatively soon after a meal you can reduce that meal bolus by a percentage and the exercise can make up the difference.

Enjoy your gymming!