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T2 nutrition and extreme exercise

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This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
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Runningdaisarova

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Type 2
In November this year, I'll be taking part in a 100-miles run/trek across the Himalayas, staged over 5 days (more trek than run in my case!). Maximum elevation: 12,000ft; minimum temperature: just below zero at night. My problem is nutrition. There will be feed stations every few miles on the routes on all 5 days, with potatoes, biscuits and breads available (plus water). Each day commences with a porridge breakfast and ends with hot, locally cooked Indian foods including breads, rice, etc, all of which is mostly carbs. I can carry my own snacks while I'm trekking, but does anyone have any advice for T2 diabetes nutrition during extreme sport, and what sort of snacks I should carry with me to keep my blood glucose stable, please? I am an experienced (former) marathon runner but only at low altitudes and have used recovery techniques & nutrition that day and the following day. I take Metformin and Gliclazide, plus Empagliflozin which may be dropped shortly in favour of insulin. Any nutritional advice from someone with similar extreme sport experience will be most welcome, please. Thank you.
 
Sounds like an amazing adventure @Runningdaisarova

I‘ve a T1 friend who has done some crazy endurance trekking (dog sleds across the ice etc etc) but not specific T2 advice.

Would guess that your meds will need adjusting, possibly quite significantly.

I’m not sure if www.runsweet.com might have any information you could adapt.

Hope you have an amazing time!
 
My own experience is that I can take on a reasonable amount of carbs when I'm exercising hard enough to burn them off. Of course everyone is different. If you are putting in a lot of training you could experiment with different foods and activities and see what happens to your BG levels. The toughest event that I have done is the Outlaw Triathlon. I did a write up about it which has a little bit of stuff about nutrition in the main piece and also in the thread that follows.
 
If you are already 'fat adapted' e.g. by having done Low Carb for weeks, then you won't need much in the way of carbs. Fat (either your own or ingested) will be sufficient to fuel you since it is nutrient dense and highly calorific - just that most people on modern western dies can't use it effectively.
 
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