Exercise Activity - Page 2

Eating to Exercise

The ability to manage exercise and diabetes only comes through experience and trial and error.

The amount of extra carbohydrate you will need and the adjustments you may need to make your insulin will depend on a number of things.  These are: -

• How often you exercise and how fit you are
• The time of the day that you exercise
• How strenuous the activity is
• How long you are exercising for

General Guidelines

Activity/exercise shortly after a meal - e.g. within an hour

Make sure you have a good portion of starchy carbohydrate at your meal time.  Depending on how strenuous the exercise is, you might need to eat a little bit extra at meal (e.g. an extra potato, or slice of bread, or spoonful of rice or pasta).  Or have a pudding instead (e.g. sponge and custard, a cake bar or chocolate biscuit or fruit and ice cream).

Activity a while after a meal - e.g. 1-2 hours after eating

You may need a snack before the exercise (e.g. 2 plain biscuits, cake bar, chocolate biscuit, Cheese Dunkers, fun size chocolate car, cereal bar, Jaffa Cakes, banana, or a small carton of fresh fruit juice (150mls)).  Try to avoid having more than 2 chocolate items per week - choose something different for a change!

Strenuous exercise or long lasting activity (more than 1 hour) - e.g. football match, hockey match, swimming, cricket, tennis, aerobics

You will probably need a snack before, (unless you have just eaten) and a top up of glucose during the activity, (e.g. a small snack as above, or a glucose drink).  Mix equal quantities of fruit juice and water (with a pinch of salt if desired) and drink this throughout the activity or at half time, or use a isotonic sport drink.

Exercise or activity over a long period of time (a number of hours) - e.g. a long bicycle ride, or walk, skiing, mountaineering, day trip out

You will need to take food and drinks with you and snack regularly.  Suitable snacks would be, cereal bars, sandwiches, fruit, plain biscuits, fresh fruit juice mixed with water, bread sticks.  You will also need to take some supplies of fast acting carbohydrate (e.g. Lucozade, Coke or glucose tablets).

This length of activity may also need an adjustment in insulin, discuss this with your diabetes team.

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