I love to exercise, I really do. I think I am one of those weird people who loves the rush of adrenaline and endorphins that are released when I exercise. I love to feel that burn in my lungs and the ache in my legs as I push myself harder and faster on the bike. I like to challenge myself to see how far I can go. As I have gotten older, my interests have definitely changed. Now I prefer biking, swimming and yoga over my previous cross-fit days. I sometimes feel like I have gotten fat and lazy the last 2 years. I used to be so fit and active and now life as a single mom makes exercise more difficult. I guess if I really think about it I might be a little hard on myself, but I still feel like a slacker.

I gave up cross-fit about 2 years ago. I became so frustrated by the extreme fluctuations in my blood sugars during the various work outs. Some days I would crash and be unable to complete the workout, which angered me. Other times I would spike over 300 and stay there for hours and hours despite constant boluses to bring it down. On competition days, I was a mess. The intensity of the work outs, the adrenaline and the anxiety to compete were all factors that messed me up for the whole day. So after 3 years I said I can’t do this any more. I had an A1C of 7.1%, the first one over 7 the entire time I have been on a pump. I asked my doctor, I researched online how to combat these spikes post work out and all I found was “check your sugar more often and correct if it happens”. So treat it after the fact, well that is an awesome solution, NOT!!!!

Even now in my “lazy” days, I still see this phenomenon, sometimes I go crazy high after working out. Even with biking and yoga. I still try to read about it, I talk to my doctor about it as well. I am told to keep on doing trial and errors to find a way to maintain a steady state. I decided this year to get back into my triathlons. It has been a year since my last one but I need a change. I miss the exercise and training too much. So back on the bike I go and soon to be back in the pool. I have 6 month to get into shape.

For me, swimming tends to drop me, so the 400m swims are ok, but if I do more, I tend to drop, however, the adrenaline of the race and anxiety spike me so I usually come off the swim kind of stable. I can go either way on the biking. Some days it makes me go higher some days it makes me go lower. Then the run usually drops me. It is very tight balancing act, and I only do the sprint distances for these races (400m swim, 10-15 miles bike and 3.1 m run). I really do aspire to do the Olympic distance race at least once but I need to build up to that…..

So how about all of you. Has anyone out there found anything to work for exercise? Do you eat before, suspend your basal? Decrease or increase? Does anyone else go high from working out? Have you found a way to fix that? I think we need more studies for people who do sports. And I know there has to be a way to keep us more glycemically stable. I am not ready to give up yet. I am going to work harder this time to figure out what works for me. Wish me luck everyone and please share your feedback!!

I love to exercise, I truly do, however, I never know what will happen to my sugar..