blood sugar management

Micro dose insulin sport strategy

Registered Dietitian

I rode just shy of 100 km on Sunday, and I ate more than 100 grams worth of carbs throughout the ride! This week’s micro dose insulin sport strategy was slightly altered, and for the most part my body responded well. However, there was a slight dosing snafu that I did not realize until the very end, and had I realized it earlier – way earlier – my T1D management may have been a lot easier. Quantifying the carbs I estimate that I probably ate 120-125 grams of carbs total, including the bakery stop blueberry scone I shared with my husband at about 3 hours into the ride. Some in the type-1 diabetes community might look at those carb counts and gasp. No doubt about it, it is a lot of carbs. But let’s look at the sport side for a moment. My moving time – the time that my […]

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Female cyclist with type-1 diabetes uses applesauce as a sport fuel on a bike ride

Best Fuel for Long Rides with Type-1 Diabetes? It Depends

Diabetes Dietitian

Today’s bike ride was just shy of 90 km, and was all about them hills. I swear my husband took us to all the hills he could find in the Vancouver area. First there was Camosun at UBC, then the Stan at Stanley Park, followed by the seemingly never-ending climb of the Second Narrows Bridge outside of the North Shore, and finally up Buckingham – Burnaby’s grind! Unlike last week, my blood sugars were way more sensitive today, requiring a whole lot more food intake to keep them afloat. That got me thinking about fueling for long-distance rides – specifically, what actually makes an “optimal” fuel source when you have type-1 diabetes. Fueling Cycling with Type-1 Diabetes Isn’t One Size Fits All I have been engaging in long distance cardio type sports for more than 15 years now. I started out as a runner, but over the years have since transitioned

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The Importance of Backup When Cycling with Type-1 Diabetes

Diabetes Dietitian, Exercise and diabetes

Life is all about backup – especially when cycling with type-1 diabetes and an insulin pump! Mario and I headed to Iona Beach on our bikes this morning. It’s a great 75 km bike ride because: It’s got all the scenery – we had wide expanses of blue water and green farm fields next to us for a good portion of the ride. Today, I saw at least three hawks – one that swooped in and grabbed some breakfast before flying away. I also counted seven herons hanging in the shallow waters of the Strait of Georgia, as we were approaching the beach. Once, I even saw what looked to be a Scottish Highland Cow sunbathing on the front lawn of a very large farmhouse. It’s a predominantly flat ride, which means my average speed gets a nice boost up. There’s some decent resistance with the headwinds, but if you’re

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T1D and tasting menus: oh the challenge

Diabetes, Diabetes Dietitian, Personal, Registered Dietitian

T1D and tasting menus are not an easy mix! My husband and I celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary last weekend, and it was a full-on trial and error experiment with regards to my T1D. We went for dinner at The Mackenzie Room with our dear friends who were married the same day, same year – how cool is that?! Our friendship started just shy of 3 years after our weddings, and we’ve mostly been celebrating together ever since. For dinner, we opted for the chef’s tasting menu: 12 dishes served over 5 courses. T1D peeps, you know the struggle, don’t cha? Here’s what I love about tasting menus They are social. We were sharing the same dishes, chatting about the foods, and everything else, and comparing favourites from course to course. They are experiential. If we were to limit ourselves to just one or two dishes, we would not have

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Stress causes hyperglycemia as shown on Freestyle Libre reader

Stress on blood sugars: side effects and strategies

Diabetes, Diabetes Dietitian, Exercise and diabetes, Registered Dietitian

Stress on blood sugars, it’s a disaster zone for T1D management. Believe me, I know this first hand! My stress levels started to skyrocket about two months ago. I had a lot of professional responsibilities weighing on me, as well as personal impacts that had my heart racing a little quicker, my mind fluttering like a butterfly, and my skin itching to get away from me. Most recently, we’ve added a most annoying eye twitch to the mix. And my blood sugars have skyrocketed too – elevating anywhere from 3-5 or more mmol/L higher than usual, resulting in Increased mealtime insulin dosing Increased basal rates Increased correction doses That’s because stress on blood sugars wreaks havoc. I remember when I was still in school, one particular exam where my blood sugars jumped about 6 mmol/L from usual right before the exam. They hovered in that above target range for the

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