You Have Diabetes - Can You Really Ride
Carb-Free?
The one thing I keep
hearing from people with diabetes is that they don't (or think they shouldn't)
take on any carbs when they're riding. They'll go out for a 3, 4, 5 hour
ride of anywhere from 50-100 miles and they won't eat anything! They're
conditioned to be afraid of carbs - but you need fuel on those efforts.
It's a matter of knowing how much to ingest and how often, as well as which
kind of carbs to take in. It is
confusing - everyone reacts differently and has different needs. I will
try to review some basic sports nutrition issues that apply to cyclists with
diabetes, as well as every day cyclists.
The Basics
First off, you need to
balance the blood sugars all day long with eating regularly spaced meals. You want to include in each of those meals a
little bit of high quality protein, a little bit of high quality carbohydrate,
a lot of green vegetables and some fat. You are like a wood burning stove, and we
need to find the right kind of logs to put into your fire. If you don’t put in any ‘carbs’, you won’t
get that fire to burn. If you put in too
many, then you will spike the blood sugar which also results in a sugar crash
within 60-90 minutes later. While you
exercise, this mechanism of releasing insulin to lower glucose levels is
impaired even in athletes who do not have diabetes. So you want to make sure you do not spike the
blood sugar by eating too many simple carbohydrates while riding, but even
during your regular day.
Fueling Options
The key with the
carbohydrate intake is to realize that there are many sources of carbohydrates.
We need those carbs for our brains to function, and we need our muscles to be
able to endure hours of exercise by consuming them.
There are many forms to choose from: grains
(bread, pasta, cookies, etc), root vegetables (sweet potatoes, potatoes, beets,
celery root, turnips, rutabaga, etc), fruit and beans to name most of
them.
Then there are the simple sugars
which are the candy, the cookies, the processed foods, some sports nutrition
bars, gels, etc which may be things you do want to avoid as they are the things
that can spike that blood sugar and put you in harm’s way while riding.
If you can learn to balance the blood sugars
better when not exercising, then the body will start to use more fat for fuel
than carbohydrates; this means you can use less carbs but it does not
mean NO carbs.
Fueling Guidance
When starting an
exercise plan, be sure you do have some of your fueling options handy. You may want to stock your pockets with a few
baked sweet potatoes sliced up with peanut or almond butter in between. This is actually a much better option than
most of the store bought bars. A basic granola
bar is better than some of the sports bars!
You may want to bring at least ½ potato per hour of riding. There are a few bars that are low in sugar
like Vega Sports’ Endurance bar. This is
the bar I personally use. You will also
want to make sure you have some kind of electrolyte replacement drink in your
water bottle, but I would not suggest any store bought Gatorade (or similar)
unless you dilute it by half (for more info on hydration, see "Hydration - Don't Cramp Out!"). But also
steer clear of the artificial sweeteners in your drinks.
- You
will want to get about 150-200 calories per hour from carbohydrates during your
rides.
- Less
than that, and you will run out of energy.
- More
than 300 calories and you will get stomach upset.
So there is a happy
balance, but you need to test out several options to find out what works best
for you.
Listen to Your Body, Fuel Up Safely
As a sports
nutritionist, I work with athletes to help them use real foods to perform at
their best. For those with diabetes, the
challenge to balance the blood sugar is more important. We help you learn to listen to what your body
is telling you and know what to do when it says it needs food, hydration or
something else. Don’t be confused, and
please do not go riding for more than 2 hours without taking any carbohydrates
with you. Choose your carbs wisely so
you won’t spike the blood sugar. But
please avoid the no-carb plan - you might not make it as far as you wanted. And we want cycling to be enjoyable and
healthy especially if you have diabetes!
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Joanna K Chodorowska, BA, NC, TPTH is a sports nutrition coach helping
athletes improve their performance, reaction time, and faster recovery using
real foods. For more information how to balance your blood sugar and how to
lose body fat and other sports nutrition related topics, please visit www.nutrition-in-motion.net .
Joanna provides her clients with realistic, real food options that fit
into their busy lives. As an athlete herself, Joanna understands the real
food needs of other athletes. Among the other services Joanna provides is
Nutrition Response Testing (NRT). NRT provides insight into the absorption of
food and supplements to determine their input strength or weakness. For updates
on other sports nutrition programs, lectures, and events with Joanna visit www.nutrition-in-motion.net
regularly.
