Type 1 Diabetic - what to eat before WOD?

[Matthew J Powell]

Need advice from other type 1/2 diabetic CrossFitters.

I have a client that is a 41 year old male - type 1 diabetic for 30 years.
He is new to CrossFit and needs help keeping his blood sugar levels stable during the WOD and after so he doesn't get super low.

He asked " What foods do Diabetics eat that last long at keeping blood sugar levels normal"

He also said that eating an orange pre-WOD is not the answer - to much of a spike and crash.

Any suggestions?? Thank you!

[Paulo Santos]

My co-worker likes to eat some oatmeal. It is slower and last longer compared to fruit. This is how he makes it:

Heat up 1 scoop of oatmeal with almond milk. Then he adds 1 scoop of protein powder, 1 tbsp of almond butter, and 1 banana. It actually tastes good as hell. He can take out the fruit if he wants.

[Tricia Magrini]

Reach out to Diane at http://balancedbites.com She is an awesome resource and I am sure she'll have some ideas for you! (link is WFS)

[Darryl Shaw]

AIS Sports Nutrition Factsheet - Diabetes and Sports Nutrition.

Type 1 Diabetes and Vigorous Exercise: Applications of Exercise Physiology to Patient Management.

Management of Competitive Athletes With Diabetes.

ACSM and ADA Joint Position Statement: Exercise and Type 2 Diabetes.

*All links wfs*

[Natalie L. Cox]

First of all, he's type 1 for 30 yrs and doesn't know this already??? Meh. That is sad. I've had type 1 for 13 yrs, and for ME,under high stress workouts, my blood sugar goes UP, not down, due to cortisol related dump of glycogen (in response to stress) by the liver. He needs to educate himself as a type 1, no type 2's will have the same response to exercise, so they should not give advice here- They are very different diseases, and following what a type 2 would do will get him into trouble.
If he drops low during WOD's, he needs to make sure he doesn't have short acting insulin in circulation from his last pre-meal shot, which means not taking any at least 3 hrs before a WOD, as 30% of short acting insulin is used each hour after injecting. If this is not the case, eating a SMALL amount of carbs (like glucose tabs that are easily measurable) could be helpful. A 4 gram tab of glucose should raise blood sugar 20 points, so he could measure how much he drops, and plan accordingly.
Here are some great books that will help him- "Diabetes Solution" by Dr. Richard Berstein, and "Diabetic Athletes Handbook" by Sheri Colberg, PHD...I learned more from these books than from all my endocrinologists and "diabetes educators" combined. Hope this helps.