{"id":11878,"date":"2010-11-14T09:30:10","date_gmt":"2010-11-14T14:30:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=11878"},"modified":"2015-12-28T04:08:51","modified_gmt":"2015-12-28T09:08:51","slug":"carb-loading-a-diabetics-dilemma","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=11878","title":{"rendered":"Carb Loading \u2013 A Diabetic\u2019s Dilemma"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Eating is as important as training for a runner\u2019s ability to perform. This is something I had to learn the hard way.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">When I trained for my <a href=\"..\/..\/..\/..\/..\/..\/michael\/blogs\/exercise-blogs\/my-second-marathon\/4921\/\">second marathon<\/a>, I found I was going low during my long runs. In fact, I finished my longest pre-marathon run with a blood sugar level of 37 (at that point I &#8211; idiotically &#8211; wasn&#8217;t \u00a0testing during runs).<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">In an attempt\u00a0 to avoid lows during the marathon itself, \u00a0I decided to limit the amount of insulin I took.\u00a0 I did so by not eating carbohydrates the day before the race and also the morning before the race. The not so stellar logic here was that if I didn\u2019t take much insulin, I wouldn&#8217;t have any lows the night before the race or during the race itself. I also thought that limiting my carbohydrate intake would keep me from going high. At the time, this all made perfect sense.\u00a0 As sensible as it may have seemed, the result proved otherwise.\u00a0 I suffered from a huge lack of energy during the race and a had very big collision with \u201cthe wall\u201d at the 21-22 mile.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">For my third marathon, in Rotterdam, I tried a different method.\u00a0 I decided to eat some carbs the night before (pizza \u2013 again, not one of my best ideas), but I wasn\u2019t scientific about it.\u00a0 And because I was on the road with other non-diabetic runners, I had a hard time separating myself from the group and \u00a0taking care of my own, very complicated nutritional needs (I know, I know&#8230; lack of self discipline and planning).<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">It\u2019s taken me a while but I have finally understood that I must find a way to fill my carbohydrate stores without losing control of my blood sugar. I\u2019ve spent a fair amount of time reading about \u201ccarb loading\u201d and I am starting to understand a little bit about it.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">I found a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ploscompbiol.org\/mirror\/article\/pcbi.1000960.html\" target=\"_blank\">great article<\/a> by Benjamin Rapoport, who aside from holding a personal marathon record of 2:50 (according to Runner\u2019s World) is also studying medicine at Harvard Medical School and engineering at MIT Department of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science (M.D \u2013 Ph.D program). Rapoport&#8217;s article explains the importance of carbohydrates during endurance activities and results of not having sufficient reserves. He explains how to calculate the amount of carb a runner needs for a marathon. He also created an <a href=\"http:\/\/endurancecalculator.com\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\">online calculator<\/a> to help runners calculate the amount of carbohydrates they need to consume before the race.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">For most runners, eating is the bonus they have while training. They get to enjoy lots of pasta, rice and bread.\u00a0 For me, it is an everlasting dilemma. \u00a0I know my performance depends on consuming carbs, but I also know that every time I start eating large amounts of them I have blood sugar control issues &#8211; highs and lows. So I\u2019ve chosen my carbs to fit in with the Caveman Diet (following the guidelines of the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/160961917X\/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=160961917X&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=asw07-20\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Paleo Diet for athletes<\/a> \u2013 adjusted for diabetes) and I have tried to carefully consume them before my runs. Eating more before long runs and less before shorter ones, but always trying to keep my muscles fueled.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">I\u2019m eight weeks away from my next marathon and I just completed my first 20 mile run in 2 hours and 55 minutes. I made sure to eat a lot of carbs the day before \u2013sweet potatoes and quinoa \u2013 and reduced my long acting insulin to 10 units instead of my usual 14 units. I paced myself correctly and found my pace increased throughout the run making for a negative split. I used energy gels, one after the first 15 minutes the second 45 minutes later and then one every half hour. My blood sugar was 165 starting out and remained at that level throughout the run (I checked ever 6-7 miles). I hope I do this well on my next marathon.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">I\u2019m starting to really rack up the miles now. I have 4-5 weeks of hard running ahead of me before I start to taper. The key is to stay healthy and injury free. That means sleeping and eating correctly.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Total miles for this week: 41<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":129,"featured_media":53098,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1501],"tags":[620,82,575],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v22.9 (Yoast SEO v22.9) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Diabetes &amp; Carb Loading<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I have finally understood that I must fill my carbohydrate stores without losing control of my blood sugar. I\u2019ve read about \u201ccarb loading\u201d and I am starting to understand it.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=11878\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Michael Aviad\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=11878\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=11878\",\"name\":\"Diabetes & Carb Loading\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=11878#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=11878#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ASL-Social-Big-Square-3.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2010-11-14T14:30:10+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2015-12-28T09:08:51+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/9e0f6c9e8ec6bf77b78cd95c9bd446b6\"},\"description\":\"I have finally understood that I must fill my carbohydrate stores without losing control of my blood sugar. I\u2019ve read about \u201ccarb loading\u201d and I am starting to understand it.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=11878#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=11878\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=11878#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ASL-Social-Big-Square-3.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ASL-Social-Big-Square-3.jpg\",\"width\":1280,\"height\":1280},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=11878#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Carb Loading \u2013 A Diabetic\u2019s Dilemma\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/\",\"name\":\"ASweetLife\",\"description\":\"The Diabetes Magazine\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/9e0f6c9e8ec6bf77b78cd95c9bd446b6\",\"name\":\"Michael Aviad\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/63a6e8cc1247d7220941709685b8c84e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/63a6e8cc1247d7220941709685b8c84e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Michael Aviad\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?author=129\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Diabetes & Carb Loading","description":"I have finally understood that I must fill my carbohydrate stores without losing control of my blood sugar. I\u2019ve read about \u201ccarb loading\u201d and I am starting to understand it.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=11878","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Michael Aviad","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=11878","url":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=11878","name":"Diabetes & Carb Loading","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=11878#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=11878#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ASL-Social-Big-Square-3.jpg","datePublished":"2010-11-14T14:30:10+00:00","dateModified":"2015-12-28T09:08:51+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/9e0f6c9e8ec6bf77b78cd95c9bd446b6"},"description":"I have finally understood that I must fill my carbohydrate stores without losing control of my blood sugar. I\u2019ve read about \u201ccarb loading\u201d and I am starting to understand it.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=11878#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=11878"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=11878#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ASL-Social-Big-Square-3.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ASL-Social-Big-Square-3.jpg","width":1280,"height":1280},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=11878#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Carb Loading \u2013 A Diabetic\u2019s Dilemma"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/","name":"ASweetLife","description":"The Diabetes Magazine","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/9e0f6c9e8ec6bf77b78cd95c9bd446b6","name":"Michael Aviad","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/63a6e8cc1247d7220941709685b8c84e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/63a6e8cc1247d7220941709685b8c84e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Michael Aviad"},"url":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?author=129"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11878"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/129"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11878"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11878\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/53098"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11878"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11878"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11878"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}