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Low blood sugar levels

Hi All,



Been feeling rough the last few days and Dr says im suffering from low blood sugar levels(Makes me feel light headed and faint), probably because of the ammount of excercise I do and not enough food to supplement it.



I have been focusing on my bike the last 3 weeks and I wonder if this has triggered things.



Yesterday (and this is fairly typical) I had a large bowl of porridge and a bannana, along with a bottle of the SIS mix. A typical bike of 55-60 miles (16.5mph ave)and ill have another bottle of SIS, maybe a Gel and a bannana and a couple of cereal bars.



Once home had a big bowl of pasta and threw in some tuna. Then snacked on some Pistachio nuts whilst watching the rugby and a Pizza for tea.



Yet this morning it was the same.(no booze and 9 hours sleep later)



Has anyone else suffered from this, prehaps im missing something very obvious!



Graeme

Comments

  • Hi GG, just a thought but did the doc check your blood pressure. It sounds as though you are eating plenty but the dizzy feeling comes when you are upright or get up quick i take it. Its called a VASO VAGAL or basically like a faint. When you get this feeling just lie down for a few mins and it should all pass.A nd make sure you get your blood pressure checked. Hope this helps.

    Ps know this due to being a Paramedic.. [;)]
  • GGGG Posts: 82
    Hi First Timer,



    Yep, I eat reasonably and Im used to doing something each day so I dont think its overtraining.



    It nearly always comes when I get up suddenly or when im up and about!



    Is there anything else I can do to stop it, hopefully more choc!?



    Dr said my Blood pressure was slightly higher than normal, although my

    pulse was slow.



    Graeme

  • ardkeenardkeen Posts: 152
    You may be overtrained if your Blood Pressure is slightly up with a slow pulse. how many hours a week do you train and what kind of intensity, do you use a heart monitor ? If so it's easy enough to recognise an overtraining pattern
  • pigletpiglet Posts: 86
    Does you GP have a dietitian associated with the practice? If so or if he can refer you to a dietician who specialises in sports nutrition could be of value. Keep a diary for a week of everything you eat before you see them and also what exercise you do. Make sure you include all exercise eg. walking the dog, biking to the shops to get the milk etc. I had a similar problem - was losing weight and running out of energy as wasn't eating enough- esp of carbs. I was watching calorie expenditure for training sessions but "didn't count" my cycle commuting or walking home from the gym as exercise. So I ended up in calorie deficit.

    A trained dietician will be able to see what's going on with you and can see where things could be improved.

    It's no use training if your body isn't fuelled properly. I would also agree with the comments about Blood pressure but seems something else is going on here. A sports doc could help too- not all GPs have that extensive knowledge about sports medicine.

    Good luck[:)]
  • i sometime get this as well, i tend to just faint then have a can of coke and i was alright, used to think it was diabetes, which was a bit scary[:(]
  • this is related to my situation i think.....



    last month i got a heart rate mon, and have been cycling and running slow, trying to train my body to burn fat. staying in my right zone and not brining any sports drink with me on the bike or run.

    all was going great,managed a 3h brick on water on monday and was delighted. at last the stubborn gut and love handles are starting to shift.



    but today, i get up, have a coffee, a bowl of oats{slow release as we all know} and i hit the road for a 40 k, keeping my heart rate good and low.



    i felt like shit. very weak on the hills and really had to grind it out. but i doi it on water.so iwas happy.



    i thought if you keep your heart rate in the right zone your body should burn fat, thus preventing that weak feeling on the hills?



    or is a few weeks of this not enough time to train my body to do this?
  • jayjayjayjay Posts: 10
    Looks like you have plenty of carbs and some fat in your diet- which is the primary fuel edurance athletes use. Most of the carbs are composed of monosaccharide units of glucose, fructose and galactose (all sugar isomers). Im not sure what SIS gel is composed of, but it looks like the diet may be low in protein. Im not sure how much tuna you have. But athletes need more protein to maintain muscle integrity and immune function. Athletes also have a higher requirement for antioxidants and phytochemicals- derived from fruits and vegetables- as exercising muscle undergoes greater oxidation and generates more free radicals- thus athletes need more antioxidants to mop them up.

    Summary: Lots of carbs and moderate fats, not high in vegetables and salads and protein sources. Variety is the key. Always room for improvement.
  • GGGG Posts: 82
    Hi All,



    Good news[:)]. The weird dizzy epissodes seem to have gone almost as quickly as they came. All you advice has been very useful and very much appreciated. I personally think firsttimer was spot on, as I read up on what you posted and it met my symptoms exactly.



    I also think (although maybe a seperate case) Jayjay is correct in identifying a lack of protein in my diet. Since I have stopped buying lunch in the staff canteen my chicken, and tuna intake has almost vanished and it has been taken me longer to recover from hard training and big bikes. This issue has now been tackled [;)]



    Anyway. Onwards and upwards!



    Thanks again to everyone

    GG

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