coates_hbk wrote:
see this is what im failing to understand, as before? Why would you bolus during a race? If muscle contraction in itself is enough to absorb blood glucose, why would you bolus? Arent you just increasing the risk of a hypo?There are two ways the Glut 4 receptors in your cells are activated to take the sugar off your blood, one is with insulin and the other is with physical activity. Insulin (for me) is more efficient than physical activity.
Because the physical activity during a race is not enough to absorb all the sugar I take in through the race I also need to bolus. I would normally take 1 unit of insulin per 15 grams of carbs on a regular work day, but during a race I take 1 unit per 40 grams of carbs due to the physical activity helping with the Glut 4 activation in my cells.
If I didn’t bolus during the race I would not get the full benefit of my nutrition and I would be finishing my races with high blood sugars.
Obviously this is an overly simplified explanation and it takes time and practice to find what works for you!
I wanted to add the following
I’m sure it is possible for some diabetics to not need a bolus and completely rely on the physical activity alone to keep the blood glucose in check, for me though that is not the case as I take in a lot of calories/carbs during a 70.3.