I just thought I’d share this with my fellow diabetics.
I am T2, ie not on insulin (yet). I hesitated a long time before doing a full concerned that I would not make it because I am very limited in the amount of carbs I can take. I can’t cover my carbs by injecting.
I did IMAZ last weekend, with nothing but UCAN.
5 bottles with 2 scoops on the bike, 2 bottles on the run.
7 bottles at 160 calories = 1120 calories in 10h56 so about 100 calories per hour. That and about 10cups of water on the run.
Isn’t 100 a bit low ? I have a couple of sample packs of ucan I have been meaning to try and see how they go with my blood sugar. I have to inject on the bike to cover all carbs but on the run I can’t get enough glucose in. In training ofcourse I never need to inject at all. I will have to try the products on a long ride and see what it does to my sugar and guts. Awesome it worked for you! 100 cals an hour is roughly one gel per hour yeh?
Isn’t 100 a bit low ? I have a couple of sample packs of ucan I have been meaning to try and see how they go with my blood sugar. I have to inject on the bike to cover all carbs but on the run I can’t get enough glucose in. In training ofcourse I never need to inject at all. I will have to try the products on a long ride and see what it does to my sugar and guts. Awesome it worked for you! 100 cals an hour is roughly one gel per hour yeh?
Yes 100 is low.
In my case I have a very tight range I can work with and I am trying to figure out how UCAN impacts it.
Previously I would take 1 cliff block (32 calories/8g carbs) per 20min. 96calories. If I tried 1 per 15min, my glucose would get to about 180ish and this was a danger zone for me. So that’s a pretty tight range. But I think UCAN will allow me to do more.
I say danger zone, because when I get to around 230ish, I seem to become more insulin resistant and my glucose will then skyrocket. Then I am at risk of accumulating insulin (my body produces a little) and if it “kicks in” I would go hypo. This may be something very specific to me, but I have to keep my glucose at max 200.
What I am seeing with UCAN is my glucose seems to be very stable whether I take a little too much or too little, but lots of experimenting left to do. I am going to look into a CGM
What I am seeing with UCAN is my glucose seems to be very stable whether I take a little too much or too little, but lots of experimenting left to do.
What specifically about ucan works better for you than gubrew, skratch or other sugar? Not a T2 so I don’t know.
I am going to look into a CGM
Yes. A cgm should be standard issue for every diabetic. Well worth the investment. In the meantime you can still get good data by taking blood every 15 minutes during a workout. A little harder on the bike but still possible.
What I am seeing with UCAN is my glucose seems to be very stable whether I take a little too much or too little, but lots of experimenting left to do.
What specifically about ucan works better for you than gubrew, skratch or other sugar? Not a T2 so I don’t know.
I seem to get a much smoother release of glucose and steadier blood sugar level. I suspect that for T1 it will be easier to predict insulin requirements but I am guessing.
When I test with regular sugars (for example cliff blocks) my levels will be +/-50, depending on the timing of the measurement.
if I keep the amount reasonable. UCAN seems to keep me +/- 10.
I suspect that if I did too much UCAN it would still be relatively stable. I need to try this
If I did too much Cliff blocks it would spike big time. I have seen +90 and then I get into trouble.
Congrats on following the low-carb diet, your health will appreciate.
I had a similar experience with UCAN a few years ago when I switched to very low carb, mostly >60g p day with a dose or two of UCAN on heavy training days. I also find nuts act very similar to UCAN, extremely slow release, over many hours. I wrote a post about my experience here:
Hey Marcel, great to see you at the pool today! Could you share a full training report. It’s one thing to do the race on 100 cals per hour (insanely amazing), but curious how you actually trained your body on the slow burn of carbs and go as fast as you did on mainly burning fat.
I just thought I’d share this with my fellow diabetics.
Have you ever read anything from Dr. Fung in Toronto? He specializes in Diabetes treatments, you might be interested.
I was heading for diabetes based on my blood sugar readings and family history. His talks and explanations of how diabetes works and how to reverse it were very helpful.
curious how you actually trained your body on the slow burn of carbs and go as fast as you did on mainly burning fat.
I am not advocating a LCHF diet. I follow one because I have to due to the diabetes. I know there is a lot of debate about LCHF and I don’t want to get into the pros and cons of it. I always felt I am losing out on some essential nutrients with LCHF. But I do believe it’s what makes me an above average fat burner
A couple of twists to my LCHF diet
-I am probably 30% carbs overall, so not Keto and not that extreme. I do pick my carbs and they are all low GI.
I cannot take on any carbs in the morning. I am much more sensitive to carbs and I can tolerate them more as the day progresses and after exercise. So I tend to take all my carbs later in the day and time them post exercise. At 6PM after a workout I am almost non diabetic. I think there are other hormonal issues in play
The bulk of my harder/longer workouts are done in the morning so they are 100% fueled with water or protein/fat I ate previously. If I have to go out on a long bike ride I’ll have a breakfast of eggs/cheese/ham and I’ll take some nuts or peanut butter before going and I’ll just drink water. I do as much as 4 or 5 hour rides on water. I’ll bring a 100 calorie granola bar as a backup.
So is it the overall LCHF diet, the fact I train with no carbs or the fact I take the carbs post exercise, I don’t know.
curious how you actually trained your body on the slow burn of carbs and go as fast as you did on mainly burning fat.
I am not advocating a LCHF diet. I follow one because I have to due to the diabetes. I know there is a lot of debate about LCHF and I don’t want to get into the pros and cons of it. I always felt I am losing out on some essential nutrients with LCHF. But I do believe it’s what makes me an above average fat burner
A couple of twists to my LCHF diet
-I am probably 30% carbs overall, so not Keto and not that extreme. I do pick my carbs and they are all low GI.
I cannot take on any carbs in the morning. I am much more sensitive to carbs and I can tolerate them more as the day progresses and after exercise. So I tend to take all my carbs later in the day and time them post exercise. At 6PM after a workout I am almost non diabetic. I think there are other hormonal issues in play
The bulk of my harder/longer workouts are done in the morning so they are 100% fueled with water or protein/fat I ate previously. If I have to go out on a long bike ride I’ll have a breakfast of eggs/cheese/ham and I’ll take some nuts or peanut butter before going and I’ll just drink water. I do as much as 4 or 5 hour rides on water. I’ll bring a 100 calorie granola bar as a backup.
So is it the overall LCHF diet, the fact I train with no carbs or the fact I take the carbs post exercise, I don’t know.
Marcel, the reason why I ask is we have diabetes in my family and I have been wondering that although I don’t show anything along those lines yet, perhaps for the longer races, I might benefit from training my body to exercise off burning fat at least for the lower intensity workouts. As we discussed for half IM you already have 2 to 2.5 hours of stored energy on your body, so you really only need to fuel for 2.5 more hours, so 100ish cals per hour can get you to to the finish line nicely.
My friend Rob Gray who is currently leading UM Hawaii does some similar stuff (he is not diabetic) and also used UCAN in racing, but consumes a ton more of it that you. He’s pretty adamant on training his body for fat burning for a few months leading up to A events, but then in the final few days before the race, and race itself, he is quite liberal with the carbs.
I’ll be back at the pool next Friday in the same time window. Maybe we can discuss some more (not that I am racing any time soon, but still).
we have diabetes in my family and I have been wondering that although I don’t show anything along those lines yet, perhaps for the longer races,
Personally, if it’s in the family, I would be testing myself now and then. The current OHIP testing standards probably won’t pick up diabetes until it’s well on it’s way
My friend Rob Gray who is currently leading UM Hawaii does some similar stuff (he is not diabetic) and also used UCAN in racing, but consumes a ton more of it that you. He’s pretty adamant on training his body for fat burning for a few months leading up to A events, but then in the final few days before the race, and race itself, he is quite liberal with the carbs.
I haven’t spoken to Tony about it recently but 2 years ago he was as well and so were many of his athletes. I think the whole CT crew in Mtl are LCHF advocates. That’s were I buy my UCAN
UCAN was a great partner in the ST Roadshows, so I told their marketing guy, Varun, about this thread.
He shared this link to a recent webinar with Cliff Scherb, who holds the 2nd fastest Ironman time for a Type 1 Diabetic and discussed how to use UCAN for diabetic athletes: https://youtu.be/6B_AG-0SlSU
We hope they’ll partner with us again at the 2017 road shows!
I just thought I’d share this with my fellow diabetics.
I am T2, ie not on insulin (yet). I hesitated a long time before doing a full concerned that I would not make it because I am very limited in the amount of carbs I can take. I can’t cover my carbs by injecting.
I did IMAZ last weekend, with nothing but UCAN.
5 bottles with 2 scoops on the bike, 2 bottles on the run.
7 bottles at 160 calories = 1120 calories in 10h56 so about 100 calories per hour. That and about 10cups of water on the run.
PRODUCT DISCOUNT…
Sorry, forgot to include this deal. UCAN CYBER WEEK SPECIAL
UCAN delivers steady, long lasting energy without the spike and crash and GI distress of sugar-based fuels and helps you burn more fat by keeping blood sugar stable.
Save 25% + free shipping on all UCAN products through December 4th!
Use code **CYBERST **at checkout.
PRODUCT DISCOUNT…
Sorry, forgot to include this deal. UCAN CYBER WEEK SPECIAL
UCAN delivers steady, long lasting energy without the spike and crash and GI distress of sugar-based fuels and helps you burn more fat by keeping blood sugar stable.
Save 25% + free shipping on all UCAN products through December 4th!
Use code **CYBERST **at checkout.
Karen and others, what is the key ingredient in the long lasting energy that is low glycemic?
Marcag, if so, why only 100 per hour. Why not 200 per hour. Is it too hard to digest?
Just bumping for devs q as it was a good one marcag if your still around?
If so I’m also keen to know if you get high blood sugar from adrenaline at the start of the race?
Just bumping for devs q as it was a good one marcag if your still around?
If so I’m also keen to know if you get high blood sugar from adrenaline at the start of the race?
Sorry I missed it.
I target 100 calories because it’s the maximum that keeps my blood glucose around 8 to 9 mmol /L. If I get over 10 it’s dangerous territory for me. I’ll then start to spike up and eventually crash.
Yes, I definitely get adrenaline (and other hormonal) rushes the morning of the race and they cause higher insulin resistance. But I think they come back to normal by the time the swim is over. But I am extremely sensitive to carbs race morning so the slightest amount will shoot my glucose up. I eat all protein and fat race morning. Usually eggs and breakfast meats.
do you just carry the bottles w you on the run? I love UCAN, but it’s so heavy to carry. I haven’t found a good way of using it running.
thanks.
I have been carrying the bottles and yes it’s heavy and a PITA. I did have replacement flasks in my special needs bag on the run.
I want to try the bars to see if they work the same way. They would be lighter and I would just use them and water. I had a hard time finding the bars in Canada
