Hypoglycemia?

Have you been to an endocrinologist? Have you been tested for diabetes? How old are you? When we eat any carbohydrate our body turns this into fuel in the form of blood sugar. We use what we need, and store the rest as fat. When we eat, our body releases the hormone insulin which makes this fuel or blood sugar enter the cells of all our muscles and organs. When we run out of avaliable food supply, our body will then turn to fat and muscle for fuel. Carbohydrates are found in: all grains, cereals (flour, rice, oats, pasta etc), all fruits, some vegetables (potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, squash, corn, peas etc) milk and dairy products as well as sugar. Cutting out sugar is only one of these areas. Not all carbohydrates are created equally. For example all carbohydrates/food have number of grams of carbohydrate. There is 15gms per slice of bread, a bagel has 60 gms. Secondly all food has been tested for the glycemic index. A low glycemic index means that this food is released slowly into the blood stream. A high Glycemic index food is released very quickly, eg white bread. When a high glycemic index food is consumed eg a donut, the blood sugar will spike quickly. Insulin will be released, and then the blood sugar will drop again, in some cases as a rebound low. When a person has hypoglycemia (which is a level of 60 (or in Canadian levels 3.3) the liver will kick in. It will dump glycogen which will then cause the blood sugar levels to rise back up. Thirdly, what do you eat before you swim? It is best to choose a low glycemic index food with a good caloric content. What do you drink during workouts? There are also low GI drink mixes, and gels, avaliable. I would think that you may well need more to eat rather than cutting out 'sugar'. Eating a low GI will keep your levels more stable. You may also need to eat/sip a low GI, or a higher GI like gatorade during a workout every 20-30 mins to keep your levels stable. Remember that this will depend on the energy system being trained. If you are doing high end sprints your blood sugar levels will actually rise. Aerobic and anaerobic mid zone will require consuming of food during workout. Do you have a glucometer? You should look into getting one and monitor your levels. (The one touch ultra is great and only takes 5 secs) Put it in a ziplock bag and bring a small face cloth to dry your hands with. Hypoglycemia can be dangerous if you are lower than 54 (3.0) At this level, you will be very weak, the pool will feel like a million miles long and you will be sweaty and shaky. And you will most probably have fallen off the pace clock. It is not advisable to let your levels reach this level ever, let alone when exercising. Make sure you are being followed by an endocrinologist. If you have any more questions, I will try and answer them. I am sure there are lots of very knowledgable people on this board. Good luck. Happy training. "to motivate, add water" "Fear is a reaction, courage is a decision"

Have you been to an endocrinologist? Have you been tested for diabetes? How old are you? When we eat any carbohydrate our body turns this into fuel in the form of blood sugar. We use what we need, and store the rest as fat. When we eat, our body releases the hormone insulin which makes this fuel or blood sugar enter the cells of all our muscles and organs. When we run out of avaliable food supply, our body will then turn to fat and muscle for fuel. Carbohydrates are found in: all grains, cereals (flour, rice, oats, pasta etc), all fruits, some vegetables (potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, squash, corn, peas etc) milk and dairy products as well as sugar. Cutting out sugar is only one of these areas. Not all carbohydrates are created equally. For example all carbohydrates/food have number of grams of carbohydrate. There is 15gms per slice of bread, a bagel has 60 gms. Secondly all food has been tested for the glycemic index. A low glycemic index means that this food is released slowly into the blood stream. A high Glycemic index food is released very quickly, eg white bread. When a high glycemic index food is consumed eg a donut, the blood sugar will spike quickly. Insulin will be released, and then the blood sugar will drop again, in some cases as a rebound low. When a person has hypoglycemia (which is a level of 60 (or in Canadian levels 3.3) the liver will kick in. It will dump glycogen which will then cause the blood sugar levels to rise back up. Thirdly, what do you eat before you swim? It is best to choose a low glycemic index food with a good caloric content. What do you drink during workouts? There are also low GI drink mixes, and gels, avaliable. I would think that you may well need more to eat rather than cutting out 'sugar'. Eating a low GI will keep your levels more stable. You may also need to eat/sip a low GI, or a higher GI like gatorade during a workout every 20-30 mins to keep your levels stable. Remember that this will depend on the energy system being trained. If you are doing high end sprints your blood sugar levels will actually rise. Aerobic and anaerobic mid zone will require consuming of food during workout. Do you have a glucometer? You should look into getting one and monitor your levels. (The one touch ultra is great and only takes 5 secs) Put it in a ziplock bag and bring a small face cloth to dry your hands with. Hypoglycemia can be dangerous if you are lower than 54 (3.0) At this level, you will be very weak, the pool will feel like a million miles long and you will be sweaty and shaky. And you will most probably have fallen off the pace clock. It is not advisable to let your levels reach this level ever, let alone when exercising. Make sure you are being followed by an endocrinologist. If you have any more questions, I will try and answer them. I am sure there are lots of very knowledgable people on this board. Good luck. Happy training. "to motivate, add water" "Fear is a reaction, courage is a decision"