Jan 23 2009
Exercise, food and diabetes
Since I first wrote about my sugar freakouts, I’ve been thinking more about exercise and how the body changes in response to it. I was an overweight marshmallow before I started exercising at Curves. Now my body is developing muscle. I find it amazing to sit here and feel that I’m sitting on muscle. My back is straight, my body tight. That’s a big change and a good one.
I’m looking now for cause and effect and thinking about what might cause that deep, crazy need for sugar. I’m wondering if it’s an after-response to exercise. I’ve never been an athlete so I don’t know what an athlete’s needs are when it comes to food. I don’t know what a diabetic’s needs are when I suddenly begin to exercise and develop more muscle. It’s a big change when you’re over fifty and a marshmallow.
So, I’m in research mode. That means lots of testing my blood sugars and recording what I eat. I don’t mind exercising. I don’t mind logging test results, but I HATE logging my food.
I log my food (sometimes) and my exercise (usually) on sparkpeople.com . It’s nice to have a tool that I’m in control of.
Marilynne 
I love SparkPeople too!! I log everything. At first I hated logging my food - it was scary to me to see what I was really eating in the beginning. Now, I have to log my food to make sure that I am getting enough calories!
Hang in there I am sure that you will figure out the cravings and all soon
I have a bad reaction to sugar too. If I eat more than a little bit, I want more and then want more and then more. If I just avoid it altogether, I don’t crave it as much.
I find I need a little bit of complex carbs - fruit or whole grains- when I exercise, but mostly protein and vegetables.