I find myself in a very puzzling predicament. As part of a routine checkup, I found out my HA1C is 5.6, implying an average blood glucose of 114, so borderline pre-diabetic. I say it’s puzzling because of my profile: Lean and athletic build, visible 6 pack, despite my age. No to brag, but I look better than most people 25y younger. Not gained weight. In fact I have lost weight. Not excess weight around the waist, of course. Fluctuate between 138-143lbs at 5’8”. THIS IS NOT A CALORIES ISSUE. Consume about 2900cal a day. I track and weight my food. On average 260g of carbs daily. Fit, 4.0-4.2 w/kg at 8500ft Carbs as a % of calories are not greater than 37% on average. Only do more than 60g/h in races No carbs in less than 2h endurance rides. The most I do for a 2-3h hard ride is 30g/h. And it’s mostly fruits. The day I do a 5h /250-300TSS I do 60g/h and consume 500g of carbs total in that day. I lift weights and do other physical activity aside from cycling. Even if by absolute measures It seems that I’m not overdoing it, maybe relative to my physiology and training, I am. Signs that I could be over doing it, aside from blood tests: I never bunk, rarely too tired (due to diet) to train. Sometimes after a big ride I GAIN weight…albeit temporarily. Despite looking great, DEXA says 19% BF. Could I be under muscled despite appearance suggesting otherwise? Volume has been low (7-8h bike) for last 3 months (indoor season). With 3D of intensity. It’s important to note that over the last week, since I found out the result, I reduced carb intake, an adjusting the timing a bit, except the day of the big ride and seem to be doing fine energy wise, however not blood sugar wise yet. Additionally, there’s a tiny chance that this is caused by the small dose of statin (Rosuvastatin 2.5mg), but is highly unlikely. I’m arranging appointments with an endocrinology team and will get to the bottom of this, but will like to hear input from the forum. Thanks a lot

To close this thread: 40 days of: Reduced carb intake, averaging ~200g/Day Increase training load Elimination of rice, pasta, bread Periodization of carbs Has turned around my numbers completely, and it’s all good now

For ALMI you actually want to be higher than normal. Take a look at the chart towards the bottom of this blog post: [image] Unlock Your Potential for Longevity: ALMI and DEXA Scans | DexaFit Discover how the Appendicular Lean Mass Index (ALMI) and DEXA scans, backed by research and endorsed by renowned longevity expert Peter Attia, will optimize your muscle health, longevity, and overall well-being. Learn why ALMI is crucial for... I know folks have different reactions to Peter Attia, but he’s said maintaining being in the 75th percentile for ALIM as one ages is a good goal. Edit: Though the way your DEXA has reported the percentages doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me compared to the table in the blog post I linked. I’d expect the numbers to be reversed.

Interesting, this is the original source: [image] Reference standards for lean mass measures using GE dual energy x-ray... Body composition assessments commonly focus predominantly on fat mass, however lean mass (LM) measurements also provide useful information regarding clinical and nutritional status. LM measurements help predict health outcomes and diagnose... But I’m not Caucasian nor did the hospital use a GE machine (I think)

A very good relevant article: [image] Fundamentals of glycogen metabolism for coaches and athletes The ability of athletes to train day after day depends in large part on adequate restoration of muscle glycogen stores, a process that requires the consumption of sufficient dietary carbohydrates and ample time. Providing effective guidance to...

Fantastic article indeed. Thanks very much for posting that.

I think I have a handle on the tweaks I can implement to test if the sugar issues are due to diet or statins. But I need to run an experiment first. Here are main considerations: Because I don’t have HA1C results to compare, blood sugar behavior, I have to use Triglycerides/HDL as a ratio. In the literature, the statin that I use has a low potency dosis of 10mg, I’m taking 2.5mg. After 4 months of this dose, I didn’t see any adverse changes in the ratio, quite the contrary, I saw the opposite. It was after introducing Ezetimibe (10g) that the ratio turned bad and confirmed by blood sugar readings and HA1c. However, all this is confounded by a 12% decrease in bike load, and a slight increase 2.5% in daily carb consumption, a 5.5% increase in sugar consumption and a .5% increased in average weight. Son now that the offseason is ending, the experiment is to increase load, find the minimum effective dosis of carbs/sugar and test again at the end of April. [image] I already see the changes in postprandial glucose readings, but I remain alarmed at my fasting blood sugar levels. I can run a couple of experiments to see if this is due to the dawn effect. [image]l Old

[image] lee82: Also, what are the fat sources? I limit saturated fat intake at 25-35g/ day, so most for the sources are good fats from nuts, avocado, olive oil, etc. I average a 35%/45% split for carbs/fats [image] lee82: If your caloric intake per day is ~3400 Average last year is 3000

Fit 29 year old, visible 6 pack, 3.6 W/KG, 7-12 hrs cycling/week, have an “athletic” amount of muscle, eat healthy besides sugar water on the bike, and have been active either running or cycling all my life. A1C came back at 5.6 last year… frustrating to say the least. Don’t really have any input, just wish we could do a blood sugar training block and train out down :joy:

One element I should add is that I do not get enough sleep (6-7 hrs usually) - that is probably my low hanging fruit in regards to blood sugar and most other aspects of my life

[image] ArHu74: Post prandial and early morning glucose spikes (dawn phenomenon) are normal. I looked into this, not sure I can hang my hat on, it’s totally understudied in non diabetic populations. [image] Why is my blood sugar high in the morning? You can experience early morning blood sugar spikes even before breakfast. Here’s what you should know about the dawn effect. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/6389230/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32650035/

[image] Sisheveudysgj: One element I should add is that I do not get enough sleep (6-7 hrs usually) Yes, this is something I need to optimize, but there’s another dimension that is quality of sleep. Lately, average duration is about the same, but quality is better. I’m taking: Glycine, Magnesium and Ashawagandha. Just started, could be placebo.

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Help: How do you know when you are overdoing carbs?

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Sisheveudysgj April 1, 2024, 2:49am 66

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