Resources for pre-diabetic athletes

Can anyone cite a few resources for athletes whose relationship to glucose is…complicated? While the obvious answer is “talk to your doctor”, doctors are primarily interested in overall health rather than competition, so finding the sweet spot between enough carbs to perform, but not so many carbs you cause problems is a challenge.

TIA

Maybe try a sports-oriented nutritionist?

I’m not diabetic, or pre-diabetic, but I am 40lb overweight, and I watch my carbs. It’s taken a long time to figure out, but now I eat relatively low carb when I’m not on the bike, and simply fuel the rides specifically as needed. I don’t race, though.

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I’ll give you some links but let you do the homework. If you’re just starting this journey it is going to take work but it is still achievable that you can balance performance and health and be pre-diabetic (or diabetic). I obviously don’t know where you’re starting from so I’m reluctant to put in too many links. Hopefully what is below is helpful to start.

Peter Attia is someone who is focused more on the science side of things. He’s a great resource to get things started and probably even better if you can pay for some of his services such as access to all his articles and full podcasts or even the company he partners with - Virta Health.
Peter Attia - https://peterattiamd.com/

This next isn’t exactly related to performance but is a great place for recipes.
Maria Emmerich - https://mariamindbodyhealth.com/

This last one is a mix of the two.
Ted Naiman - Dr. Ted Naiman, MD - Diet Doctor

I’m reluctant to reveal too much about myself but I’ll say I’m in a similar situation. If you want more details about me or my journey and what I do, shoot me a message. It might take a day or two but I will get back to you.

SILLY DISCLAIMER THAT I’M NOT EVEN SURE HAS LEGAL STANDING:
I’m not an MD and the above is not medical advice. See your doctor for proper medical advice :slight_smile:

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Thanks for the links. Not new to blood glucose or training, just looking to get a better understanding of the current science. When I first started studying blood glucose management 12 years ago, I was pretty disappointed with the quality of available research, conflicting recommendations, and the willingness of so many to endorse solutions or explanations based on inadequate research. Hoping to find things improved in 2023.

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Hey - I saw your post a few days ago and have been thinking a lot about it. I don’t have good resources but I’m in the same boat and thought I might briefly share what I’ve been doing since December when I got my A1C levels back from my annual physical.

First, I’m 40, male, all other tests game back good including blood pressure, etc. My experience was initially dismay, frustration, and even a bit of anger. I am cycling in part because I’m an older father and I want a long health span - I want to participate in my children’s and possible grandchildren’s lives as long as I can. So this was bad news for me. I had a family member suggest quitting cycling, but that felt even worse.

So - first I got a continuous blood glucose monitor. I went with Signos and do not recommend it. Just the Dexcom and its companion app Clarity would have been enough for me. I read Peak by Marc Bubbs, which was also helpful. Then I hired a sports nutritionist (in part thanks to the podcast).

Here’s what I think was going wrong with my diet: I needed a better mix of protein, healthy carbs, and fats in each of my meals. I was under eating in general and with carbs specifically. I was also eating a lot of “healthy” processed food like organic crackers and cereal which have a higher glycemic index. Under eating lead to intense sugar cravings in the evenings before bed. My CGM showed that most of my high glucose levels were coming from those evening sugar binges in the form of things like four bananas and peanut butter, two or three bowls of cereal, etc.

So I’ve adjusted what I eat, how much, and when. This includes the order of how I eat my macros (protein with or befor carbs). I eat a huge breakfast now. I’ve also totally cut out alcohol - and replaced it with a couple non alcoholic IPAs a week. I’m also taking Magnesium and Chromium supplements together which is supposed to support better blood glucose response - though you’ll need to talk to a doctor or nutritionist about dosage and timing because I don’t understand that totally yet.

With the info from Peak, notes I made from the CGM, and the guidance of my nutritionist I am thrilled that my resting blood glucose levels are back under 100, I don’t have high blood glucose levels at night while sleeping, my sugar cravings are totally gone when I’m eating right, and I’m anticipating a good A1C test result when I take it next.

Oh also - good sleep is super important for good glucose levels for me.

I probably made this process sound simple or at least linear but it was definitely not - I lost about a month of quality training to bad nutrition while I was adjusting my diet. I was frustrated all the time. I was having just trash workouts during January and a chunk of Feb. I should have started the process with the nutritionist instead of resorting to that resource last.

Anyway - things are moving in the right direction for me at the moment. I’m sure I’ll continue to have frustrating days and weeks, but I have the resources in place right now. I’m happy to answer questions and I’ll try to post another update.

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Hi, just curious if you have an update on how you are doing. I feel i am slightly in the same boat. Have had elevated fasting levels and just feel off when it comes to energy and nutrition despite eating seemingly healthy foods.

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Hey! It’s gone well. My annual checkup found my aac levels to be normal. The biggest thing for me was appropriate nutrients and timing - that is getting out of evening/ late nite carb binges by eating enough healthy carbs for breakfast, lunch, snacks, and a light(er) dinner. It’s actually a ton of work for me to do it well - two kids and a very demanding job that requires a lot of restaurant meals means that a lot of the year about about 15 to 20 pounds over racing weight but healthy in terms of resting glucose levels, etc.

That is great to hear! Glad your numbers are looking good :+1:

There’s a cliff notes for Joe Friel’s “A Paleo Diet Guide for Athlete’s” that is actually a great primer for low carb diets for endurance athletes. It covers carb timing for sports and the amount to eat and when for recovery post exercise.

So was the actual problem that you were not eating enough carbs? You said that your nutritionist recommended more carbs. Chances your body was just in a fat adapted state and needed a carb boost to get out of it and start processing carbs for energy again?