Exercise and your glucose

You have a lot of muscles, and they all need fuel. What is our body’s favourite type of fuel? Glucose. ¹ Glucose is found circulating in your blood or even stored as glycogen. When glucose is limited, your body adapts and breaks down fats for energy (or even proteins if it gets desperate). ² Exercising regularly helps burn glucose and improve overall glucose control, so try to add more movement to your daily routine. ³ 

Your body’s demand for fuel is only as intense as your workout. High-intensity exercise increases adrenaline (the fight-or-flight hormone), which signals to your body that it’s time to breakdown liver glycogen to glucose. ¹ This quick influx of fuel can spike your glucose, but this is the one time a spike is a good thing.

When you track more intense workouts and see a spike, don’t be alarmed. Lingo won’t count those exercise-related spikes against your Lingo Count, so jump back in and remember to track that more intense activity in the app.    

Seeing a spike, but you haven’t had an intense workout? There are other reasons for spikes. Stress and poor sleep can affect how your body uses glucose, and eating a lot of carbohydrates or carbs on their own will often lead to a spike.  

When shifting to a lower carb diet, but not low enough to shift into ketosis and burn fat for fuel, the limited glycogen is quickly spent without the support of ketones, which accompany a properly designed, high-fat approach. This prompts your body to turn to protein for fuel. But you can help prevent the breakdown of protein (and muscle) for fuel by making sure you have fuel in the tank a few hours before a workout. ⁴ And after your workout, remember to recover with enough protein and carbs to build muscle and replenish your glucose supply during your post-workout recovery phase.   

So, take this back into your daily life. Better prepare, perform, track, and recover. More power to you.   

A final note from Lingo 

Your body uses glucose as fuel for exercise, and the more intense the exercise, the more fuel it needs. Exercising regularly can help improve your overall glucose levels, so be sure to make room for some physical activity in your weekly routine where you can. 

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