So, over the past year and a half I put on a decent amount of muscle and now I'm in a cutting phase. I cut my caloric intake and transitioned into a supersets-and-cardio-only routine. As my primary goal right now is getting rid of body fat, I have, for the past week or so, avoided eating anything within the two-hour time frame before going to sleep. The reason for this is simple (and I believe well-documented): most of what you eat before going to sleep will, because of your lower metabolism, be stored as fat. I read somewhere that through the entire night, assuming it's roughly an 8-hour night, your body consumes 30 carbs max. But I'm pretty sure I already have enough carbs in my system from dinner to last through the night.
What am I getting at? Well, because I have been avoiding eating snacks before bed, I've had a lot of low blood sugars during the night. Maybe I'm wrong about the cause, but I don't know what else it could be. So I'm wondering if anyone with a better understanding of anatomy, physiology, kinesiology, or just plain old experience can tell me what (s)he knows about burning fat (for diabetics) and how bedtime snacks figure in...?!
Oh, also, please don't tell me to do more cardio or high intensity cardio. I'm trying to maintain the muscle I gained, so most of the changes I make should be dietary.
It seems to me that doing more cardio would cause more lows, so I don't think you're gonna hear too much about that...... Are you trying to eat some of the lower Glycemic Index foods with your dinner?
Man I am in the same boat as you, I have put on alot of muscles but I dont lose much fat..I somehow lost about 25 pounds last year but cant for the life of me figure out what I did. I work out 3-4 days a weeks, do cardio (I have heard walking really helps diabetics but havent has any luck) I play golf, Im constantly moving at work its just confusing
Verify your pump's overnight basal settings. It's kind of a pain in the butt, but eat either skip dinner or eat something low carb and then test your blood every hour or two between 10pm - 8am.
Anytime I lose weight my overnight basal drops first. Since you use a pump there's no reason for you to need a bedtime snack.
P.S. My husband swears by the no late night food. He stops eating by 7:30pm, no matter what, and even in his 40's without working out maintains a healthy weight.
I would definitely look at the insulin you’re getting at dinner and throughout the night. You might need to change your ratio at the last meal you eat.
efeinste - I’m not if you’ve solved your issue, but you may want to consult with Precision Nutrition which is a web-based coaching company. You can post your question to their message board and you should receive a response.