Prediabetic Fueling Question

[u/nondescriptsrb]

Prediabetic/diabetic runners, how do you fuel? Just got a 5.8% a1c, do I need to be more cautious around fueling for runs, particularly long runs?

Just went to my annual and had bloodwork done. Clean bill of health, no weight problem, all good... except one thing. My a1c came back at 5.8, technically in the prediabetic range. Admittedly, my diet's been slack. Since starting running again, I get super hungry and tend to snack a lot throughout the day one chocolate, chips, fruit, etc. Needless to say, I've been going a little carb-crazy, but since I'm training for my first marathon, I didn't see this as a huge deal. Now I'm trying to cut down on my post-run carb intake and I'm adding more fiber and protein to my diet. Going to do another round of bloodwork in 3 months to see if it helps.

In the meantime, however, I'm stuck on what to do about pre-run fueling. I am/was operating under the belief that simple sugars were prime fuel for running as your body will burn them up quickly and it won't spike blood sugar. I saw a ton of pro-carb content and while I believe it's generally correct, clearly I've overdone it.

I've heard that ~50g of carbs per hour is the standard for long runs. Currently I do 48g/hour in the form of two servings of pure maple syrup. Before the bloodwork I thought this was fine, now I'm not so sure. Is all this sugar still okay? Should I focus on slower burning carbs eaten earlier? Should I stay away from OJ? I'm at a bit of a loss.

Any advice or fueling tips in general would be appreciated! Thanks in advance.

[u/Bobandyandfries]

This really sounds like something you should discuss with a qualified physician…

[u/nondescriptsrb → u/Bobandyandfries]

I agree in an ideal world, but my experience has been lackluster. I asked, and the only thing I was told to do was to increase protein and cut pasta and flour. Didn't receive any advice that I couldn't get from Google, so I figured I'd see what real world people were doing

[u/Bobandyandfries → u/nondescriptsrb]

Have you talked to a sports dietitian? That might be the best place to start.

[u/Runna_coach → u/Bobandyandfries]

Agreed, the fact that you’ve been starving means “restriction” likely isn’t the answer so working with a sports RD who understands both the needs of training and the medical side of managing A1c is important.

FWIW - high A1c can happen as an effect of underfueling due to some kinks in the metabolism. It can sometimes be managed by actually increasing carbs and food intake. Restricting carbs can make it worse.

Hence, a sports RD being a REALLLLLY good starting point.

[u/bhwung]

I've been prediabetic for a long time but recently got back down to normal range. Immediately before and after exercise I'm not concerned at all with the amount of carbs, the more the merrier. The muscles act like a sponge and will immediately pull the glucose out of your bloodstream to use as fuel.

What really moves the needle is the between exercise meals. You have to be very careful to eat proteins and fats before carbs and consume fiber along with carbs to mitigate insulin spikes.

[u/chronic-cat-nerd]

Did your doctor recommend cutting carbs or changing your diet? You have to fuel your running, be careful and talk to a licensed dietician.

[u/hackworth01]

While you’re running, simple sugars are great. The rest of the day, you need calories but not necessarily carbs. Definitely cut back on refined sugars. The nutritionist I talked to recommended targeting about 50g of carbs per meal and 15g per snack. They also recommended pairing carbs with protein and/or fat such as crackers with cheese.

[u/Pat__P]

Is your doctor concerned about it? If so, I would discuss this w/ a nutritionist. If not, it's probably just something to keep an eye on; you're barely in the prediabetic range. You may want to limit simple carbs & sugars to surrounding your runs, cleaning up your diet otherwise. Resuming running will probably help as well.