Check Your Levels Before and After Exercise

Check your levels before and after exercise and during long, hard exercise. If your blood sugar is more than 250 mg/dl, do not exercise until it's under control. The following guidelines help maintain blood-sugar levels while exercising:

30 minutes of low-intensity exercise (walking): If your blood sugar is less than 100 mg/dl before exercise, eat a snack with 15 grams of carbohydrates.

30-60  minutes  of moderate-intensity  exercise
(tennis, swimming, jogging): If your blood sugar is less than 100 mg/dl before exercise, have a snack with 25-50 grams of carbohydrates. If your blood sugar is 100-180 mg/dl, eat 10-15 grams of carbohydrates.

1-2 hours of strenuous-intensity exercise (basketball, skiing, shoveling snow): If your blood sugar is less than 100 mg/dl before exercise, eat a snack with about 50 grams of carbohydrates.

If your blood sugar is 100-180 mg/dl, eat a snack with 25-50 grams of carbohydrates.

If your blood sugar is 180-250 mg/dl, have a snack with 10-15 grams of carbohydrates. At this intense level of exercise, always monitor your blood sugar carefully.