# Emily’s Exercise BG Thread **URL:** https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/emily-s-exercise-bg-thread/2309 **Category:** Sports & Exercise **Tags:** blood-sugar, walking **Created:** [October 10, 2017, 3:43am UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/emily-s-exercise-bg-thread/2309 "2017-10-10T03:43:38Z") **Posts on this page:** 1 **Showing post:** 3
### Author: ![Eric](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/eric/32/9209_2.png) [@Eric](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/Eric) #### Post date: [October 10, 2017, 4:12am UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/emily-s-exercise-bg-thread/2309/3 "2017-10-10T04:12:26Z")
> [@Pianoplayer7008](#): > > I read on one of the posts that it’s best to refuel within 45 minutes of end of exercise Yes, you can replace muscle glycogen much faster if you refuel soon after you finish. But… > [@Pianoplayer7008](#): > > If I’m only doing ~10 minute walks now, working up to at least 30 minutes over the next few weeks, do I still need to worry about refueling after (hubby thinks yes)? Walking is primarily going to be fueled by fat metabolism. If you are walking very fast or up hills, your heart rate could get into the zone where it uses more muscle glycogen. But in general, walking would be aerobic and would be much more in line with fat metabolism. In case you haven’t see these, here are a few threads to review: > [@How does my body fuel exercise?](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/how-does-my-body-fuel-exercise/203): > > How does my body fuel exercise? . It depends on the exercise! The body has 3 main fuel tanks it uses - glucose stored as muscle glycogen, fatty acids stored as triglycerides, and muscle protein (amino acids). (For this topic we are not discussing blood glucose as a fuel source because - while it is a fuel source - its supply is extremely limited and is does not provide very much fuel for an activity. See ==\> [how-far-you-can-go-on-blood-glucose-alone](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/how-far-you-can-go-on-blood-glucose-alone/3705).) During low intensity exercise, fat meta… > [@The 3 energy pathways](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/the-3-energy-pathways/1809): > > Not much here on diabetes particularly, but just a background on energy pathways used during exercise which can be explored further in other topics. Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) is the immediate source of chemical energy for muscle contraction. Very little ATP is stored in the muscle cells. It can only power muscle contractions for a few seconds. It needs to constantly be replaced. When your body uses ATP, it loses a phosphate molecule, and it becomes Adenosine Diphosphate (ADP). In order for… This image kind of gives an idea of how the intensity affects how you are fueling the activity. With running, there are actually calculations used for training that tell you where you are at 50% muscle glycogen and 50% fat metabolism. ![image](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/uploads/fudiabetes/original/2X/d/d8205bb5ccc61a9965f3749a621554245a3f6e09.jpg) A few more points - a) walking will lower your BG because your body will use any available fuel source it can, and if you have glucose available in your blood it will use that (and therefor lower you somewhat), and b) for the most part, you do not need to be too concerned with replacing muscle glycogen after less intense activities. You will use some muscle glycogen, but unless you are doing very intense walking, it will not be a glycogen depleting activity. Just general carb consumption throughout the day will top off your fuel tank. For walking, the main benefit for eating carbs afterward is not so much for the muscle glycogen replacement, but to prevent the lower BGs that generally follow physical activity. So for something like that, you don’t need to be as concerned with bolusing, and then carbing up. You can eat the carbs to prevent the lows afterward, or eat carbs as needed if you start to go lower. The time you walk is also important. If you do it late in the evening, you may not get the low until you are asleep. So you may want to start a bit earlier until you are comfortable with how many carbs you need. Exercise is a great fix for many things. I am happy that you are working on doing this. It helps in many ways! Anyway, ask questions! --- _[View the full topic](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/emily-s-exercise-bg-thread/2309)._