This is something which I have been trying to figure out and I’m still baffled
When I work outside the home its for 5 to 9 hours on average twice a week, but can be more often depending on if I get called in to do a shift at a different location or my primary because someone needs the shift covered.
I am on my feet from the moment I get to work till when I leave 90% of the time, and I am moving around or standing (talking on the phone to clients, taking appointments, taking photographs, etc). I never know what a day at work will bring when it comes to how much movement or standing around will take place. My pedometer is of no use to me I’ve found and my HRM well it also doesn’t seem to give me a good notion of what I am burning.
I’m finding one thing for sure that I am going low more times then naught when it comes to work with my diabetes then I care to admit to. Sunday I was unable to drive home right away after work all because I went dangerously low (hit mmol 2.9 [49.6]) and had to use what little funds I had to get a “meal” from McDs only cheap option I had open to me (as in its the only place I could get something for under 2.00 which was all I had on me).
So I know from going that low, that I was moving around way more then is normal for me at work. But I have no idea how many calories I burned, but one thing i do know is that the 300 calories I had for breakfast wasn’t near enough to sustain me for 8 and a half hours of work by any means, nor was the 20 oz of coffee with 1 tsp of sugar n 3 tsp of lactose free creamer nor was the 710 ml bottle of regular pepsi. You’d have though with that much in the way of liquid carbs my levels might well have stayed up there, but nooo that wasn’t the case. For the times I was able to test I was always mmol 4 [72] and under (which in general isn’t all bad, but for being functional and all that running around its not a good area to be at).
Now going low isn’t uncommon the days I work, more times then naught I end up doing low while at work, but most of the time the pop or coffee keep me at least between mmol 7 and 9 [126 to 162] which for me for activity is a good range to be within (its stable as stable is for me). So I know that I am burning calories while I am work and that the calories I burn are not of an even thing every time I do work, because my lows are not consistent from work day to work day, it is possible on a slow day that I’ll not even go low at all.
Oh well its all trial and error when it comes to all this, I know. I also know that its very much possible that I’ve not been eating enough to cover the calorie burn during work time but I’m still in the learning process, something that I thought I would have been able to figure out faster then this, but apparently its not meant to be a fast understanding.
Take care everyone, post as time does allow
Nyx
Sometimes it takes long to figure out but keep going somehow you will find what your body needs.