The Diabetes Community

@siddhesh07

2 wks ago

Is a banana before the gym okay if you're prediabetic?

I've been lifting weights 3 times a week and lately my workouts have been feeling flat. I usually go after work and by the time I reach the gym I feel like I have no energy left.

Since finding out I'm prediabetic I've become a bit scared of carbs, especially things like bananas because they're pretty sweet. Before all this I would sometimes have a banana before working out and never think twice about it.

I'm wondering if I'm overthinking this now. I don't want to eat something that sends my sugar way up, but I also don't want every workout to feel terrible because I'm trying to avoid carbs completely.

Anyone here with prediabetes or Type 2 who lifts? What do you normally eat before a workout, if anything?

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@geetanjali142 wks ago

Carbs aren't automatically bad just because you have prediabetes. I made the same mistake at first and started treating every carb like poison.

I lift in the evenings and sometimes have a banana beforehand. Other days I don't need anything. Depends how long it's been since my last meal.

@siddhesh072 wks ago

Yeah that's basically where my head is right now. I see a banana and immediately think sugar 😂

@nidhisharma2 wks ago

Try it and see what happens to your own glucose. That's probably more useful than asking whether bananas are universally good or bad.

I can eat one before exercise without much drama. My brother also has Type 2 and bananas send him much higher than they send me.

@siddhesh072 wks ago

I have a meter so I might actually test this properly on my next workout day instead of guessing.

@rajendra-singh2 wks ago

I usually have half a banana with a little peanut butter before lifting if I'm hungry. Full banana is sometimes more than I want.

Not saying that's some magic diabetes combination, it's just a portion that works well for me and doesn't leave me feeling heavy during the workout.

@manojdesai2 wks ago

Half a banana is weirdly something I never considered 😂 My brain always treats fruit as one serving that must be finished immediately.

@renuka062 wks ago

For me the bigger issue was going to the gym almost 6 hours after lunch and expecting to have a great workout with nothing in between.

Once I stopped doing that, my workouts improved. Sometimes my pre-workout food has carbs, sometimes it doesn't. I don't have one fixed rule.

@siddhesh072 wks ago

This might actually be my problem. Lunch is around 1 and I don't reach the gym until after 7 some days.

@renuka062 wks ago

Yeah I'd be useless by then too 😅

@ashishgupta2 wks ago

Bananas don't work particularly well for me. I tried one before a workout a few times and my glucose still went higher than I liked.

I normally have curd with a few nuts now if I need something before the gym. Different people seem to respond very differently to the same food.

@swati762 wks ago

One thing I'd avoid is turning 'I need some energy for training' into an excuse for a giant pre-workout meal 😂

I did that for a while. Banana, oats, peanut butter, milk, protein powder... somehow my small gym snack became 700 calories.

@siddhesh072 wks ago

😂 This is exactly the kind of thing I would do once I convince myself carbs are allowed again.

@rajivsharma2 wks ago

Type 1 here, so my situation is different. Exercise can move my glucose around quite a bit depending on the workout and insulin I have active.

Just mentioning that because advice from someone using insulin isn't always going to translate directly to someone with prediabetes.

@siddhesh072 wks ago

Good point. I hadn't really thought about how different the exercise advice could be between Type 1 and prediabetes.

@neetu932 wks ago

Honestly I'd focus on finding something that gives you a good workout and fits your overall eating pattern rather than trying to identify one perfect diabetes-friendly pre-workout food.

Strength training itself is a good habit. Don't make managing prediabetes so restrictive that you start hating the gym.