The Glucose Never Lies® Podcast
Host John Pemberton, diabetes educator, researcher, and a dad living with type 1 since 2008, explores how to think clearly about type 1 diabetes in the real world.
Each episode translates current evidence and expert practice into decisions you can use: CGM accuracy and interpretation, getting more from pumps and automated insulin delivery, movement as a glucose tool, nutrition that protects performance and enjoyment, sleep, travel, parties and sport.
Guests include leading clinicians, researchers and people with lived experience. Expect respectful challenge, plain language and practical takeaways.
Educational only. No therapeutic relationship and no personal medical advice.
Independent by design: no sponsorship, no advertising. Buy the GNL a coffee to keep us independent: https://buymeacoffee.com/gnlfree
Email: john@theglucoseneverlies.com
The Glucose Never Lies® Podcast
33 — Exercise Evidence for Females with T1D: Mind the Gap | Associate Professor Jane Yardley
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Exercise guidelines for type 1 diabetes are built on research dominated by male participants. Professor Jane Yardley, a leading exercise physiologist, bridges the research gap between male and female exercise physiology in type 1 diabetes.
This conversation reveals why carbohydrate recommendations systematically overestimate female needs, how menstrual cycle phases alter insulin requirements during exercise, why peripheral hyperinsulinemia creates unique barriers to fat loss, and how fasted morning exercise offers a low-risk, high-reward strategy for improving insulin sensitivity and accessing fat stores.
Full show notes: https://theglucoseneverlies.com/females-exercise-t1d/
KEY TOPICS:
• Why ~60-70% of females experience luteal phase insulin resistance (10-50% increased needs)
• How AID systems struggle to keep up with rapid menstrual cycle changes
• Why per-kilogram carb recommendations overestimate female athletes' needs
• The peripheral hyperinsulinemia barrier: 4-8× higher insulin blocks fat release
• Fasted exercise: zero planning, minimal hypo risk, maximum fat burning
• Why muscle and bone health in your 20s-30s determines mobility in your 60s-80s
• Menopause transitions and accelerated cardiovascular risk
WHAT YOU'LL LEARN:
✓ Luteal phase exercise may require larger insulin adjustments
✓ Females use more fat as fuel — estrogen promotes fat oxidation
✓ Bolus insulin lasts 6 hours, not 2-4 (why "between meals" isn't truly fasted)
✓ Morning fasted exercise depletes glycogen and improves all-day insulin sensitivity
✓ How to overcome the fat loss barrier created by high peripheral insulin
✓ Why resistance training NOW prevents fractures and disability later
✓ Pregnancy exercise principles (sparse data, clear physiology)
PRACTICAL STRATEGIES:
→ Fasted morning exercise: roll out of bed, black coffee, go — no adjustments needed
→ Luteal phase: consider 60-70% basal cuts (not 50%) for postprandial exercise
→ Start with LESS carbohydrate than guidelines suggest, adjust based on YOUR response
→ Build peak muscle/bone by age 30 — you can't make up for lost time at retirement
→ Post-meal walks in pregnancy: 15-20 min keeps glucose <7.8 mmol/L without extra insulin
GUEST: Associate Professor Jane Yardley
University of Montreal & Montreal Clinical Research Institute
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For education only. Not medical advice and not a substitute for individual care; decisions about your care sit with you and your diabetes team.
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