Heart Disease
Diabetes
An exercise program just for you
Nearly everyone can benefit from some level of exercise — young and old alike, those with chronic diseases, and those without. For people with diabetes, however, exercise is particularly important. Together with meal planning and diabetes medications (if recommended by your doctor), exercise is a crucial part of achieving good diabetes control.
While people with diabetes get all the standard benefits of exercise — improved fitness, better weight control, increased strength, decreased blood pressure, and a big psychological boost — they also gain some extra health benefits. For example, exercise can make your body more sensitive to insulin, and therefore help in lowering blood glucose levels with less insulin. Exercise may also help reduce the risk of heart disease. But because exercise can produce different effects on blood glucose in different people, the first and most important rule is to speak with your doctor before starting any exercise routine.
What exercise, and how often?
Dancing, gardening, walking the dog, cleaning the house, mowing the lawn, climbing stairs — all these and even more activities that you may perform on a daily basis can count as exercise, with just a little modification.
It is always best to start with small increases in your activity level. For example, when walking the dog, add an extra block or two to your route every few days. If you enjoy music, you might want to take earphones and either a portable radio or cassette player along with you. Often, music can make exercise more enjoyable, and may even help you pick up the pace of your activity.
You might also want to invite a friend to walk with you. That way, you can encourage each other to stay motivated and help make the time you spend walking even more enjoyable.
Whatever your chosen activity, blood glucose levels should be tested before and after each exercise, and, if the activity is prolonged, even during the exercise period. Of course, you should discuss any change in your activity level with your doctor before you try it. Your doctor will often have some useful tips on getting started and give you important information on how to balance exercise with diet and medication to maintain good diabetes control.
Keep in mind . . .
As we all know, even a good thing — like exercise — can be harmful if overdone or done improperly. So, before you start your new exercise program, here are a few points to keep in mind:
- Listen to your body. Pain is the body's way of warning you that something is wrong. Be sure to slow down or cut short your workout if it is causing you discomfort. Also, be alert for signs of either low or high blood glucose reactions. These include shakiness, increased hunger, or rapid heartbeat (low blood glucose) or increased urination, increased thirst, or increased hunger (high blood glucose). These events can occur during exercise, and they are a signal to stop the activity immediately so that you can treat the problem.
- Wear appropriate clothing and footwear. You do not have to spend a lot of money on fancy workout clothes, but do be sure that you are wearing loose, comfortable clothing appropriate for the activity and the conditions you are exercising in. Paying extra close attention to your shoes is vital, because they can prevent injury or infection. Athletic shoes should be comfortable, offer good support, and be sized to fit properly.
- Exercise is not an excuse to eat all you want! While extremely vigorous exercise that lasts one hour or more may increase your appetite, moderate exercise is more likely to reduce your appetite for a few hours. Either way, exercise is meant to supplement a regimen of healthful eating. Assuming that you can treat yourself to extra calories because you have exercised may defeat the purpose of controlling your weight.
