Feb 27 2009
Diabetes Exercise Plans
Regardless of your current state of health, a diabetes exercise plan will do wonders for your health and also enhance your body’s ability to handle your diabetes.
Having a reasonably active lifestyle makes a huge difference to your general health and wellbeing as well as to your diabetes control. Whether you want to walk, dance, or run a marathon is up to you: if you are moderately active on a regular and long-term basis you will feel the benefits of an active diabetes exercise plan. Find out how to get started if you haven’t done much physical activity so far, how to devise a plan to meet your individual needs, and how to keep your blood glucose level balanced before, during, and after activity.
Being more active
Being physically active is good for you, regardless of whether or not you have diabetes. It strengthens your heart, muscles, and bones, improves circulation, and helps you control your weight. Being active also makes you feel fitter, healthier, and happier, partly because your body is working more efficiently and party because activity raises your levels of endorphins and serotonin, two brain chemicals that influence your mood and sense of wellbeing. If you are prone to depression the physical activity from your diabetes exercise program can help to prevent or reduce this.
When you have diabetes, there are even more benefits to be gained from being active – just 30 minutes of moderate exercise 5 times a week can help to regulate your blood glucose level and reduce the risk heart and circulatory conditions – and as there’s no such things as a specific exercise for diabetes, you can pretty much do any activity you’re comfortable with.
If you have Type 2 diabetes, following a regular diabetes exercise program helps reduce insulin resistance, which helps your own insulin to work more efficiently. This may delay the need for increases in dosage of your tablets or mean that you do not need to start taking insulin injections as early as you otherwise would.
If you have Type 1 diabetes, being more active helps your injected insulin to work to reduce your dosage.
How fit are you?
It is a good idea to assess your level of fitness before you start any regular diabetes exercises You may be surprised at the amount of activity you already do, or you may feel that you want to do more. Answer the following questions:
Can you climb one or two flights of stairs without shortness of breath or heaviness or tiredness in your legs?
Do you normally take the stairs rather than the escalator or lift?
Would you walk a 10-minuie journey rather than take the car?
Are you able to carry on a conversation during light to moderate activity, such as walking?
Do you do 30 minutes of moderate physical activity that makes you sweat and breathe harder at least five times a week?
If you answered "no" to any of the questions above, you could benefit from fitting more diabetes exercises into your daily routine.
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