Active Living: The Basics of Physical Activity and Diabetes
Physical activity plays an important role in managing your diabetes. That’s because the cells
in your body require more blood sugar for energy when you’re physically active than when you're
at rest. By finding ways to be physically active each day, you may help:
Form a Plan
Start slowly.
If you are just starting an exercise program, the simplest exercise to try is walking. It is
fairly easy to walk for 20 minutes. Increase the time you exercise a little at a time.
As a next step, mix in different aerobic activities (e.g. swimming)
and strength activities (e.g. torso twists)
.
Aerobic exercise makes your heart and bones strong, relieves stress, helps your insulin work more effectively, and improves blood circulation. Strength training helps build strong bones and muscles, and makes doing physical chores and activities easier.
Exercise Level
Try to exercise so that you are breathing noticeably but you are not out of breath. You should be able to carry on a conversation while exercising.
It’s good to break a sweat. Sweating means that your body is working hard enough to stimulate the muscles and strengthen the heart and cardiovascular system.
You should be active every day. However, activity doesn’t always have to mean going to the gym. Look for ways to be active throughout your day, like climbing a couple flights of stairs or parking farther from the store on errands. A little goes a long way.
Give yourself a warm-up before exercise and a cool down at the end of exercise.
Exercise, Weight, and Diabetes Control
Your weight is much easier to control when you’re active. For a person with diabetes, the many benefits of losing weight may include:
Improved blood sugar
Improved use of insulin
Reduced need for diabetes medications
Lower blood pressure
Reduced risk of heart disease and other long-term problems
Improved appearance, energy level, and self-esteem
Losing weight slowly — 1/2 to 2 lbs per week — is the healthiest and best way to lose pounds and keep them off.
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