Exercise is important whether you have Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes.
Why exercise?
Start with your heart, your weight, and your ability to enjoy life. How about reducing or eliminating your need for medications? If you have Type 2 diabetes, exercise could make it possible. Diabetics who exercise live longer and better lives.
If you haven't been exercising up until now, you have plenty of good reasons to start. And if you have been exercising, congratulations. Now spend a little time learning how to reduce the risk of injuries or complications.
Set goals
Start without goals and it is too easy to stop. Most people start a fitness program for personal reasons. Some common reasons are:
- "My clothes are a little tight around the waist."
- "It's getting a little harder to keep up with the kids or grandkids."
- "I miss going out with my friends."
Take out a sheet of paper and at the top, write, "Why Exercise?" Then start writing why you think exercise would help you. Those reasons become your goals.
No excuses
You are not alone in thinking you have good reasons not to get started. But those are probably just excuses. The American Diabetes Association dedicates an entire page on their website
(www.diabetes.org) just to the excuses people have for not getting exercising. Here are a few we hear all the time:
- "I don't have time."
You can get positive benefits just by starting with a few minutes a day.
- "I'm too tired."
Try walking at lunchtime, in the morning or whenever you're rested and ready.
- "It hurts."
If exercise leaves you with sore muscles, go easy at first. Build up over time and there is no reason to be sore or uncomfortable. If your knees or joints hurt when you walk, consider pain-free alternatives like swimming or lifting light weights.
- "I can't afford a gym."
The sidewalk in front of your house is free. The bike in your garage can be dusted off. Some people do more housework for exercise.
- "It's boring."
It's a simple truth: if you don't enjoy it, you won't do it. So bring a friend along. Read a magazine on a treadmill. Walk in a mall and window-shop along the way. Ride your bike in a new direction. If one exercise is getting boring, add others.
Get professional advice
Talk with your doctor. Everybody can add or enjoy some form of exercise, but diabetics have good reason to make certain they choose an activity that fits their current health.
- If you have experienced numbness in your feet, you should not do an impact sport like running or step aerobics without your doctor's approval.
- If your eyes have been impacted by diabetes, you probably should not be doing an activity that either causes impact or raises your blood pressure (like weight lifting).
- For people who are already active in sports, there are a lot of sources of online information dedicated to athletes with diabetes. For example, a group called the Diabetes Exercise and Sports Association has information and many links to help anybody from weekend warriors to professional sportspeople continue enjoying their fitness routines and activities.
Get geared up
Don't start by investing a lot of money in equipment. Start with a good pair of shoes and absorbent, seamless socks, some comfortable clothes and you're ready. Get a medical ID bracelet in case you are exercising and experience any difficulties.
Plan your blood tests
Until you know for certain how an exercise is going to affect you, test your blood glucose levels before and after an activity. Your doctor can provide good advice on what to look for and what any changes mean.
Get moving!
- Write a plan, be realistic
Just the act of writing what you intend to do and patting yourself on the back when you do it is a big boost to building fitness. Write down what you will do on a calendar and watch how it all adds up.
- Don't rush it
Improving fitness takes time. It takes time during your day and it takes days or even weeks to reach your goals. If you push too hard, you'll feel uncomfortable. Take your time, enjoy the trip and you will enjoy the goal when you reach it.
- Make it a team sport
To have a plan and stick to it is a lot easier if you have the encouragement and support of friends and family members. Invite someone to join you.
- Everything counts
When all is said and done, fitness is what you get for moving a little more than you did the day before. Every move you make during your day adds to your fitness. If it's raining outside, get out your vacuum cleaner. If your day is going to be too busy, park at the far end of the parking lot and walk a little further.
Last modified
04/22/08
