Diabetic Recipes
I know, I know, I know. People with diabetes must exercise. People with diabetes must stay fit. This is especially true for those of us with Type 2.
And you know it. I know it. You know you know it. I know you know it. Who needs to tell you this?
Reuters and Dr. Ronald Sigal of University of Calgary and colleagues at the University of Ottawa, as announced in this article, do feel the need to tell us. Specifically, they're telling us that lifting weights and resistance exercise also helps to reduce blood sugars, just like aerobic exercise does. Aerobic exercise, that would be the sweaty kind.
This is good news.
This means that ANY and ALL exercise you do counts for good diabetes points. It all counts! I love this.
So much of the diabetes experience, for me at least, is a lot of counting negative points. As in "what did I do wrong today?" Which foods were bad choices for me? Which food could I have skipped? Was it overeating? Did I drink juice or soda pop when I should have chosen water? Did I test enough? Did I test at all? Did I take my meds correctly? Did I miss a medical appointment? Did I check my feet? My teeth? Did I change my lancet?
So many worries.
It's nice to know that any and all exercise counts. I can choose any form of exercise that I enjoy and that I can do, and build a habit. That exercise habit will support my life and help me live healthfully with my diabetes.
I need lots and lots of encouragement to keep going with my good habits, and I find this study encouraging.
Now, who's studying tai chi? Who's studying pilates? Yoga? Let me know!
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January 8th, 2009
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09-19-2007 5:07 PM EDT by Lori Rode
Categories: Fitness
Tags: aerobic emotions encouragement exercise habits resistance Type 2
Views: 1114
Categories: Fitness
Tags: aerobic emotions encouragement exercise habits resistance Type 2
Views: 1114
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Nicole has lived successfully with type 1 diabetes for 25 years. She hopes that by writing about her experiences, she can help others to face diabetes - and its challenges - head on.(Read More)
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I have done yoga before but I am terrified of pilates! We actually have a yoga class at my church but I never go :(.
I take Pilates several times a week. I enjoy it immensely. Not only is it a great workout, it strengthens and improves flexibility, but it's not as focused on meditation as yoga...
Lori, Ha! Did I check my teeth! I know that diabetics have special problems with their teeth, but leave that to the dentists!
On the fitness side, I've been just using the treadmill and the weight machines to lift weights. I do crunches with the help of a slant board too. This is in a regular gym. My blood sugars are coming down.
Great post. Actually, researchers at Case Western found that people who exercise regularly, have healthy eating habits and maintain a normal weight are also 40 percent less likely to have gum disease. There's more about exercise and blood sugar levels on our blog at http://dentistryfordiabetics.com/blog.
I must confess . . . I get a bit confused about why anyone needs to have lower blood sugars as an incentive to exercise. Don't get me wrong, I'm not an exercise fanatic mind you, but isn't it enough to know that exercise prolongs life? Even people without diabetes should exercise. The reason our nation has an obesity epidemic is because so few people actually do make exercise a priority.
I'm sorry to be the odd-man out, but while the lowering effect exercise has on my blood sugars is very important to me, I don't exercise for that reason. I exercise because heart disease is the number one killer of people with diabetes, and exercise is one of the most important things I can do to strengthen my heart, and lower cholesterol.
I think the focus is on the wrong thing. Focusing on what effect exercise has on blood sugars can be a catch twenty-two situation. Personally, there have been times when my blood sugars have increased because I exercised. For those who use lower blood sugars as a motivation, this can be disheartening,and in some cases, disastrous. I think it's better to focus on the effects on my health overall, than to zero in on the single goal of lowering my blood sugar.
DB