Exercise & Diabetes

We live in an era, where people are too busy with their jobs and they hardly consider exercise to be a priority. But exercise and physical activity must be given due importance, especially if you are a diabetic.

New studies suggest that if diabetes is detected early, diet and exercise are actually sufficient to bring your blood sugar levels back to normal.

So, do I take a gym membership immediately? No. The good news is any physical activity that gets your body moving but does not make you breathless (moderate intensity activity) helps.

The Benefits of doing Exercise

It helps in decreasing blood pressure

It helps to maintain body weight

It improves the way your body cells respond to insulin

It helps to reduce cholesterol levels

It improves blood circulation

It helps to improve mood and keeps you energetic all day

It helps to build immunity

It helps in improve blood sugar levels

It helps you have a good sleep

It helps you look good too

Before You Start Exercising

Now that we are not used to doing exercise daily, how do we start?

Talk to your doc:

Your doctor would do a comprehensive health exam and help you to plan out your exercise regimen. Ask your doctor whether you are fit for doing exercises? What kind of exercise should you take up? How frequently should you exercise? If you have diabetic retinopathy or neuropathy, your doctor will carefully plan your exercise regimen.

Start slowly:

It is very important to monitor your blood sugar levels before and after exercise. If you are on diabetes medications, there are higher risk of hypoglycaemia with exercise.

Check your blood sugar levels regularly:

It is important to gradually increase the time and intensity of exercise. If your body is not used to exercise, give it some time to adjust to your new lifestyle. Gradual pacing would help you to have less muscle soreness and a better chance to stick to the new lifestyle. Moreover, set realistic fitness goals.

Your Exercises

What exercise can I do?

Do what you like. Everything counts- walking, jogging, swimming, dancing, or playing a sport. However, according to American Diabetes Association, the exercise regimen should be a good blend of strength training and aerobic exercises.

Aerobic exercises:

Typically, exercises such as walking, biking, swimming, outdoor games like tennis and badminton are all recommended for diabetes. Aerobic exercises help to build endurance and improves heart health.

Strength training

Strength training exercises, which include using free weight and resistance bands, lower the blood sugar levels by improving utilisation of blood glucose by the body cells. Exercise which involve using body weights such as push ups, pull ups, lunges also come under strength training.

Some more tips to stay active

In addition to these exercises, you should aim to keep yourself active by doing cleaning works, gardening, washing clothes by hand.

You could also take stairs instead of lift, park your vehicle a little away from your office, so that you can have a little stroll to your workplace.

Take a bike/cycle to a nearby grocery store or a park, instead of taking a car.

How much exercise should you do?

Thirty minutes of exercise 5 days a week, is considered ideal. If you think it is too much to do at a stretch, you could break up as 10 minutes of exercise 3-4 times a day.

When to exercise?

You can exercise whenever your schedule allows you to. However, people who take insulin or sulphonylureas are at high risk of hypoglycaemia. So, avoid exercising after taking such medications.

Exercising in the morning is recommended by a lot of doctors as the surge of hormones in the morning raises glucose levels. Based on your medications & diet chart, your doctor can give some useful inputs about when would be the best time to exercise.

Measures to take during Exercise

How can I prevent low blood sugar levels during exercise?

Monitor sugar levels before, during, and after exercise:

This would help you know how your body responds to exercise. Exercise stimulates the release of hormones such as adrenalin and glucagon which raise the blood sugar levels. In such conditions, usually the sugar levels would come down in an hour or two.

You are at a high risk of having hypoglycaemia during exercise, if you: had too little carbs, had too much of medication, combination of both.

Step 2- Preparing the syringe

  • Make sure you have a blood sugar level of 180 mg/dL before heavy exercise.
  • If your blood sugar level is <100 mg/dL before exercise, eat a carb snack before you start workout.
  • If you are planning for a longer workout, check your blood sugar once in every 30 minutes. Stop exercising if your blood sugar level is <70 mg/dL.
  • Always wear some ID which indicates that you are a diabetic, so that you can get help in case something unexpected happens.
  • Talk to your doctor about adjusting your insulin or sulphonylurea dose to prevent hypoglycaemia, especially when you have frequent episodes of hypoglycaemia.

Your snack buddies for exercise:

Every diabetic must always carry a carb snack in their pockets

When you exercise, it is difficult for you to assess how much and what snack you should eat. The type of snack that you should have ideally depends on your blood glucose levels and expected length of activity.

As a general rule, remember, rapidly absorbed sugars such as fruit juice and milk are useful for short duration activities, whereas long-acting sugars (foods that contain carbs, fats and proteins) such as crackers, sandwiches and bread are useful for long duration activities. Also, do not forget to drink water before and during exercise to prevent dehydration.

Length of exercise Blood sugar levels (mg/dL) Food examples
Short (15-30 min)
<80
8 oz milk/ 4 oz juice
80-150
one fresh fruit
Moderate (30-120 min)
<80
8 oz milk/ 4 oz juice + ½ sandwich
80-150
8 oz milk + fresh fruit
Long (2-4 hours)
<80
8 oz milk/ 4 oz juice + 1 sandwich
80-150
Fresh fruit, whole sandwich

Some extra measures

  • Wear good quality shoes.
  • Always inspect your feet before and after exercise. (For more details check the booklet on foot care in diabetes).
  • If you have neuropathy, you may not be able to sense temperature changes, thus take appropriate measures (winter clothes/ sun blocks) to prevent any skin damage due to extreme temperatures.

Exercise is important and is fun too. Don’t stick to one type and time of exercise and try out new ways to make physical activity more fun. Maybe call a friend for a game of tennis or for some aerobics with upbeat music.