[TAutry]

Ok, yeah, right. . .

You've heard them all. You may even have heard this one. Nope, not to prevent heart disease or diabetes(too late anyway). Ready?

A recent Men's Health article stated that men who exercised three or more sessions per week were more sexually active than men who didn't. Yes, dear friends, men who exercise have more sex!!! Is it true? Well, let me tell you from my own experience. . .yeah, like I would!:p

Anyway, true or false, it does put a different spin on things. If it is true, why? I have theories, but I will refrain from posting them now. Instead of me typing just to see my screen fill, let's discuss this. C'mon men, chime in on this one. Any ladies, feel free to add your thoughts.

Let's have a reply fest on this one!

Travis

[statdeac]

Well Travis, it looks like no one is ready or willing to comment on this, so let me give it a stab at some possible theories...

1. exercise promotes increased energy and interest in these sorts of activities, or...

2. these men are more interested in sex in the first place, and their efforts to look fit and trim reflect an effort to be attractive to the opposite sex

3. even if they don't look "great," their dedicated effort to work on their own fitness shows women that these men care about taking care of themselves and this can be an attractive attribute to display

4. they actually are more attractive due to their efforts

That's just a few quickies off the top of my head. What were you thinking?

[TAutry]

Did ya have ta say 'quickie'?:p

Sounds pretty good to me statdeac. Now let's see if anyone else cares to join the discussion.

Travis

[Harold]

Been married toooo long. What I need is a reason to have sex.

[Clay Messer]

Good topic TA, been wondering about this myself. Been having trouble with "desire" not function since being diag. one yr. ago. I am 57, work (drive) from 6PM to 6AM nightly. When the "occasion" presents itself I'm too tired and would rather roll over and sleep. I realize that all this playes a part in this, but it seems worse with the addition of Type 2. I have started exer. on a regular basis this past month with weights, healthrider and some set-ups. Have seen no improvement in energy or sex drive yet, but I know I'm heading in the right direction and will continue on.

[TAutry]

Hmm...

Harold,

Thanks for chiming in! Reasons haven't been a concern for me, maybe excuses have but not reasons. I can go for ideas like:

1. Because it is raining.
2. Because it isn't raining.
3. Because it is a day that ends in 'y'.
4. Because it is dark out.
5. Because it is light out.

I could probably list others, but you get the idea.

The biggest difficulty is getting the timing right with the wife. She would take a dim view of me exploring possibilities in other avenues, it think:d


Clay,

Thank you for joining in too. I think the other 'stresses' of life get in the way for most of us. You work a long shift that on the face of it doesn't seem as though it would be as physically stressful and tiring as it really is. There are some days that require me to spend most of the day sitting in one spot. By the end of those days, I am totally drained. It is all I can do to get to the house and crawl up the steps.

On top of that, your body is probably still learning how to deal with diabetes. Hopefully, you will get acclimated. One thing is for certain, eating right and exercsing won't do any harm.

One thing I have found, regarding the boosting of energy, is to drink more water. I have been pushing myself to drink 3-4 16oz bottles of water every day. I began that about a month ago and have been able to tell a difference in my energy level. It has also improved my skin and my workouts. The first few days, I spent a lot of time running to the bathroom but that only lasted for about a week.

Good Luck to you both. Now let's see if anyone else dares to join us on this topic.

Travis

[Harold]

Travis, just to throw some wood on the fire, your right it's the timing. The desire is there in the morning, but experience with most women I've met is that is when they have the least desire. For myself bedtime means my sugars are still high from a late dinner or they have recently fallen from the post dinner high and the desire is just not there.

[joybelle]

I think I'll just quietly tiptoe in here and add a comment or two on this thread. First of all, I'm glad to see SEX come into discussion. As my sweetie, Clay, has already mentioned, we seem to have some difficulties in this area. We both realize that his hours are a factor in his lack of desire...he also wants to think his age is a factor, but since I'm the same age as he is, I don't think he can get away with that one! I'm sure that diabetes is a factor in this thing, but we just haven't figured out the how and why of it. His sugar is under control and he feels good. He is more healthy this winter than last winter. Still the lack of desire continues.

I have to say, that I thought for a long time that this was my fault. Maybe I had 'lost' it or something...just didn't ring his bell anymore. Then, I realized this isn't about me. It's about him and his disease process. So, we are looking forward to any insight anyone can shed on this subject.

So come on guys, get real! Don't be bashful! Sex isn't dirty...God made it and He made it to be good. We don't need to whisper in the corner about this subject...just jump in here and say whatever you need to say! I promise to go sit quietly in the corner and let you have the thread back...LOL

OK, Ok...I know this thread is titled "Exericse"...but really isn't sex a great form of "exercise"?

Blessings,
Joybelle (happily ringing)

[TAutry]

Harold and Joybelle,

It looks like we have a good thread started here. I have not had any difficulty with lack of desire. However, I seem to be the youngster here. I will be 36 next month. I have nothing to add or suggest. I hope some more folks will post and offer some thoughts that might be useful.

Joybelle,

Thank you so very much for posting. I wanted this to become a broad discussion with a variety of perspectives represented. The discussion would be only half done without the female perspective.

Travis

[Harold]

Okay one subject that hasn't come up in great detail here and is common to diabetes is depression. Depression comes silently and most of the time slowly at first. I'm talking about a normal person with diabetes and not someone that swings in and out of frequently and plunges into it deeply. Because we have been diagnosed with diabetes we have to restrict ourselves usually to foods we don't care much for and do without the ones we like. This can bring on a mild unnoticeable level of depression and one of the first signs of depression is the lack of the sex drive, and of course a lack of sex drive may bring on more depression.

For men one of the first physical complications that may show itself is the inability to maintain or even aquire an erection. Viagra may help and there will be other drugs coming along as well. However there are other physical aids as well. They can be found in most pharmacies usually on some out of the way top shelf in some corner.

Fortunatly these aids can help even if it's caused by depression, and most of the drugs given for depression also decrease the sex drive. Nothing beats depression like a good night of sex. I would be happy with just a half night.:p

[Jon]

All I know is I am going to excercise more!

Actually regular excercise can help depression too. It gets the heart pumping, the blood flowing, increases the oxygen levels in your blood, and makes you feel good all over. When you haven't excercised in a while, it sounds horrible. It is much easier to just sit on the couch and turn on the television. But once you start, it is really not so bad. Even 10 minutes a day of arobic excercise does a lot of good. That is just enough to raise your heart rate to the target range and make you break a sweat!

As far as the diabetes is concerned, excercise lowers blood glucose levels and sometimes in type 2 it can reduce or eliminate the need for medication.

Sounds great, now the trick is motivation. I am still working on that one myself. It helps to have somebody to work out with, then you can push each other and even nag each other when one of you doesn't feel like working out.

As far as sex goes, I think when you feel good, you feel more attractive. And when you feel more attractive, people pick up on the vibes and find you more attractive. Then one thing leads to another, and so on and so forth... You know how it goes!

[TAutry]

Harold and Jon,

Great comments on depression. I hadn't considered either the presence of depression. It makes sense that diabetics and others with chronic diseases would be likely candidates.

To rip off Men's Health again, there was another recent article that gave an overview of various popular exercise machines. The stationary bike was called 'the mood lifter'. A study was quoted that said that 'as little as 10 minutes of cycling reduced fatigue and negative moods'. It is also a good calorie burner: 14 calories per minute.

Jon,

Motivation, ahh the rub. . . I think you are right about having a workout partner. I tried to enlist my wife to work out with me, but our schedules are so often at odds that it didn't work.

My primary motivation is internal, but I found that my health insurance has an incentive plan. They assign points for 30 minutes of activity each day. For every 250 points you can choose from a variety of gifts. What I don't need is more stuff, but the incentive program makes it fun and some of the prizes are kind of cool.

Keep pushing!

Travis

[Harold]

There's no doubt exercise makes one feel better. The daily half hour recomendation recently went up to an hour, but hoew many of us have a hour each day to spend on exercise. I can get on my old AeroDyne and absolutely wear myself out in five minutes. Heck I tried raising my HDL's by diet and supplements to no avail. After just five minutes five days a week for a month they came up to the low mid normal range. Exercising through the the "my muscles feel like lead" and into the the "I'm coasting now" gives one a euphouric feeling brought on by the release of dopamines. Dopamines are more potent than any narcotic and unlike narcotics the after effects leave you clear headed.

[Clay Messer]

Travis, Harold, Jon & Statdeac, I don't want to say we're "bonding" but I'm starting to feel the need to bring a cup of java to the PC when I open the forum.
Quite a web, this thing called diabetes. It effects everything we do and everything we do effects it. I guess the same can be said about exercise, huh!!. One more thing before getting back to the topic at hand, and that is stress. It does the same number on me as a piece of apple pie.

In responce to my wife, Joybells post. An awesome lady, she was sexually abused from age 2 to her mid teens and as a result we lived with sexual disfunction for about 28 of our 33 yr and counting, marriage. I think it's ironic and down right disheartening that now that she has had a great deal of healing in this area I'm now the one with the disfunction. Further more I think it "sucks" the more I think of it. And that in it's self is depressing. I wish that sugar intake and carbs were the only thing to deal with. That would be a piece of cake, some pun intended. I think I'll have another cup of coffee now.

[TAutry]

Harold,

I saw that the recommendation on exercise went up to an hour. Like you, I don't have an hour per day, every day, I can devote to exercise. I try to do at least 30 minutes on most days. Some days, I end up going a little longer. It depends on what I am doing. About 30 minutes on the stationary bike is all I can stand and some days that causes my sciatic nerve to ache the next day!

Clay,

It does look like we have a little community beginning here. I think it is good for us to be able to support each other, discuss things or even joke around some. You and Joybelle are very important parts of this site. Your openness and spirit are inspirational.

Travis