Wanting to start an exercise program

[kphm]

I have had diabetes for only two years and although I was supposed to exercise daily, I was well just too lazy to do it. Well I was determined this year to do something about it. I want this to be the year that I change myself around. So I was wondering if anyone could offer me exercise tips. Like...how much a day, how many days a week, should I do both cardio and weight training, etc. I know I have to contact my doctor and he'll be able to help me but I was just looking for some tips. I would like to start doing cardio MWF and weight training TR. This schedule works out for me because of my own class schedule (2nd semester of college is starting MONDAY!!) and I feel it would be easier for me to do it this way. Anyone with suggestions?

[MarkMunday]

kphm,

Exercise will help you get better control over your blood glucose levels. And here are a few ideas.

My advice is to do whatever you enjoy doing. Just be sure to monitor your blood sugars closely, especially in the beginning. Until you get the hang of it, test before, during and after workouts.

You need to ensure that you have adequate levels of circulating insulin. Because if you run out of insulin, a liver dump will result in high blood sugars after the exercise. As you are a pump, arranging this should be easy.

Don't push yourself too hard during your workouts. If you do, there will be an adrenalin response. And your blood sugar will go up dramatically.

You may need to eat something before workouts so that you don't go low. You will find that weight training reduces your blood sugar more quickly than cardio work. This is because burning fat requires oxygen and anaerobic exercise is fuelled with glucose only. So you may need to sip orange juice, eat glucose tablets, or whatever, to keep your blood sugar up during resistance training.

Hope this helps,

Mark :)

[ImaHazelnut]

My suggestion is finding things that you truly enjoy. Find more than one and vary it. This will make you more inclined to stick with an exercise program because you will view it as fun and not exercise (often associated with "work").

[am1977]

Mark and Ima gave some great suggestions :thumbsup:, but I do have a few suggestions that might help too ...I hope they do ;)

First, start off slow. Don't try to do too much too fast. Maybe try walking for 30 minutes 3x a week on the treadmill or outside, if the weather's ok. Then once you feel comfortable with that...build up. You could either increase the length of time you go, the distance, or how many times a week.

Finding the right type of exercise is important too. Like was mentioned, it's important to find one you enjoy and think you will be able to stick to. But also take into consideration that you want to raise your heartrate a little and burn some fat...it that's what you are lookint to do. A mixture of cardio and some weight training probably would be the best combination.

Consider joining a gym. Putting your money towards getting into shape and taking care of yourself healthwise is a great investment. Sometimes when you join, they might offer you a few sessions w/ a personal trainer who can show you the basics and help you to reaching your goals. Plus, knowing that you put that money out is motivation to make good use of the gym. If the gym's not an option right now, perhaps try taking out some exercise videos from the libray or purchasing a few. They have videos on practically any type of exercise you could want and some are really fun to try too.

Once you have gotten comfortable working out again, change it up a little. Try a new exercise machine or activity . Variety helps keep it interesting and you will be more likely to stick w/ it.

I would let your Endo/or doctor know that you want to start exercising. He or she will probably have some good ideas and suggestions too.

Oh, probably another important thing to remember is to test before and after workouts and also have food on hand if you go low. My blood sugar tends to drop during workouts and I have had experiences where I have left the gym like a zombie b/c of hypoglycemic episodes. I am trying to at least test more often now, so I can prevent that from happening as much. But it can be kind of scary :eek: .

Good luck to you and please update us on how you are doing! :)

[David76]

I like the suggestions mentioned above and I just wanted to add two others. My blood sugars tend to drop about 8 hours after moderate to intense exercise, and I think this is fairly common (having to do with glycogen replacement back into the muscles I think). Anyway, you may want to keep an eye on your sugars around the 6 to 10 hour post exercise period. Second, if you can get someone to workout with, that can be really helpful in terms of motivation.

On the plus side, exercise seems to make my blood sugars more stable, and it's a good way to handle all that stress you probably get from homework, finals, etc.

-David