Getting Enough Exercise

Diabetes increases your risk of developing many complications including; heart disease, high blood pressure, nephropathy, peripheral neuropathy, autonomic neuropathy, retinopathy, peripheral vascular disease, osteoporosis, and arthritis. Regular exercise is highly recommended as a way to prevent or lessen the effects of these complications.

Here are some tips for getting started with the right type of exercise for you:

• Ask your doctor what type of exercise is best for you. Several conditions can be made worse by activities that are strenuous, high-impact, require rapid changes in movement, and require prolonged weight bearing. But don’t worry. There is always some form of exercise you can do, you might just have to think a little out of the box.
• Check your blood sugar before and after you exercise. This will allow you to be more aware of how exercising is going to affect your body.
• Wear a medical alert ID band and notify any lifeguards or trainers about your condition. In case of an emergency, EMS and others will be able to get you the treatment you need faster.
• Push through the pain. There are two types of pain. Good pain such as being sore after a workout should be expected. If you suffer from chronic pain and your pain level is the same at rest as when you exercise, then you should monitor the pain and continue exercising. If however you experience an increase in pain levels either during or after you exercise you should stop. You don’t want to make any underlying conditions worse.
  • Think about your pain on the 0-10 scale. A zero would indicate no pain. A ten would be excruciating. If your pain is around the 2-4 it is generally safe to continue exercising. If your pain is a 5 or above you should talk to your doctor to see if you should continue or change your routine.
• Take it slow. It is recommended that you get at least 30 minutes of exercise a day 5 days a week. Try not to take two days off in a row. Take walking for example. If 30 minutes of walking proves to be too much for you to handle, break it up. Try walking for 10 minutes 3 times a day. As your body gets used to walking it will become easier. Set a goal of increasing the amount of time you walk by a few minutes each week until walking 30 minutes becomes more manageable.
• Keep an open mind. There are many forms of exercise you can do. If getting out of a chair is hard try doing exercises while you are seated to build up your muscles. Walking, riding a bike, yoga, pilates, swimming, and light weight lifting are all great options. If none of those appeal to you there are a plethora of other options available as well.
• Have an exercise buddy. If you and your exercise buddy hold each other accountable and have fun together, you are both going to be more successful at exercising more and more often. Keep in mind that while it may be hard and uncomfortable now, your body will adapt. After a while you should start feeling better physically and emotionally.