Importance of Exercise in Diabetes


Importance of Exercise in Diabetes:
  • Regular exercises will help your body respond to insulin and can lower blood glucose and possibly, reduce the amount of medication you need.
  • Exercises improve your circulation, especially in your arms and legs where diabetic patients have a problem.
  • Exercises can help reduce stress which can increase your glucose level.
  • Exercises combined with a meal plan can control type II diabetes without the need for medication.
  • In older people who have diabetes, there is a decrease in insulin sensitivity that comes with ageing and is partly due to lack of physical activity. So, regular exercises benefit them for years to come.
Tips for exercising safely:
  • If you have Retinopathy, avoid heavy weight lifting. They can damage the fragile blood vessels in the eye.
  • If you have peripheral neuropathy, choose a good, soft footwear.
  • If you have a history of high cholesterol, and/or triglycerides, or heart attacks, have a cardiovascular examination before starting an exercise program.
  • If you have any ketones in urine, or you are experiencing any pain, tingling or numbness in your legs, do not exercise.
  • If your medication is peaking, it’s better not to exercise.
Tips for avoiding leg cramps:
  • Stretch your calf muscles 2-3 times before going to bed.
  • Be sure he sheets and blankets in your bed aren’t tucked in so tightly that they constrict your foot movements.
  • If you are increasing the intensity and duration of the workouts, do so, gradually.
  • Flex your foot, pointing your toes towards your knee. If that hurts too much, grab your toes and flex them towards your knees.
  • Massage your calf gently.
  • Ice packs and heat relax the muscles. Use whichever works best for you.
Eating for exercising:
  • If your blood sugar is n target range, (70-150mg/dl), 10-15 grams of carbohydrate is sufficient.
  • If your blood sugar is less than 70mg/dl, eat 25-35 grams of carbohydrate.
  • If your blood sugar level is higher than 150mg/dl, you do not need any snacks.
  • If your blood sugar is above 240,mg/dl, check for ketones. You may need insulin. Do not eat any extra food.
  • If your blood sugar level is above 300mg/dl, do not exercise.
Weight loss:

What are the methods of weight loss?

Diet, physical therapy and adaptation of suitable lifestyle.  

Does a low calorie diet give a suitable weight loss? Eating a low calorie diet leads to an average weight loss of 8% over 3-12 months. This does give you an initial weight loss and is not sustainable by an individual for a long time. If you eat a whole box of cookies of low calorie, the excess will be accumulated as fat.

How does weight training achieve weight loss? It does, by increasing lean body mass, by increasing the muscles and decreasing the fat. It also helps to increase the level of hormones that speed metabolism of carbohydrates and fats. It maintains the resting metabolic rate even after exercises.

Is dieting alone successful in giving the desired weight loss? Resting metabolic rate is basically determined by the amount of mass one has. Lean tissue burns more energy than fat tissue. Dieting can cause a loss of lean tissue resulting in less energy being burnt. That is why dieting alone is unsuccessful.

How should one set goal?Setting goals too high can leave you feeling discouraged if you can’t reach there. Be realistic. Choose a goal you really think you can meet. When you reach that goal, set a new one.

What is the cause of childhood obesity?This trend is usually associated with low levels of physical activity than with increased food consumption.

How does one select a programme for oneself?

  • If you are underweight, you should do calisthenics (arm rotations, toe touching, squats) to build your muscle tone and move to weight training in 6-8 weeks.



  • If you are overweight, start with weight training to increase muscle density and move to body weight exercises as soon as you can (push ups, pull ups and dips).



  • If you want to maintain your body weight, combine aerobic exercises with calisthenics for cardiovascular fitness and weight exercises for muscle tone.

    Are squats calisthenics?Squats are calisthenics because even though the whole body is being used, leg muscles are so large in proportion, that the amount of resistance is minimal unless you are overweight.

    Should one exercise on an empty stomach?No! This can cause blood sugar to fall rapidly, and if sufficient body reserves have not been mobilized in time, results can be a low blood sugar attack leading to nausea, dizziness and fainting.

    What is the key to weight loss?The key to weight loss is gradual and sustained effort. You should ideally lose about 500 grams per week. This increases the odds of keeping weight off for a long time and the weight loss achieved this way is primarily fat loss and little loss of muscle.


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