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new to diabetes and exercise! advise pls

J

janeage

Member
Messages
11
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Hi after a month of not feeling in control after my type 2 diagnosis i've decided to tackle it head on. I've done research on here on the Low carb approach which my GP seems happy with, and despite being chronic asthmatic i've started to go to the gym, only light to start with but i know everything helps. What i'm a little confused over is the role exercise has in controlling diabetes? is it just a case of helping to burn off excess glucose(energy) or is it more important than that? I've seen that people say how exercise daily reduces blood sugars i just don't know how? Does any one have any good links to any info i can read? also is there a best fit exercise type i could be trying? thanks
 
My Docs advice was do not do exercise as such because very few keep it up. Instead, find something that interests you with an exercise component.

I think his advice is good

I have bikes and I play bowls and go to a men.s shed. Recently I bought an adult trike with an electric front wheel booster, essentially it is an exercise bike with a view that I use locally every day The electric boost helps with the heavy trike to get it up hills without me overdoing it, also I get around at over 20 KPH and I can carry cargo in the back.
 
Find some activity that you enjoy and suits you, taking both diabetes and asthma into consideration. DIY creating wood dust might not be ideal for asthma, nor walking / cycling / running where and when pollen levels are high.

At this time of year, what about swimming? Or, if you can keep asthma / allergy symptoms under control, then walking, cycling etc is good, both for your health and environment, by reducing vehicle emissions, is you can replace car journeys. If you want to make walking / cycling a bit more interesting, you could add other hobbies, such as geocaching, orienteering, photography, local history etc.
 
"very gentle' start with walking in a pool or around the block. half hour 3 x week
most T2 aren't up to being able to exercise for the first period much.
 
The exercise helps improve insulin sensitivity, and the overall effect is not limited just to duration of the exercise but several hours or days later, hence the generally improved BG control over time with exercise vs non-exercise. Improving insulin sensitivity in a T2 will also take a bit of pressure off the pancreas by not needing to supply so much insulin.

You need to be careful though not to go at it too hard to start with as you can trigger the counter-regulatory hormones such as adrenaline to dump glycogen from the liver leading to a BG spike. WHat happens then is that your body will utilise that liberated glucose in preference to fats or endurance exercise, which then needs to be replenished later as the liver reabsorbs, to prevent a BG dip.

Look up various methods of gauging your aerobic HR and try and stick to that. A cheap HR monitor can be as litle as £20.
 
Thanks everyone for the advice, I've got a heartrate monitor to make a start and i've just been doing some walking and i went on the bike in the gym as well, wasn't too bad.

Dave thanks for explaining how the exercise helps, but i'm concerned about what you mentioned about triggering other hormones if i work too hard. I know that pretty much what ever i do at the moment is going to feel hard, even if by other peoples standards its a walk in the park, i know i need to get my heartrate up and break a sweat for the exercise to "count" but is there a point where i can trigger these other hormones. I know in the gym there are recommended heart rate sections for fat burning, cardio vascular work etc, is that what you were meaning, keep heart rate within one of the lower sections, but do for longer time to get the exercise benefit? I suppose i should say at this point that i'm also steroid dependant so they mess up my sugars anyway before i do any exercise which is another aspect i'm trying to get my head around! Sorry for the twenty questions, its all just a bit new and a bit confusing!! Thanks
 
janeage said:
Thanks everyone for the advice, I've got a heartrate monitor to make a start and i've just been doing some walking and i went on the bike in the gym as well, wasn't too bad.

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The issue is more about changing your lifestyle long term (forever) and less about the extreme things that may or may not happen related to exercise.

You do not jump into a bath of hot water you test it first, and you should treat exercise the same way.

Changing lifestyle is the hardest thing to do it is even more difficult than changing a diet of a lifetime. Very few people % wise stick to an exercise regime involving a gym and for a lot of those who do they do do it to support another physical interest that they indulge in. I say "indulge in" because they enjoy or are totally infatuated and their whole social life spins around this activity and they do gym work because the want to do well at the other.

What you really have to do is find an activity that you can do for a lifetime that comes with friends that you can grow to like and if you can't get to do that activity often enough for the full exercise value of it then you HAVE A REASON TO GO TO THE GYM.

There are thousands of opportunities out there but as an example.you could join a bush-walking club that grades their walks and only has easy walks once per month. The easy walks are something to look forward to and the gym can get you fitter to do their more difficult walks. The more walks you go on the more friends you make and your lifestyle change is permanent enjoyable and healthy.

If you can't find a suitable group you can start one -there are lots of people out there who are stuck in a lifestyle they are not really enjoying too.

You could start by forming a shopping centre walking group and build all the way to do major trekking holidays or find your own ideal level of participation.. As I said there are thousands of opportunities find one that appeals to you and give it a try, if it does not work for you try another. If you have good hand eye coordination there are lots of organized sports and if you don't then the interest can be taken up with the social aspects and being out there indulging in the wonders of nature.

Your focus should be on changing lifestyle and the gym should only be to support that lifestyle, most people do not keep up with their gym sessions for a lifetime. By all means use the gym to get fit but becoming a gym junky is not normally achievable for the majority.
 
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I read when you exercise your muscles use up glucose so then goes to take glucose out of your blood hence lowering your levels but why does it at times not lower the levels after exercising... very confusing illness I find just wish it would go away grrrrr:banghead:
 
PatsyB said:
I read when you exercise your muscles use up glucose so then goes to take glucose out of your blood hence lowering your levels but why does it at times not lower the levels after exercising... very confusing illness I find just wish it would go away grrrrr:banghead:
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Hola @PatsyB

Have look at @zicksi101 link. The theory works - you need a heart rate monitor for this. Let me give you an example...

If I go for a brisk walk - it will help me loose weight and my blood readings will be slightly lower straight after and then a bit more lower later in the day. If I go for a long slow jog the my bloods will be much lower straight after and even more so later in the day.

If I play a game of racketball I have no control over my heart rate and it can get close to max for a short period of time. Mind you 45 mins comes in at 800 cals spent so no complaints there. Regarding bloods I will register double figures immediately after but within a couple of hours it would then be lower than the equivalent calorie expenditure of a walk or jog.

That's the exercise I like doing and key to it all is getting a hrm to use for the activity you like doing. As tech is constantly evolving you can get a decent (make sure it is ecg accurate) monitor for less than a tenner nowadays. Whilst some people will spend £300 + for the latest gadget - not needed.
 
My trouble is there is no exercise I really enjoy. I was a keen field hockey player and winter sports fanatic, but I am now 85 and a leisurely half hour stroll is as much as I can manage. Is this enough? And how can I tell?
 
JolyonKay said:
My trouble is there is no exercise I really enjoy. I was a keen field hockey player and winter sports fanatic, but I am now 85 and a leisurely half hour stroll is as much as I can manage. Is this enough? And how can I tell?
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Hi

Do you have a heart rate monitor or smart phone - if you have a phone you can download a heart rate app. Or old school take your pulse and aim for roughly 60 to 85% of your max heart rate (220 - age). Do you feel better after a leisurely stroll? Do you test if your stroll effects your blood levels?

Is Ice hockey and option?;)
 
a good rule of thumb for aerobic exercise is 180-current age, so for an 85 year old ex - hockey playe (so am I, but not 85) a starting point of around 100 would be suggested.

It's not an iron clad rule and by no means shoud all your exercse be at that level, I did a 5k run earlier in the week that my max HR at 183, but that's a fraction of this week's overall training.

Take a look at the other thread on the paper I've linked to on aerobic/anaerobiic balance.
 
Thanks for the replies and the links, its more info and i'm glad for everything i can learn right now. I take on board about what you suggest about finding the right activity and basing exercise around that, i just need to find the right one, but thank you. I at least understand a bit more my GP's encouragement to exercise daily as its a natural way to reduce the BS levels.
 
;)I started out walking 3 mjle's a day and gradually worked it up to 7 + daily, I thoroughly enjoy walking and must say my dogs do to laughs they come sit by me (I have four Whippets) look at me as much as to say Well you taking us out or what....I go out 4 times a day usually after meals whether I feel like it or not,,, I think well if you want some supper you better walk after your dinner which I have at tea time...I take two dogs out at a time and I must say am feeling much better for the exercise, I was going to go swimming as spent a lot of time at the baths when young but saw a notice on entrance to the baths "Any medical condition must be reported to the lifeguard" it kinda put me off laughs:happy:
 
My adult trike with an electric motor front wheel power assist has been really good for me. I can ride a 2 wheeler, I have 2 of those and I have a motorbike. The advantage of the 3 wheeler is the big basket on the back to make it easy to carry stuff.

The trikes are twice as heavy as a cheap bike and you have the weight of the cargo in the back basket but with power assist it becomes just like an exercise bike. I pedal as hard as I find comfortable and make the rest up with the electric power assist., hills and headwinds are easy with 6 speed gears. So I can put my lawn bowls in the basket and not even know they are there "peddle-wise".

Fortunately my immediate area is quite flat and we have a network of bike-ways I quickly get up to 22 kph on the flat and it only takes 5 minutes to my bowls club 3 afternoons per week and 10 minutes to my men;s shed 3 mornings per week. Plus of course some extra local trips. So I get my exercise without huffing and puffing (I have a pacemaker and it is not good if my pulse rate goes too high).

Trikes are being imported into Australia for as little as $300 in a flat pack $500 for a better one. The electric front wheel comes in a kit that all plugs together my kit had a new wheel with motor a Lithium Ion battery pack a computer control and 2 new handbrake handles that cut the motor when you apply the brakes. The distance in the battery depends on how much you I peddle but I have not got it anywhere near half flat yet and I am supposed to get 40 k before a recharge. Power assist cuts out at 25 KPH and you have to turn the pedals or it will not let you exceed 6 kph

If you do not plug in the peddle turning sensor then the 6 kph does not work and you can go faster without pedalling.

The electric boost kit cost $700 delivered to my door.

The trike is now the easiest thing for local trips. I have fitted a couple of bulb horns and when some one is looking I give them some hoots and they always laugh.

It is good fun and great steady exercise and saves on using the car for short trips. It probably pays for itself.
 
Hello every one ! I‘m zohra belkhiria . i‘m 17 years old . i‘m tunisian and i have diabete type 1 . i finded this forum and i joined you wishing that i find friends like me from all over the world to share them m experience .
 
Hello Zora,welcome to the forum, can i ask ,what your bs levels are and what sort of foods your eating ?
 
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