Excercise Ideas for Beginners

[Paul_]

I have not since any evidence of this.
My understanding is that if our BG levels are higher it can affect our body's ability to heal but not that we are more prone to injury.
It is certainly not my experience after 20 years of diabetes.

Might be clumsy wording on my part, where certain diabetic symptoms/complications are the cause, not necessarily just being diagnosed as diabetic. I read somewhere - apologies, no link, just one of those things I passed across - that neuropathy (as one example) can affect sensation, which can affect the foot's ability to adapt to different terrain for example, and therefore make injuries more likely. High blood glucose can also affect eyesight, which has some inevitable risks. And so on.

 

[MrsA2]

I realised a while back that on the one day a week I did the "big" housework (you know, hoovering, bath scrubbing etc) My step counter was reading 8 or 9 thousand rather than the usual 2 or 3. It was a lightbulb for me. I now think I burn calories just in "doing" rather than exercising, For example if I have laundry I'll take it out and hang it on the line rather than throwing it in the tumble dryer or if I need something from another room I'll fetch it myself rather than asking one of the kids. All day long I try to do little bits of doing that I might not have previously and at the end of the day this adds up to literally thousands on my step counter

Yes, I've spent the past 4 days cleaning and decorating my sons new house. It was in a filthy state. 2 hours on my knees doing the bathroom alone. My bg is now lower than its been in a long time (4.5) and my belt goes in another notch.
My weight had been creeping up after initial loss, which also coincided with lockdown walking daily.
I thought my regime of exercise class Monday, dancing Tuesday yoga Saturday and walking Sunday was being enough, but now I'm thinking it's a matter of moving frequently every day, not just in "exercise sessions"

 

[Grandma Misti]

I feel you, Neenee. It sounds like perhaps you are where I started. I was always a low energy person due to untreated hypothyroid, Even after my thyroid issues were resolved, my habits were very sedentary. I eventually overcame them, and became quite active as a walker...until a few years ago when knee injuries and then lockdown interrupted my walking routines. Now I am struggling to get them back.

Things I find helpful:

1) a goal. My original walking routine started because I worked 1 mile from Michaels, two miles from Hobby Lobby, and three miles from Joanne's. (Obviously, I am a crafter!) We had one car, so my husband was picking me up from work anyway - so I had him pick me up in front of the store instead in front of the office. The faster I walked, the more time I had to shop! As I got more fit, I shot for a further away shop at least a couple of times per week. That got me out the door. Eventually, I got fit enough that I was walking just because I enjoyed it, and I would walk to places around the neighbourhood that I would previously have driven to.

2) a pleasant place to walk. After a while, I started driving to parks with woods to walk with a friend and our children. Being out in the woods was its own reward for me!

3) routines When we moved to Australia, I explored every place on foot and since we don't have a car here, every errand involves a walk.

My challenge now? I am living in a suburban neighborhood with no attractive shops to draw me out and no beautiful wilderness to walk in. I have found a nearby walking track and am working on getting my fitness back by walking in big circles as fast as I can for 45 minutes at a time. It's harder than when the walk had other more intrinsic rewards, but I remember the sense of physical well-being fitness provided, so I am hanging on to that. I am also tracking my fitness in my blog and in my diabetes journal, to keep myself accountable...and it also keeps my spirits up when I eel like I am making no progress, to see that I at least am more able than I was a month ago!

Good luck finding your own motivations!

 

[philip_rotstein]

Walking is fine, but for me, I noticed it is absolutely not enough. When I used to work long hours at my job as an accountant while having brisk walks, I noticed that I became sort of weak. E.g., after a long day of sitting behind the desk, when I rashly stood up I got lightheaded, which was very atypical for me.

Maybe it is due to my stupid habit of crossing legs while sitting; I don't know..

So I started going to the local gym, and only after heavy sets did my lightheadedness go away.

Also I totally understand how walking is difficult in the US, when you do everything by car. Especially if you're living in suburbs.