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Exercise Question

Kezzer4321

Kezzer4321

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,193
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Hello,

Its a bit of a silly question - but I am hoping that some of you will be able to advise me. I've just been given the ok from my doctor to start exercising again. To begin with he suggested I could do 30 minutes of walking a day and if I don't suffer any issues from that, he is happy for me to increase the amount of time or move on to some low impact aerobics.

So my question is - should I take a walk before a meal or after a meal or doesn't it matter? I was thinking I could easily do a walk in my lunchtime instead of going out in the evening when its dark.

Thanks
Kezzer
 
In the beginning I'd walk about for 30 minutes or so about half an your after eating and it did seem to lower my BS. levels a bit. Now I mainly use my exercise bike and find it great for lower be my levels and preventing spikes from slightly higher carb intakes. I think that there's a slight edge to exercising post food but really just doing it when you can is better than not doing it at all. And doing it regularly. Half an hour every day is better than one four hour weekend walk.
 
cold ethyl said:
In the beginning I'd walk about for 30 minutes or so about half an your after eating .
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I agree with that and it is what I do only I usually manage an hour. It just seems logical to me to use up some glucose while the food is trying to raise it.
 
i will try the walking each day but would find half an hour in one go a bit too much
 
Thanks everyone... I did my first walk today after lunch (I went around 25 minutes after I had eaten). I only managed to do 15 minutes though, as it was more knackering than I thought - I did however manage to keep a nice even brisk pace for the whole of that time. So will do the other 15 mins when I get home this evening. :)
 
That first step of making your mind up that you will get off the sofa and become more active is the most important of all.

Of course the start will be difficult but as long as there are no medical reasons for you to give up, if you persevere you will be amazed at how quickly you will improve. Fifteen minutes will become thirty in no time at all. All you need to do is try to do a little bit more each day. After all this is a race only against yourself.

I can honestly say that my early morning walks, here in Cyprus the mild weather allows for them, are my favorite part of the day and something I actually look forward to.

I am not too keen on nighttime walks though, too dark to see anything and too late for me to have much energy.

Lunchtime walks, thirty minutes to an hour after lunch is a good way to burn away excess glucose.
 
You just have to start small and build up. When I started I could only manage 5 minute stints on bike. Now I can do 30 in one go if I have to. You might find initially that exercise bumps your readings up slightly if you take it close to doing it but overall it sets your levels lower I've found.
 
I think the most important thing is that you do the exercise rather than when. I sometimes go to the gym before lunch, sometimes after. I go there twice a week for an hour of gym then a 20 minute swim then Fridays I do a Zumba class. If you get to being able to do low impact aerobics I can give Zumba a thumbs up, much more fun than an aerobics/keep fit lesson. I don't know how old you are but there is something callel Zumba Gold which is for the "older" participant. My friend goes to one in Portugal and when she came over and came to mine she said the gold version was slightly more gentle.
 
There's a few of us on here who encourage each other to be more active . We do challenges . The latest one is step out for Santa , you are welcome to join us.
 
Oops step up for Santa ...
 
The group certainly has helped me to loose weight and keep it off since early July even with a 2 week cruise.
My bs is stable most of the time too.
 
nomistheman said:
@Kezzer4321

I'd suggest break the 30 minutes into chunks - how do you eat an elephant, one slice at a time - and don't push yourself too hard at first.

Try to make it fun and / or challenging - keep a record or if you have a smartphone log your walk. Find interesting places and routes to walk.

I started with three lots of 20 minutes gentle walking just after eating each meal. Obviously, this totalled an hour each day so you may wish to start at 10 minutes three times a day and then move up from there.

I read somewhere that the minimum recommended walking time is 20 minutes so you probably need to go a bit slower to get to there from 15 minutes but, I know you can do it! :)

As for exercising before or after eating - well, that depends ... on the intensity of the exercise. I have found that gentle exercise (more like just moving i.e. a stroll rather than a walk) is good for using up the Blood Glucose and therefore, good after eating. Intense exercise (brisk walking) is better timed to finish about an hour before I eat as it can cause the liver to elevate my Blood Glucose.

I'd recommend you test prior to and just after and 30 minute and an hour after any activity so you can see what effect that activity has had on your Blood Glucose.

Remember, the longest journey starts with the first step.

Enjoy! :)
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I have read all the comments and am certainly encouraged to start my exercise regime ASAP. I spend to much time on the computer / watching Television and feel I am losing the use of my legs . I just had my annual review and have been told my diabetes is under control. Long term BS is 7,2 weight is on the downward spiral. My cholesterol is 4. I am a happy bunny at the moment. will keep you informed as to the exercise stint.
 
@nomistheman - will definitely follow your advice. Yesterday by chance I did a 20 minute walk at lunch time and then it was raining when I got home so I did 15 mins Rosemary Conley Salsa in the kitchen lol I felt a bit silly at first, but once I got into it, it was okay

@mariner123 good luck with increasing your exercise also. I also want to say congratulations, seems that you have things pretty much under control but I am told the exercise will help further.
 
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