Natural born couch potato

HI, I've just signed up to this forum. T2, HbA1c 104 when diagnosed 3 and a half years ago My job is sedentary and I've always hated running or any sort of exercise that got me hot and sticky, and I've always been pretty lazy physically. The only exercise I can keep up on a regular basis is swimming - I've been swimming at least twice a week for half an hour for about 15 years now. I'm reasonably fit for my age (63) as I can do 20 lengths of front crawl in a 25 metre pool without a break. My sugar levels came down for a few years taking medication, but then in April last year I found they'd gone up again (HbA1c 62). I went to see a nutritionist who specialises in treating sportspeople with diabetes, and he advised cutting out carbs completely, restricting my fruit intake and increasing the amount of exercise I do. He also said that, while swimming would be good for my general fitness, it was important to build in exercise that involved less regular movements, as that would help recalibrate my sugar absorption mechanism over time - so he suggested running on rough ground, using a hula hoop or dancing. He also said that it was important to do at least five minutes of fairly high-energy exercise first thing in the morning, to wake my system up. I decided to dance - I had lots of fun putting together music that I liked, and made myself a playlist from which I play three songs at a time, three times a day. I always dance soon after waking, and then fit in the other two sessions when I can. That gives me about half an hour of exercise daily, and fits into my normal routine very easily - and it's fun, and seldom feels like a chore. This advice was absolutely brilliant, as I know what I'm like when it comes to trying to keep up any activity that I don't like and which doesn't fit easily into my lifestyle. After a year of daily dancing and regular swimming, plus following his advice about diet, my HbA1c dropped to 36 without any medication. So this is the regime that has worked for me, fingers crossed that it continues to do so.

Fleegle said:

That is a fantastic result - well done!

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your stats are pretty impressive!

Fleegle said:

Thank you.
I am just learning the ropes - really new here with a ton more questions than answers.
A really great bunch of people here and I soon realised that I needed to try the LCHF diet.

I have to say I found your story inspirational. It is great to meet people who give good advice and it sounds to me like that nutritionist really helped you on the right path. Then you just worked really hard and the results speak for themselves - so again well done you.

Reading stories like yours and getting good advice gives me tons of strength and hope for the future and keeps me coming back here.

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hang on in there!!!

Rachox said:

Lovely inspirational story KathyCP! I was sucked into your post by your title! I have modified my diet hugely and have seen results in my HbA1c and weight going down, but exercise is not a friend of mine at all! I have arthritis so hour long exercise classes leave me in pain. Swimming is something I do occasionally when it's warm, but again getting cold plays my joints up. I'm going to go ahead and devise my own at home exercise along the lines of yours. I had considered walking up and down the stairs in short sharp bursts, but your dancing sounds way more fun! Thank you for posting

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Hi Rachox, doing what suited me at home is the only thing that could have worked for me - i just don't have the motivation to get myself up and out to regular classes, etc.. i did try walking up and down stairs at home, but found that so tedious that i couldn't make myself do it - having music in the mix is a whole other story, as you say, way more fun!

ringi said:

"exercise that involved less regular movements", I expect this results in your exercising all your muscle with out having to learn lots of different exercises, and is also a lot more fun.

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thanks for this, i hadn't thought about it, but what you say about exercising all the muscles makes sense.