Diabetes and Exercise

It is recommended that you get 150 minutes of exercise a week (that can be easily broken down into 30 minutes five days a week). Keeping active as a diabetic is very important. Exercise helps the insulin in your body (that you produce or that you inject) be accepted into the muscles.

This 150 minutes of exercise is of moderate aerobic exercise, which is the equivalent of a brisk walk.

Diabetics should not only perform aerobic exercises, but also some resistance exercises (like light weights) 3 times a week.

If possible, try to be active for sixty minutes a day. This might sound like a lot, but if you break it up into ten minute periods, it’s not that much. It can be a fifteen minute walk with the dog, fifteen minutes of dusting or mowing or raking, a ten minute stretch-break, and a twenty minute walk after dinner. Just inserting a few extra active times into your day will help you meet the exercise requirements.

If you feel light-headed or any other symptoms while you exercise, stop and test. Be sure to have a snack and your insulin available in case you need to control your blood sugar. You should test before and after every vigorous exercise session.