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Why Is Exercise Important For Type 2 Diabetes

Exercises have been considered to be one of the most important ways of maintaining good health from the ages. Hence it is no doubt that exercises will help to control and reduce diabetes considerably including Type 2 Diabetes. How physical activities help to lower blood glucose level can be best understood if we know the causes of diabetes.

What is Diabetes?

Diabetes is a problem that is tormenting individuals of all age groups around the world. It can happen to anyone at any time. So if you can understand the problems that are related to diabetes you can easily understand why doctors recommend exercises at the very start to control your blood sugar level. But what is diabetes? It is a condition when there is enough glucose in your blood but it is not utilized by the body properly and so the level of glucose rises up making you a diabetes patient.

Insulin production

You must be thinking why does not the body use the glucose when it is available? This is because the insulin, a hormone produced by the pancreas is either not enough to open the cells of the body to allow glucose to enter which is used as energy resources or your body may not be reacting to the insulin produced by your pancreas in which case also, the blood glucose remains in the blood itself and gradually rises high for it remains unused by the body. It is for these two reasons that you suffer from diabetes.
There are mainly two types of diabetes namely Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes which is the most common type and is somewhat a chronic problem that lingers for life. Hence it is very important to treat Diabetes in the best possible ways to stay healthy and enjoy life like all others. In Type 2 Diabetes, the body fails to produce sufficient insulin and it may also happen that the cells are insulin resistant.

Visiting the doctor

When you visit a doctor complaining about your problems of weakness, frequent urination, dizzy feeling etc the first thing that he advices you is to go for a blood test to ascertain the blood sugar level, whether it is too high or within the normal range or it is on the rise. Accordingly he prescribes certain medicines and he emphasizes on physical exercises the most along with diet control and certain lifestyle changes.

Exercises to Check Diabetes

It has been proved that exercises make it easier to keep a check on diabetes. So anybody who is suffering from diabetes, do not sit back in dismay, rather get up and visit your nearest gym and talk to the professional instructor who can design your exercise routine according to your requirements and what suits you the best. Physical activity is one of the most important components of Type 2 Diabetes treatment plan.

How Does Exercise Affect Blood Sugar?

1. During exercise, the body requires extra energy and that is supplied by blood sugar or glucose. Even when you do something quickly, the muscles and liver release glucose for fuel. The maximum amount of glucose is used when you do moderate exercise for a long period of time like hiking. Your blood sugar level goes down through these movements. Thus it has been proved that physical activities especially exercise help to reduce diabetes problems.
2. During your workouts the muscles can use the glucose present in the body without insulin. It does not matter whether you are insulin resistant or you do not have enough insulin. When you exercise, the muscles get the glucose they need automatically thereby reducing the blood sugar level. It has been found that if you are insulin resistant, exercise makes your insulin more effective because the insulin resistance goes down and the cells can use the glucose more effectively.
3. Exercises can also help people with Type 2 Diabetes avoid and reduce long-term problems. Most diabetics have blocked arteries that lead to cardiac arrest. Exercise reduces chances of heart attacks by keeping the heart healthy and strong by lowering glucose level.
4. There are other reasons of diabetes namely tension, stress, overwork and lack of rest and peace of mind. Exercise has an amazing effect not only on the body but also the mind. You will often hear people speaking about feeling rejuvenated and fresh after doing their workouts. This also helps to combat diabetes.
5. Exercises help to reduce weight too since overweight individuals are often diabetics. So by losing weight through workouts, you can control diabetes also.

Importance of professional help

When your doctor advice you follow a fitness routine, he also tells you that you should do those exercises which are perfect for you. But how will you know which exercises are best for you? It is the professional health instructor who will design your exercises in the correct way so that your aim of reducing blood sugar level is successful.
All kinds of exercises are not fit for a person with diabetes especially if the sugar level is quite high. In such cases, the doctor and the experienced instructor sit together and decide on the moves that will benefit the patient greatly.

What kinds of Exercises are recommended?

There are three main kinds of exercise namely strength training, flexibility work and aerobics. All the three kinds of exercises are organized in a balanced way by your personal instructor to achieve the most.

Aerobic Exercises: It is best to start with aerobic exercises because they are light and the basics of exercise that you can do on your own. These exercises include walking, running or jogging and sports like tennis, swimming, basket ball and biking. Any of these exercises must be done regularly for at least 30 minutes. If you cannot do it at a stretch, break it into 10 minutes each but try to complete the total 30 minutes. It may be difficult at first, but with practice you can easily achieve that for you have to reduce your glucose level.

Strength Training: When you become used to aerobic exercises and do not feel much strain, you will be started on strength training. This training builds up lean and efficient muscles for which you need a lot of energy that is supplied by the glucose in your blood and thus reduces sugar level. So the more you use glucose, the better it is for your diabetes control. Pull-ups and push-ups are often recommended by trainers. Lifting weights for 20 to minutes twice or maximum thrice a week is enough to get full benefits of strength training for diabetes control.

Flexibility Training: Of the various types of exercises stretching is one of the most important flexibility exercises that allows one to ascertain how well the joints and muscles can work and also ascertain their strength levels. By doing the various stretches, you again consume a lot of energy that is derived from the glucose in your blood and reduces the level of sugar which is the main aim of exercise in Type 2 Diabetes.

The final word about exercises to help reduce Type 2 Diabetes is that you must do your workouts willingly and enjoy every movement. Motivate yourself and stick to your plan to enjoy amazing results of exercises in reducing Type 2 Diabetes.

Written by Kevin Angileri

Update 01/13/15. I hope all the Holidays went well for all of you. It was a great Holiday season for me. Congrats to those, who maintained or even lost weight. Unfortunately, I did fall off the wagon, the last two weeks of December. It was so difficult to pass up on all the goodies. I did not gain a lot of weight, but my body sure felt the difference. If the same happened to you, just get back on track. I have been loading up on veggies and avoiding as much bad stuff as possible. I am completely off sodas (both w/sugar and sugar free and caffeine free). Good luck on 2015. Eat healthy to stay healthy.

Update for Thanksgiving.

I hope everyone had a wonderful day. I certainly did. I trust, you all enjoyed all the great food. As for me, I did follow my own plan, and did not overdo it. One dinner plate full of great food and most of it was really healthy. No seconds, which even surprised me. I did have one glitch. A second (small) piece of apple pie. I was on a guilt trip for at least 5 minutes. If you did eat more than you thought, you should have, don’t fret about it. It is over and done with, and now we can look forward to Christmas dinner. You have almost 4 weeks to prepare. Good luck to all of us.

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There is not any question about it. For all of us, who are either trying to lose weight or maintain self-control over our blood sugar, November and December are the toughest months of the year. Can’t you just picture, in your mind, what those tables will look like? Sweet potato casserole with marshmallows, mashed potatoes and gravy, Green bean casserole with bacon, mac and cheese and list is endless. Then. after all that, out come the pies and cakes and all the rest. This will be a test of your fortitude and inner strength. You can do it. Remember, David killed Goliath, Rocky beat Apollo and the Roadrunner beat Wiley Coyote, and you can win too. I might have stepped over the line, with Roadrunner, but I was going for the laugh.

Healthy Holiday Eating Plans

Well, stop worrying, make a healthy holiday eating plan & a course of action for these two holiday seasons. There are so many things, you can do, to prepare. The goal here is, that on January first 2015, you will be about the same weight or (with great planning) a bit less. You have about three weeks for planning and about five weeks to execute.

Over the next three weeks, you can get mentally prepared. You can try to lose an extra two or three pounds before Thanksgiving. Here are a few tips that may make for an easier holiday season.

On Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve an Christmas day, drink plenty of water. First for hydration and water will fill you up.

Let’s not kid ourselves, we want to try all that great food. So instead of torturing ourselves, let’s try a little of everything. One full size dinner plate should do it. Fill that dish up with a little of everything including salad. Little tastes of everything you love. Oh, wait a minute !! One level please, not five or six inches high. We are building a perfect holiday dinner plate, not the Empire State Building. Good job, you can be proud of yourself.

Now it is dessert time. OMG, now what do we do? Cakes and pies and ice cream and every concoction know to man, of things made of sugar. Even I am having a hard time dealing with dessert. A little common sense will come in handy. Grab a small salad or dessert plate, for starters. Take a few deep breathes and choose wisely. Half the plate will do fine and one layer high.

I hope, we all succeed in maintaining our weight and blood sugar.

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Why Is Exercise Important For Type 2 Diabetes?