Though they might seem almost like a mountain of a task, regular exercise and blood sugar control are not that difficult a thing to do. In fact, if you choose to, they can actually be fun, and once you start achieving your targets you will get all the motivation you need to do more and get your diabetes, general health and fitness back on track. All you have to do before you start off with it is to learn more about exercise and blood sugar control.
How to work on exercise and blood sugar levels?
Well, it is mere common sense that exercise helps your body stay healthy and strong to be able to fight off any kind of illness. It is the same with your blood sugar, and here is how.
- The most simplest explanation of how exercising is helpful for diabetics is that we need energy to exercise, and that energy comes from using the glucose present in our blood, which apparently means there will be a decrease in sugar levels the moment you start exercising.
- Exercising improves your physical fitness and in the long run increases your body’s ability to utilize glucose present in the blood without much dependency on insulin medication.
- Apart from controlling blood sugar levels, it can also improve your cardiovascular health, and reduces the risks of other diabetic complications.
How to avoid over doing exercising?
You sure will be motivated to work on yourself, exercise and bring your blood sugar levels down and back to normal. But, you should also keep in mind how over doing things can be harmful to your body. Here is how you can find out how much to workout.
- To find out how much exercise is good for you start with easy warm up exercises and proceed to those that need more strength and energy. If you start feeling weak or dizzy, then work on the exercises that you are comfortable doing for a few days till you improve your stamina and keep adding new exercises.
- If you still are not sure how much you should exercise, consult your physician for advice. They will asses your body’s tolerance level and prescribe you how much or what kind of exercise you need to do.
What are the things you should keep in mind while exercising?
While exercising for blood sugar control you should keep a few things in mind so as not to run the risk of pushing your body into problems.
- Beware of hypoglycemia. Always keep in mind that you should do things progressively. Over doing the amount of exercise you do or starting vigorous exercise all of a sudden can put you at a risk of abnormally low blood sugar level.
- Always make sure that you have taken enough carbohydrates before exercising.
- If you are a type 1 diabetic, make sure you have taken enough food and insulin that will last through the time you are exercising. Lack of enough insulin can trick your body into thinking that you do not have enough of it to support your exercise and releasing the glucose stores. This will cause hyperglycemia and in severe cases ketoacidosis.
- Keep in mind your electrolyte levels, not just blood sugar levels, in mind. The water and electrolytes you lose during exercise should always be replaced.
- If you are starting to feel unmotivated to exercise regularly, try other alternatives. Make it a group activity so that there will always be people around you to give you company. You can also try changing the type of physical activity you are doing and choose other forms that you feel are more fun.
The main function of our body is to move, the very reason we have muscles and a skeletal structure is to aid us in motion, and diabetes is one of the many consequences that result due to lack of proper physical activity. It is never to late to give yourself enough time to exercise and blood sugar levels will start to come back to normal.