Type 2 Diabetes - Increase Your Physical Activity to Lower Blood Sugar and Lose Weight
Regular exercise is really a good idea - it can help your Type 2 diabetes by increasing your body's insulin sensitivity.
Exercise also encourages the burning of circulating energy fats (triglycerides) if your period of exercise is long enough.
During and after exercise, sugar moves from your blood to the cells of your muscles to fuel your workouts.
And this happens even without having enough body insulin.
And if you need to lose weight, regular exercise will burn calories to help you slowly, but surely, shed pounds.
Even with all the benefits of exercise, many people have trouble making it happen.
If you want to exercise but need some tips to get moving, here are some ideas...
1.
Take walking breaks.
If you sit at your desk most of day like many of us do, incorporate a walking break every 20 minutes.
It can be as short as two minutes and still give you the benefit of keeping blood sugar levels steady after you eat.
So walk to the copy machine on the other side of the building, walk to your coworkers' desks instead of emailing them, and walk to the water cooler to refill your water bottle.
All these little trips will help! 2.
Walk your dog.
This is a great way to get some exercise, boost your mood, and keep your dog happy too! If you don't have a dog, you can usually find a dog owner who would be happy to have you take their dog out for some more exercise.
Not into dogs? Try setting up walking dates with a friend so you can burn some calories while socializing.
3.
Exercise while watching TV.
Do you have a treadmill or exercise bike collecting dust? Put it to use! Setting it up in front of the TV makes it easy to get your workout in during your favorite TV shows.
No exercise equipment at home? Try getting up and dancing or marching around the house during commercials.
4.
Take the stairs.
You've probably heard this one before.
Even though it's a short spurt of exercise, it can still help burn calories and lessen blood sugar spikes.
If your office is at the very top of the building, you can gradually work up to walking all the stairs.
Start by walking just one floor before you catch the elevator, and add another floor each day.
5.
Walk or bike to work.
Try walking or biking for your commute instead of driving.
Sometimes it doesn't take much longer to ride a bike than to fight traffic in the car, and you save time by getting your workout in.
If you have a very long commute, try parking further away from your work and walking the last ten minutes.
Walking ten minutes to and ten minutes from work, gets you close to your goal of thirty minutes of activity for the day.
Exercise also encourages the burning of circulating energy fats (triglycerides) if your period of exercise is long enough.
During and after exercise, sugar moves from your blood to the cells of your muscles to fuel your workouts.
And this happens even without having enough body insulin.
And if you need to lose weight, regular exercise will burn calories to help you slowly, but surely, shed pounds.
Even with all the benefits of exercise, many people have trouble making it happen.
If you want to exercise but need some tips to get moving, here are some ideas...
1.
Take walking breaks.
If you sit at your desk most of day like many of us do, incorporate a walking break every 20 minutes.
It can be as short as two minutes and still give you the benefit of keeping blood sugar levels steady after you eat.
So walk to the copy machine on the other side of the building, walk to your coworkers' desks instead of emailing them, and walk to the water cooler to refill your water bottle.
All these little trips will help! 2.
Walk your dog.
This is a great way to get some exercise, boost your mood, and keep your dog happy too! If you don't have a dog, you can usually find a dog owner who would be happy to have you take their dog out for some more exercise.
Not into dogs? Try setting up walking dates with a friend so you can burn some calories while socializing.
3.
Exercise while watching TV.
Do you have a treadmill or exercise bike collecting dust? Put it to use! Setting it up in front of the TV makes it easy to get your workout in during your favorite TV shows.
No exercise equipment at home? Try getting up and dancing or marching around the house during commercials.
4.
Take the stairs.
You've probably heard this one before.
Even though it's a short spurt of exercise, it can still help burn calories and lessen blood sugar spikes.
If your office is at the very top of the building, you can gradually work up to walking all the stairs.
Start by walking just one floor before you catch the elevator, and add another floor each day.
5.
Walk or bike to work.
Try walking or biking for your commute instead of driving.
Sometimes it doesn't take much longer to ride a bike than to fight traffic in the car, and you save time by getting your workout in.
If you have a very long commute, try parking further away from your work and walking the last ten minutes.
Walking ten minutes to and ten minutes from work, gets you close to your goal of thirty minutes of activity for the day.