Walk away from Diabetes

Writing these articles about Diabetes management is also helping me a lot. I am reminded of the do's and don'ts myself. One change that I have made in my lifestyle is, that I have started walking regularly. After dinner I go out for a 30 min brisk walk. We normally have an early dinner, by 7 pm, which works in my favor. Another plus is that my husband accompanies me. It is always nice to have company. I have started checking my sugars more regularly and have noticed that the added activity has significantly lowered my blood sugars. I hope to keep this up.

I cannot stress enough, about how important exercise can be in your Diabetes management. If you already lead an active lifestyle, then you are on the right track, but if not, then I would like to guide you towards managing your blood sugars better, with the least amount of exercise. Let us first look at the benefits of exercise for blood sugar management.

1.  Insulin sensitivity is increased. This helps your cells to better use your insulin. The cells absorb glucose (in your blood) during and after the activity. This process happens easily in the body of a non-diabetic, but us diabetics need to give it a push.
2. Your muscles contract during activity. This mechanism allows your cells to take up glucose and use it for energy, even when insulin is not available.

These two activities in turn, lower/control your blood sugar in a natural way. Enough of the medical jargon now! Loosing, even 5 kgs of weight, can lower your blood sugar levels significantly. The insulin produced by your body may suffice, at a lower weight. I know from personal experience that loosing wt. is not as easy, as it is to prescribe it. So, let us look at ways to walk your way to health.

We have all had our doctors tell us how walking is the best form of exercise for diabetics. It is easy, can be done at any place, does not require any equipment and is safe at any age. 30 minutes walking a day is more than enough for us. And the great thing about this is, that this activity can be broken down into parts during the whole day. So, it is up to you, if you want to do 3 parts of 10 min or 2 parts of 15 min or a 30 min walk at one time. Let us look at how we can incorporate it into our daily life. I have a few suggestions, in order to efficiently exercise with the focus of controlling your blood sugar.

•  It is a good idea for every Diabetic to buy a glucometer. That way you can not only keep track of your blood sugars but also identify what works for your body.
• Once you have a glucometer, check your blood sugar levels before and after your workout.
• The best workout for a diabetic is any aerobic activity. The easiest of which is walking. Considering that, most of the diabetic population is middle aged or older people, who do not work out regularly; walking is an easy and gentle option.
• The best times to walk are: about 30 minutes after your meals. Blood sugars tend to peak 1 hr after a meal. This is the most challenging time. You want your sugars to stay in the normal range in this period as much as possible. Therefore, a brisk walk immediately after a meal is the best time for a walk.
• Walk as fast as you can. Even a slow walk will bring your sugar down a certain amount. Check your blood sugar after the walk and you will know how beneficial it is.
• Break your 30 minutes a day routine into 3 parts. Walk immediately after Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner. This is the best way to put your mild workout routine to work for you. If you can walk more, it will be even more beneficial. 

Ideally you want to be surrounded by nature. It not only has physical but mental benefits too. It has meditative powers. But, for those of us living in the cities, walking in the wild is a distant dream. So grab a friend and go for a walk. IT will keep you motivated. Even better, find somebody with medical background just like you and support each other in your journey. But, remember to walk. Leave a comment if you like my article.