Move on up
Exercise does much more than burn kilojoules – it helps you manage blood glucose levels (BGLs) and improves your mood
Next time you’re tempted to skip a gym visit or bypass a brisk walk, remind yourself that keeping your body strong is essential if you want to maintain vitality for as long as you can. The Royal Association of General Practitioners (RACGP) recommends that people with diabetes do at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise five days a week (150 minutes). This could be a brisk walk where you sweat but can still talk. Getting your heart rate up is crucial, but motivation is key.
To confine exercise to certain times of the day and a few days a week is great if that works for you, but in some ways it misses the point. A recent Harvard study reports that for people with type 2 diabetes, exercise reduces BGLs as well as body fat. In addition to its positive effect on BGL control, planned exercise allows you to set goals and measure your improvement by the weight you can lift or the distance you can run. All good stuff. But this definition fails to capture the satisfaction of being active.
Incidental exercise – the type that involves cycling to the shops, walking the dog or playing with the kids in the park – ticks many boxes and might be the answer to finding joy in your workout.
Put simply, it’s about moving more and sitting less.
The more you move, the more chance you have of gaining the benefits: lower BGLs, lowered insulin resistance, increased muscle strength and bone density, improved flexibility and enhanced mood.
“Your body is designed to move,” explains DL accredited exercise physiologist Christine Armarego, whose mantra is ‘motion is lotion’. “Often I see people who have worked in sedentary jobs that have left their health in a poor state.” The result? “They find being active difficult, which impacts their BGLs.”
Build muscle mass
Armarego encourages people with diabetes to lift weights. “As we age, we lose muscle unless we do something to keep it,” she says. “Muscle mass helps us store and clear glucose.” Essential for people with diabetes.
Her recommendation? Do strength training (eight to 10 exercises using weights, your own body weight or resistance bands) two or three times a week. “Even if you’re not the fittest person, staying active can keep you mobile and independent for longer.”
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