Unlike you, David, I HATE exercise, but if I had an individual trainer who was supervising me at regular appointments, I could be persuaded to do it. When I had my coronary artery spasm 19 years ago, I went through cardiac rehab, and stuck to it for almost 3 years, until they canceled the only hours that were available to me outside of work time. I haven't exercised regularly since. The biggest problem with this idea, though, is that it would cost money to insurance companies, and as we all know, that's a big no-no!!
Thanks David for posting this and it was good talking to you a few weeks ago. When I got my diagnosis I was shocked that the emphasis wasn't more on exercise.I am fortunate that I like exercise. I do brazilian jujitsu 3x a week, and walk everyday and when in doubt I move!:) Regarding exercise I think to remember it is better to enjoy it, make it diverse and fun, group activites keep people more engaged.Also if you can find a the money, I got a cute female personal trainer to push me every other week. I found myself exercisng to please her, must be love!;) She would give me compliments for weightloss and keeping my blood sugar in check.Whatever works!:)
Diet and exercise are not curse words, but can and should work in harmony, not only for those of us with type 2 diabetes, but also for everyone who wants to ward off all sorts of undesirable conditions that seem to crop up as we age. As an estate planner, I have lots of clients who suffer from a plethora of ills, due to poor diet and lack of exercise.
Resistance training (medicine balls, free weights, resistance bands, Bowflex and Ultimate Gyms) is just as important as aerobic exercises (use an elliptical machine with arms, instead of a treadmill, if you can't walk outdoors), but drink greens or take something to replenish the minerals you lose when you sweat.
It is fortunate the medical community publishes these white papers, but unfortunate that most physicians do not take time with their patients to explain how important these concepts are.
Sounds good, without a doubt does good but for many with T2 it can be hard to manage. "Structured" is better for most people with some form of disability...example, a bad back, leg, arthritis of any type in legs, hips etc. but often hard to come by for various reasons, some of which were mentioned. I'm on "Skype" and would like to communicate with folks that are managing a regular exercise program w/o "structure" as where I live there just isn't any.
Bud
I am so glad to hear that exercise is important. I always really knew it was. My doctor was happy when I took up running. I do strength training 3 times a week. I run 3 times a week for up to an hour. I do step class on Tuesday and Zumba on Thursday. I credit my stable blood sugar levels with exercise. However, I am in total agreement with people who say diet is more important.
If I could cut down on my chocolate and carb intake I would not need any meds. Of this I am sure. I try but have no willpower at all. 7 days without chocolate is a record for me. Don't even get me started on bread and potatoes. I guess all I am saying is it is definetly a combination of the two. We all know what a healthy life style is. It is not easy and I commend those who have managed to accomplish it.
Really motivating and similar story to mine. I am 49 yrs old and have T2 for last 15 yrs. Have not taken any medicine at all till today. My HbA1c remains below 6. I have been exercising for the past 20 years. Mostly jogging outdoor (I do get "Joggers High"), Yoga, Pranayam and have recently started weight training. I eat everything but sensibly. Apart from other tangible benefits, exercise gives me that "Feel Good Factor" which cannot be described in words. I know very well that just because I exercise religiously I can eat almost normally.
BYW - can I ask your age as I am wondering is it safe for me to Run for 1 hour at a streatch. ? What are your BG numbers ? are you taking any medicine?
Hi I will be 50 in two months. I am in Canada so I don't really know what those numbers are. My blood levels range from around 6.5 to 7.0 Kind on high given that a 5.4 would be perfect but not really high since you have to be 7.1 to diagnosed. I take metaforim (may be spelled wrong). It is a pill. I take two pills a day. I also have glaucoma. My eye doctor thinks it is because of my already existing eye problems not diabetes. So take the drops. Also have MS. I am reluctant to take meds for that unless I have major problems. Been quite lucky.
I know you are interested in the diabetic meds. So what I have found is that when you run afterwards your blood will shoot up. As high as 8 or sometimes even a 9. I do not take my morning pill until after I run. However, if I run in the afternoon I have already taken the pill in the morning. It is a safe drug with few side effects. I was a little worried when I started taking it because it says that strenuous exercise can cause low blood sugar with the drug. That is why I don't take it before a morning run. I would like to point out that I do two half marathons a year. I do a run/walk method. When I am training for them my milage can go as high as 15 on my long runs. Since I take walk breaks this can take me up to 3 hours. Have not had a problem.
It depends I supplose on the type of medication you are on. Insulin could be a whole different ball game. Also the amount probably matters too. I know people who are on 5 pills a day. Probably because they don't exercise and eat like I do. Good for you in finding the proper balance. I hope one day to be able to say that I have. I am relativly new to diabetes but I have read so much and am confident that I know exactly how much and what to eat but somehow that chocolate and those potatoes and fresh (I hate to admit white Frensh bread with butter0 end up in my mouth). I go a few days doing well and then break down.
If you normally run for an hour then why not try the first day doing half an hour and then just see how you feel. If you feel good do the other half. If you are already running it may not be considered strenuous. My A1c which I am assuming is the 3 month blood check my doc does is 6.4. I think this is on the same scale as Americans. So again not bad but could be better. Happy running
It's clear that exercise helps control blood glucose levels and the study confirms this. However the smallest reduction occurring or the combined resistance and cardio regime is puzzling to me and makes no sense. Does anyone know any addiitonal detail on the naature of the exercise for the combined regimens?
Also, my understanding from Dr. Bernstein is that resistance training is more effective becasue it builds muscle that is better able to absorb the sugar in our blood. Thus theeffects are more long lasting (a couple of days) as oppsoed to cardio whose effects are supposed tolast a few hours. This latest study contradicts this belief.
I also find the numbers for the combined training quite confusing. Perhaps they lowered the cardio to incorporate the strength training. Whereas it should be simply added to the cardio in my opinion. Also when I was first diagnosed I would take blood reading every hour just to see what did and did not effect my levels. I found that with exercise, for me at least, cardio had more of an impact. It also lasted much more than a few hours. The initial reaction to cardio is that my blood shoots up and then as the day goes on it goes down. the effect usually lasts all day. With weights not much happens. I know that things are happening but there is no immediate efeect seen on my blood levels. Yes I do heavy (for me weights) Yes I do them properly. I have a tainer for two of my sessions and one I do on my own. I have been lifting weights for several years so not a newby. My trainer pushes me to exhaustion every time. My blood just does not change the way it does with cardio. I know that long term my muscles are helping me though.
Also it may depend on the cardio those people were doing. Cardio does build muscle. I run and my calves are really muscular. My legs in general are very strong and yet I don't do weight training on my lower body. My step class is vigerous and you use your muscles to pull your body up onto the step so again muscle building. If you ever watch so you think you can dance, the dancers are quite muscular and they spend their days doing cardio. So the type and intensity of the cardio could make a huge difference. However, my guess and I have not read the article is that they did a total number of exercise say 9 hours a week cardio or 9 hours a week strength training then they perhaps combined the two in 4.5 strength and 4.5 cardio. Thus losing so much cardio that the combined effect was less than the cardio alone. As I said cardio in my experience had a much bigger effect on blood levels than strength training.
I am a Type 1 diabetic-for the past 20 years I have done structured exercise on a daily basis. 60 mins. every day on a stationary bicycle (w/upper body work out). I have missed days only when I had pneumonia and on my wedding day. I eat low carb -and the ONLY time I have anything off the diabetic menu is if I have a low and then I might have a rice crispie bar. My A1c is over 8.0. That being said-I have been diabetic over 35 years and have no complications-as of yet. I can only guess that the exercise does have some affect-as it doesn't seem that I am doing anything else correctly.
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I assume that there will be some discussion in there regarding diet? To me, that's obviously the biggest factor. Exercise is fine for many reasons, including controlling of blood sugar, but it's the cutback in carbs that is the big deal.
I am a T2, but don't do any kind of structured/planned excercise. I was initially diagnosed right at at an A1C of 13 about 3.5 years ago. I have a 5.7 A1C nowadays, which I achieved in about 6 months after diagnosis thorugh carb reduction. Could I lower my A1C through exercise? I'm sure I could. But, I doubt I'd see the big drops that you've mentioned.