Exercise to Reduce Diabetes Medication
Exercise is one of the key ingredients in maintaining a healthy diabetes lifestyle. Exercise can not only help you lose body fat, but it can also reduce your blood sugar level, making your diabetes easier to manage naturally. In fact, many doctors believe that good nutrition and exercise are as important as proper medication when it comes to treating your Type 2 diabetes.
You reduce your risk of developing full-blown Type 2 diabetes by almost 60% by moderately exercising for just 30 minutes each day and losing 5-10% of your body weight. Just about anyone, no matter how busy, can squeeze in 30 minutes during lunch, before work, after work or in a series of breaks during the day.
Here are some simple exercises that just about anyone in any shape can do for 30 minutes each day:
- Walking at a moderate pace
- Bicycle ride
- Lifting weights
- Playing a sport, such as basketball or Frisbee
- Roller-skating or rollerblading
- Kayaking
- Swimming
- Aerobic gym equipment, such as the Stairmaster
- An aerobics class
- Yoga or Pilates
While making a diligent effort to exercise each day is a critical component of diabetes prevention and treatment, maintaining a generally active lifestyle also goes a long way towards the managements of diabetes.
Here are some ways that you can stay active on a regular basis, even when not exercising:
- Use a push-mower to mow the lawn.
- When cleaning the house, work quickly. Think of house cleaning like exercise.
- Always use the stairs rather than an elevator.
- Park far away in a parking lot so that you have to walk to your destination.
- Play with the kids (rather than just watching.)
- Walk the dog.
- Use a basket rather than a cart when grocery shopping.
- Shop in stores rather than online.
As always, we ask you to pay attention to your feet. This is a key area of complication for many diabetics.
Check Your Feet & Weight Daily
