How to balance fitness & diabetes
Being fit isn’t easy. Living with diabetes isn’t easy. Being fit and diabetic REALLY isn’t easy but… it’s possible. These are 5 Tips my husband and I shared in a webinar to help fellow diabetics learn how to balance Fitness and Diabetes.
To summarize our 5 Tips to help Balance Fitness and Diabetes
- Everyone is different. Every day is different. No two people are the same much like no two diabetics are the same. What works for one diabetic, may not work for another. It’s important to learn how fitness specifically impacts your blood sugars.
- Document everything. In order to see the big picture of the effect of fitness on your diabetes control, document document document.
- Watch for trends. After you have documented your blood sugars (before and after eating, before and after exercising and anytime you feel the need to test) and the foods you consume and your stress level (yes – stress affects blood sugars) you can see how different activities can change your blood sugar.
- Use a trial and error system. Have a plan. If at first you don’t succeed… try try again. Learn from your trends and have a plan in place to make sure you stay safe. Always keep a quick source of sugar (juice, dextrose tablets…) nearby whenever you are exercising.
- Remember, diabetes is a marathon (not a sprint). Simply START (S = support, T = try, A = aim for success, R = reassess, T = try again)
As mentioned during the webinar, I offer a very helpful Fitness and Nutrition Log for my clients who live with diabetes. This log can help a diabetic see trends in their blood sugars based on the activities they take part in and the foods they consume. Documentation is key to balancing Fitness and Diabetes.
Click below to watch our “5 Tips to Help BalanceFitness & Diabetes” webinar, filmed 2/21/2016.
Additional resources can be found at:
American Diabetes Association – Fitness and Diabetes
Canadian Diabetes Association – Living Healthy
Diabetic Athlete’s Handbook – Amazon.com, by Sheri Colberg
Please share your experiences with Fitness and Diabetes below. Questions? Ask me.
