One of the most important aspects of maintaining your health is staying active. Exercise can help you control your weight and also lowers your blood sugar. Exercise also decreases your risk of heart disease. You should speak to your doctor to decide at what level of activity to start. Once you decide on an activity, you must make conscious choices to change your lifestyle to include this activity. While the choices may at first seem upsetting or stressful, once they become routine you will no longer think about making them. In fact, once you realize the positive health benefits of increased mobility and a stronger metabolism, you will look forward to opportunities to increase your physical activity every day. Exercise is critical in keeping your heart and circulation operating efficiently. Your lymphatic system is also activated by physical movement and a variety of different activities. For more information on how physical activity can lead to a healthier immune system, click here.

Small Steps to Start
If you are inactive, you might want to start with light exercise of 5 to 10 minutes a day, and add 3 to 5 minutes a day each week. The goal to increasing activity is to include aerobic activities that make you breathe more deeply and make your circulatory system more active. Aerobic activities include walking, jogging, aerobic dance and exercise, and bicycling and swimming. If you have problems with circulation or the nerves in your legs or feet, your doctor may recommend swimming, bicycling, rowing, or seated exercises. Once you become accustomed to a short period of exercise each day, you may want to increase your exercise. You can increase the frequency of your activities to two or three 10 minute activities each day. Or you can start increasing the length of your exercise period each day to obtain greater benefits.

Including exercise in your daily activities does not necessarily require “suiting up” at the gym. Everyday activities can be approached differently so you become more physically active. If you are bound to a desk for eight hours a day, small changes can add up to a large difference in your physical activity. For instance, you can choose to take the stairs instead of the elevator. To make an evaluation of what level of physical activity is appropriate for you to start, contact the Hope4Diabetes Medical Center and speak with one of our advisors or make an appointment for an evaluation. Are you ordering out for lunch? Earn it! Instead of having it delivered, walk the block, or half mile to get it. Instead of searching for the best parking spot in the lot, look for the farthest. You are leaving the best space for someone who needs it, and getting some physical activity as well. Other common activities that can get you moving toward a more active lifestyle:

• Mowing the lawn
• Gardening, digging, and weeding
• Dancing
• Bowling
• Vacuuming
• Washing the car
• Skipping lunch to go swimming*
• Skipping lunch to walk for an hour*
• Playing a musical instrument
• Throwing a frisbee
• Walking the dog (he’ll be happier, too)

*Consult your physician to make sure you this is consistent with your diet, medication and blood glucose levels if you are a diabetic.

Stretch the ligaments and strengthen the bones
It is important to start off exercise with simple activities like walking to alert your body that the framework for your muscles- your skeleton- is going to have to get ready for a more active lifestyle. Did you know that your bone density depends on gravity? If you want to maintain bone density in your legs and hips, you have to stand up! Stretching exercises such as yoga can also prepare your body for more physical activity. Swimming or pool aerobics can also be a great way to prepare your heart and respiratory system for more physical activity.

Keep a Journal
Keeping a journal is a smart way to monitor your increasing activity. It also allows you to set and achieve goals. You can integrate your exercise journal with weight loss, stopping smoking, decreasing cholesterol and blood pressure, and decreasing your dependence on insulin or pharmaceuticals required to control your blood sugar levels. As you begin to modify your lifestyle with the approaches offered by the Hope4Diabetes Medical Center, you will feel the effects working together to afford you a higher quality of life. For more information on our different approaches and therapies, click here.

Know the Signs of Low Blood Sugar
One beneficial consequence of exercising is that it lowers your blood sugar. The diabetic must be careful to combine proper diet, exercise, and medication to avoid hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar. This can occur when exercise is performed after skipping a meal, or when the patient has recently taken his medication to lower his blood sugar. As you become regularly more active, it may become necessary to adjust or eliminate the medications under the supervision of your physician. You should be alert to the signs of hypoglycemia.

Low blood sugar occurs gradually as glucose is eliminated from the blood by exercise or your medication. Signs of low blood sugar include sudden sweats or a change in heartbeat. You may also feel shaky or anxious. Your body’s natural signal to low blood sugar is to make you feel hungry. If you feel these symptoms, your doctor might suggest that you take a candy or glass of juice to restore your glucose levels. While there are some risks of exercise to the diabetic, the benefits far outweigh them. Contact one of our specialists to get started on a healthy activity plan now.

Special Considerations
If you are diabetic, you should take some steps to insure that your exercise program provides the greatest, safest benefits possible. First, make sure you consult your physician or one of our specialists to evaluate your fitness and to develop an intelligent exercise plan.

• You should check your blood sugar before and after exercising so you can know if your medication or meals should be more carefully coordinated with your physical activity.
• Make sure you drink plenty of water before, during and after exercising.
• As your physical activities increase, make sure you warm up before exercising, and cool down after exercising to allow your body to relax into a healthy rested state.
• Don’t forget to have a candy or sweet juice drink handy in case you feel your blood sugar is getting too low.
• Another consideration is that neuropathy in the legs and feet might not be noticed. Make sure you have properly-fitting and comfortable footwear, and check your feet for blisters or sores.
• Other signs to watch for are severe shortness of breath, dizziness or faintness, nausea, heart palpitations, chest pain, or a pain in your arm or jaw. If you do not recover from these signs within 15 minutes, seek immediate medical help as these may be signs of heart trouble. (From the Mayo Clinic Website) For an evaluation of your circulatory health, contact the Hope4Diabetes Medical Center for an evaluation.

You will learn to look forward to your periods of increased physical activity as you discover the benefits that they have on your total health and outlook. Staying active and increasing your physical activity is just one aspect of the complementary and alternative approach that we take at the Hope4Diabetes Medical Center. To find out more about our other approaches, including diet, supplements, detoxification, immune health, and clinical procedures, click here>