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exercise
6K views 11 replies 10 participants last post by  virgilj 
#1 ·
What role does exercise play in everyone controlling their blood sugar here? I'm fairly certain that diet is more important, but I wanted to know how you guys feel about working out. Besides what it does for optimal all-around health, how big of a factor do you feel it plays in controlling blood sugar?
 
#2 ·
Exercise helps many of us, for many reasons. However, in some it raises numbers as a reaction, and in others it lowers it. It's very YMMV. However, it does a body (and mind) good to keep moving and stimulated in all facets of life. For me, it also helps keep the doggies in line.
 
#4 ·
I think you have it figured out. Diet is more important, exercise less so. As jade pointed out, some will have increased BG and some lower BG after exercise. That would largely depend on 2 factors. Is there any glucose in circulation for immediate uptake and what is the liver storage of glucose. Therefore YMMV.
 
#5 ·
As John has pointed out, I think it's time that you personalize your position here instead of holding us at arm's length. Tell us how you came to be diagnosed with diabetes, if indeed you have been, and what you've been advised to do about it. What was your most recent A1c and how are your daily numbers looking?
 
#6 ·
Hmm. OK, thank you everyone for wanting to take an interest in the people here.

I was diagnosed about 10 years ago, I'm not sure what factors contributed to my Type II. I was not a sedentary type person, I competed in powerlifting meets and did other athletic things, but I ate too much junk food, particularly sodas and (now they tell me) fruit juice.

I thought I had things under control, but a couple months ago I went and had some cortisone shots in my back. That sent my sugar through the roof, and that was lucky, because I discovered that it had been higher than I thought. I used be able to feel it if it was above a certain number, but I now I discover that has changed. I can't predict what it is.

So my doctor put me on Metformin and Amaryl a couple months ago. Things are under control, and I've been working out like crazy, but at age 50, I have 2 replaced hips and arthritis in my knees so I'm worried about my ability to work out enough to burn sugar off well. I also eat things that at times surprise me when I find out they're very high in carbs. I'm trying to stick to mostly green veggies.

Usually, my FBG in the morning is around 110. My last A1C was through the roof (11) but I was bopping along fat dumb and happy thinking nothing was wrong. Glad I found this forum.
 
#7 · (Edited)
I, too, am glad you found our forum, and I'm glad you decided to confide in us - however suspicious you were of a support forum where people actually take an interest in getting acquainted and helping one another. ;)

There is a wealth of knowledge & wisdom here, from the people who have had success with the management methods discussed here. Our experiences are personal hands-on - not the stuff you get from a medical school textbook.

You have already discovered that diabetes is no respecter of persons. We didn't do this to ourselves - it is not our fault - no matter how horrible our eating or exercise habits.

You may have also discovered that extreme exercise doesn't turn things around quite as quickly as you wish. That is par for the course, because the biggest factor in our high blood sugars is what we put in our mouths. Exercise is a wonderful thing and it does help some, but it's all the carbs you eat that is wrecking your blood sugar.

You'll want to have a good long look at BloodSugar101, and after a couple hours of study here, you'll know more than your doctor about treating your diabetes. After that, you should consider a low-carb/high-fat way-of-eating - LCHF for Beginners. And if you have trouble accepting that athletes can be competitive without carbs, then google for athletes in ketosis and see what's new in this milieu. Peter Attia might be a good place to start, since he's not only an endurance athlete, but a medical doctor/surgeon.

The learning curve for diabetes can be pretty steep sometimes, but once your own testing proves to you that you're on the right track, you may start feeling better than you've felt in years, way before replacement hips and arthritic knees!

Another good practice to develop is eating to your meter.
 
#8 ·
We're glad you joined us.

I don't know of any support forum for diabetes that is quite like this one. The collective knowledge of the members here - and some of them are scientists and researchers and medical people - well, it just can't be beat.

Add the fact that the members truly do care about those in the group and are willing and able to make helpful suggestions, or just listen to a rant. If one person doesn't know the answers to your questions, then someone else does. So read the links and ask all the questions you want.

By the way - many of us have our BG under good control without doing ANY exercise - myself included. It truly is diet that's the key. So you can ease up on those hips and knees and still get good BG numbers.
 
#12 ·
Diabetes is a sneaky disease. Many people are diabetic and don't even know it. Often they don't find out until they end up in the hospital or doctors's office for some other diabetes induced malady. Unfortunately, that's often too late because the damage is already done.

In your case you've known for ten years your diabetic and have been expecting to control it with exercise. Up jumps the boogyman and now you find out that your BG is wildly out of control when you thought every thing was just fine. Diabetes snuck up on you!!

You've already found out that exercise alone won't do the trick. Now you need to find another way. I strongly recommend that you read the information at the links given to you by previous posters. If nothing else you'll gain a better understanding of the monster that is sneaking up on you and what you can expect in the future if you don't act now.
 
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