Posts Tagged ‘Control Blood Sugars’

Wednesday Wellness Tip: Tis the Season to Walk for a Cause

Wednesday, November 10th, 2010

Get your exercise in, control your blood sugar, and do a good deed!

The fall months are chock-full of great events that are centered on walking or running. What a great way to get out with hundreds or thousands of people to improve your own health while supporting the health of others!

Lace up your running shoes and find a walk for a cause or run for fundraising in your area. You’ll get a great workout for the day, you’ll most likely have great control of your blood sugars that day, a long walk with help you manage your weight and your heart will be happy knowing that you are doing something purposeful and meaningful.

Remember to check your blood sugar before and after the event.

If it is a long event, you might want to bring your meter along to check in the middle of your walk or run. Many large events have sponsors provide sports drinks, yogurt, fruit, or other giveaways at the finish line.

Check out this list of groups that host events or do your own search for an event that supports a cause important to you!

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Wednesday Wellness Tip: Walking Your Way to Better Health

Wednesday, August 25th, 2010

Here is a walking program for beginners or expert walkers to get you moving and improving your health!

Walking exercise improves glucose control and cardiovascular fitness for heart health, and it helps with weight control.

To start, just get up and go! Walk 5-10 minutes at an easy pace. As that gets easier, add 5-10 minutes each week until you are able to walk 30 minutes without stopping.

Then start this program, walking each week’s target minutes at least 3-5 days a week. And remember, HAVE FUN!

 
 

Target Heart Rate

Maximum Heart Rate (beats per minute) = 220 – your current age

Walking rate = 60-70 % of Maximum Heart Rate

Example for 50 year old: 220 – 50 years = 170 bpm (that’s your max heart rate)

60 % of 170 bpm is 102 bpm and 70% of 170 bpm is 119

So you would want your heart to beat 102-119 beats per minute during the “target heart rate/brisk walking” minutes.

 

How to Check Your Heart Rate:

Find your pulse with two fingers either on your inside wrist or neck.

For 1 minute, count the number of pulses you feel.

The total number of pulses in exactly 1 minute is your current heart rate.

 

Find more information about starting a walking program with this great presentation from dLife.

 
 
 

Starting an Exercise Program: Manage Your Diabetes and Get Moving!

Monday, August 23rd, 2010

The hardest part of exercising is actually getting started! Lacing up your running shoes. Driving to the gym. Figuring out which weights to lift. Wheeling out your bike. Joining that pilates class.

Those first few steps seem to get pushed back in the day or side stepped for something “more urgent.” But your health is one of the most urgent things in your life!

Exercising, along with smart nutrition, is one of the best ways to control your blood sugar. Working out causes your muscles to become more sensitive to insulin, so your blood glucose can get into your cells better.

Your blood sugar level drops while you exercise but it also has been shown to stay lower after exercising. Think what a difference regularly exercising can make!

Recent studies have told us two new things about starting exercise:

The first: Individuals that are able to internally motivate themselves to start exercising and to put effort into their workouts have the best exercise and weight loss/weight maintenance results up to three years later.

The second: Most people need a specific plan or structured program to start exercising and to keep exercising. Knowing this, you can equip yourself to start the best exercise program for you that will give you the best health results!

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