As we all know, the “five horses” of diabetes treatment include diet control, exercise therapy, medication, blood glucose monitoring and diabetes education. In the journey of “blood glucose defense”, none of these treatment measures should be missing.
Among them, exercise therapy is economical and environmentally friendly, and sugar lovers are well aware of the importance of exercise for sugar control, but not every sugar lover knows how to “customize” the exercise plan according to their own conditions, and they are even confused about many details of exercise.
In the endocrinology clinic, when I talk about exercise, they always say, “I have to watch my children and cook, how can I have time to exercise? I have coronary artery disease, will exercise aggravate my condition? I’m really scared! I’ve been working late on a project, and exercise is out of reach for me” ……
How to solve these practical problems faced by sugar lovers? In the protracted battle to control blood sugar, the ultimate beneficiary is yourself, and the biggest enemy is also yourself. Therefore, don’t fool yourself with these reasons! Today, we will talk about those things that sugar lovers exercise together.
First, why do sugar lovers need to adhere to exercise?
In the process of developing type 2 diabetes, insulin resistance is “essential”. What is insulin resistance? It refers to the phenomenon that muscle cells, fat cells and liver cells do not respond well to insulin. In layman’s terms, insulin resistance is the “devaluation” of insulin, which is not fully utilized in its glucose-lowering effect.
Exercise can promote blood circulation in muscle tissues, increase the number of insulin receptors in muscle cells, enhance the operation of glucose at the receptor action point, and allow more insulin to reach muscle cells. Therefore, moderate exercise exercise for sugar lovers can improve insulin sensitivity and restore the body’s normal response to insulin. At the same time, exercise allows muscle tissue to consume more glucose, achieving the effect of lowering blood sugar.
As sugar lovers know, exercise can reduce body weight, which makes numerous tissue cells more sensitive to insulin and promotes the decrease of blood sugar. Exercise enhances cardiopulmonary function, regulates blood pressure, reduces the dose of glucose-lowering drugs, and strengthens bone flexibility. Exercise also makes sugar lovers feel better, enhances physical fitness, improves body immunity, and boosts metabolism. The list of benefits goes on and on. Read this, you have a reason not to exercise?
Second, what assessment needs to be done before exercise?
The 2014 edition of the Chinese Diabetes Guidelines for Exercise Therapy clearly states that the following conditions should be restricted when a sugar patient has Exercise exercise. These include.
1. diabetic ketoacidosis.
2, those with unstable blood glucose and frequent hypoglycemic reactions.
3, proliferative retinopathy with severe vision loss.
4, more severe diabetic nephropathy (manifested by persistent massive proteinuria or renal failure).
5, severe cardiovascular disease such as frequent episodes of angina pectoris and cardiac insufficiency.
6, combined with severe acute and chronic infections that are not controlled.
7, severe peripheral neuropathy or diabetic foot.
For people with reduced glucose tolerance, type 2 glucose lovers without significant hyperglycemia and complications, this is the absolute indication population for exercise therapy and should be actively involved in it.
Third, sugar lovers are suitable for aerobic exercise or anaerobic exercise?
We often talk about exercise, in fact, there are “anaerobic exercise” and “aerobic exercise”. “Anaerobic exercise” means that the amount of exercise exceeds one’s cardiopulmonary capacity, and the oxygen inhaled cannot meet the body’s oxidative metabolism needs, so anaerobic metabolism is carried out in human tissues. In other words, “anaerobic exercise” is strenuous exercise under the condition of muscle hypoxia, which is prone to hypoglycemia, so sugar lovers should not engage in “anaerobic exercise” that exceeds their cardiopulmonary capacity.
“Aerobic exercise” generally refers to exercise with low intensity, slow pace, low heart rate and gentle breathing, and the oxygen inhaled during exercise can meet the body’s oxidative metabolic needs. Sugar lovers should carry out “aerobic exercise” according to their own comprehensive situation, which can increase the oxygen supply to the heart, brain and other important organs, which is beneficial to the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.
Fourth, the way of exercise, you choose the right?
Choosing the right type of exercise is a key factor to ensure that the exercise continues. Light exercise programs include walking, gymnastics, tai chi, bicycling on flat ground; moderate exercise programs include jogging, stairs, hiking, dancing, etc. Sugar lovers are suitable for light to moderate intensity exercise, but not for heavy intensity exercise programs such as weight lifting, racing, long jump, tug of war and swimming.
In general, for older or never exercised sugar lovers, fast walking is a better form of aerobic exercise. This is a slower workout and enables the exercise to always be performed at a low intensity. It is worth mentioning that it is important to maintain a head-up, chest-up, abdominal posture while walking to avoid back muscle fatigue due to chest hunching, which can affect the sustainability of the exercise. In addition, table tennis and badminton are also alternative forms of exercise, but the movement must move the feet, rather than fixed in one position.
Five, set a reasonable exercise intensity
When doing aerobic exercise, sugar lovers can judge the exercise intensity according to their heart rate and self-perception after exercise. The target heart rate can be calculated according to the following formula.
Target heart rate = (220 – age) × 60% to 80% We take a 60-year-old glucose patient as an example, the target heart rate after exercise should be (220 ~ 60) × 60% to 80% = 96 to 128 times / min. If the heart rate after exercise exceeds 128 beats/min, it will enter the anaerobic exercise state, which may cause adverse consequences, and the exercise intensity should be reduced appropriately; if the heart rate is less than 96 beats/min, the exercise intensity is too small to achieve the proper therapeutic effect, and the exercise intensity should be increased moderately.
The situation of each sugar user is different, and the target heart rate is only used as one of the reference standards when exercising, and cannot be generalized. The appropriate amount of exercise is to sweat slightly after exercise, slightly feel muscle soreness, but rest after the soreness disappears, the next day full of energy.
As for the frequency of exercise, sugar lovers can exercise every day in a cumulative manner, but each exercise should be more than 10 minutes, and more than half an hour of exercise time should be performed every day. Weekly exercise frequency is also important, should reach 5 to 7 times, and at least once every other day, more than 3 days a week, try to avoid 2 or more consecutive days without exercise.
Six, the best time to exercise
Some sugar lovers like to exercise on an empty stomach or immediately after a meal, which is not scientific. Blood glucose will reach its peak one hour after meal, and the insulin that the body needs to use will increase accordingly, but most sugar lovers have insulin resistance and cannot release enough insulin to lower blood glucose one hour after meal, so the only way to improve insulin resistance is to exercise, while reducing the burden on the pancreas and avoiding pancreatic failure, which can help protect the residual islet function and also avoid postprandial hyperglycemia. Therefore, the best time to exercise is one hour after meals.
Seven, can I still exercise if I have complications?
Sugar lovers are often combined with cardiovascular and renal diseases, so exercise is isolated from them? Safety is a prerequisite for all treatments, and it is best for glucose patients with complications to take exercise advice from a specialist.
For example, if you have a history of myocardial infarction, you should rest in bed during the acute phase and should not exercise. During the recovery period, you can exercise at a lighter intensity, but you must do it gradually, choosing gentle exercises such as walking and tai chi, but not strenuous activities.
If chest discomfort or chest pain occurs during exercise, the exercise should be terminated or the intensity of the activity should be reduced, and if necessary, go to the hospital.
Eight, tips for working people exercise
For office workers, it is difficult to take out the whole block of time for exercise. However, if you make good use of the time, you can also achieve regular and effective exercise effect. For example, we can bike to and from work, walk to the supermarket, spend a quarter of an hour a day standing in the office, and take a short brisk walk after lunch, which are all effective exercise tips.
In short, only find ways to reduce sugar, not excuses for laziness. Three days of fishing and two days of sieving type of exercise is almost useless, it is important to persist in order to smoothly reduce sugar, and our health will benefit in the long run!