Prediabetes & Diabetes: Exercise Strategies

Building an Effective Exercise Routine for Diabetes

Today, I'll talk about exercise strategies for managing prediabetes and type 2 diabetes.

As a strength and clinical nutrition coach, I follow a comprehensive approach that works on making you metabolically strong and overall fit. The goal is to make your body better capable of handling blood sugars.

In this post, I cover:

• Why is exercise important for diabetics?

• What types of exercises should be included?

Why is exercise important for managing diabetes?

Exercise is equally important as diet. Effective diabetes control is always a result of a combination of diet and exercise along with certain other lifestyle strategies. This is emphasized by both the American Diabetes Association (ADA) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

What does exercise do?

• Improves insulin sensitivity: Exercise enhances the body's ability to use insulin more efficiently, aiding glucose uptake into cells.

• Muscle contractions during exercise stimulate glucose uptake into muscle cells, independent of insulin.

• Exercise can help reduce liver fat and improve blood lipid profile, contributing to insulin resistance reduction.

• Exercise helps reduce chronic low-grade inflammation, which is linked to insulin resistance.

• Supports weight management: Maintaining a healthy weight is crucial for diabetes control.

Scientific Insight: A single bout of exercise can enhance insulin sensitivity and glucose uptake for up to 48 hours. Regular exercise can reduce HbA1c levels by approximately 0.5% to 0.7%, a significant reduction in diabetes risk.

What types of exercises should you include in your routine?

A well-rounded exercise program for diabetes management should include:

1. Aerobic Exercise:

   • What it is: Activities that get your heart rate up and improve your cardiovascular fitness.

   • Examples: Brisk walking, jogging, cycling, swimming, dancing.

   • Benefits: Improves insulin sensitivity, lowers blood pressure, reduces body fat, boosts mood.

   • Recommendation: Aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic exercise per week, spread throughout the week.

2. Resistance Training:

   • What it is: Exercises that challenge your muscles using weights, resistance bands, or your own body weight.

   • Start with bodyweight exercises or light weights and gradually increase intensity.

   • Benefits: Builds muscle mass, improves glucose storage, enhances long-term metabolic health, improves bone density.

   Scientific Insight: Resistance training can reduce HbA1c by approximately 0.5% and significantly improve strength in adults with type 2 diabetes.

   

3. High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT):

   • What it is: Short bursts of intense exercise followed by brief recovery periods.

   • Examples: Sprint intervals, Tabata workouts, circuit training.

   • Benefits: Time-efficient, highly effective for improving insulin sensitivity, burning calories, and boosting cardiovascular fitness in a shorter amount of time.

   • Recommendation: Start with 1-2 sessions per week and gradually increase intensity and duration.

   Research Insights: Studies have found that short sessions (around 10 minutes) of HIIT performed three times per week can improve glycemic control comparably to longer-duration moderate-intensity exercise.

   Note: If you're obese and a first-timer, approach HIIT cautiously due to the higher physical demands and risk of injury. Start with lower-impact activities and gradually progress.

4. NEAT (Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis):

   • What it is: All the movement you do outside of structured exercise, like walking, taking the stairs, doing household chores.

   • Benefits: Increases daily calorie expenditure and can improve insulin sensitivity.

   • Recommendation: Find ways to incorporate more movement into your daily routine. Take the stairs instead of the elevator, walk or cycle to work, stand up and move around every 30 minutes.

Combining these exercise strategies with the nutrition approach we discussed in the previous post can significantly improve your metabolic health and overall well-being. This leads to better outcomes than either intervention alone.

One more important thing, make sure you seek medical advice before you start and keep a track of blood sugar levels to prevent complications.

But how can you make exercise a consistent part of your life, especially if you're busy? And what if you're just starting out?

Stay tuned for the next post, where I'll share practical tips for busy professionals and beginners to get started with an exercise routine that works for them!