Patients with diabetes are encouraged to exercise regularly, but there are some specific considerations to keep in mind. If you have type 2 diabetes, it’s recommended to exercise daily or at least avoid having more than two days between workouts to help reduce insulin resistance.
To stay safe during exercise, monitor your blood sugar levels before, during, and after physical activity. This helps you understand how your body reacts and can prevent dangerous swings in blood sugar levels.
Before starting exercise, check your blood sugar. The levels are typically measured in milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) or millimoles per liter (mmol/L).
For aerobic activities, aim for sessions that last at least 10 minutes, with a goal of 30 minutes per day on most days of the week. Over time, you should increase the intensity, frequency, and duration of your workouts to reach at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise each week. If you can run at 6 miles per hour for at least 25 minutes, 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity exercise per week can be beneficial.
Additionally, engage in resistance exercise 2-3 times a week on nonconsecutive days. While lifting heavier weights can improve blood sugar control and strength, any level of resistance training can help improve strength, balance, and daily function.
To maintain joint flexibility, perform flexibility exercises for major muscle groups at least two days per week. Although flexibility training is helpful, it shouldn’t replace other recommended exercises like aerobic and resistance training since it doesn’t impact glucose control, body composition, or insulin action.
Watch out for low blood sugar during exercise, especially if your workout is long, new, or more intense. Check your blood sugar every 30 minutes to see if it’s stable, rising, or falling and ensure it’s safe to continue exercising.
After exercising, check your blood sugar levels again and keep monitoring them for several hours. Exercise can deplete the sugar reserves in your muscles and liver, causing your body to absorb more sugar from your blood to replenish these stores.
If your blood sugar is very high (over 300 mg/dL) and you have ketones, don’t exercise. If you don’t have ketones, proceed with caution. Staying hydrated and monitoring your levels closely is crucial to avoid complications like diabetic ketoacidosis.
