Diabetes Weight Loss: Week by Week. Jill Weisenberger
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Название: Diabetes Weight Loss: Week by Week
Автор: Jill Weisenberger
Издательство: Ingram
Жанр: Спорт, фитнес
isbn: 9781580404518
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If you’re not already active, it’s time to start. Assuming you’re relatively healthy, you can begin walking. If you’re unsure, have complications of diabetes, or want to begin something more vigorous than walking, get the go ahead from your health care team first.
Physical activity is perhaps the best medicine available. It makes weight loss easier by burning extra calories. It also improves blood glucose control and cholesterol levels, lowers blood pressure, reduces the risk for heart disease and other chronic diseases, relieves stress, and improves quality of life. Guidelines issued jointly by the American Diabetes Association and the American College of Sports Medicine call for individuals with type 2 diabetes to engage in brisk walking, or other moderate to vigorous aerobic exercise, at least three times per week for a total of 150 minutes or more and to engage in strength training exercises two to three times a week. Don’t jump right in. If you’re not used to strenuous activity, start off slowly. For example, take several 5-minute walks over the day.
What Is Exercise?
A complete exercise program consists of each of the following components.
Aerobic: activities that use large muscle groups and cause you to breathe heavily as you take in more oxygen; improves fitness of the heart and lungs; good for burning calories • Walking, swimming, jogging, biking, skating, dancing, cross-country skiing
Strength: activities that use repeated movements against resistance; builds and tones muscle; increases strength • Weight lifting, resistance bands, pushups, lunges, sit ups
Flexibility: increases ability of a joint to move through a full range of motion • Stretching, yoga, Pilates
Balance: strength, flexibility, and other activities that improve coordination and help you prevent falls • Standing on one foot, sitting on an exercise ball, yoga
The table below shows the approximate number of calories burned by individuals with different weights. Get moving!
Using a Pedometer
Walking is a favorite exercise among people who want to lose weight. Increase your motivation by using a pedometer. A pedometer is a handy little device that you carry in your purse or pocket or clip to your pants that counts each and every step you take while you are wearing it.
• Expect to spend about $30.00 for a reliable pedometer. Some are very fancy and have lots of additional functions, but the only must-have feature is its ability to count steps.
• Start off with the pedometer clipped to your waistband above the center of your knee. To check its accuracy and to find the best placement, set your pedometer to zero. Wiggle and bend a little. A good pedometer will measure steps only, not twists and turns. Next, with your pedometer still set at zero, walk exactly 100 steps. If your pedometer registers between 90 and 110 steps, consider it accurate. If it appears to be inaccurate, move it to other places on your waistband and continue checking until you find the right spot. If your pants roll down at the waistband or are very loose, try turning the pedometer inward so it faces your body. If moving the pedometer to various places doesn’t make it count your steps accurately, you should return it and select a different brand.
• Wear your pedometer all day for several days to determine your average number of steps. Then set a goal to increase your average number of steps by 500 to 2,000 steps daily. A typical long-term goal is 10,000 steps per day.
Exercising with Diabetic Eye Disease or Nerve Disease
Though the benefits of being active are almost always greater than the risks, some complications of diabetes may restrict your choice of activities. If you have proliferative retinopathy (eye disease), then exercises that increase blood pressure (such as high-intensity aerobics and weight lifting and activities that jar the head or place the head below the level of the heart) may damage your eyes further. Check with an ophthalmologist for advice before beginning any exercise routine.
Peripheral neuropathy (nerve disease) can cause numbness, pain, and weakness in the hands and feet. Though physical activity can help prevent or ease neuropathy, if you have a foot injury or ulcer, talk to your doctor about appropriate exercises and avoid weight-bearing activities, such as walking and dancing. Stick to swimming and biking and take extra care to protect your feet. If you have autonomic neuropathy, which affects the heart, lungs, stomach, intestines, bladder, or genitals, you must obtain physician approval and receive specific guidance before exercising.
TIP!
Whenever you exercise, especially if you are alone, wear a medical ID bracelet or carry identification that states you have diabetes and lists your medications and an emergency contact. If you can, carry a cell phone and blood glucose meter as well.
Some diabetes medications, as well as other medications such as prednisone, certain antidepressants, and beta-blockers, may make weight loss difficult. If you’re taking one of these or another you think may cause weight gain, ask your health care provider to review your drugs. Perhaps you can take an alternate medication or lower your dose. No matter what, don’t make changes without discussing it first with a member of your health care team.
WEEK 1 ACTION STEPS
Select from the following goals or steps, modify them, or create your own. Choose the ones that are important to you while being careful not to overwhelm yourself with more than you can handle. This week I will: