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Exercise: Embrace it before it is too late
I just read a new WebMD article that talks about research that found most people with diabetes are not exercising... And it totally made me think of my dad who died of type 2 diabetes complications at the age of 80.
Exercise acts like insulin in the body so for people with diabetes especially, exercise is as good as gold. The trouble is if you wait too long to jump on the exercise bandwagon, unmanaged diabetes can make exercise increasingly more difficult as time goes on. For my dad, he eventually lost some feeling in his legs, which made one thing after the other impossible (first driving and eventually walking). He wasn't open to exercising mainly because he said he did enough walking fighting in a couple of wars for Holland. It was also difficult for him to engage in physical activity because he became rather heavy (I'm not going to use the "O" word) starting around age 50 (as a result of stopping smoking).
Try as we might, he just didn't ever quite "get with the program" and manage his diabetes. We got to a point where we just loved him and took care of him and gave up on trying to help him help himself. I always thought that if he somehow became more open to exercise (and eating wisely) earlier on (before he became as heavy and before the trouble with his legs), he would have saved himself from some of this. It's as if there was a window of opportunity that once it passed, change became even more unlikely. I think this is the case for many other people in the same boat.
So if you have diabetes and your window of opportunity is still open, seize the day and improve the quality of your life and your health. Do whatever it takes to exercise almost every day and to start eating healthier (my book TELL ME WHAT TO EAT IF I HAVE DIABETES, is written specifically for people with type 2 diabetes). You can do it!
~~Elaine
Related Topics: Video: Diabetes Disaster, New Drug for Diabetes, Weight Loss?
Technorati Tags: diabetes, type2, exercise
Exercise acts like insulin in the body so for people with diabetes especially, exercise is as good as gold. The trouble is if you wait too long to jump on the exercise bandwagon, unmanaged diabetes can make exercise increasingly more difficult as time goes on. For my dad, he eventually lost some feeling in his legs, which made one thing after the other impossible (first driving and eventually walking). He wasn't open to exercising mainly because he said he did enough walking fighting in a couple of wars for Holland. It was also difficult for him to engage in physical activity because he became rather heavy (I'm not going to use the "O" word) starting around age 50 (as a result of stopping smoking).
Try as we might, he just didn't ever quite "get with the program" and manage his diabetes. We got to a point where we just loved him and took care of him and gave up on trying to help him help himself. I always thought that if he somehow became more open to exercise (and eating wisely) earlier on (before he became as heavy and before the trouble with his legs), he would have saved himself from some of this. It's as if there was a window of opportunity that once it passed, change became even more unlikely. I think this is the case for many other people in the same boat.
So if you have diabetes and your window of opportunity is still open, seize the day and improve the quality of your life and your health. Do whatever it takes to exercise almost every day and to start eating healthier (my book TELL ME WHAT TO EAT IF I HAVE DIABETES, is written specifically for people with type 2 diabetes). You can do it!
~~Elaine
Related Topics: Video: Diabetes Disaster, New Drug for Diabetes, Weight Loss?
Technorati Tags: diabetes, type2, exercise
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