Physical Activity and Insulin
Depending on the type of exercise you do, you may need to lower your insulin dose and/or increase the food you eat to avoid low blood sugars (see Hypoglycaemia).
- Gentle activity may not affect your blood sugar levels
- For short strenuous exercise (e.g. squash), you may need more food beforehand and extra food afterwards at your next snack or main meal
- For prolonged exercise (e.g. a long cycle ride, football or rugby match), you may need to take extra food before, during and after your activity
- After exercise: your muscles will take at least 1-2 hours to refuel. During this time your blood sugar may still drop so it is important to check your blood sugar levels some hours after exercise to prevent delayed hypos, which may occur in the night
Remember that everyone is different and there will be some trial and error involved in working out how to balance your diabetes with your exercise. Your diabetes nurse can help you work out a system that suits you. Don’t stop your insulin.
Things to remember if you take insulin
- You must do regular blood sugar tests to check the balance between your activity, insulin and snacks (see Checking your Blood Sugars).
- Ask your diabetes nurse for advice about reducing your insulin dose before planned exercise
- Make sure that you have some sugar, glucose tablets, chocolate or a sugary drink handy while you exercise (perhaps in your pocket)
- You may need to eat extra food before and after exercise
- You may also need to reduce insulin doses later in the day if you have been doing very strenuous exercise e.g. hill-walking for several hours
- The absorption rate of your insulin may be different with exercise; this will depend on the form of exercise & where you usually inject your insulin.
- The national controlling bodies of some sports (e.g. solo sailing, hang gliding, some forms of motor sport) do not allow people taking insulin to participate. These restrictions do vary so ask Diabetes UK for up to date advice.
General tips about physical activity
Successful weight loss goes hand in hand with regular exercise, but being active doesn’t have to mean a daily trip to the gym or running a marathon. Everyday activities like gardening, walking to the shops and even having sex all count as a form of exercise.
What are the benefits of physical activity?
- Helps to lower blood sugar
- Makes heart and lungs work harder
- Strengthens muscle
- Increases bone density
- Increases metabolism
- Helps to reduce stress
- Enhances your mood and produces a sense of well-being
- Gives you more energy
- Makes you look good
- Helps you sleep better
- Tones your muscles
- Burns up calories, therefore it will help you loose weight
- Improves your mobility – at any age
- Reduces your cholesterol level
How many minutes activity do I need to do each day?
Think back to what you did yesterday. It doesn't have to be sport. You can count a brisk walk to the shops, gardening, vigorous housework, dancing... anything that made you breathe more heavily than usual.
Your aim is to build up to 30 minutes moderate activity a day.
If you can't manage 30 minutes a day, anything more than what you're doing now is a step in the right direction.
If you can't manage 30 minutes in one go, two 15-minute sessions are just as good.
If you're doing 30 minutes a day already, keep it up - and do more if you want to.
Remember - anything is better than nothing!
How could I start being more active?
If you've not been physically active for some time, it's important that you aim to make gentle, steady progress rather than going all out. The best way to start is to carry on with your normal everyday routine, but do things in a way that requires a bit more energy.
Why not try one or more of the following:
- Use the stairs instead of the lift or escalator
- If you use the escalator, walk up instead of standing still
- For short journeys, walk or cycle instead of going by bus or car
- Get off the bus or train one stop early and walk the rest of the way
- Take the dog for a walk or offer to take someone else's dog out!
- If you're very inactive, start with a five-minute walk each day and increase it by five minutes each week
How do I choose the right activity for me?
Unless you choose the right activity, chances are you won't keep it up for long. To help you make the right choice, ask yourself the following
- Which activities do you enjoy?
- What has worked for you in the past?
- Would it help if you did an activity with your partner/friend/children/grandchildren?
- Could you develop any activities for the family at weekends or in the evenings?
- Would it help if you could sign up for a class?
- Do you prefer to do activities by yourself?
Vary your activities
To prevent boredom, you might want to choose a variety of activities. Here are some ideas:
Everyday activities:
- brisk walking (not strolling)
- walking your children to school
- cycling
Home activities:
- exercise video or DVD
- exercise bike
- gardening – Did you know that 60 minutes of gardening burns more than 300 calories!
- skipping
- vigorous housework
Sports:
- swimming
- aerobics
- dancing
- jogging
- gym workouts
- badminton
- five-a-side football
- basketball
- squash
- golf
Remember, you don't have to be an athlete to take part in sports. Your local leisure centre will have details of how to book courts or fitness sessions.
Tips to remember!
- Ideally everyone should accumulate at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity on most days of the week
- Regular and frequent exercise is better than a vigorous bout once a week.
- If you haven’t been active recently, start slowly and build up gradually.
- You don’t need to do all 30 minutes in one go – it is equally effective when broken up into 10 and 20-minute sessions.
- All physical activity is good for you, but different activities benefit different parts of the body.
What's stopping you?
- You don't have to be fit to start with.
- You don't have to leave home to exercise
- You don't need to set aside a lot of time for exercise
- You don't have to be young.
- You don't have to do it alone.
I don’t have much spare time, what can I do to do more physical activity?
By doing the following you can ensure you build a little more exercise into your daily routine:
- Cut down the amount of time you spend watching television
- Get out of your chair whenever you can at home and at work
- Stand up while on the telephone and hide the remote controls for the TV and hi-fi
- Seek out the opportunity to be active during your day. Use the upstairs bathroom, park at the edge of the car park, walk to the local post-box/newsagent etc.
- Use household chores as an exercise class. Turn up the music and tackle them with vigour
- Plan a 20 to 30 minute period of specific activity on most days of the week: for example, walking, swimming or gardening
- Encourage the whole family to be active by making it part of your social activities. Take a trip to the park instead of the cinema, or go dancing with friends rather than spending a night in the pub
- Take part in a sporting activity. Consider resuming a sport you enjoyed at school, learn how to play a sport you enjoy watching or join a local club
If you're in employment
Despite advances in technology, many of us still spend more - rather then less - time at work. However, there are ways in which you can be more active:
- Go for a walk in your lunch break. Try to find at least three different walks and vary them throughout the week. It might even be possible to find an indoor walking route, incorporating stair climbing, for those inevitable bad weather days.
- Have meetings 'on the hoof'. There's no reason why one-to-one meetings with clients and colleagues can't take place while walking around the local park rather then sitting in an office. Such meetings can be an excellent way of breaking the ice with new contacts.
- Talk to your employers about promoting health at work. Ask if it's possible for them to provide showers and cycle racks to encourage people to cycle to and from work. You might also be able to encourage them to set up a gymnasium. Sell the idea by pointing out that doing so will improve productivity, reduce absenteeism and result in a happier and more efficient workforce.
- Walk to and from work. If you live too far away, park further from the office or get off the bus or Tube one stop earlier.
If you look after children
Having children can change everything about your lifestyle. Some parents find their activity levels drop and their weight increases as going to the gym or playing sport becomes more difficult. Here are some positive steps you can take:
- Exercise with your child. Take them to the local swimming pool or play in the garden or local park
- Find out which local sports and leisure centres have crèche facilities, so you can exercise while your children are being looked after
- Walk your child to school. Not only will this help you to be active, it will also help your child develop an early pattern of physical activity that might stay with them into adulthood
- Find out if there are activities available at your child's school for the local community. Many schools use their facilities for sports and exercise classes in the evenings and at weekends
- Ask your child what you can do to be more active. You might be surprised by what they've learned in PE - and perhaps you've forgotten what fun it is to play childhood games!
If you're a student
As well as studying vocational and academic courses, students learn about and experiment with new lifestyles. Get into good habits by trying out the following:
- Go for walks with friends to talk about your studies. Brainstorming about an essay as you walk around the campus can be a productive use of your time
- Spend some time in the learning resource centre reading about sport, exercise and health. The more you know, the more choices you have about how to be physically active
- Most colleges run sport and exercise programmes that students can take part in. Find out which activities are on offer, and try those you think you might enjoy. Be adventurous and pick something you've not tried before
If you're based at home
If you find you spend most of your day in the house, try these tips to stay active and healthy:
- Plan your week so you have to walk to the shops frequently. By going often you'll only have to carry light bags of shopping back
- Look at ways in which you can be more active in and around your home. Use the stairs to exercise, work on the garden or install some gym equipment, for example. Even hiding the remote control for the TV can help
- Look for community-based activity programmes in your local area. These don't have to be fitness classes, just anything that gets you moving. Conservation groups can be a great way to get involved in improving your local environment and being active at the same time
No time like the present
Exercise is never a waste of time, it's an important part of a healthy lifestyle. It reduces your risk of heart attack and is an essential component in controlling body weight.
It is also something you can do with other people, which can be great fun. So, there's no time like the present to make that commitment to yourself to find time to exercise and improve your health.
Walking groups in your area
Across North Down, Ards and the Peninsula there are many free walking groups you can join, if you like exercising with other people.
To find out the times and days of your nearest walking group please contact
the Diabetes Team on the feedback
form requesting this information