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Why is Exercise Important?

Exercise is good for everyone, whether they have diabetes or not. Getting exercise every day (or almost every day) can do things for you that you wouldn't imagine! Exercise can:

• Keep your heart and lungs healthy

• Increase your strength and flexibility

• Help you maintain a healthy weight

• Help you feel better when you're in a bad mood

• Relax you when you feel tense or upset

• Help you sleep well

• Give you confidence in yourself

• Improve your body's response to insulin

• Lower your blood sugar levels

Exercise & Blood Sugar

Exercise is a powerful weapon against high blood sugar. And it lasts, too. Your blood sugar can stay lower for hours-- even a day or more-- after you exercise. Why? Exercise makes your body work a little harder. When your body works harder, it needs more energy. To get that energy, your body starts using more of the glucose (sugar) in your blood. And your blood sugar levels go down. The harder you exercise, the more glucose your body uses.

Of course, anytime your blood sugar goes down quickly, you risk hypoglycemia. That's why people with diabetes need to plan their exercise carefully. You don't want to be running around on an empty stomach just as your insulin reaches its peak.  So try to plan those pick-up basketball games for after lunch or a snack, not before. And if you do decide to play baseball with your friends at the last minute, check your blood sugar first. Have an extra snack if it's a little low. And always bring some glucose tablets and a snack with you for those unexpected lows. 

Okay, What Kind of Exercise?

There are tons of fun activities to try. You don't have to stick to the standard footballbaseballbasketballrunning. Try something new! Try something silly! Hula hoops are great exercise! Just get out there (maybe grab a friend) and go. How about trying  your hand at:

Exercise Safety

Even though exercise usually lowers blood sugar, it's not a good idea to start exercising when you have really high blood sugar. High blood sugar can be a sign that you don't have enough insulin in your body. When that happens, your body starts producing ketones. Ketones are like poison-- they make you sick. Exercising with high blood sugar can speed up ketone production, which can be dangerous. If your blood sugar is over 240 mg/dl (or whatever level your doctor tells you), test for ketones. If you have moderate or high levels, don't exercise. Instead, treat your ketones and test again. Wait until your ketone level goes back down before starting to exercise.

If you exercise extra hard or for a long time (like during a soccer game), you may want to take a short break and check your blood sugar. If it looks low, eat a snack. That'll give you the energy you need to keep going! Before you head out the door to walk, ride your bike, or play your favorite sport, check out our check this list of things to do before you exercise.

Top 5 Tips for Excellent Exercising

#5. Don't keep your diabetes a secret. Even professional athletes run into trouble on the field once in a while. If it happens to you-- whether you twist an ankle or have sudden hypoglycemia-- the people around you need to know that you have diabetes and take insulin. So talk to your coach and your friends. And wear a medical ID bracelet, sports band, or necklace all the time, especially when you're exercising.

#4.  Know when to check your blood sugar. You don't always need to stop and check your blood sugar while you're exercising. Good times to check: when you exercise for a long time, when you're working harder than usual, when exercising seems harder or more tiring than usual, or when you have any sign of hypoglycemia.

#3. Keep snacks handy.  Whether you need a snack depends on a lot of things. If you exercise for a long time (an hour or more), you'll probably need at least one snack. You may also need a snack if you're exercising harder than usual (even if you don't exercise a long time). And, of course, you need to eat anytime you experience hypoglycemia.

#2. Watch for hypoglycemia-- and treat it right away. When the game gets exciting, it's easy to think, "just 5 more minutes!" That's when you can get into trouble. As soon as you feel shaky, weak, dizzy, irritable, or any of your usual symptoms of low blood sugar, eat some fast-acting carbs (hard candy, frosting, etc.) right away! (Besides, you'll be no good to teh team if you're too shaky to catch or throw the ball.)

#1. Drink lots of water. Exercise uses up a lot of water in your body. If you don't replace the water, you can become dehydrated. To prevent this, drink water before, during, and after exercise.

But I Hate Exercise!

Okay, maybe you're not the first one out on the field every morning in PE class. Maybe you'd rather read, watch TV, or play a video game than kick around a soccer ball. That's okay too. We're not saying you have to become the next Olympic water polo champion. We're just saying 20 minutes of walking every day can really make a big difference in your health and your diabetes care. 20 minutes a day of painless, moderate level walking can lower your blood sugar levels and give you more energy. It's okay to start with only 5 minutes if that's all you can do. Build up from there. Walk your dog for 5 minutes every day this week. Then next week, do 10. The week after that, you're up to 15. And before you know it, you're getting in 20 minutes of heart-healthy, diabetes-friendly walking every day. Congratulations!

Maybe you don't have a dog. Maybe you don't like to walk. No problem. Try these strategies for adding a little more exercise to your life:

• Take a stroll around the block before or after school (or both!).

• Take the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator whenever you can.

• Dance around your room to your favorite music.

• Do a few jumping jacks or sit-ups during the commercials when you watch TV.

• Use your parents' stationary  bike or other exercise machine while you watch your favorite show.

• Instead of bumming a ride off of an adult, walk or ride your bike wherever you need to go.

• Listen to your favorite book on tape while you walk around the neighborhood. Or stride to your favorite tunes on a portable tape or cd player. (Don't do this if you walk along busy roads or neighborhoods where you need to listen for cars.)

And Finally...

The most important thing is that you Don't Let Diabetes Hold You Back! When you first got diabetes, you probably didn't feel very well. Maybe you even dropped out of sports for a while because you were too tired. But diabetes doesn't have to hold you back from being a successful athlete, an active kid, or just from doing all the things you want to do in your life. 

If sports are a big part of your life, there's no reason they can't continue to be. To be a good athlete, you have to keep your diabetes in good control. Concentrate on taking care of your body-- sticking to your diabetes treatment plan, getting enough sleep, eating healthy foods, and keeping yourself in good shape. Don't allow yourself to neglect your diabetes care. If your diabetes is out of control, you probably won't feel well enough to do your best on the playing field. 

If you've just been diagnosed with diabetes, you may have to be patient. It takes some time to get your blood sugar under control. It may take some experimentation for you to fit tough workouts into your diabetes care without your blood sugar going too low. So you may not be performing at your best right away. But you can look forward to regaining your strength, endurance, and energy soon. And when you do... your competitors better watch out!

People with diabetes can reach the highest levels of athletic performance. There are athletes with diabetes in many professional sports, from the NFL to the Olympics. Diabetes doesn't keep them from achieving athletic excellence, and it won't stop you, either.

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