Diabetic exercise programs
- Thread starter Seadog
- Start date
SKP1001
iPF Noob
Carbs are a huge factor for those facing diabetic issues. Really, it is amazing to think about how many carbs there are in the foods we eat.
When I started counting my carbs while trying to lose weight, it was a real eye opener when I decided to look at carb counts. There are so many things which have tons of carbs - not good for the average human being!
When I started counting my carbs while trying to lose weight, it was a real eye opener when I decided to look at carb counts. There are so many things which have tons of carbs - not good for the average human being!
Thanks, Thisman--yes there are many risk factors and also family history that can increase a person's risk of developing DM early in childhood or as an adult. My rule of thumb is to keep the balance even between exercise and diet--not just for people with Diabetes Mellitus (DM), but also with co-morbidities such as heart disease, musculoskeletal, etc.
Sustainable healthy living is a motto that we try to promote within our health organization--which goes for everybody, not just those that have present conditions.
It is an eye-opener. It makes you think whether to eat the roll and the baked potatoes because of the carb content. Weight watchers has a great carb counter calculator and helps to keep track of the foods eaten. It is not an app, but a small calculator type device. I have heard many people use this for weight control and to help manage their dietary allowances per their DM needs.
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Hi this man--
Let me work on that and see what I can come up here. As any exercise program...it's good that it is a tailored one for that person. Not knowing what a person's prior exercise level is, often times makes the apps either too difficult or too easy to do. There are tons of exercise apps out there...the key though is form and technique in doing it so you can avoid injury. The country you live in, Australia, is excellent in it's evidence based research and treatment approach. Have you tried speaking to a Qualified Health Care Professional (your MD, DPT) to help you get started?
I can put some apps up which I feel are appropriate based on my background judgement...but really one needs to follow the first steps and seek medical advice to ensure that activities are appropriate, etc.
I need to see my doctor soon anyway so I'll talk to him about it then. I suppose the idea of an app that can give a tailored exercise program would be hard to fulfil.
Thanks for your help.
I've got my first of three exams tomorrow morning so I haven't done any exercise lately. I'll try to get back into exercising soon. My exams finish in about a week's time. After this it should be just a few more months of study (with hopefully only two more exams) before I get my Degree. And I turn 49 next month so it will be a real achievement for me.
As an aside it was my university that got me interested in Apple in the first place. But that's a story for a different thread.
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AQ_OC
iPF Novice
skimonkey said:
This is good establishment advice which I totally ignored all these years. Anyone of average intelligence can develop an exercise program that works for them. Same thing for reasonable diet. The notion that we have to seek professionals for advice is, IMO, part of the dumbing down of people, especially in the states. Just my opinion of course. As general advice, it is a safe bet to suggest to people to seek advice of the establishment, since one might get sued otherwise! In practice, I've gotten much better advice from total strangers on the Internet and the application of my own brain and judgment!
On exercise the important thing is to start small and work on being consistent. Too many folks just go whole hog doing too much and burn out before establishing a habit. Exercise does not have to be hard, you don't need to sweat (in fact that is to be avoided) and you don't need to be sore. Write that down 100 times to get it to sink in. This is especially true for a beginner.
Walking and body weight strength training are a good place to start. Focus on being consistent and establishing the regular habit.
Write that over and over for 200 hundred times.
And learn to listen to you're body.....if you cannot walk down the block without serious strain and feeling as if you are going to die, you are overdoing it (and if this is something others do with great ease, than more than likely you need to be under the care of a doctor as both your fitness and health are in jeopardy). It's not rocket science. If you are seriously overweight, certain forms of exercise are not advised. It may be better to focus on weight loss first.
One can eat in less than one minute more calories than one can burn off in an hour of hard exercise. This is important for anyone primarily concerned about weight loss. Controlling input is most important. We are all limited in how much time we can devote to exercise. The benefits of exercise go well beyond weight loss, however, but the value of exercise is rather limited from a weight loss point of view. For the diabetic (speaking mainly to the type 2s, as type 1 is quite different and really ought to be thought of as a totally different condition) exercise, even at low levels, can be helpful, but diet control is still the first place attention should be focused.
Oh my...I can't believe I wrote all this. I need to get to work, so I'm going to stop now. Tons more can be said on the topic, but my main point is don't set up barriers to getting started. It doesn't take much more than desire and basic intelligence. You don't need to spend a lot of money or put yourself on a torture path. Start with small steps, be consistent. Lots of small successes lead to a feeling of accomplishment which will motivate you later on when you slowly start to ramp thing up. Build a habit of being successful at it (and you will have setbacks but don't focus on that). Learn to see where you did things right and don't judge yourself against anyone but yourself. Over time, you will improve. You will become your own guru (and it never hurts to read what others have written).
I'm out.
Thank you for your words of advice here, AQ-OC. It appears that you have established an exercise regime that you do on a regular basis. Kudos to you, because the hardest challenge it just getting motivated and than becoming committed.
I will speak to your comment of "The notion that we have to seek professionals for advice is, IMO, part of the dumbing down of people, especially in the states."
In no way is this a "dumbing down" comment made to any of our members. Perhaps that was your perception when that was advised to you, however, you must consider that not everybody has the same level of knowledge/ motivation as you do. Many people do require formal instructions and guidance by professionals that have higher education/formal degrees in the field of human movement and that can tailor programs specific to the Diagnoses/Patient population.
I will say that I would be doing an injustice to all of my patients if I were to assume that they have the necessary background to begin performing a safe exercise program. Many times, I have had patients injured from "self-taught" exercise programs that could have been prevented had they followed the advice of their Primary care Physician, Doctor of Physical Therapy, Exercise Physiologist and/or at a minimum a qualified Personal Trainer.
Maybe, some can go onto the internet and gain much information on how to properly design a personal program for themselves without guidance by others. There is a great deal of evidence based information, but you have to know where to find it. However, AQ_OC...we both know that there is a lot of crap on the internet that may be very misleading to our members and could potentially cause harm to them. Would it be fair to say to a client/patient that just had a Lumbar Laminectomy or an Anterior Cruciate Repair to look on the internet or to speak to strangers about what best exercise plan of care would be suitable for them? I don't think so--and certainly believe that you wouldn't either.
So addressing the need to seek medical advisement is certainly a qualified recommendation that I make based on my Clinical background. Oh, and by the way...I practice here in the States...
Thanks,
Dr. Skimonkey, DPT, MPT, PT
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