A diabetes patient should make sure to exercise regularly. Exercise helps to keep the body in top shape and allows the patient to remain fit. It also helps to control weight, lower the blood pressure, lower harmful LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, raise healthy HDL cholesterol, strengthen the muscles and the bones, reduce anxiety, and improve the general well-being of the body.
While exercising is great and an excellent way to keep healthy, you must combine it with the right diet. Eating right is vital to healthy living and longer life. Therefore, you must make sure to eat right and at the right time. Dieticians and physicians alike agree that exercise should come about one to three hours after eating since the blood sugar level will be higher at this time.
If you would exercise as a diabetes patient, make sure to;
- Eat in the morning
If the workout is planned to be for the morning, then make sure to eat breakfast first, no matter the level of your blood sugar. You risk the chance of raising your blood sugar by exercising on an empty stomach, but by eating, the pancreas produces insulin, which keeps the sugar level in a safe range.
- Plan ahead for long exercise sessions
The form of exercise you might choose to take might be a bike trip, a marathon, or a day-long hike. It is best to carry some snacks along. Glucose gels and tablets or sports drinks are good options to carry along when going on a long exercise trip. Make sure to check the blood sugar every hour and eat enough carbs to keep you running through the exercise period.
- Eat after your workout
Eating should come when you finish your workout, but make sure to test the blood sugar levels so that you can gauge the number of carbs you need to eat. The snack is not only to increase the blood sugar level; it is also to replenish the strength of the muscles after the hard work.
The foods that you should eat as a diabetes patient before or after you exercise, depending on the number of carbs you need, are;
- Fresh fruit
- A slice of bread
- ½ cup of oatmeal
- 2/3 cup of plain yogurt
- ½ butter sandwich
Some other diets and healthy food options include;
- ¾ cup of whole grain, cereal, and ½ cup of fat-free milk
- Almonds
- Peanut butter
- String cheese
- Eggs
Confirming your blood sugar is important both before and after an exercise session. If it turns out low, you will have to eat a piece of fruit or a small snack to boost it and avoid hypoglycemia. Total Diabetes Supply is one of the many online stores that cater to the need of diabetic patients. The lower your blood level and the longer the time you plan to work out, the larger the snack you should eat. Walking and yoga are some of the drills a diabetic patient can involve themselves in. They help to settle the mind and mentally heal the body.