6 Things To Look For Diabetics Who Will Exercise

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Exercise is one of the activities that can maintain fitness and health for anyone, including diabetics. When exercising, the body needs extra energy. This causes the muscles in the body to absorb glucose, which helps reduce blood sugar levels. In addition, exercising can help diabetics to lose weight or maintain their body weight. Because, people who have type 2 diabetes are at risk of obesity.

The length of time that physical activity is recommended for healthy people aged 18-64 years according to the World Health Organization is 150 minutes per week. Diabetic patients can use the guide in making sports plans, for example 3 times a week with a duration of 50 minutes per day or 5 times a week with a duration of 30 minutes per day.

But remember, before starting exercise, diabetics must consult first with the doctor. The doctor will help diabetics in making a plan for exercise time, both the length of the exercise, the type of exercise performed, and the rest session for each exercise.

Perform warm-up and cooling exercises for five minutes before and after exercise. Prepare drinking water so that the body remains hydrated, consume the medication your doctor prescribes, and don't forget to always provide snacks as recommended by the doctor. We recommend that you invite the closest person to help you monitor your exercise time, rest time and safety while exercising.

For those of you who are diabetics who want to exercise, here are6 Things To Look For Diabetics Who Will Exercise.

1. Check sugar before starting exercise

It is very important to do a blood sugar test before starting exercise. If blood sugar before exercise shows a number below 70, it means that additional food is needed before exercising. You are not recommended for exercise if your blood sugar level has not exceeded 70-80 mg / dL.

If your blood sugar level exceeds 240 mg / dL before exercise, the exercise should be postponed too. Ideally, blood sugar levels are in the range of 160-180 mg / dL before starting training.

A few minutes before starting exercise, you should eat snacks or snacks that contain 15 grams of carbohydrates. If the exercise time is longer than 60 minutes, it is recommended to consume 30 grams of carbohydrates before exercise.

Snacks that can be consumed for example fruit. Two apples provide around 24 grams of carbohydrates. Small bananas (81 grams) contain 19 grams of carbohydrates. If you buy a packaging product, you should pay attention to the nutritional value table to find out how many carbohydrates it contains.

2. Always bring snacks that contain carbohydrates

Diabetics who are actively exercising will be very at risk of experiencing hypoglycemia, aka the condition of sugar too low. For this reason, it is recommended that you always bring snacks or sweets, raisins, crackers or fresh fruit to consume when hypoglycemia occurs. Intake of these snacks will help increase blood sugar levels which decrease during exercise.

Trainers and teammates also need to know the usual symptoms or signs of hypoglycemia, so they can also remind you to eat snacks under certain conditions.

3. Schedule meal times and calculate the amount of carbohydrates

For diabetics, what is eaten is very important for the body. Likewise with when to eat. Skipping food too long will actually cause blood sugar to drop and then jump quickly.

The basic principle in diabetics who are actively exercising is: eat often with small portions throughout the day. This is done to make blood sugar levels more stable.

4. Don't get dehydrated

Diabetics are more easily dehydrated than others. Therefore, always consume mineral water to prevent dehydration. Intake of mineral water is needed since before exercise, during practice, or after exercise is finished.

Two hours before exercise, drink 3 cups of mineral water (1 cup approximately 230 ml) gradually, not all at once because it can actually cause bloating. 10-15 minutes close to training time, drink 1-2 glasses of mineral water again. During practice, it takes ½-1 cup of water every 30 minutes.

5. Consume carbohydrates during exercise

If sports with a duration of 45-60 minutes

Take 15 grams of carbohydrates every 30-60 minutes. When exactly do you eat these foods depending on the conditions that are felt. If at some 30 minutes some symptoms and signs of hypoglycemia have started to arise, please consume the snacks that you have prepared.

The more often you exercise, usually you will know when the right times the body needs carbohydrate intake during training.

If the exercise has a duration of more than 1 hour

You need additional carbohydrate intake every 60 minutes with the amount of 0.5-1 gram / kg of your body weight. If you weigh 55 kg, then you will need around 27.5 grams of carbohydrates every 60 minutes.

You can eat foods containing any form of carbohydrate, liquid or solid, as long as it does not interfere with your digestion during exercise. The example of carbo in liquid form is not too thick fruit juice.

6. Meet nutritional needs after exercise

After exercise, the sugar deposits in the body must be replaced again. Hypoglycemia will usually occur 2 hours after exercise if not replaced.

Therefore, eating a complete diet contains carbohydrates, protein and fat shortly after exercise.

Adjust the portion of food to the nutritional needs recommended by your nutritionist. If necessary, check again what your blood sugar levels are after exercise.

After exercise, in addition to mineral water you can modify it with sport drinks, juices, or other drinks that are recommended by doctors or nutritionists who know your condition in more detail.

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