How much do you exercise daily? Weekly? Do you want a way to keep yourself accountable for your exercise routine?
If you are a twitterbetic, you may have seen the hashtag #sweatbetes flying around. What Sweatbetes means is simply sweatin’ with diabetes. We use the hashtag to record our daily work outs via twitter.
Well, I’m bringing Sweatbetes to TuDiabetes. In this forum, we can report our daily exercise and cheer each other on as we work to manage our diabetes. I searched and found a few similar topics, but they seem to have faded in popularity and I hope we can keep this one alive for a little while. Exercise is an essential part of treatments and I know that on days when I work out I see better numbers on my meter.
So here is how it works: all you have to do is post what exercise you did that day and how much you did. We will gain ideas from each other and be held accountable that way. Then, we can help each other by encouraging and cheering each other on.
If you want, post your goal first. My goal is to do a cardio work out 3 times a week for 30 minutes, and some sort of strength or flexibility training twice a week.
I hope we have some fun with this!
I’m in! I need some encouragement. I hate every second of exercise. People think this is funny but the truth of the matter is, I HATE TO SWEAT!! Anyway, I know I have to do it and it’s been good to me. I’ve lost 70lbs because of the E word.
I walk 2 miles 3-4 times a week. Should be able to get more in starting next week. I am being laid off from work on friday. Not sure if I should be happy or sad about it but I am looking forward to having more time to do some of the things I want and need to do.
I skate at the rink which fortunately is right beside the building that i work at so it’s nice. I skate monday-friday for 45 minutes before work and then 1-2 times a week i play hockey for an hour. I sweat like a pig.
Cool! Thanks for participating guys! Do you have any specific goals, do you want to increase your exercise or maybe change up your routine in the near future??
Well I’m in northern Manitoba so when it gets really cold I love to skate outside in the outdoor rinks. I would also loike to start going to the gym and working out with weights more. I need a little help motivating myself to start the weight training. Once i start I dont imagine that it will be that hard to keep going, it’s just getting started that i’m having a problem with.
Once I’m laid off, I will probably walk a lot more. I wouldn’t mind changing it up a little but I just don’t know what to do. My husband has always been a weight lifter so we have Bally’s in the basement but I think it’s boring. Maybe the time off work will help me look into other things. I love to swim but the YMCA is my only option in the winter and it’s very expensive.
My only goal is to keep the weight off, which hasn’t been easy since I started on insulin. I’m not sure if it’s the insulin or making sure I get all the meals and snacks in every day. I start on pump therapy Thursday and that will make things much easier. Then I can walk till my hearts content and not worry about eating enough to keep my sugars up afterward. Also, I need to lose about 20 more pounds to be at my ideal weight so that wouldn’t make me mad either.
I won’t be getting to the gym today, but I am pretty steady with a schedule of exercise every day after work that includes 30 minutes of jogging or using the rowing machine, 30-45 minutes of strengthening exercises (free weights, machines, pilates-type exercises), and 20 minutes or so of stretching. On the days when i can’t get to the gym for one reason or another, I do a 20-30 minute workout at home using a mat, an exercise ball, a set of hand weights, and sometimes an exercise dvd.
I had to force myself to go for the first few weeks. Then something clicked, and it became a habit, and something I actually look forward to and enjoy.
Technically insulin CAN make you gain weight but it doesn’t have to if you stay active. Taking the least amount of insulin as possible is another way to avoid/control weight gain, and this can be achieved through a low carb diet. Here is a really good article about losing weight on insulin.
Lows while exercising will probably still happen on a pump. I know a lot of people who still deal with it on a pump, you just have to remember that there are low calorie options to keeping your blood sugars up, like glucose tabs. Another thing you can do is set a temporary basal rate, ask your doctor about this, it may work well for you with exercise.
I’m starting pumping this week or next week too. I got my pump in the mail on Friday. COOL.
Northern Manitoba, how awesome!! I think that people who live in places where it gets very cold in the winter are so brave. I live in the midwestern US and it gets cold in the winter but not FRIGID. And I love exercising outside!! Even when it’s 30 degrees F i will be outside.
haha 30 degrees F… hahah it gets to -40C here some days… usually only -20ish but ya i love the outdoors, especially ice fishing… however i have a sweet iceshack for that… there is one picture of me icefishing on my page, but you might not know if you looked at the caption.
My first update: Last night I tredmill for 20 minutes, and weight trained my lower body and abs. Yeah!
Well I have nothing really to update other than i missed my morning skate this morning as I have a pretty wicked cough and the cold rink air probably wouldn’t help that. instead I ran on the treadmill for a half hour.
Way to go Sarah Jane and Billy! I walked my regular 2 miles last night. Then fought with my BG all night trying to keep it from plummeting.
I absolutely hate the night time lows… all i want to do is sleep, i’m not hungry and i have to eat and stay up and try not dying… it blows
Didn’t get any exercise in yesterday. My brother promised to go biking with me and then didn’t show, so I wasted time waiting for him. Next time I’ll just go without him.
That sucks Sarah… I’m still getting over a cold so i’m not exercising too much either… i skipped my morning run today however I think i’m going to switch it up today and go for a swim. I have a hockey game at 10PM today aswell so I will see how i feel and decide if I will play.
I am right there with Molly. I HATE HATE HATE to exercise and sweat. The only thing that I do is walk, generally about 50 minutes at a time. I do walk fast enough to break a moderate sweat.
I have to be very careful when I walk because I go low. It seems I am very sensitive to walking. One time I was 319, so I walked for 50 minutes and dropped to 144.
Two thing that help me when exercising are my CGM and setting a temporary basal rate. Because I am so sensitive to walking, I am now setting a temp rate of -75% which seems to work well when I am walking. I have to accumulate more data, but extending the -75% three hours after I stop exercising seems NOT to work. Last night my walking pulled my numbers down, but then 2 - 2.5 hours after, I had gone back up to about 250. I think I need -75% while walking to keep from going hypoglycemic, and then less of a reduction in my basal rate after I stop.
Brad
I am getting a CGMS and have my pump but am training on it VERY SOON and I can’t wait! I had lots of problems night before last with exercise and lows, I hope I can learn how to use these tools to help me stay at a good level for exercise.
I would suggest eating foods with protein and complex carbs. Should be able to maintain a steady blood sugar for longer that way.
Thanks for the inspiration! Did mine today (30 min. on the elliptical).
So far #sweatbetes has encouraged me to get my daily dose of physical activity for 4 of the past 5 days.
Maybe I’ll even get around to adding some strength training!!
