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March 29, 2010

Health Promotion and Wellness: Part 4

For the past week, I have shared information from the MOVE program at the VA Hospital, a program designed to get people moving for weight loss and general fitness. I have included basic concepts about exercise, how to exercise on a budgets using household items, and provided some motivational tips. I also want to share information about exercising under specialized conditions.

It's all over the news, diabetes is becoming epidemic in the US and is increasing worldwide. Exercise and weight control are two of the main means for preventing and controlling type two diabetes. If you have diabetes, your doctor has likely explained the importance of exercise for helping to control blood sugar. That's because exercise helps the muscles use up extra glucose in the blood.

It is important when you are starting an exercise program to do so under the supervision of a trained professional familiar with diabetes. You must check your blood sugar levels before, during and after exercise to see how your body responds to exercise. Keep snacks handy, such as peanut butter and string cheese, to stave off a low blood sugar incident (hypoglycemia). If you are prone to hypogycemia, keep some hard candies or fruit juice handy.

Another area of concern is glucose levels that are too high. If your blood glucose is difficult to control and is all over the chart, you need to monitor it closely. Blood glucose readings above 250 means it is dangerous to exercise. For reasons too complicated to explain here, exercising with blood sugar at these elevated levels actually increases blood sugar levels. These high readings put the diabetic at risk for ketoacidosis, a potentially fatal condition.

Some medications can affect your ability to exercise.

The number one killer in the world is heart disease. So it's a no-brainer that many people who exercise are on heart medications. Heart medications such as beta-blockers actually prevent your heart from beating faster in response to exercise. If you are on such a medication, when you exercise you may find it difficult to catch your breath, experience tiredness and have muscle soreness. Don't worry, you will still benefit from exercise. Try taking longer warm-up and cool-down times and reduce how hard you work out.

Steroid use (not anabolic steroids that athletes get caught using) are prescribed for a wide variety of medical situations, both short-term and long-term. People with long-term steroid use may find that they have weakness and poor endurance. When exercising, start slowly and gradually increase your physical activity. Mood swings may also be a side-effect, which could affect your motivation to exercise. Exercising with a friend may help you overcome the tendency to skip exercise all together. Just remember not to overdo it and exercise at your own pace.

Thyroid replacement medications are becoming more commonly prescribed. Heck - most of my family is on the stuff! Taking too much or too little of this medication may limit your ability to exercise. Your doctor should check your thyroid medication if you notice that you can't exercise the way you used to.

A final note: exercising is easier than you might think. Building opportunities to exercise doing everyday activities will help you accomplish your exercise goals. Walking, for example, is something we are designed to do naturally. Consider investing in a pedometer so you can monitor how many steps you take in a day. You can use this handy (and economical) gadget as a motivating tool to encourage you to take more steps every day.

Start by monitoring how many steps you take every day for a week. Then try to increase the number of steps you take by 500 every day. The target goal, especially if you are getting into a walking-for-exercise program, is to aim for 10,000 steps (approximately 5 miles) a day. Remember to record to steps in activity log to help you achieve your goals.

Posted by linda at March 29, 2010 4:22 PM

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