One of my guilty pleasures a few times per week is to watch Oprah while I’m at the gym. Yesterday I got part of a show which I’ll assume was about prevention and reversal of diabetes. For those of you who are new here, part of my mission is to reverse the trend and rates of heart disease and diabetes in midlife women so I paid attention to what the guests–Dr. Oz, Bob Greene, (Oprah’s trainer), and Dr. Ian Smith–had to say. (Art, Oprah’s former chef made a guest appearance as proof that you can reverse diabetes. He’s lost something like 90 pounds and transformed his cooking in the process)
Bob Greene has a new book out, The Best Life Guide to Managing Diabetes and Pre-Diabetes. He is co-author along with Dr.Jack Melendrino and Janis Jilbrin MS, RD. I’ve yet to buy the book–I disagree with Bob on many aspects of his programs–but will pick it up. Whether Bob and I see eye to eye over butter vs margarine–he touts it and I say it’s plastic and dangerous–is unimportant if his program and celebrity gets the word out that people can reverse diabetes and/or prevent it. There is one thing he told a group of women, who all looked more than well fed and heading for or suffering from diabetes, and it was this:
Exercise is non negotiable!
Amen to that! Most of you reading this are already believers in the power of movement. If there are any of you who doubt that exercise is a life saving, life extending, cure-what-ails-you kind of thing, I invite you to change your thinking. Even daily walking can change your physiology and contribute to better health.
With diabetes and pre-diabetes it is even more important that you move your muscles, get your heart pumping, and blood flowing. Exercise moves blood sugar where it needs to be which gets it out of your bloodstream. While you are exercising insulin cannot be produced so you give your body a rest from the insulin storm produced by too much blood sugar. Your blood sugar levels go down naturally. If you need to, you will most likely lose weight.
This is not a plug for Bob’s book, as I said, I don’t own it yet. From the reviews I’ve read I know I’ll have other issues outside of some of the foods given the Best Life Seal. Rather, it is a plug, no, a plea, for all of the women reading this to move your parts! I don’t want to have to drag you all kicking and screaming into a long, happy life . And since that’s impractical how about I just beat this subject to a mind numbing pulp by repeating it–you’ve got to move it move it!
I also don’t want to see you too sick to kick and scream. Diabetes is not simply a sugar issue. It is a disease with debilitating and often horrible consequences. By the time a person is diagnosed with diabetes they have had the condition for years. High blood sugar and insulin resistance have been battering your heart, kidney’s, nerves in the eyes and feet. Shall I go on? Drugs come with their own set of complications and who wants to test their sugar 2 – 6 times per day?
Exercise is not the only lifestyle change that must become a regular part of your life to prevent or turn back the diagnosis of diabetes but it is an important one.
As Bob told the church ladies–many of whom were midlife–Exercise is Non-negotiable. Love you Bob, margarine and all, thanks for getting the word out.
Last Wednesday I held one of my Secrets To Making Midlife Weight Loss Easier Classes. I’ve learned so much since the first one last January and wanted to update the info.
One of the things we talked about was exercise–of course–and what kinds of exercise are better than others. (Did you know that too much aerobic exercise could actually be counterproductive?) Those of us who love the stair master or treadmill only work muscles in the front of our legs for the most part. It’s important to work all the sets of complimentary muscles to avoid injury. One way to do this if you don’t want to keep track is do yoga regularly. Why? Because yoga uses the whole body to balance in postures and an asana isn’t considered complete until it has been done with both sides of the body.
What I’m always thankful for while twisting pretzel like and trying to remember to breath is that it’s a practice. I practice things I’ve heard over and over as I reach for that little bit more opening in my spine or shoulders. I don’t feel badly that I am not further along. So why do I do that in life? Why do any of us? Are we not always learning even when we have accomplished a level of mastery? Of course we are. If not, how boring. I’m not going to say I’d like things to move faster at times or results to show up on demand; I’d love to have that much mastery over my daily routine.
As I’m feeling the burn in my arms while in downward facing dog or my shoulders in fish pose I realize at times in my day to day, I give in before the burn gets too bad. In class I’m not likely to do that, in part because there is an instructor coaching us to hold on. Even so it reminds me that next time something feels awkward or hard, if I hold on, I might get that result faster or learn that next level of skill I’ve been wanting.
Yoga on the mat is about expansion, balance, loving yourself and reflecting that love outwards. We are encourage to live the same way “off the mat.” I’m thrilled that yoga is a good way to strengthen all of my physical muscles. The bonus, I’m learning, is how it strengthens my emotional and mental ones too.
How has yoga helped you?
You can’t do any research on prevention of diabetes, reversing diabetes, or improving blood sugar levels and insulin resistance without noticing that exercise is a part of any program. From the very conservative–and Big Pharma supportive– American Diabetes Association to functional medicine docs like Julian Whitaker and Mark Hyman, survey says–you’ve got to move it move it. And at midlife, we’ve got more reasons than ever to take this recommendation to heart.
Ever wonder why though? I mean specifically why exercise is so important for regulating blood sugar and insulin vs just weight loss and heart health? According to Dr. Steven Joyal, M.D. of the Life Extension Foundation, “The relationship between exercise and blood glucose is clear: muscles need energy to move, and glucose is a major source of fuel that makes movement possible.”
He goes on to describe the three kinds of fuel our bodies access when we move, high energy phosphates, glucose in the form of glycogen which is the stored form of glucose, and free fatty acids. Intensity and duration determine which of those fuel types the body gobbles up. Lift a heavy weight over your head says Joyval, and “you are primarily tapping into your phosphate system.” Running at a brisk pace mainly uses glycogen and a slow walk will find free fatty acids and a very small amount of glycogen. To help restore and maintain even blood glucose levels you’ll want to do exercise that mainly uses stored glucose or glycogen.
If you aren’t a runner, power walk. A stroll is not going to cut it. Ashtanga yoga is a powerful, faster paced form of yoga that builds muscle as well as burns glycogen. Skating, dancing, snow shoeing, cross country skiing, aerobics classes etc will all put your body in a state of burning that stored glucose. Don’t forget to include some weight training into your weekly program it will improve insulin sensitivity.
DO NOT START AN EXERCISE PROGRAM WITHOUT YOUR DOCTOR’S APPROVAL if you are new to exercise and diabetic. Most of us get excited about making changes and we always here that recommendation. For most people, it’s ok to get started and if something feels bad we’ll go see the doc. In the case of people with Diabetes, even if you are newly diagnosed and used to exercizing, ask your doc if you are cleared to uplevel it if that’s your goal. Your heart and your kidneys have been stressed and you might have to take it slow.
Once you are sure you’re good to go, move it with a vengeance. You’ll also be reducing the effects of stress which if left unmanaged will contribute to blood sugar that’s out of control.
More on that next time. Got a success story about blood sugar and exercise? Share it please.
There are no doubt some people in this wide world, who for one reason or another, truly cannot lose weight by traditional means. What are those traditional means? Burning more calories than one takes in is the most basic of ideas but doesn’t tell the whole story. Let’s also say eating foods that suit your body and just enough of them as well as exercising to the point of a good hard sweat.
For a good portion of the remaining population who struggle to take off some weight–and there are plenty of us at midlife–the culprit is not the diet, the supplement, the lack of fresh vegetables, or the occasional cosmo. It’s honesty. We lie to ourselves.
And it’s not entirely our fault in the category of exercise. There are barrels full of experts who say “Walking is great exercise, grab a friend and walk around the neighborhood. AND you only need 30 minutes a day.” Bull dinkies!
If you are a sedentary person who is just starting to move around then this sounds like the ideal prescription and 30 minutes might even be too long to start with.
For those who are more comfortable exercising, or have been doing this in fits and starts for years–you’ve got to put some effort into this.
Notice I didn’t say exercise longer. 30 minutes per day is plenty of time to allot to aerobic exercise but you’ve got to move it like you mean it.
Here’s something I learned from trainer to the stars, JJ Virgin, if you aren’t breaking down muscle or pushing through your comfort zone you are not going to get any results. And it’s not weight we want to lose it’s fat.
Her exercise program is based around something called Burst. Here’s the drill. Say you are going to walk. You warm up for 2 mins, walk at your normal/fast pace for 1 – 2 mins then push it as hard as you can for 30- 60 seconds.
When I’m on the treadmill and doing this I walk at 4.2 mph for 1 min. then I push it up to 5.6 which means I have to jog for 45 secs or 1 mins. Then I go back to 4.2. Next round I raise the incline up to 6 or more and do that for 45 seconds. Repeat for 30 mins and you’ll be praying for the gods to take you.
But in 30 minutes I’ve given my body something to work with in terms of building muscle, working the heart muscle to increase my stamina, and burned a butt load of calories.
Whether or not you want to start doing this right away I encourage you to give it a try. Who wants to spend hours on the treadmill or bike when you can get on and off in 30 minutes?
Whether or not you are ready to work this hard at the #1 anti-aging tool we have or not, take an honest look at what you are or aren’t doing. Rather than playing the “nothing works” card, why not play a new game entirely. A rut is a rut and if you are not getting the results you want from the exercise you are doing maybe it’s time to climb out and get honest.
Living young to old age is not going to happen unless you make it happen.
Leave a comment on what you can do to improve your results.
