Diabetes & Fitness: Get Moving!

According the American Diabetes Association, 25.8 million people in the US have diabetes…that’s 8.3 percent of the population. Exercise is part of a healthy lifestyle for everyone, but if you have diabetes it’s especially important because it helps regulate blood sugar, aides in weight management, as well as reduces your risk for heart disease and stroke. Gastric Bypass along with other types of weight loss surgery (gastric sleeve, gastric band) has been shown to reverse diabetes and/or reduce it’s severity in multiple articles and research reviews.

Whether you decide to incorporate weight loss surgery (gastric bypass, gastric sleeve, gastric band) as part of your treatment plan for diabetes or choose not to it is important to keep an exercise regimen as part of your wellness regardless. You should aim for a minimum of 30 minutes most days. If you have diabetes, you should do both cardio and strength training exercise to become the healthiest you can be. To stay safe it is important to drink plenty of water, have a healthy snack during exercise if needed and stretch before you begin. You may wish to wear a medical ID bracelet in case of emergency. Always start slowly and do activities that are enjoyable and realistic to do. Try to also keep doing small things throughout your day to stay active. If you enjoy the activity, you will likely do it more often.

Gastric Bypass Surgery patients are recommended to engage in exercise both pre and post weight loss surgery. Prior to weight loss surgery such as gastic sleeve or gastric bypass surgery, it is best to get your body in the best condition possible before weight loss surgery and lose weight to start to condition your body and be the healthiest you can be for weight loss surgery. It is of course important and understandable if you need to start off gently especially since many obese patients struggle with osteoarthritis as a result of obesity and need to be careful not to injure themselves. Short walks, simple stretching or a swim in the pool would be highly recommended. After weight loss surgery as you shed the pounds (yeah!) you should start to feel more confident in doing exercise but always be safe and never push yourself to excess. It is well known that short stints of exercise daily can be more productive to fight diabetes than an occasional intense workout. Dr. Shillingford is a weight loss surgeon in Palm Beach County, near West Palm Beach and Boca Raton who specializes in gastric bypass, gastric sleeve and gastric band surgery; he and his staff would be happy to aid you in recommendations regarding diabetes, obesity and exercise. Remember slow and steady wins the race!