Most people know that exercise is great for your body, whether you have insulin resistance or PCOS. What many do not know is that exercise can be used as a tool alongside your dietary and lifestyle changes to help manage your blood sugar levels.
Done the right way, you can both reduce your blood sugar average and handle blood sugar spikes more easily. Many different types of exercise and habits have been proven to be very therapeutic for balancing blood sugar levels.
This guide will examine healthy exercise habits for people who suffer from high blood sugar levels, PCOS, and insulin resistance; as well as different tips and tricks to keep yourself healthy.
How Exercise Helps Blood Sugar Levels
Exercise is fantastic for lowering blood sugar, both immediately and for your long-term. When you are exercising, you are making both your cardiovascular and muscular systems work harder. Because of that, they will pull more glucose from your bloodstream to keep up. This will immediately bring your blood sugar levels down.
Exercise pulls glucose from your bloodstream
Studies have shown that exercise reduces the risk of Type II diabetes, insulin resistance, and metabolic syndrome. This is because exercise helps improve many of the systems in your body. They become more able to perform various tasks, which include insulin sensitivity and conversion.
If you are prone to low blood sugar rather than high blood sugar, you may want to be more careful with your exercise and consult a doctor first. Prior to beginning an exercise regimen, you might also want to consider a metabolic cleanse to get your body in fighting form to better handle these metabolic changes.
Benefits of Exercising
There are numerous benefits to exercising regularly and they are not just limited to blood sugar management. You will notice a marked improvement in your overall health, as well. These are some of the different benefits of a regular exercise regimen to consider.
To see maximum benefits, you should aim for about thirty minutes of exercise at least five days a week.
Immediate Benefits
- Exercising reduces depression and anxiety because it releases various endorphins.
- It can help you sleep better at night.
- It helps you control your blood sugar and insulin levels. Studies show that exercise improves your insulin sensitivity for the next day, particularly for those who are obese.
- Exercising gives you energy, which can help you get through your day with an extra bounce in your step.
Long term benefits
- Your risk for various cardiovascular diseases goes down.
- Exercise strengthens your muscles and bones, as well as helps to manage obesity
- Exercise increases your lifespan.
- It has been shown to help improve your cognitive abilities and keep you sharp as a tack as you age.
- Exercise reduces your risk of various cancers.
When combined with stress management, a good diet, and good sleeping habits, these effects become even more beneficial. Your body depends on all of these to maintain optimal performance. Providing your body with what it needs will not only mean improvements to your insulin sensitivity, but also the overall functions of your body.
Exercise Promotes Healthy Blood Glucose Levels
- Reduces risk of heart disease up to 40%
- Helps to relieve anxiety
- Stops blood sugar spikes
- Lowers blood glucose levels
- Increases insulin sensitivity
- Reduces risk of diabetes complications
When combined with stress management, a good diet, and good sleeping habits, these effects become even more beneficial. Your body depends on all of these to maintain optimal performance. Providing your body with what it needs will not only mean improvements to your insulin sensitivity, but also the overall functions of your body.
Best Kinds of Exercise
These days, there are so many different ways to exercise. It seems like every day a new type of exercise program is popping up. Not all of these are beneficial for insulin resistance, so it is important to recognize which methods of exercise will be the most beneficial for your body.
The trick with insulin resistance is to avoid long and strenuous workouts without breaks. This can lead to your blood sugar plummeting, which does you no favors. You should also combine different types of exercise to get the maximum benefit.
Aerobic Exercise
Aerobic exercise is more beneficial for your cardiovascular system rather than your muscular system. This helps with insulin resistance because it improves your circulation, which makes it easier for glucose to be absorbed from your bloodstream into your cells.
Regular aerobic exercise can lead to better overall blood sugar since that glucose is not hanging around in your bloodstream for as long as normal. When done in spurts, higher intensity aerobic exercise has been shown to lower blood sugar. You should make sure to take breaks, as too much intensity for too long will cause your body to release stress hormones which will raise your blood glucose levels.
Strength Training
Insulin resistance puts you at risk for higher rates of muscular and skeletal decline. Regular strength training exercises can combat these and other risks associated with insulin resistance. It also helps combat insulin resistance itself and can be even more beneficial in this area than cardio workouts.
Adding strength training to your routine also lowers the risk of your blood sugar falling too fast when exercising in general, as your body is better able to handle those fluctuations. As with other kinds of exercise, you should be sure to exercise in spurts with regular breaks, along with regularly checking your blood sugar levels.
HIIT Exercise and Blood Sugar
High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is gaining popularity among the insulin resistance community. It alternates short bursts of higher intensity exercise with periods of lighter exercise or rest until you are tired. Because of the alternation, most people can exercise longer by following a HIIT schedule. HIIT is flexible and can be set up to work best for your abilities and needs.
If you are struggling more than average with your blood glucose levels, a HIIT regimen could be just the ticket. Those with Type II diabetes often see the most benefits from this routine because you tend to see rapid improvements in your insulin resistance.
Before beginning a HIIT regimen, you should start with lighter exercise methods and build-up, though it is considered a good option for beginners. Because of the intensity involved with this regimen, jumping right into it from a more sedentary lifestyle can carry some risks.
You should also make sure that you are getting adequate vitamins and supplements so that your body is prepared for this more rigorous routine. Lowsitol has been shown to help with high blood pressure, which can be particularly helpful during an intense workout.
Light Exercise
If you are sensitive to vigorous exercise or have not yet built up your stamina levels, you might be better off finding more mild ways of integrating exercise into your lifestyle. Some ideas include:
- Walking your dog or taking a walk by yourself
- Using the stairs instead of the elevator
- Yoga
- Swimming
- Go for a bike ride
- Pilates
These exercises are easier on your muscles and cardiovascular system. They can be used as a normal regimen or as less rigorous options when you first start exercising. As you get used to this, you can start to slowly build up the intensity of your workouts.
Light exercise after a meal, such as going for a walk, can also help prevent blood sugar spikes that can occur right after eating.
Lowering a Blood Sugar Spike with Exercise
If you are actively trying to lower your blood sugar because it is high, it is best to go with mild to moderate exercise. More strenuous exercise can cause a spike in your stress hormones (cortisol and adrenaline). These hormones tell your liver to release extra glucose into your bloodstream, which will counteract all of the work you just did to lower your levels.
When lowering your blood sugar, you should still cycle bouts of exercise with periods of rest. This will help prevent you from dropping your blood sugar too much. A good rule of thumb is fifteen minutes of exercise followed by fifteen minutes of rest. During each resting period, you should check your blood sugar.
If you struggle with blood sugar spikes, considering a supplement such as Lowsitol could help with preventing them in the first place. After all, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!
Healthy Exercise Habits
Exercise is great, but finding the right exercise regimen for your body and following safety guidelines are both extremely important. Those with insulin resistance should take particular care to watch blood sugar levels before, during, and after exercise.
The below tips can help ensure that your exercise regimen is both safe and effective for you.
15-15 Rule
The 15-15 rule is a tip specifically for people who struggle with insulin resistance in its various forms. Because your blood sugar can change so rapidly and your body cannot always keep up with that, you want to make sure that you are keeping an eye on your blood sugar levels before you start exercising to make sure that they are within safe levels.
The 15-15 rule comes into play when you start exercising, among other times. If your blood sugar levels are too low to safely exercise, you should eat 15 grams of carbs, then recheck your levels in 15 minutes. You can repeat this a couple of times until your blood sugar is high enough to safely exercise.
This rule is also helpful for any time your blood sugar plummets at any other time. If the 15-15 method fails to increase a low blood sugar reading, you should seek medical attention immediately.
Lowsitol has been shown to help lower blood pressure, lower blood glucose levels, and increase insulin sensitivity. All of these things will make your workout much more effective.
Balance is an easy to digest whole-food supplement that provides the amino acids, vitamins, trace minerals, and protein that your body needs to replenish post-workout. Balance support healthy body composition and metabolism.
Safety Tips
There are several safety measures that you should be following when you exercise. These will keep you safe and help keep your blood sugar in check.
- Check blood sugar before you begin to exercise. The safe zone for exercising is blood sugar levels between 100 and 250 mg/dL. If it is lower, you should first eat a snack with carbs or sugars and check again in 15 minutes. If it is higher than 250 mg/dl, you should wait to exercise until it is lower.
- If you have been diagnosed with diabetes, You should consider getting a medical alert bracelet. If something were to go wrong, this lets medics know to check your blood sugar right away and can ensure that you get the right lifesaving care as soon as possible.
- Make sure that you are drinking plenty of water and taking your vitamins, including Lowsitol.
- Before starting an exercise routine, you should double-check with your doctor or endocrinologist. You will want to discuss the specific routine you are planning to follow, along with any medication adjustments you may need.
- Pay attention to the weather. Blood sugar acts differently in particularly hot or cold climates, so you may need to check more often if you are exercising outside or in an area without adequate climate control.
- Be sure to take care of your feet! It may sound silly, but people with insulin resistance are more prone to serious problems with their feet. Make sure that you are wearing good shoes and socks. If you develop blisters or sores, get them treated as soon as possible.
- Start slowly and check your blood sugar a lot. Insulin resistance is a spectrum, which means different people can handle different levels of exercise. Starting slow will help you safely find your sweet spot.
So long as you follow these safety tips, you should quickly start seeing the benefits of exercise in controlling your blood sugar.
