It’s a fact! Americans are becoming more and more overweight and the health industry is playing catchup in trying to administer to this seemingly pandemic situation. Based on a report from the CDC back in August of this year.

Currently, 9 percent of Americans are diagnosed with some form of diabetes. That number is expected to rise to 33 percent by the year 2050. With Type 2, the most common form of the disease, either the pancreas doesn’t produce enough insulin or the body is resistant to properly using insulin to turn food into energy.

More than 1.2 million American adults and “Children” suffer from Type #1 diabetes. This is an alarming number when you realize that Type 1 or insulin-dependent diabetes, is the more severe form. It’s sometimes called “juvenile” diabetes, because type 1 diabetes usually develops in children and teenagers, though it can develop at any age. Those with Type 1 diabetes usually need to take insulin every day based on a measured amount to help balance the glucose levels in the body. But it is not always easy to determine just how much insulin you need to take.

There are roughly about 26 million people in the United States with Type 2 diabetes. With another 86 million diagnosed as having “Pre-Diabetes” These people’s blood sugar is measurably high, but not high enough to be classified as having Type 2 diabetes, not yet but they are on their way.

So just what can you do if your one of those who has type 1 or 2, or pre-diabetes? Doctors, specialists, and nutritionist all agree that changing up your diet to a more healthy balance of good fats, carbs, and proteins can help you to cope with your condition. But they all agree that a lifestyle change of adding exercise to your daily routines can help not only lower your AC1 counts but in some cases, if the persons really work at it, can not only bring their levels under control, they can possibly get their levels back to a normal state.

So what types of exercise is needed to help you put up a fight against your diabetes?
Two types of physical activity are most important for managing diabetes: Aerobic exercise and Strength training.

Below are some examples of aerobic activities:
Brisk walking (outside or inside on a treadmill)
Bicycling/Stationary cycling indoors
Dancing
Low-impact aerobics
Swimming or water aerobics
Playing tennis
Stair climbing
Jogging/Running
Hiking
Rowing
Ice-skating or roller-skating
Cross-country skiing

As you can see, the above-recommended exercises can be done by anyone, anywhere you live. Just choose a combination of one or two and really work at getting physical with it. Now any health coach or trainer will tell you that you need to set goals for yourself. These goals need to be realistic right at the beginning or you’re going to set yourself up for failure.

Now in setting about getting yourself fit so you can help get your body in the shape, it was meant to be from a young age, you need to be able to track your progress. This can be done in many ways but with all the technology available now, the advantages of having a fitness tracker with you at all times for most people is the way to go. This way, you can track your daily activities and see where you’re lacking and when you are exercising, it can tell you how well you’re doing, or if you’re Not doing enough.

Your health and working to get or keep your diabetes in check is nothing to take lightly! That is why you need to monitor your blood sugar levels (depending on how high your A1C is), your blood pressure and even your heart rate. So you need to have accurate information on just how you are doing each day. Anyone who needs to keep focused on how they are doing blood pressure wise can get a good accurate reading by using the Omron BP652N Automatic Wrist Blood Pressure Monitor  Remember, one in 3 adults in America suffer from high blood pressure and the Omron 652N can give you a proper reading, RIGHT FROM YOUR WRIST! To give you an accurate picture of your hearts health.

Now in order to keep both you’re heart and your body performing the way you need it to you need to keep track of your progress. A good activity watch can provide you with this information at a glance. One that we like specifically is the Garmin Forerunner 735XT GPS . This type of activity tracker can act as your “Wellness Coach” from the start of your new lifestyle initiative from its beginning and through its duration. In fact, it will assist you from workout till workday. This just might be the only tracker you will ever need to keep you on track for the rest of your life. It can track everything from the steps you take each day, to the calories your burning and that information along with much more can be transferred to an online community called ‘Garmin Connect” This is a built-in app that analyses the synced data and gives you insights on how to perform better in your physical activities than yesterday. If you’re not meeting your step goals, Garmin Connect will motivate you to break those milestones. The worst thing that can happen in any exercise program is to become complacent in your routines. The reason being, your body will adapt to the pace, and course you take and you will find yourself not exerting yourself as much, thus not getting the benefits of a more vigorous exercise program. Even though you’re putting the time and effort into it.

Consult with your Physician!!!
We really cannot stress this enough! People with diabetes often have underlying symptoms that go hand in hand with your blood sugar being out of whack. Checking with your doctor before you begin any exercise that’s beyond your normal, daily activities is especially crucial for people who have heart or kidney disease, along with diabetes. When working out, don’t overexert yourself. You should be able to carry on a conversation without being short of breath. A heart rate monitor, while it estimates your lactate threshold, recovery advisor, and VO2 max estimate. So you see, it monitors you every step of the way to better health and can help you keep track of your level of exertion. Remember that is why we recommended the Garmin Forerunner 735XT GPS !

Neuropathy: Pain, tingling or numbness in your extremities (hands, feet, fingers). Diabetes can reduce the amount of oxygen carried to blood vessels, which may cause nerve signals to slow, to halt, or to fire at the wrong times. More than half of the people who have diabetes have some form of this abnormal nerve behavior, or neuropathy, which can cause symptoms such as numbness in the extremities, shooting pains, and dizziness. In addition to peripheral neuropathy, which affects hands and feet, people with diabetes may also experience autonomic neuropathy, which affects the nerves to the heart and other organs.

After your exercise, do a visual check of your body parts that experience neuropathy. Use a small mirror to check your extremities, looking between your toes and at the bottoms of your feet. Also, keep lotion handy to make sure your skin doesn’t get dry after exercise. If you experience autonomic neuropathy, avoid exercising in hot locations, closely monitor your heart rate, and rest if you feel light-headed or short of breath. This is nothing to take lightly, failing to be aware of your symptoms caused by your diabetes can sometimes lead to festering wounds that can even lead to gangrene and amputation.

So you see, diabetes is nothing to take lightly, but with being active, exercising regularly and increasing your exercise routines, whether it be increasing your distance or just picking up your pace as you go up and down hills can help you to lose weight, which in the long run will help to get your body’s functions working the way they were meant to. The key is monitoring yourself on a consistent basis. If you follow these steps above, work at it, and keep a log/journal of your daily activities and progress, you can get your A1C levels down to a manageable level.

It’s important to have your regular checks with your doctor who will probably have you going for routine blood tests but if you maintain your exercise plans and eat a nutritious combination of foods you can keep your diabetes and your blood pressure in check while getting in the best shape of your life.

Hope this information helps you to help yourself.
We are here for you if you need any additional advice or support. The crew here at HeartRateMonitorsUSA.com are always here for YOU!!