Login or Register

Good Exercises & Diets for a 50-year-old Diabetic

Nov 29, 2010 | By Paula Quinene
Good Exercises & Diets for a 50-year-old Diabetic
Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images

Consistent exercise and a low-glycemic diet will help control diabetes and aid in controlling health risks commonly seen in 50-year-old diabetics. Such health problems include obesity, cardiovascular disease and high blood pressure. Aerobic and resistance exercises have an insulin-like effect because contracting muscles facilitate the uptake of blood sugar or glucose by your cells, reducing your reliance on insulin, according to the book "Exercise Physiology, Energy, Nutrition & Human Performance."

Walking and Jogging

Include a walking and jogging routine as a primary mode of exercise in your physical activity program. This form of aerobic exercise is very convenient and requires simply a pair of supportive shoes. Incorporate routines on the treadmill as well as outdoors when the weather and time of day are suitable. If you are staying in a hotel, many places have a small fitness room which usually is equipped with a few treadmills. Or, go out and enjoy the town by walking and jogging for 30 minutes; walk for three minutes then jog for one minute. Gradually increase your jog time and decrease your walk time for 30 to 60 minutes. Vary your walking and jogging routines to include a long but easy workout and a short yet more difficult session. Diabetics should perform up 20 to 60 minutes of low to moderately-intense aerobic activity for four to seven days per week, according to the American College of Sports Medicine in their book "Exercise Management for Persons with Chronic Diseases and Disabilities."

Circuit Training

Circuit training is a form of exercise which incorporates short rest periods between work or exercise stations. This is a time-efficient and effective way to include resistance training workouts in your weekly program. During a full body circuit routine, you do exercises for all your muscles groups, enhancing the insulin-like effect of contracting muscles. Circuit training may be done with free weights, machine weights or a combination of both. Work up to a 45- to 60-minute full-body session including chest presses, one-arm rows, triceps extensions, biceps curls, body-weight squats or leg extensions, leg curls, double crunches and shoulder presses. Perform each exercise for 15 reps, resting for 20 seconds between each exercise. Do several circuits until you reach 45 to 60 minutes; substitute an exercise as needed or include a few more exercises. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends that diabetics use low resistance and high repetitions; if your diabetes is well controlled, you may increase the weight you lift and lower the number of reps. Lifting heavier weights will help you increase and maintain your muscle mass which you begin to lose around age 30. If you are 50-years-old, you may have already noticed some muscle loss.

Low-glycemic Diet

Carbohydrate-rich foods are classified as low, medium or high-glycemic index foods. The glycemic index of a food is a measure of how fast it raises your blood sugar. Low-glycemic index or low-GI foods have a small effect on your blood sugar while high-GI foods cause your blood sugar to rise quickly. Diabetics should follow a primarily low-glycemic diet by eating mostly low-GI foods. This type of diet helps you control your diabetes, lose weight and improve the sensitivity of your body's cells to insulin, according to a 2003 article published in "Health & Fitness Journal." Apples, oranges, cherries, pears, skim milk, all-bran cereals, cooked fettucine and spaghetti noodles, peanuts and plain white chocolate are all low-GI foods.

References

Article reviewed by Libby Swope Wiersema Last updated on: Nov 29, 2010

Must see: Photo Galleries