"How Exercise Ignited My Weight Loss to Overcome Type 2 Diabetes?"

 

There I was again, sitting in my car in the parking lot of a local gym. It was a struggle to get out of the car. Not because of my excess weight at the time or some physical limitation. I simply didn’t feel like stepping foot in the gym that day, just like I didn’t feel up to working out a couple of days prior. 

A half-hour or so later, I finally walked into the gym. Hearing the clanking sounds of weights and seeing a gym full of ordinary people like me working on their health goals, was just enough inspiration to get me going. I was overweight, struggling to understand how to manage life with type 2 diabetes, and didn’t know where to begin when it came to exercise.

That was June 2021, the month I decided to get back in the gym, sweat it out, and do my best to lose weight, but for real this time.

I’m proud to say that I was able to drop over 80 pounds and come off all medications in less than a year. Today, I’m enjoying a healthier lifestyle all because I decided to continue showing up, getting out of my car, and putting in the work whether it’s in the gym, hiking, or running.

NO PAIN, NO GAIN

When you’re routinely sedentary, overweight, and struggling with type 2 diabetes and a slew of other metabolic health issues, physical activity feels very uncomfortable. Exercise is not supposed to leave you in constant pain and fatigue.

Make no mistake, when I started exercising more regularly, I would often feel pain everywhere: knees, back, neck, feet, and elbows. The joint pain was unreal. Walking flights of stairs was a challenge sometimes to the point where it felt like my knees were going to buckle at any moment. I assumed that the pain was a result of my body simply not being used to daily exercise. But it turns out that there was more to my situation: inflammation.

When inflammation occurs, it often leads to pain, swelling, and stiffness in the affected areas, making movement uncomfortable and sometimes even painful. That explains why my joints, muscles, and surrounding tissues were less flexible and hindered my ability to engage in a full range of motion during exercise. 

Regardless of what I was experiencing health-wise, I made up my mind to press past the pain and discomfort of exercising. What helped was learning that there is a correlation between inflammation and diet, which can impact exercise. 

Therefore, if you suspect that inflammation may be an issue for you as well, gain more knowledge about inflammation and its effects on physical exercise to determine the best course of action. 

YOU CAN'T OUT-EXERCISE A POOR DIET

Oftentimes, when some people think of losing weight, they either focus on what they eat or on their exercise. Healthy eating and regular exercise go hand-in-hand when it comes to developing a healthy lifestyle. I’ve found that achieving the proper balance between the two approaches is very important.

Maintaining a healthy diet is great, but by itself, may not be enough for you to lose weight and keep it off, let alone overcome type 2 diabetes. 

The same is true for exercise. You can spend hours in the gym, burning calories, but then load up on junk food and eventually destroy your progress with every meal. 

Food impacts your health, period.   

I eventually gave up the foods and drinks that were making my weight loss too difficult to achieve and maintain. From fried foods to highly processed carbs, candy, and even sugary soft drinks, I made the necessary changes to get results. Developing better eating habits made it a lot easier for me to enjoy exercising. Sticking to a daily regimen of healthy eating gave me the energy to exercise.

OVERALL BENEFITS OF EXERCISING, ESPECIALLY IF YOU HAVE DIABETES

Remember, don’t neglect or minimize physical exercise. Why? Exercise:   

• Helps lower blood sugar
• Boosts insulin sensitivity
• Burns fat
• Shaves pounds
• Boosts energy
• Protects your heart
• Can help improve your mood
• Makes you look better 
• Builds strength, conditioning, and endurance

So here are a few tips that I learned about exercise that made a difference in my life. 

TIP NO. 1: FIND YOUR EXERCISE RHYTHM

The first step to a healthier, more active lifestyle is finding your rhythm. You don't have to follow my exact routine. Instead, discover your groove by engaging in physical activities that you genuinely enjoy. The key is long-term consistency, not a short-term plan for rapid weight loss. Having fun is crucial. If you're enjoying your workouts, you're more likely to stick with them. 

TIP NO. 2: MIX IT UP

While it may seem easy to stick to one type of exercise, such as daily treadmill walks, diversifying your routine is essential. Mixing cardio, conditioning exercises, strength training, and flexibility or mobility exercises adds excitement and engages different muscle groups. Challenge yourself to move more, move better, and move consistently. Incorporating various activities keeps your workouts interesting and ensures a well-rounded fitness regimen.

I hope my weight loss journey to overcome type 2 diabetes inspires you to reach your health goals and beat diabetes as well. Your health is your most important asset. So, let's kick diabetes in the backside and move forward on the path towards better health! 

Oscar Camejo is passionate about helping people reverse and prevent type 2 diabetes through lifestyle changes. His own health journey has been truly transformative. At his heaviest, he weighed 268 pounds. He embraced clean eating and committed to daily exercise, shedding over 80 pounds. He no longer relies on diabetes, high blood pressure, or high cholesterol medications. Camejo hopes his journey inspires others facing similar challenges, emphasizing perseverance, discipline, and self-care. Camejo lives in Atlanta and has three adult children. You can reach him at his website, “Beating Diabetes Lifestyle,”  podcast, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.

Learn, share, and connect with others on WebMD’s Type 2 Diabetes Facebook Support Group.

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The Goal is to Always Make You Aware of What Concerns Your Body, Soul and Spirit, So You Can Have Open, Honest and Frequent Discussions With Your Physicians and Counselors. You Can’t Treat or Cure What You Don’t Know is Sick.
 

"It's Not Selfish to Love Yourself, Take Care of Yourself and to Make Your Happiness a Priority. It's a Necessity." (Mandy Hale)

"Self-Care is Not Selfish. You Cannot Serve From an Empty Vessel." (Eleanor Brown)

“15 Exercise Tips for People With Type 2 Diabetes”

 

These tips will help you ease back into exercise and find a workout plan that works for you.

GET A MOVE ON: Exercise is safe—and highly recommended—for most people with type 2 diabetes, including those with complications. Along with diet and medication, exercise will help you lower blood sugar and lose weight. However, the prospect of diving into a workout routine may be intimidating. If you're like many newly diagnosed type 2 diabetics, you may not have exercised in years. If that's the case, don't worry: It's fine to start slow and work up. These tips will help you ease back into exercise and find a workout plan that works for you.

TRY QUICK WORKOUTS: As long as you're totaling 30 minutes of exercise each day, several brief workouts are fine, says George Griffing, MD, professor of endocrinology at the Saint Louis University School of Medicine in St. Louis. "We need people with diabetes up and moving," Dr. Griffing says. "If you can do your exercise in one 30-minute stretch, fine. But if not, break it up into increments you can manage that add up to at least 30 minutes each day."

FOCUS ON OVERALL ACTIVITY: Increase activity in general—such as walking or climbing stairs—rather than a particular type of exercise. However, don't rely on housework or other daily activity as your sole exercise. Too often, people overestimate the amount of exercise they get and underestimate the amount of calories they consume. (A step-counting pedometer can help.)

GET A PEDOMETER: Stanford University researchers conducted a review of 26 studies looking at the use of pedometers as motivation for physical activity. Published in 2007, the review found that people who used a pedometer increased their activity by 27%. Having a goal of 10,000 steps a day (about five miles) was important, even if the goal wasn't reached. Pedometer users lost more weight, had a greater drop in blood pressure, and walked about 2,500 steps more per day than those who didn't use a pedometer.

WORK OUT WITH A FRIEND: Working out with friends can be an important motivator, particularly for people over 60, according to Vicki Conn, PhD, the associate dean for research at the University of Missouri in Columbia, Mo., who has studied diabetes and exercise. Having a friend call or setting up an exercise "contract" with a buddy may help. "One of the things we found with our meta-analysis is that behavioral strategies work better; that means setting up some sort of stimulus in the environment where you exercise," says Conn.

SET SPECIFIC, ATTAINABLE GOALS: For example, you might set a goal of walking 10 minutes every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday. "That doesn't sound like a lot, but...setting up very specific goals like that helps people a lot more than telling people, 'Gee, you've got to exercise more,' " says Conn.

REWARD YOURSELF: Rather than focusing on the bad things that could happen if you don't exercise, reward yourself for reaching your goals. You might say "OK, if I exercise 10 minutes, three times a week for the next three weeks, I'll call my sister-in-law who lives in Australia," says Conn. Don't hold out for weight loss as an emotional "reward." Focus on other benefits, such as having more energy or enjoying the outdoors when you walk.

USE VISUAL CUES: Put a note on the refrigerator or keep your walking shoes next to the back door as a reminder to go for a walk and it'll be more likely to happen.

WRITE IT ALL DOWN: Write down your goals, be specific, and keep a record every time you do exercise, says Conn. Record on your calendar every day whether you exercised for 10 or 15 minutes or more.

JOIN A CLASS: A class is good because there is an exercise leader and someone to call for emergency help, if necessary, says Conn. For many seniors, there are free gym memberships and wellness programs included in their Medicare plans." "There is a structured experience exercising and they will learn how their body will react and then they will grow more confident to go out and exercise on their own," she says.

DON’T SET GOALS TOO HIGH: "It's much better to set a lower goal and be successful at it," says Conn. "That increases one's sense of confidence. Then you can set a slightly higher goal the next time. You are much more likely to be successful if you start with small, easily attainable goals and gradually increase them."

LOOK AT THE BIG PICTURE: Working up to a moderate amount of exercise quickly isn't that important in terms of your health. "What really matters is next year, you are doing it all the time," says Conn. "Getting there eventually in a way that you are able to stay with it is what is important because it is long-term behavior change that has health consequences."

CHANGE ONE BEHAVIOR AT A TIME: You're more likely to be successful if you focus on changing one behavior at a time, rather than everything at once (like taking medication, checking your feet, switching your diet, and exercising). "What we found—and this is across many studies with thousands of people—if the study focuses only on changing one behavior, namely exercise, they get twice as much of an improvement in their hemoglobin A1C," says Conn.

GET AN EXERCISE PRESCRIPTION: In this case, a fitness or exercise physiologist can measure how physically fit you are and prescribe a specific intensity of exercise and how to progress to the next level. "It's based on that individual's fitness stake," says Conn. "For a person that is very unfit, and has not been exercising, the exercise prescription will be at a low moderate intensity and then move to a slightly higher intensity and longer duration."

CONNECT WITH A MENTOR OR BECOME ONE: Ask your doctor or diabetes educator to match you with a person with type 2 diabetes who has been successful at exercising and/or losing weight. They may have exercise or weight loss tips that work.

TEST YOURSELF REGULARLY: Keep up with your hemoglobin A1C and blood glucose testing. Good test results can encourage you to keep with an exercise program, even when it feels tedious.

Health Magazine, Updated December 17, 2020

Much Love, Dr.Shermaine, #InformativeRead #PleaseShare #HealthyBodySoulAndSpirit #IWantYou2LiveWell #FeelFree2SignUpAndFollow

The Goal is to Always Make You Aware of What Concerns Your Body, Soul and Spirit, So You Can Have Open, Honest and Frequent Discussions With Your Physicians and Counselors. You Can’t Treat or Cure What You Don’t Know is Sick.
 
"It's Not Selfish to Love Yourself, Take Care of Yourself and to Make Your Happiness a Priority. It's a Necessity." (Mandy Hale)

"Self-Care is Not Selfish. You Cannot Serve From an Empty Vessel." (Eleanor Brown)

The contents of the Health Magazine and Self-Care With Dr. Shermaine Sites, such as text, graphics, images, and other material contained on the Health Magazine and Self-Care With Dr. Shermaine Sites ("Content") are for informational purposes only. The Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on the Health Magazine and Self-Care With Dr. Shermaine Sites!

If you think you may have a medical emergency, call your doctor or 911 immediately. Health Magazine and Self-Care With Dr. Shermaine does not recommend or endorse any specific tests, physicians, products, procedures, opinions, or other information that may be mentioned on the Sites. Reliance on any information provided by Health Magazine, Health Magazine employees, others appearing on the Site at the invitation of Health Magazine, and Self-Care With Dr. Shermaine or other visitors to the Sites is solely at your own risk.