By Sheri R. Colberg, PhD, FACSM
If you take any other medications to help lower your blood cholesterol, manage your blood pressure, or control other health problems, be aware that some of them can potentially impact your ability to be physically active. Although most drugs do not affect exercise, several common nondiabetes medications with such potential effects are statins, beta-blockers, diuretics, vasodilators, and blood thinners.

By Sheri R. Colberg, PhD, FACSM

There is no official ideal blood glucose range to start with and maintain during physical activity, but we do know that being too low negatively impacts performance, as does being too high. As for what blood glucose target or range most athletes aim for, it depends on a number of factors, including the type, intensity, and duration of their activity. A consensus statement about exercise and type 1 diabetes published in The Lancet in 2017 suggested that a reasonable target for most people doing aerobic exercise lasting up to an hour is 126 to 180 mg/dL (7.0 to 10.0 mmol/L), only aiming higher for added protection against lows in some situations.

By Sheri R. Colberg, PhD, FACSM

Whether you have type 1 or type 2 diabetes, if you use insulin, you may choose to use a specialized insulin pump for both your basal and bolus insulin delivery. Pumps have a small catheter placed under your skin and are programmed to cover your basal insulin needs by delivering small doses of fast-acting insulin to mimic normal insulin release by the pancreas. Insulin pumps are programmed to deliver small, basal doses of fast-acting insulin to mimic normal insulin release by the pancreas throughout the day. These pumps are not ideal for everyone, and the choice to use one should be an individual one.

By Sheri R. Colberg, PhD, FACSM
At each dawn of a new year, many people make resolutions to be more physically active—only to fail in changing their lifestyle habits in a sustained manner. Don’t be one of the many who start exercising only to stop again a few months later. Read more about why daily release of feel-good brain hormones is so important and why you should learn how to relax more as well.

In mid-November 2018, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services finally released new physical activity guidelines (as a 2nd edition) to update their previous set from a decade before. Various activity guidelines for adults with diabetes have been updated several times in the interim, including a 2010 position statement on exercising with type 2 diabetes published jointly by the American College of Sports Medicine and the American Diabetes Association; a 2016 ADA position statement on exercise and physical activity for all types of diabetes; and a consensus statement on being active with type 1 diabetes published in The Lancet in 2017.

A 60-year-old woman with type 2 diabetes and no serious health complications began an exercise program as part of a research study. It involved doing an hour of moderate aerobic exercise three days per week in a supervised setting (at a local Y). She showed up to all the training sessions, stating about a month into the 12-week training program that she was so happy to be active again, that she felt so much better physically and mentally and felt like she had “found herself” again.

By Sheri R. Colberg, PhD, FACSM As discussed in an earlier column this year (June 2018), many insulin users have chosen to go “low-carb” to better manage diabetes, which may or may not impact how well they perform in athletic events. How do many athletes with diabetes who swear by …

By Sheri R. Colberg, PhD, FACSM
It's known that lack of exercise, poor eating habits, genetics, and lifestyle factors can all contribute to the onset of prediabetes and type 2 diabetes. I have spent many years touting the benefits of lifestyle change to prevent and manage these health conditions—and in some cases reverse them. Exercise is a particularly important lifestyle management tool because of its ability to lower inflammation (the underlying cause of insulin resistance) naturally.

By Sheri R. Colberg, PhD, FACSM

If you’re like a lot of other people, you may get bored doing the same physical activities day after day. More than half of people who start exercise training programs drop out in the first six months. So, what you do to keep your workouts fresh sometimes matters more for getting the most out of training and staying with it. For these reasons (and more), you may want to consider doing cross-training.

By Sheri R. Colberg, PhD, FACSMJ
It’s possible to gain weight from treating too many bouts of hypoglycemia. I addressed this topic over a decade ago, but it remains relevant and worth revisiting, along with addressing some new insights on weight gain in general with insulin use.