Atkins Diabetes Revolution (42 page)

“I’m so heavy that I’m embarrassed to go to a gym.”
If you are uncomfortable exercising in public you can do so quite effectively in the privacy of your own home. Moreover, exercise programs (including water aerobics) designed especially for overweight people are now available in many communities, often through local hospitals, community centers, and health clubs. Look for such a program; you’ll probably find one nearby. Instead of being embarrassed, you may end up finding yourself an exercise buddy with the same goals as yours.

TEN WAYS TO SNEAK IN SOME EXERCISE

Anything that gets you moving—even housework—counts as exercise. Studies have also shown that three 10-minute sessions of exercise per day are almost as effective as one 30-minute session.
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Especially on days when you just can’t work in an exercise session, try these simple ways to add some movement to your daily life:

1. Take the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator.
   
2. Park at the far end of the parking lot if you can do so safely.
   
3. Walk or bike to nearby locations,such as shops or the library,in- stead of driving.
   
4. Get off the bus or train one stop earlier and walk the rest of the way.
   
5. Take the dog for longer walks—you’ll both benefit.
   
6. Leave the shopping cart at the store entrance and carry your bags to your car.
   
7. Take short walks at the office during breaks and at lunchtime.
   
8. Do some arm exercises with a light barbell while you talk on the phone.
   
9. Use a cordless or cell phone and walk around the house while you talk.
   
10. Do chair exercises when you have a few minutes at work or when you’re watching television.
    

WHAT’S YOUR EXERCISE IQ?

1. Which forms of exercise below are aerobic?

1. yoga
   
2. walking
   
3. weight training
   
4. swimming
   
5. bike riding
   
6. elliptical trainer
   

2. Your goal is to exercise how often?

1. almost every day for 30 minutes
   
2. twice a week for 30 minutes
   
3. twice a week for 1 hour
   
4. every other day for 20 minutes
   

3. Your goal when you exercise is to raise your heart rate to:

1. 90 percent of maximum
   
2. 50 percent of maximum
   
3. between 60 and 80 percent of maximum
   
4. no more than 50 percent of maximum
   

4. Bonus question for women:

Which of the following statements are true about exercise for women?

1. Exercise causes bulging muscles.
   True
   False
   
2. Exercise causes hot flashes.
   True
   False
   
3. Exercise strengthens bones.
   True
   False
   
4. Exercise can tone your muscles.
   True
   False
   
5. Exercise improves your balance.
   True
   False
   

Answers

e,true.d,true;c,true;b,false;1.b,d,e,f.2.a.3.c.4.a,false;

Chapter 23

YOUR PERSONAL EXERCISE PROGRAM

No exercise program is one-size-fits-all, although some basic principles do apply to everyone. This chapter will show you how to get started on a walking program and also how to do some basic weight training and other exercises. We’ve set it up so that you can design an individualized regimen that works for you.Of course,as we’ve stressed before,check with your physician before you begin.

TAKE A WALK

Of all the many ways you can exercise, walking tops the list. It’s the ideal form of low-impact aerobic exercise. It gives you a good work- out, you certainly know how to do it, you can do it just about anywhere, and all it takes in the way of equipment is a pair of comfortable shoes. It’s the ultimate “no excuses”exercise.

Begin just by walking as far as you can. Push yourself a little bit, but not to the point of feeling exhausted. For beginners, the goal is to walk for at least a half hour at a comfortable pace, but if you’re very unfit, you might not be able to walk for that long; and even if you can, you might not get very far. Walking just a short distance for a short time is still a good start. Remember the old Chinese saying “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”

There’s a natural tendency to be overly enthusiastic when you first start an exercise program, but it’s important to take the time to allow your body to adjust. Slow and steady is the way to protect your joints as you begin to reverse years of inactivity, restore muscle mass, and re- balance your body chemistry. There is no benefit in being so enthusiastic that you hurt yourself. It is also important to remember that those at greatest risk of developing serious cardiac complications associated with exercise are people who have been sedentary and begin with too much zeal.
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You’re changing your habits for life—taking it slowly for a few weeks to avoid injury will get you good results in the long run.

A good rule of thumb is to increase your walking distance and frequency gradually but steadily. Start by walking three times a week. For many people, increasing distance (and or time) by 10 percent a week prevents overuse injuries and allows your mind and body to adjust to the increased activity. It may seem slow, but if you stick with it, you’ll be up to a walk of 30 minutes’ duration pretty quickly. If you can only walk slowly to the corner of your street and back the first week,aim for twice the distance the next week. When you’ve reached the point of walking for 30 minutes, the next stage is to try to walk just as long, but a little faster.Your eventual goal is to walk nonstop at least every other day (preferably every day) for at least 30 minutes at a time at a brisk pace.What’s a brisk pace? Use a heart monitor or take your pulse every five minutes or so to verify that you’re exercising at your target heart rate (see Chapter 22). A more informal way is to use the talk-sing test. If you can carry on a conversation without gasping for breath, but don’t have enough breath to sing, your pace is about right.

As you continue with your walking program, you’ll find that you can go longer and longer with your heart rate around the target number. The time it takes after exercise for you to return to your resting heart rate will get shorter, and your resting heart rate may also decrease. Both shortened recovery time and a slower resting heart rate are signs that your exercise program is working, because they are indicators that your heart muscle is getting stronger and doesn’t have to work as hard to pump your blood.

RESEARCH REPORT: WALKING TO PREVENT DIABETES

We know that exercise helps prevent diabetes, but do you have to exercise strenuously? Not necessarily—brisk walking is almost as effective as more vigorous forms of exercise, such as jogging. When researchers looked at the activity levels of the women in the Nurses’ Health Study over an eight-year period, they found that overall, the more physically active a woman was, the less likely she was to develop diabetes. Compared with the women who were least active,the most active women had about half the risk. When the researchers adjusted the numbers to take body mass index (BMI) into account, there was still a strong benefit from physical activity. Even among the heaviest women, the ones who exercised the most—by walking or doing some other form of physical activity—cut their risk of diabetes by about 25 percent compared with the women who exercised the least.
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Just think how much more improvement these women could have experienced if they had used the ABSCP! Dr. Atkins knew, from years of seeing patients, that Type 2 diabetes can almost always be avoided!

WALKING ALTERNATIVES

If you don’t want to walk or if it’s not convenient,there are lots of good aerobic alternatives. You can swim or ride a bike; at the health club, you can take an aerobics class or work out on aerobic equipment, such as the stair-stepper, elliptical trainer, or treadmill. If you’d rather stay home, you can ride an exercise bike, do stepping exercises (if your leg joints are up to it), or exercise to a video tape—there are even walking tapes that give you the equivalent of a mile’s walk right in your own living room.

Walking might not be right for you if you have problems with your back, hips, knees, or feet. Never fear—there are plenty of other enjoyable aerobic exercises you can still do. Low-impact aerobics, water aerobics, swimming, biking, riding an exercise bike (consider a recumbent bike for added comfort),and using an elliptical trainer are all good options. Today there’s a wonderful world of exercise equipment that anyone, even someone who is very unfit or very overweight, can use. Just about every community has a place for just about anyone to exercise safely, often at little or no cost. You’ll find swimming pools, aerobic classes, and exercise equipment at health clubs,YMCAs, community centers, private exercise studios, and fitness centers at local hospitals. Some insurance companies cover fitness programs if they are prescribed by a physician.

WALK SAFELY

Some commonsense precautions will help keep your walks safe and comfortable:

• Wear comfortable, properly fitted walking shoes with cushioned, athletic socks. Check the shoes often and replace them when they show signs of wear,especially on the soles.
  
• Try to walk on level surfaces, such as dirt paths, running tracks, smooth sidewalks, or flat, grassy areas.Walking on uneven surfaces, such as rough fields, could cause foot and joint injuries.
  
• Choose a safe place to walk. When walking at night, choose a well-lit route and wear a reflective vest for extra visibility. Tell someone where you’re going and when you plan to be back.
  Carry your ID and a cell phone if possible.
  
• Be aware of traffic. Stay on the sidewalk whenever possible; if not,face into the traffic.
  
• Dress for the weather. Particularly in cold weather, dress in layers so you can remove them as you warm up. Wear a hat in both hot and cold weather.In very hot or very cold weather,or on high-ozone days, consider walking indoors at a shopping mall or on a treadmill.
  

EVERY STEP COUNTS: A GADGET TO GET YOU GOING

A newly popular way to work more physical activity into your life is to track your daily steps with a pedometer,a small,inexpensive gadget that clips to your waist and detects and records the motion of your steps.The average healthy adult takes some 6,000 to 8,500 steps a day—wear your pedometer for a week without changing your activities to find your personal average. Depending on how much you move around in the course of a typical day,to achieve 10,000 steps a day—about 4
½
to 5 miles—you may only need to take a 30-minute walk. People who are less active will have to walk longer or find other ways to add more motion to their daily activities. The pedometer lets you see how close you come to achieving your goal.Keeping a chart can also help you track your progress.

CHAIR EXERCISES

If you still think all this talk about exercise is not meant for you because you’re very unfit or have trouble moving around, listen up: You can still exercise! Dr.Atkins generally recommended chair exercises in such cases, although anyone can certainly do them—they’re an excellent way to sneak in some exercise while sitting in your cubicle at work.We could suggest a dozen different exercises,but only have space here for a few. A good personal trainer can help you learn more, and there are plenty of books, videos, and Web sites that can give you additional suggestions. Just make sure your chair is up to it!

Arm Raises

Sit in a sturdy chair (without wheels, of course) with your feet flat on the floor. Stretch your arms out to either side at shoulder height with your palms facing out. To the count of five, slowly raise your arms above your head until your fingertips meet. Hold for a count of five, and then slowly lower your arms to shoulder height. Repeat at least four more times.

GOOD PAIN AND BAD PAIN

As you begin your exercise program, it’s perfectly normal to feel a little stiff and sore. After all, you’re moving muscles and joints that haven’t been used very much recently. There’s a difference between the “good” pain that comes with being more active and the “bad” pain that signals an injury.Here’s how to tell the two apart:

Good pain:
A slight dull ache or soreness in a muscle or a slight stiffness around a joint that goes away after a couple of days, or even after a good soak in a warm tub.This sort of pain gradually diminishes as your fitness level increases.

Bad pain:
Sharp or sudden pain that keeps hurting after you stop the activity. This could indicate a joint problem or an injury. If the pain is severe or persists,or if the joint is red or swollen,see your doctor.

Knee Extensions

Sit in a sturdy chair with your feet flat on the floor. Keeping your feet together, to the count of five, slowly extend your legs until your calves are parallel to the floor—or as parallel as you can get them for now. Hold for a count of five, then slowly lower your feet again to the floor. Repeat at least four more times. If it’s too hard for you to do both legs together, do them one at a time.

Marching in Place

Sit in a sturdy chair with your feet flat on the floor. Alternating legs, “march”in place at a walking pace. Continue for at least three minutes or for as long as you are comfortable.