You can also stay healthy with type 2 diabetes. Adequate physical activity with a healthy diet will help control your blood sugar levels. At the same time these will also help you in weight control and you will feel quite healthy overall.

Keeping your body active will help control your blood sugar levels         

Regular exercise or physical activity will help reduce the amount of sugar in your blood. Try to exercise at least two and a half hours every week. Don’t be fooled by two and a half hours – you can divide this two and a half hours into seven days a week. Even if you exercise for only 30 minutes on any five days of the week, you will be able to do two and a half hours of physical activity per week.

You can choose any of the exercises that make your body tired with sweat.

This might be:

• Walking, jogging or running fast
• Going up and down the stairs
• Cycling
• Doing heavy housework or gardening

Your weight and its importance

If your body weight is higher than normal, losing weight will help reduce the amount of sugar in your blood. It will also make it easier to control your blood pressure and blood cholesterol levels.

It is especially important
to have a regular diabetes checkup at least once a year to make sure your blood pressure and blood cholesterol levels are under control. 

Measure your BMI to see if you are overweight.

If you need to lose weight, keep in mind – it is usually best to lose weight gradually over time. Plan to lose weight from half a kg to one kg per week.

Studies have shown that short-term (about 12 weeks) and low-calorie (800-1200 calories per day) diet helps control the symptoms of type 2 diabetes. At the same time, some people have completely got rid of the symptoms.

However, this low-calorie diet may or may not be safe for everyone with type 2 diabetes. This type of diet is not safe for those who have to take insulin, so it is important to consult a doctor before starting this type of diet.