Meet Karen Graham, a registered dietitian, and a certified diabetes educator. Karen shares her tips in how to properly fuel your body.

In a Zoom interview, Karen explains about healthy eating into their exercise routine. “I think what’s really important is to have regular meals and snacks. So for snacks, you may not want to have snacks, but regular meals and snacks, if you wish, and that’s the basis of your healthy eating and then your exercise, you build in around that. But you still maintain that regularity in terms of the time, because we know that for people who maybe they’re trying to lose weight or just eat healthier, that having a regular schedule is very important. So I think establish your schedule first.”

She further explains, “So really it’s, what’s going to work with your schedule. T

he most important thing is that you build that exercise into your day, every day. And some people do well with having their walk at a regular time. 

For people with diabetes, a really good time to walk is actually about half an hour after they eat. And with diabetes, the reason we say half an hour after the meal is after a person eats, our blood sugars and blood sugar goes up after we’ve eaten that meal or snack. 

And if you don’t have diabetes, your body is able to bring your blood sugars down fairly quickly back into a normal range. 

But when you have diabetes, the blood sugars can stay higher for up to two or three hours after. 

So if you go for a walk half an hour after you’ve eaten, that’s perfect because it helps your insulin work better and it helps bring those blood sugars  back to the normal, closer to the normal range.”

Karen, an avid fitness enthusiast shares some hiking advice to always carry water. “As we get older, we don’t want to have a blood pressure spike because we’re dehydrated a little bit. So it’s just good practice to always carry a water bottle with you.”

When it comes to creating healthy living habits is to create as well a mix of exercise routes and distances. “I have a certain route and I have a short walk, which is about a 15 minute walk. I have a longer walk, which is about 40 minutes.” 

She continues “And, just specifically, I guess, about the walking poles, I think one of the greatest things about the walking poles is they take weight off your sore joints. And, for many of us, as we get older, we have sore joints, whether it’s maybe a sore knee or an ankle or a hip. So if you’re, you’re someone who got sore joints and  you’re waiting for maybe a knee replacement or hip replacement, the Nordic walking poles, are such a great option because it allows you to stay active. And with surgery, you want to be really active when you go into that surgery is because then you recover faster afterwards. So using the walking poles takes weight off your ankles, takes weight off your hips and your knees, and it allows you to stay active. So I think that’s one of the greatest things about them.”

Check out Karen’s website for more information https://www.diabetesbooks.ca/karen-graham-certified-diabetes-edu

Reprinted with permission from Optimyz Magazine

Fitness Friday is submitted each Friday by Christine Blanchette and be sure to follow her on Twitter and  her Youtube channel.