Get Moving!

Running can help you control your diabetes.

Written by Vera Tweed

Running has brought happiness and health to Lynn Riskedal

Lynn Riskedal, Ph.D., was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in 2000, right after she earned her doctorate in education from the University of Minnesota. She immediately decided to take action. Since then, she has run two marathons (26.2-mile races), eight half-marathons (13.1-mile races), and is inspiring friends and family to get fit.

“Exercise is what I’ve used to help me control my diabetes,” she says. “I’ve been able to reduce my medications, and I feel a lot better about myself and what I know I can control.” At the same time, she has adopted a healthier way of eating.

When diagnosed with diabetes, Lynn weighed 260 lb at 5’ 2”. She enrolled in a six-week HealthPartners diabetes education program in St. Paul, Minn. She thought, I need to redefine how I’ll approach the next phase of my life. She learned to measure her blood sugar daily, the importance of A1c tests (which measure average blood sugar levels during the past two to three months and indicate risk for complications), and how to control her diabetes. Today, her weight has stabilized at 160 to 165 lb.

Instead of starchy casseroles for dinner, Lynn eats smaller portions and simpler food: a piece of fish, a pork chop or a small steak with vegetables. “I’m very careful about how much rice and pasta I eat,” she adds. Snacks are usually fruit instead of high-fat, high-calorie junk food, but there are some treats. “Because my blood sugar is in the normal range, I don’t deny myself, but I do try to consciously manage what I eat,” she says.

Running has become a passion. It started with a half-hour walk/ run with her golden retriever. “I ran the distance I could, then walked and rested, and ran again when I could,” Lynn recalls. After awhile, she decided to run a 3.1-mile race to raise money for diabetes research, and started working with a fitness coach. After a few more races, she started training for marathons.

Lynn trains five or six times a week, including resistance exercises using simple equipment at home. Events are a key part of her motivation. “In my mind, I’m always training for a marathon,” she says. Raising money for charitable causes and motivating others to live a healthier lifestyle are equally important goals.

In addition, Lynn now rides her bike to work instead of driving. As she pedals through morning traffic, she thinks, I bet these people have no clue that this is a 52-year-old woman zipping down the highway.

Vegetables Beat Fruit
Eating vegetables reduces risk for type 2 diabetes. Fruit, on the other hand, neither increases nor decreases risk, according to a study of almost 65,000 women in China. In the four-year study, published in The Journal of Nutrition, women who ate the most vegetables (428 gm per day) were 28% less likely to develop the disease than those who ate less than a third of that amount. (For reference, a cup of cooked cauliflower weighs about 50 gm.)

 

Sleep Deep to Prevent Diabetes Getting enough restful, deep sleep has a dramatic impact on your chances of developing diabetes. Researchers at the University of Chicago found that when healthy young people were deprived of adequate deep sleep for three nights, their increase in risk for diabetes was comparable to gaining 20 to 30 lb. The study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, found that sleep deprivation reduces sensitivity to insulin, resulting in elevated levels of blood glucose.