What goals would the nurse establish with the diabetic person who is given an exercise program

If you have type 2 diabetes, your immediate goal should be to get and/or keep your blood sugar levels under control through diet, exercise, and, if needed, medications. Once you’ve accomplished that, it’s time to think about long-term goals to help you stay as healthy as possible and prevent diabetes complications.

Inhaltsverzeichnis Show

1. Manage your cholesterol
2. Stop smoking
3. Keep your eyes healthy
4. Prevent foot problems
5. Manage chronic stress
6. Maintain a healthy weight
7. Journal your blood sugar levels
Exercise programs
What exercise can I do?
Amount of exercise
Intensity of exercise
Taking care of your feet
Exercise tips
Advice for people with type 1 diabetes

1. Manage your cholesterol

Your body needs cholesterol to perform many functions, and your liver makes all it needs. People with diabetes tend to have higher “bad” cholesterol (LDL) and triglyceride levels and lower “good” cholesterol (HDL).

Eating a diet high in saturated and trans fats can increase your body’s production of bad cholesterol. High blood sugar levels and increased intake of simple sugars can increase triglyceride levels, as can chronically high alcohol intake. Smoking can decrease HDL levels.

If you’ve never had your cholesterol levels checked, ask your doctor to order a lipid profile. If you know your levels are high, talk to your doctor about taking a cholesterol-lowering statin. Set a long-term goal to lower your levels by eating a heart-healthy diet and exercising regularly. Once your numbers are stable, have them checked at least once a year.

2. Stop smoking

Smoking is bad for everyone, but even more so for people with diabetes. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, smoking can increase your risk for developing type 2 diabetes. It also makes it more difficult to control the condition and more likely you’ll have complications such as poor blood flow, heart disease, and eye problems.

If you smoke, set a long-term goal to quit. Talk to your doctor about smoking cessation programs or call 1-800-QUIT-NOW for assistance. It may take some time to kick the habit, but you’ll reap immediate benefits.

3. Keep your eyes healthy

Diabetes may cause or increase the risk of a range of eye conditions such as cataracts, retinopathy, and glaucoma. Left untreated, these conditions may lead to vision loss. The longer you have diabetes, the higher your risk. And, according to the National Eye Institute, many eye conditions don’t produce symptoms until vision is impaired. To help reduce your risk, set a goal to have a dilated eye exam with an ophthalmologist once a year.

4. Prevent foot problems

Another long-term goal should be to maintain healthy feet. Foot problems are common in people with diabetes and may cause serious complications including:

ulcers or sores that won’t heal
nerve damage
loss of sensation
dry, cracked skin
calluses
poor blood flow
amputation

Check your feet daily for wounds, ulcers, and skin problems. Walk regularly to improve circulation, and make a long-term goal to treat your feet with tender loving care. Have your doctor examine your feet at every visit and do a comprehensive foot exam at least once a year.

5. Manage chronic stress

Dealing with a chronic condition is stressful. Add on the daily grind of normal life, and it’s easy to get overwhelmed. Chronic stress may make it difficult to manage your blood sugar levels. It may also make you less apt to eat healthy or exercise.

Setting long-term goals to manage stress can help you take control of the situation. Set a goal to complete a yoga class or learn to meditate. If you feel you can’t handle stress on your own, contact your doctor for help.

6. Maintain a healthy weight

You may achieve your weight loss goals by changing your diet in the short term, but maintaining that healthy weight is challenging. Many things other than diet and exercise impact the numbers on your scale such as hormone levels, lifestyle habits such as sleep, and stress. Setting long-term goals to continue to lose a set number of pounds or to maintain a healthy weight can help you stay motivated.

If your weight loss has plateaued or you’re gaining weight, consider setting a goal to increase your physical activity. Maybe you’d like to run or walk a 5K within the next year or walk a 15-minute mile. Set a goal to reach that milestone.

7. Journal your blood sugar levels

If your blood sugar levels are well-managed, you may not be monitoring them as often as you should. Even if you’re checking your levels regularly, you may not be tracking them. Keep an electronic or written blood sugar log along with what you were eating and doing at the time of the test. This helps you identify how your blood sugar responds to certain foods, heavy or light meals, stress, and exercise. Think about setting a long-term goal to regularly monitor and identify patterns that can help you make changes as needed.

Setting long-term health goals can help you manage your diabetes. When setting goals, make sure they’re achievable and realistic, or you may give up. A good way to start is by setting S.M.A.R.T. goals, which are:

Specific: Ask yourself what you want to accomplish, how long it will take, and if the
goal is ongoing.
Measurable: Decide how you’ll measure the goal. Maybe you’ll have a cholesterol blood test,
an A1c test, or go by your weight.
Achievable:
Be sure the goal is achievable. Brainstorm ways to track your progress.
Realistic: Unrealistic goals set you up for failure. Keep your goals sensible, and
consider setting smaller goals along the way to help you reach the finish line.
Timed: Create a realistic timeline to reach your goals. Long-term goals take time, but
if they take too long, you may lose motivation.

Consider enlisting a trusted ally and sharing your goals with them. Let them know what they can do to help you stay motivated and accountable such as a daily or weekly phone call or email, or being an exercise buddy.

Everybody benefits from regular exercise. If you have diabetes, or are at risk of diabetes it plays an important role in keeping you healthy.

Benefits

For a person with diabetes exercise helps:

Insulin to work better, which will improve your diabetes management
Maintain a healthy weight
Lower your blood pressure
Reduce your risk of heart disease
Reduce stress.

Warning- Don’t take part in strenuous physical activity if you are feeling unwell or have ketones present in your blood or urine.

Exercise programs

Before commencing a regular exercise program see your doctor for a full medical examination. Initially take it slow – you don’t want to start off too hard, if you are not used to the exercise you will be sore the next day and this will not make exercising a fun experience! Over time, you can slowly increase the intensity of the exercise.

If you have any diabetes complications like retinopathy, nephropathy, you should talk to your doctor or an accredited exercise physiologist before you start increasing the intensity of your exercise.

What exercise can I do?

Anything that gets you moving. Here are some suggestions for you to discuss with your doctor:

Walking
Swimming
Cycling/ exercise bike
Dancing
Gardening
Golfing
Weight training
Tai Chi
Water aerobics

Increasing your general physical activity is also helpful, e.g. taking the stairs instead of the lift, getting up to change the TV station instead of using the remote control, housework, and gardening. Avoid watching too much TV or sitting at the computer for a long time.

Amount of exercise

For good health, you should be doing about 30 minutes of exercise every day. If this is not possible, then this time can be divided in 3 x 10 minutes sessions. You can break up exercise throughout the day.

If you need to lose weight, 45-60 minutes everyday.

Intensity of exercise

You do not need to puff to gain the benefits of exercise. Aim for moderate intensity. This means you should still be able to talk as you exercise without becoming breathless.

Taking care of your feet

Ulcers or other lesions on the feet are a serious danger for people with diabetes. It is important to avoid foot damage especially for middle-aged and elderly people.

Always inspect your feet before and after exercise
Avoid exercise that causes stress to the feet (e.g. running). Exercise which poses minimal weight or stress on the feet is ideal such as riding an exercise bike or brisk walking in good footwear
Wear comfortable and well-fitting shoes.

Exercise tips

Drink extra fluid before, during (only if prolonged exercise) and after exercise to avoid dehydration. The fluid may be water or a sweetened drink if extra carbohydrate is required. 250 ml every 15 minutes or one litre of fluid per hour is recommended.
Take extra carbohydrate before and during exercise to prevent hypoglycaemia. Extra carbohydrate is often needed after exercise. Discuss adjusting carbohydrate intake with your doctor or dietitian.
Monitor your blood glucose levels before, if possible during (at least initially), and after exercise to assess your requirements for extra food.
It may be necessary to reduce your insulin dose prior to exercise. Insulin adjustment varies with each individual. Discuss appropriate adjustments to suit your exercise schedule with your doctor or Credentialed Diabetes Educator.
Wear sun block when exercising outdoors.

People with diabetes are generally discouraged from strenuous physical activity if they feel unwell or have ketones present in their blood or urine.

Advice for people with type 1 diabetes

Regular exercise is an important part of your diabetes management. It will help your insulin to work more efficiently and assist with your blood glucose control. However, if you have fluctuating or high blood glucose levels (i.e. fasting blood glucose levels greater than 14 mmol/L and urinary ketones), it is best to avoid exercise until your blood glucose has settled. Exercise in these circumstances can actually elevate blood glucose and increase ketone production.

Fun Run Training