Exercise

Exercise is good if you have diabetes

• Exercise needs to be regular - little and often is far better than infrequent and strenuous
• Set yourself achievable goals - start slowly and build up gradually
• Don't exercise if you're ill or injured
• Always have carbohydrate snacks easily accessible when you exercise

Dealing with changes to your pattern

Things are not always as simple as doctors, nurses, parents and other people you know might suggest. If you always did the same thing everyday, got up at the same time, ate the same food at the same times, and did the same amount of exercise everyday, then planning your insulin would be simple!
And life would be very boring.

In the real world every day is different, and so your diabetes management will need to change to match your lifestyle. All of these can do strange things to your glucose levels:

• Parties
• Eating out
• Drinking
• Smoking
• Unexpected exercise
• Drugs
• Exams
• Stress
• Sleeping late and skipping sleep

And if you occasionally get it a bit wrong, and your levels go a bit high or low, then it's not the end of the world. It's important to aim for good control, and when you do miss it, to deal with the glucose levels you end up with. Try to learn from it for next time.