Exercise is key to controlling your blood sugar, says Kevin Furlong, DO, a clinical associate professor of endocrinology at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. Exercise is just as important for managing type 2 diabetes as eating right, taking your medications, and managing stress, according to the American Diabetes Association (ADA). The Diabetes Prevention Program, a 2002 landmark multicenter research study, found that people with prediabetes who exercised 150 minutes a week and lost about 7 percent of their body weight significantly reduced their chances of developing full-blown diabetes. “This has been replicated in other trials since,” Dr. Furlong says. One of the best exercises you can do is walking, which is “low impact and less likely to injure joints and ligaments,” Furlong says. “It’s free, and you can do it almost anywhere.” Many health advocates, as well as numerous fitness apps and devices, urge people to aim for 10,000 steps a day. For most people, 10,000 steps equal about 5 miles, according to Shape Up America!, a nonprofit organization focused on obesity and weight management. But don’t assume that it’s all or nothing — 10,000 steps may be unrealistic for people with type 2 diabetes who are just starting out, says Karen Kemmis, PT, CDE, a certified diabetes educator with SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, New York, and a member of the executive board of the American Association of Diabetes Educators. Start small and work your way up. No matter how much you intend to walk, Kemmis suggests getting an activity tracker or an app for your phone to help you keep track of your steps and recognize your goals. 6 Health Benefits of Walking

  1. Better blood sugar control. When you exercise, your body uses energy in the form of glucose (sugar), just like a car uses gas, explains Kemmis. With type 2 diabetes, the body’s blood sugar goes too high, but exercise helps you use that sugar and, therefore, helps lower it. In fact, regular exercise can help improve your A1C, a test that measures your average blood sugar control over the past two to three months.
  2. Weight management. How many calories you burn will depend on many factors, such as your age, weight, intensity, and distance — but regardless, you are burning calories whenever you move, and walking can help you reach your weight management goals. Just remember, you need to burn more calories than you consume in order to lose weight, and a healthy diet is just as important as exercise to do so. Walking is a great tool for helping maintain weight loss, too. “People who are successful at keeping weight off are generally exercisers,” Kemmis says. 
  3. Improved heart health. People with diabetes are two to four times more likely to develop cardiovascular disease than people who don’t have diabetes, according to the World Heart Foundation. And aerobic exercise helps strengthen your heart as well as your whole cardiovascular system. Walking can also help lower blood pressure and reduce bad cholesterol.
  4. Improved mood and stress relief. Managing type 2 diabetes is challenging and can be stressful in itself. One good way to cool your nerves? Take a walk. Exercise releases endorphins, feel-good hormones that can lift your mood and relieve stress, according to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America. People with diabetes are at greater risk of becoming depressed than people without diabetes, and exercise can be one tool for caring for your emotional health.
  5. Better sleep. When you exercise during the day, you sleep better at night. “It’s a more restful sleep,” says Norma Lopez, MD, an associate professor of endocrinology at Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine in Chicago. Better sleep means better diabetes control, the ADA says.
  6. Fewer complications. Uncontrolled diabetes can lead to a number of serious health issues, including eye, feet, and kidney problems, along with nerve damage. Exercise can help you manage type 2 diabetes better, and the better you manage your diabetes, the lower your risk of complications, Dr. Lopez says. Exercise and Type 2 Diabetes: Start Slowly As with any exercise program, it’s best to check with your doctor before starting, Furlong says. If you’ve been inactive, start slowly. That will give you a good idea how exercise affects your blood sugar, Lopez says. If you find that exercise lowers your blood sugar, talk to your doctor about adjusting your medications, she says. Your doctor may also recommend eating a small snack before exercising and having quick-acting carbs on hand, such as glucose tablets. How to Step It Up Add in increments, Furlong says. “Get a baseline of how many steps you do in a day, and then add 1,000 more each week until you hit your goal.” Another option: Break up your walk into shorter segments. Three short post-meal walks proved to be as effective at reducing blood sugar during 24 hours as a 45-minute walk of the same easy-to-moderate pace, according to a study published in June 2013 in the journal Diabetes Care. Once you reach 10,000 steps a day, step it up again. “After a couple weeks, you can likely pick up the pace,” Kemmis says. Walk hills, carry weights, go farther to make it more challenging. Or go faster in spurts. Known as interval walking, these spurts helped control blood sugar levels in people with type 2 diabetes better than continuous moderate exercise, a study published in Diabetes Care in February 2013 found.