exercise | Gluco Perfect®

by Lauren Bongiorno

Lauren Bongiorno Stretching After Injury

Over the summer while working out in my yard, I heard a popping noise in my left knee. I instantly started crying from the pain and when I tried to straighten my leg out but couldn’t, I knew I had a serious injury on my hands.

After a visit to both the emergency room and an orthopedic doctor, I learned that I sprained my right lateral collateral ligament pretty badly. I was told that I needed physical therapy twice a week for the next 3 months and needed to drastically modify my workouts so I wouldn’t further injure my knee.

If you’ve ever been injured, you know how frustrating it can be. As a result of the injury there are a lot of limitations and a lot of precautions that more often than not interfere with your daily routine. Once the doctor told me of my injury, however, my first thoughts were not about what I couldn’t do, but rather what I still could do.

In the weeks recovering form my injury, instead of running outside for cardio, which has high impact on your knees, I rode my bike and used the elliptical at the gym. Instead of my intense power yoga sessions, I focused more on slow deep stretches and meditation. And instead of leg days that usually consisted of lots of jumping and heavy squats and lunges, I focused on building my upper body strength with exercises like pull ups, pushups, shoulder presses and tricep dips.

Even though I could not work out as hard as I normally would have, I knew it was so important to stay active to keep my blood sugar levels from spiking and to keep my stress levels low. It didn’t matter that I wasn’t running 10 miles a day or squatting with heavy weights. All that mattered was that I was moving my body and staying active, using what I had to do what I could because every little bit makes a difference.

I truly believe that injuries, just like diabetes and all of life’s other challenges should be approached the same way:

With acceptance
You may not be able to control what happens to you but you can control how you react. Once you can accept the challenge that has presented itself, you can begin focusing on seeing the positive in a situation and cultivating strength to help you get through it.
With patience
When a new challenge presents itself there may be frustrating times, but the important thing is to be patient. To know that the moments of struggle are not permanent, and they will pass.
With perseverance
Above all, we must believe that challenges are not meant to be roadblocks, but only bumps in the road. No matter how many bad days you have, or moments of self doubt and sadness, or no matter how many times you get knocked down, the important thing is that you get right back up and keep fighting to be the healthiest and happiest you.

Lauren Bongiorno is a Type 1 Diabetic, Diabetic holistic health coach, qualified yoga instructor, and motivational speaker. Lauren has lived with Type 1 Diabetes since 2000 and has proven that no matter what your challenge in life is, taking control of it starts from the inside out with a healthy mind and body. With a background in holistic health, personal training, division 1 collegiate soccer, and yoga, Lauren is the Brand Ambassador for Gluco Perfect. You can connect with Lauren on her website at laurenbongiorno.com and follow her Instagram and Facebook pages for daily inspiration.

Lauren Bongiorno in a Yoga Pose

by Lauren Bongiorno

Aside from the food you’re putting in your body, exercise is a KEY component to keeping your blood sugar numbers in a healthy range and in avoiding those high spikes us diabetics tend to get in the morning and after meals. One of the most beneficial effects exercise has on diabetics, along with everyone else as well, is that it helps the body increase its insulin sensitivity.

A higher insulin sensitivity is SO important because it allows the insulin to take the glucose out of the blood in a quick and effective manner. When the body has poor insulin sensitivity, there are an array of negative effects that may occur: inflammation in the body, reduced athletic performance, low energy, increased risk of heart disease, weight gain, and may result in eye and feet problems.

While everyone knows that exercising is healthy, sometimes we let our excuses get in the way. We know them all too well: I’m too tired; I had a long day; I have a headache; My blood sugars weren’t good today; the gym is too far of a drive; I have to cook dinner for my family tonight. The list is endless!

So how do we overcome these excuses and make exercise a top priority in our lives in order to stay healthy, increase insulin resistance, and prevent future complications? Well, we can start here with these 3 steps anyone can take to pushing their excuses aside and making time to get active:

1. Change your perspective
Instead of viewing working out as a job or something you have to do, change your perspective and look at it as something that you GET TO do. You might not be able to control the fact that you have diabetes but you do have the ability to take better control of your blood sugar numbers through moving your body! It’s also an added bonus that working out boosts our mood, increases our energy, and gives us a sense of accomplishment!

TIP: There are a million excuses we can make to not workout. Try writing down a list of reasons you want to work out and hang it somewhere you can see every day!

2. Make a plan
Step two is to make a plan. Just like you schedule in work meetings, allot time each day to get active. On Sunday night I like to write out in my planner what workouts I’ll be doing each day and when. Whether it’s riding your bike outside, going for a run, circuit training, a spin class, a zumba class, dancing, make it part of your weekly routine! Note, before starting any exercise routine, please consult your physician.

TIP: Try doing this quick, no equipment at home workout:

50 jumping jacks
40 bicycle crunches
30 mountain climbers
20 squats
10 jump switch lunges
Suggestion: Repeat circuit 3-4 times

3. Journal
Journaling is a great way to not only help you track your progress toward a particular fitness related goal, but writing can help improve your connection between the mind and body. At the end of the day, reflect on how you felt after your workout. Did you have more energy? Were you able to do more cardio than the week before and felt a sense of accomplishment? Did your cravings for junk food increase? Decrease? When we reflect on how the body is feeling, a connection is formed between our actions, and the result of those actions on our overall health.

TIP: Keep a notebook next to your bed and take 10 minutes before going to sleep to reflect.

What I love most about these 3 steps is that they’re simple, but completely manageable! They’ve made a great impact on my life and I hope that they will help you as well!

Share with us below how YOU stay motivated to workout! We’d love to hear!

Tag Archives: exercise

How To Stay Positive When Recovering From Life Challenges

No More Excuses: 3 Steps To Start an Exercise Routine That Will Stick!