Exercise Diabetes Type 2 - New Moderate-to-energetic (aerobic) exercise schedules

by Alba

Three reader contributions: Alba’s exercise schedule, a question about home glucose monitoring after a type 2 diabetes diagnosis, and Alba’s reflections on World Diabetes Day.

Quick Answer: Most adults with type 2 diabetes should gradually work toward at least 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous aerobic activity weekly, spread across at least three days, plus resistance exercise on two or three nonconsecutive days. Home glucose monitoring should be individualized: it is essential for some people and useful only when the results guide a clear action for others. World Diabetes Day is observed every 14 November to promote earlier diagnosis, risk reduction, access to care, and prevention of complications.

Answer by Dr. Albana Greca, MD, MMedSc

1. Exercise With Type 2 Diabetes

Hello Alba and Daoud,

The older exercise schedule needs an important correction. People are not restricted to exercising on a maximum of three days. The goal is to spread aerobic activity across at least three days, while avoiding more than two consecutive inactive days.

• Aerobic activity: aim gradually for at least 150 minutes weekly at moderate-to-vigorous intensity.


• Resistance exercise: two or three sessions weekly on nonconsecutive days.


• Less sitting: break up prolonged sitting with brief walking, standing, or gentle movement.

Vigorous exercise is optional. Brisk walking, cycling, swimming, dancing, gardening, or chair exercise can help. Start with short sessions and build gradually. Exercise supports glucose and heart health but does not replace needed medicine or insulin. Review our type 2 diabetes guide.

Insulin, sulfonylureas, and meglitinides can increase hypoglycemia risk during or after activity. Your team may advise glucose checks and fast-acting carbohydrate. Do not change doses independently.

Exercise safety: Stop and seek urgent assessment for chest pain, fainting, severe shortness of breath, or new weakness. Do not exercise when ketones are present. Seek urgent help for very high glucose with vomiting, abdominal pain, rapid breathing, confusion, severe dehydration, or inability to keep fluids down.

2. Should a Newly Diagnosed Person Monitor at Home?

Reader question: “I was newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and my sugar was 14.9. I want to track it, but was told I do not need to. Is this correct?”

Home testing is not needed at the same frequency for everyone. It depends on treatment, hypoglycemia risk, control, symptoms, pregnancy, illness, and whether a result will change an action.

Monitoring is especially useful with insulin or hypoglycemia-causing medicine, unstable readings, illness, symptoms, treatment changes, or short-term structured testing. Some people controlled without insulin may not benefit from routine daily finger-sticks unless there is a plan for using the results.

If the reading was 14.9 mmol/L, it is about 268 mg/dL and is high. Confirm the units and arrange prompt follow-up. A home meter tracks patterns but does not replace laboratory diagnosis. Use our unit converter and blood sugar guide.

How to obtain a more reliable finger-stick result

• Wash your hands with soap and water, then dry them completely.


• Use an in-date strip made for your meter and store strips as directed.


• Follow the meter instructions and avoid excessive squeezing.


• Repeat a result that is unexpected or does not match how you feel.


• Use control solution when advised or meter performance is in doubt.


• Record timing, meals, medicines, symptoms, and unusual activity.

Alcohol cleaning and discarding the first drop are not routinely required when hands are washed and dried. Do not stop prescribed monitoring or begin intensive testing without agreeing what each result should lead you to do.

3. World Diabetes Day: Why Awareness Still Matters

World Diabetes Day is observed on 14 November. The 2026–2027 theme is Early Action on Diabetes, emphasizing earlier recognition, diagnosis, risk reduction, and access to timely care.

Diabetes affects hundreds of millions worldwide, and many remain undiagnosed or undertreated. Earlier action may prevent emergencies and delay heart, kidney, eye, nerve, and foot complications.

Awareness should lead to practical action:

• Know common symptoms and personal risk factors.


• Arrange appropriate screening rather than waiting for severe symptoms.


• Learn what your glucose, HbA1c, blood pressure, cholesterol, kidney, eye, and foot results mean.


• Take prescribed treatment consistently and discuss barriers to care.


• Support access to insulin, monitoring, education, and preventive care.

One awareness day cannot solve diabetes, but it can encourage earlier testing and safer care. Education should never blame people for developing diabetes.

Doctor’s Note: Exercise, monitoring, and awareness are useful when they lead to safe action. Ask what to measure, your personal targets, and what to do when a result is outside range.

Educational safety note: This page is general education, not individualized diagnosis or treatment. Do not start, stop, or change insulin or another diabetes medicine without your healthcare professional.

Related Questions

• Why Does Blood Sugar Go Up After Exercise?


• Should Blood Sugar Be Higher Immediately After Exercise?


• Is a Blood Sugar Level of 107 or 110 mg/dL High?

Related Resources

• Type 2 Diabetes Information


• Using Diabetes Testing Strips


• Diabetes Blood Sugar Levels


• Dangerous Blood Sugar Levels

Last reviewed: July 2026

home blood sugar monitoring or self testing

QUESTION: Should type 2 diabetics test their own blood sugar levels? I have just been diagnosed and my sugar level was 14.9, but would like to keep track, but have been told that i don't need to.

Is this correct?


ANSWER: Hi,

First, I need to know who told you not to self-test your blood glucose. If it was your doctor, then, you should follow his/her advice as he/she knows better your medical history.

If it was somebody else (of non-medical field), then, I would suggest to talk to your doctor for your own diabetes control.

With regards to my opinion, I would advise to keep tracking your blood sugar, record the results and present to your doctor to give him/her a more profound idea on your diabetes management.

It is true that self-monitoring machines are not 100 percent accurate; however, studies have shown that a diabetic can rely on these machines while monitoring blood glucose.

This inaccuracy is derived from:

- the inexperienced person: if you are self-testing, especially when newly-diagnosed diabetic, then, at the beginning, it would be difficult for you to test blood sugar until you get experienced.

- another factor is related to the clearing of the glucose-machine. According to manufacturer instructions, the machine should be cleared well after each measuring.

Furthermore, it is advised to do the testing of the machine according to the instructions of the manufacturer. Actually, every glucose meters are supplied with an additional testing liquid to estimate the accuracy and well-functioning of the machine.

- another factor include the way you draw the blood after finger-pricking.

It is advised to clear the skin where you want to do the pricking with alcohol, and to wait until alcohol is dried. This is because, the presence of non-dried alcohol will affect the blood glucose results.

In addition, after you have pricked your finger, please clear the first drawn-blood with a cotton. After that, you can measure the BG only with the next drawn blood.

If you follow the instructions given by the manufacturer correctly, then, the accuracy of self-monitoring of blood glucose will be very high while managing your diabetes.

All the best!

Dr.Alba

World Diabetes Awareness Day November 14 / 2011

by Alba

Hi dear readers,

The Diabetes Awareness Day is close to the door. I just wanted to stop for a while and discuss with you why we need this day.

First, Why Diabetes?

Because this disease is spreading with a high velocity speed all around the world. 25.8 million people of all ages are affected, 8.3 percent of whom are U.S. residents. In addition, although 18.8 million people have been diagnosed; however, over 7.0 million others are not diagnosed yet.

Furthermore, kidney failure, non-traumatic lower-limb amputations, and new cases of blindness among adults in the United States are some of the devastating complications from diabetes. Moreover, diabetes is considered as the 7th leading cause of death in U.S., while it remains the major leading factor to heart disease and stroke.

Uau, that is incredible. Sometimes, I stop and think what is happening? Are we changing the world or our changes are damaging us?

Next, Why Awareness?

We are very busy with our daily life. There are times when we do not stop working or have any vacation, etc. We must learn. Although we might have a degree, we must keep on learning. This is the aim of awareness: to keep on learning and take actions.

We must know what is happening around us, even if it is not directly related with us, because if we sleep over, we will not succeed on beating Diabetes. We must know what is new and how it affects the old; we must know everything that changes, including the therapy schedules.

Why only One Day?

Although repetition is the mother of the knowledge, it is also the mother of bothering. If we keep talking on the same topic every day, nobody is going to listen to us. However, we cannot wait for miracles coming just in one day. We can only expect people got more conscious about their health and diabetes in particular.

As everything comes to a balance in our life, the same happens to the blood sugar levels. As you may probably know, if this balance is broken, diabetes appears; and if diabetes is uncontrolled, the above-mentioned devastating complications will come. That is our end.

We all are going to die; but each of us wants a decent death without wandering around the hospitals. Therefore, keep on learning, even for one day, because we do not know what we are going to get from that knowledge.

At the end, let us enjoying this day with all the knowledge and benefits it gives and hoping to keep on being healthy, far away from diabetes and other related problems.