Try Water Aerobics This Summer!

Posted on May 22, 2013 by Joslin Communications

Water aerobics is a great, low-impact exercise to get your heart rate up and work your muscles

Memorial Day is just around the corner so you know what that means—the traditional start to pool season! Stay refreshed and fit in the water this summer and cannonball into a new exercise routine!

Water aerobics is an excellent workout and offers numerous health benefits for people with type 1 or type 2 diabetes. Just like swimming, it improves muscular endurance, and fitness. The added resistance of the water on the muscles increases the rate of calorie burn which aids in weight loss.

This low-impact aerobic exercise is less stress on your joints, bones, and muscles than most land-based aerobic exercises such as running. Being in the water makes it easier to lift and move different parts of your body which increases your range of motion and flexibility. Also, the water pressure cushions your submerged body parts which helps decrease swelling around the joints.

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Joslin Awards First 80-Year Medal

Posted on May 21, 2013 by Joslin Communications

Spencer Wallace, Jr., the first recipient of Joslin's 80-Year Medal

In a ceremony on Saturday, May 11, Joslin Diabetes Center awarded Spencer M. Wallace, Jr. of Fayetteville, NY, the first Joslin Medal for living for 80 years with insulin-dependent (type 1) diabetes.  Mr. Wallace was diagnosed with diabetes at the age of 8 and has lived with diabetes for 82 years.

Watch video coverage and interviews from the Medalist Celebration.

The Joslin Medalist program has existed in some form since Dr. Elliott. Joslin began awarding 25-year Victory Medals in 1948 for people who had lived for 25 years with Type 1 diabetes. In 1970 Joslin Diabetes Center awarded the first 50-year medal, with a 75-year medal following in 1996. Since the program’s inception, more than 2,500 50-year medals have been awarded, as well as more than 50 75-year medals.  Mr. Wallace is the first person to receive the new 80-Year Medal.

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Type 1 Diabetes Symposium Highlights Cutting-Edge Research

Posted on May 20, 2013 by Joslin Communications

On Monday, May 6, Joslin Diabetes Center brought together some of the best minds in type 1 diabetes research for a day-long symposium covering the field’s cutting-edge research.

George King, M.D., Chief Scientific Officer at Joslin Diabetes Center and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School

The morning began with a welcome from John Brooks, President and CEO of Joslin. “Type 1 is major part of our focus,” he said. “We want to continue to devote resources and energy…to find a real solution.” George King, Chief Scientific Officer, and Jeffrey Flier, Dean of Harvard Medical School, both discussed Joslin’s long history of involvement in type 1 diabetes research, from the administering of one of the first insulin treatments in the 1920s to the realization in the early 1980s that type 1 diabetes was not in fact a sudden onset disease, but one that built gradually in the immune system over time.

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A Top Priority, Any Time or Place

Posted on May 17, 2013 by Joslin Communications

Jay making time to do strength exercises in his hotel room

My name is Jay Smith, and I have been a patient at the Joslin Clinic since 2005. I just completed the first phase of  Why WAIT, a weight loss and intensive treatment program offered at the Joslin Clinic.

During the last session of the 12-week program we were reviewing our successes during the first phase, and keys to continued success in managing our weight and blood glucose levels. A slide asked the question. What are the three keys to continued success?

  1. Exercise (No real surprise here, since exercise was a major component of the program).
  2. Exercise (My guess was going to be proper diet, but I get the point)
  3. Exercise (Hmm, I think they are trying to tell me something)

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Learn More About Pilates

Posted on May 15, 2013 by Joslin Communications

The Pilates technique helps to increase lean muscle mass

It’s no surprise that when you have diabetes keeping physically active is a crucial part in managing the disease.

But it’s hard to stay motivated and committed to your fitness goals when you’re doing the same exercise routine day in and day out. With May being National Exercise Month, there’s no better time to explore or experiment other fitness routines to help control and manage your diabetes.

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IronDiabetic: Swimming, Biking, and Running for a Cure!

Posted on May 13, 2013 by Joslin Communications

Each year some of the best athletes gather together to compete in the world’s toughest triathlon by swimming, biking, and running for total of 140.6 miles without stopping. Through the grueling length and harsh conditions, competitors strive to complete this ultimate challenge in 17 hours or less. These long-distance triathlons are an incredible quest in and of itself, but imagine competing in one while also having to manage your diabetes. Just ask Birch Bayly and his father who conquered their first Ironman triathlon last November.

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Show Us Your Pedometer!

Posted on May 10, 2013 by Joslin Communications

Try to get as close to 10,000 steps per day! It can be hard, so start slow and work up to the big goal

As part of National Exercise Month, Joslin Diabetes Center is starting a Show Us Your Pedometer campaign to motivate people to increase their daily physical activity.

A pedometer, which is a portable device that measures a person’s physical activity throughout the day, is an effective and simple tool that can be utilized to boost your motivation to exercise. Both children and adults can utilize pedometers to track their daily movements or steps.

Although pedometers are designed to be worn at the waist, you can also wear a pedometer on your arm or ankle. Most importantly, your pedometer should be placed on an area of your body that creates the most movement throughout a typical day.

When you are considering which pedometer to purchase, it is important to evaluate accuracy, comfort, price and personal preferences.

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Celebrating Joslin’s Nurse Educators

Posted on May 8, 2013 by Joslin Communications

This week – May 6 to 12 – is National Nurses Week.  And here at Joslin Diabetes Center we’re celebrating the six women who make up the clinic nursing team.

The Joslin Nurse Educators—Thecla Gordon, Stacey O’Donnell, Melissa Karas, Marianne Chojnicki, Sue Ghiloni, and Laura Schwab—are all Registered Nurses(R.N.) and Certified Diabetes Educators (C.D.E.).  They work with patients to develop care plans that work within each individual schedule and lifestyle. “We really try to get them to develop their own self-care goals,” says Thecla.  “And we make sure the get the best of what they really need.”

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Blood Glucose Goals for Physical Activity

Posted on May 6, 2013 by Joslin Communications

Blood glucose goals around physical activity are to avoid hypoglycemia both during and after activity, and return to target blood glucose levels following activity, as well as to avoid hyperglycemia. Your personal target blood glucose levels should be discussed with your doctor.

The best way to avoid fluctuations in blood glucose is to check your blood glucose often. Check your blood glucose before, half way, and after the exercise session to gather data and learn the impact of different types of exercise and any physical activities on your blood glucose in order to improve glucose control.

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The Benefit of the Exercise Physiologist

Posted on May 3, 2013 by Joslin Communications

Jackie Shahar, manager of the Exercise Physiology department at Joslin, works with patient James Dugan in the Joslin gym.

Good nutrition without physical activity is like eating one-half of a really tasty sandwich. Although the half maybe nourishing and appealing, it isn’t fully satisfying. To achieve good health and excellent glycemic control you need both halves of the sandwich. Just as you may need a dietitian partner to help you maneuver the serpentine world of healthy eating, a guide in your exercise journey can be a lifesaver, also.

National Exercise Month is a good time to talk about the dietitian’s partner, the exercise physiologist (EP). Now most people are familiar with dietitians and have some idea of what they do and why seeing one would be a good idea if you have diabetes. However, determining why their doctor wrote out a referral for an appointment with an exercise physiologist may leave a lot of people scratching their heads.

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