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Personal Stories: David

Name: David Ratherdale, Age: 65, Height: 6 feet 2 inches, Married, Type-2 Diabetic with a grown daughter and one grandson. I have been able to control my diabetes with diet and exercise rather than insulin.

My Physical Activity Routine/Program

Since November 2007, I have been walking just over a two-mile course in my neighborhood where I live, which takes me about 45 minutes. I also do a strength-training routine in the basement of our house, for that, I do 3 reps of different exercises of squats and shoulder presses that work all the major muscle groups.

How I Do It: My Routine

Sun
Mon
Tues
Wed
Thurs
Fri
Sat
Quick Check
walk
45 min
jogging

walk
45 min
jogging

walk
45 min
jogging

walk
45 min
jogging
check Meets
aerobic guidelines
strength
training
weight training
strength
training
weight training
strength
training
weight training
check Meets
muscle strenthening
guidelines

Why I Started

I went to my doctor for a physical, and nothing was good. My cholesterol was high, my triglycerides were high, my glucose level was high, and that’s when I found out that I have Type 2 diabetes. I learned that walking helps control diabetes, so I got serious about it and started walking regularly.

Benefits

All of the numbers reported in my blood work have come down significantly—to the point where my doctor was even (jokingly) questioning the reliability of the results because they were so good. I have been able to control my diabetes with diet and physical activity rather than insulin. I’ve lost about 65 pounds and feel better and have more energy.

Biggest Motivation

Fear of losing a foot. Or going blind. Diabetes can lead to a lot of internal damage if it’s not controlled. It would be very easy to spiral into a downward trend if I stopped being physically active. When I think about not being physically active, the fear of what could happen if I don’t continue my physical activity routine motivates me to do it.

Biggest Thrill

Seeing my hard work pay off, specifically, seeing my blood work results drop so much. You have all these people telling you for years to eat right and exercise. The benefits of doing this are no longer a myth or an ‘old wives’ tale’ to me.

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