I have found that I can use the treadmill, like some would use OHA's. I hop on after a meal and bingo...BG drops. So, I have a few questions for fellow treadmillers, as it is not the most exciting activity on the planet!

1) What else are you doing while you are treading? (reading, music, TV (I have to have it up pretty loud), meditating, motivational cd's?
2) Have you found that increasing speed helps to lower BG faster, or is slow and steady better?
3) How many miles/how long do you tread...mph?
4) What is the most drop in BG you have ever seen?
5) Does treading in the AM spike your BG?
6) Do you ever splurge, knowing you are going to tread it off? How would this work on Holidays...can you tell I am thinking ahead?

Actually, I want to ask for some Treadmill related gifts for Christmas. I know I am going to be treading daily for as long as my legs hold out. (I have a bad knee and 3.2 mph is about my limit so far.) I have been told that I will get less positive impact on BG as I get fitter. Great, does that mean I will have to go 3-4 miles at a time?

Questions...questions!!

Aha - another treadmill lover. It really does work to lower the BG but I try not to get in the habit of doing bad and then repenting on the treadmill! That being said, it is nice to know that you can help yourself recover. Several times, my husband and I have gone out to eat and afterward I have insisted that we walk around the parking lot or a little park nearby before getting into the car for the drive home. The only time I have been able to lose weight is when I go for a walk after dinner.
I generally walk at least a mile a day. If I do more it is in a second session. I walk at three miles an hour at an incline that works for me.
The TV where my treadmill is located doesn't have cable so I rarely watch it - I'm a news junkie. I like talk radio but the motor of the treadmill interferes with AM. Now I listen to my discman - at present I'm hooked on an old Mark Knofler (sp?) disc. The songs I like have a perfect 3 mph beat! I can't listen to a TV or radio in the room - it has to be headphones straight to the brain or I get so bored I could scream.
I would love to be able to read while walking but it just doen't work for me. I can't get the bifocals set right. I haven't tried talking books, but that might be interesting.
I've been doing this for a little over a year and haven't noticed that I have to go farther for the same results. I guess if that did happen you could just up the incline a little - more workout in the same time.

(Sherry slaps herself in head) I never thought of the incline feature! We have had this treadmill for years and .. well .. haven't used it that much until NOW! I need to figure out how to raise it up, because at 3.0 mph (top speed for my knee), I am not breaking a sweat anymore at 30 minutes!

I have a Sony Discman, I may get some type of waist purse and listen to some books. I've listened to Tony Robbins so may times, I feel like I could present one of his seminars!

Thanks for the quick response Nopie, I sometimes wonder if there is anyone else out there!

(sounds of tumbleweeds blowing in the background)

the treadmill is my favourite thing at the gym.i can get a bit addicted to it and tend to not want to do anything else.i walk at 4.5mph and run at 6.5.the walking drops bgs down to under 70mgs usually but the running can raise bgs for me.i like to do about 1 hr,20mins walking, then run and finish off with 10 minutes walk.
have to have the walkman on all the time-bon jovi works well,keeps me going.
And yes,ive used the treadmill to flatten out bgs after a "splurge"works like a charm!

Treadmill works for me too, if I can't get outside. Three times a day (after each injection) is the only way still I can get the insulin to 'work'. Like Christine, too hard and bGs go up...moderate, down. My evening walk is usually only 15 min instead of 30. No need to break into a sweat if moderate gets the insulin under way...bit different if you are training for a marathon !! Eve

Does it "get the insulin underway" or simply burn the glucose! Wish I had majored in Biochemistry....never realized I would have to know this stuff!!!

Both things happen. Exercise makes the body more sensitive to insulin, so the insulin works better. Exercise also causes the glycogen stores in the liver to be depleted, meaning that glucose is pulled out the bloodstream to replenish them.