Keeping Type 2 Diabetes in remission in 2025

[GSARider]

Made a New Year Resolution to lose 4.4kg by end of January to get to 88kg. My Type 2 Diabetes has been in remission for 2 years now and weight has come down from an all time high of 146 kg.
Weekly, I am doing 5 x 30 min sessions in the morning along with an average of 40 mins weights and three afternoon 30 min rowing sessions.

[youtube]https://youtu.be/wVMvi2NJ06I?si=7qlfzg7q2bpqVMSj[/youtube]

[Ante]

Dear Rider,

Happy New Year and what a great way to keep the diabetes down!
I watched your film and feel you could get much better.
I usually try to break a training apart. E.g. a half hour row becomes 3 bits of 10 minutes with a different pace like 20-22-24 or something. Just something new after some time. This way I can keep it up much longer.

More important is technique.
C2 offers a lot of good advice on site to concentrate on. You look like a serious and pretty trim guy, so you’ll be able to pick up a lot and improve quickly.
For starters: try to sit differently on the seat (not on your ‘back pockets’ but on the two bones you can feel), so the knees can be above the ankles and the gap between thighs and torso closes. This will give you a much much longer reach and thus a better score.
Rowing is easy, but a lot can go wrong all the same. Form is where it all starts.
And it is more fun to concentrate on learning something new, than on disease, right?

Good luck and let us know how you’re doing.

[GSARider]

I do the apple fitness classes of 30 minutes each so 5-6 a week of them and I'm happy with that. Once a week , I do a 60-90 minute steady state row keeping in heart rate zones 2-3. I haven't gotten bored in three years and I like my routine and I ma not changing it. Technique wise there are a few reasons that I can't do certain things ( a biking accident that caused issues), but the seating position, I am aware of and have been working on that.

[Ante]

Thanks for the fast reply, Rider.
If you’re happy, then you’re okay. I don’t know the apple fitness system, but keep it up if it works for you.
And I understand that some positions are not possible for you, but you wouldn’t want injuries either, I think. As rowing is very repetitive, form is important. You could try a side mirror for a while. Especially for the lower back.

BTW impressive weight loss!

[gvcormac]

Congratulations! You didn't ask for advice, so I won't offer any.

I started bikeERGing every morning over coffee. My blood sugar was never bad, but I managed to bring my weight and blood pressure down quite a bit with lifestyle, of which daily bikeERG was a major component.

[GSARider]

Thanks for the fast reply, Rider.
If you’re happy, then you’re okay. I don’t know the apple fitness system, but keep it up if it works for you.
And I understand that some positions are not possible for you, but you wouldn’t want injuries either, I think. As rowing is very repetitive, form is important. You could try a side mirror for a while. Especially for the lower back.

BTW impressive weight loss!

Again I'm happy with what I am doing, I'm injury free, rowing now for three years, 5-6 days a week and content with what I am doing. I am not asking for feedback on form or anything else, I do this to keep fit and I am doing that, I measure my workouts with Heart Rate Zones and longevity - not stroke length, strokes, per minute or any of the metrics that serious rowers concern themselves with - we don't all row competitively or care about such things. Trying to get folk that aren't concerned with these things makes it off putting for most normal people - easier just to jump on a stationary bike then.I was taught that unsolicited advice is always criticism.

[GSARider]

Congratulations! You didn't ask for advice, so I won't offer any.

I started bikeERGing every morning over coffee. My blood sugar was never bad, but I managed to bring my weight and blood pressure down quite a bit with lifestyle, of which daily bikeERG was a major component.

Thanks, exactly! I'm not really worried about getting advice on rowing techniques. This post was more designed to help folk that might think they'd like to get started because they are unfit / overweight / type 2 diabetes, etc. Not to teach folk how to get started to train for competitive reasons...

[old wobbler]

I'm in the same boat so to speak.

Type 2 with a weight of 118kgs. Started rowing in February 2025 and so far have lost 4kg. My aim is to get to 90 kgs. I am still learning what is a decent training zone to row and how far my damaged body can push itself to find limits to row within.

Do you find it harder to lose weight at your current size?

Whats a good maintaining routine to keep your weight steady?

Be interested in hearing your journey and picking up any helpful tips you might have.

[gvcormac]

There's a lot of "learned wisdom" on social media that may or may not be correct.

I think it is credible that you burn a larger percentage of fat if you go slow. 25% of max effort (as measured best by heart rate reserve) is 90% fat. 50% is 60% fat -- but that's still more fat per hour than 25%, 80% is 90% carb, and somewhat less fat.

That said, does what you burn during a workout matter? There's no strong evidence of that. In the end, it is energy balance. So the question is, if you burn fat (or carb for that matter) in your workout, do you compensate either by eating more or by moving less during the rest of the day?

Also, I exercise before breakfast (in addition to other times, but I always do 30+ mins gentle exercise over coffee and email before breakfast). There is some evidence that that burns more fat. The evidence for overall downstream effect is less clear.

There's also evidence that saturated fat (combined with overnutrition) contributes to insulin resistance.