Diet and Fitness

Work out just once or twice a week. Research shows that a little bit of exercise counts. One study in the British Medical Journal found that less than an hour of walking once a week, or 20 minutes of vigorous exercise (like running) twice a week, cut the risk of death from any cause — including diabetes — by 15% and 23%, respectively. While there is plenty of evidence that 150 minutes of exercise a week is a great goal, there are also plenty of benefits to be realized with less time.

Choose something besides cardio. Building — and maintaining — muscle mass helps improve your blood sugar control, too. Muscle is the biggest part of your body that is able to respond and react to blood sugar, then break it down into usable energy. In fact, one study of more than 13,000 adults found that each 10% increase in muscle as a proportion of total body weight was associated with a 12% reduction in diabetes risk and an 11% decrease in insulin resistance (that's when the body has difficulty working with the insulin it produces).

Sneak in a few quick workouts throughout the day. In fact, "exercise snacks" during the day may actually be more effective than longer workouts, according to a 2014 study from researchers in New Zealand. Exercisers who did three 12-minute sessions a day controlled their blood sugar over 24 hours more effectively than those who did a single 30-minute daily workout.