Walking After Eating: How it Impacts Your Blood Sugar

After years of weight struggles, Irma began to accept that walking short distances in pain was her norm. She limped around grocery stores and invested in a cane.

When her employer began offering Virta as a benefit, Irma signed up. In eight months, Irma lost 77 pounds, ditched fast-acting insulin and a cane, and regained her independence. Irma credits Virta with transforming her life, one step at a time. 

The ability to walk independently was a benefit of Virta for Irma. That’s huge. Walking and diabetes management can go hand in hand. Here’s what you need to know about the benefits of walking after eating. 

Is It Good to Walk After Eating?

Walking after eating can help lower blood sugar, especially if you have prediabetes and Type 2 diabetes. 

When you walk after a meal or snack, your insulin sensitivity improves. Your body becomes more receptive to insulin because your muscles have to use that glucose for energy, instead of just letting it sit in the bloodstream. Your body’s cells also stay more responsive to insulin for several hours post-walk.

And if that wasn’t a good enough reason, walking after eating can improve your heart health, weight, and mood. 

Walking After Eating Benefits

Regulate blood sugar 

Physical activity is fantastic for glucose management. Especially for people with diabetes and prediabetes, it’s thought that exercising after eating can prevent post-meal blood sugar spikes. However, research suggests that a 10-minute after-meal walk often offers faster blood sugar benefits than one daily 30-minute cardio session.

Improves digestion

Activity moves more than the legs. It also stimulates the intestines, helping gas move through the digestive system. If you walk after eating, you’re less likely to experience abdominal issues and stomach pain. In fact, for bloating, research indicates that post-meal walks can be more effective than anti-bloating medication.

Promotes weight loss

When combined with nutritional changes, walking for weight loss can help you reach your goals. Two 25-minute strolls a day may even boast more weight-loss perks than a single 50-minute walk.

Reduces heart disease 

Walking can protect against heart disease, and you don’t need the standard recommendation of 10k steps a day to reap those benefits. As few as 3,000 steps a day have been shown to help lower blood pressure in adults who spend most of their time sitting. Regular exercise can also lower cholesterol and your risk of heart attacks and stroke.  

Supports Mental Health

Your mental health is as important as your physical well-being. When you walk, your body releases feel-good endorphins, which can improve your mood.  

Improves sleep

Some research suggests that walking between 7K to 10K steps daily can lead to more restful sleep. In addition, walking close to bedtime may improve sleep quality and time. 

Walking and Diabetes: What to Know

Short walks after eating can support people with diabetes and prediabetes. There isn’t a recommended minimum walking time for diabetes. Generally, research suggests a 10 to 15-minute post-meal walk is a sweet spot for managing blood sugar. But other data indicates that even short two-to-five minute walks might do the trick. 

Walking specifically after dinner may have an especially significant effect on lowering blood sugar. It makes sense. Dinner is typically the largest meal of the day, so walking can serve as an antidote.

Remember, exercise is only one tool to reach your goals. It’s best to combine it with nutrition changes, blood sugar monitoring, and other lifestyle habits. 

Tips for Walking After Eating

• Time it right. Walking within 10-to-30 minutes of eating can help you get the most benefits with the fewest adverse side effects, such as cramps. 
• Target duration and pace. Ideally, you’ll walk for 10-to-20 minutes at an easy-to-moderate pace (heart rate up but conversational). 
• Remember: small steps add up. You don’t have to hit the ideal pace and duration right away. It’s OK to start with a slow, five-minute post-meal walk and gradually increase your speed and time.

The Takeaway

Walking after eating may help lower blood sugar and manage your HbA1c in the long term, making it especially useful for people with prediabetes and type 2 diabetes. It may also protect against heart disease and boost mental health. Even a 10-minute, easy-paced stroll can help you reap these benefits… but if you can’t manage that duration yet, every bit helps. 

Want to lose weight or better manage your metabolic health? Virta Health might be able to help. Using support resources like 1:1 virtual coaching, Virta Health empowers people to reclaim control over their health and feel like their best selves. See if you’re eligible for Virta Health here.