Ep. 4: Why they tell you to walk after meals

One of the most common pieces of advice women receive after being diagnosed with gestational diabetes is simple: move your body after meals. Often that looks like a 10-minute walk. But what is that actually doing inside the body?

In this episode, Celia sits down with Kristen McCluskey, an accredited women’s health exercise physiologist and the founder of Meri Exercise Physiology, to unpack the science behind movement and blood sugar regulation during pregnancy.

Together they explore what happens to glucose in the body after we eat, why pregnancy hormones make it harder for insulin to do its job, and how muscle contraction creates an alternative pathway that helps glucose move out of the bloodstream and into cells.

Kristen also explains the research behind the common “10-minute walk after meals” advice - including why the timing isn’t quite as rigid as it’s often presented, and why consistency and realistic routines matter far more than doing it perfectly.

This conversation is designed to help you understand the why behind movement recommendations, so you can approach exercise during pregnancy with more confidence and less pressure.

What you’ll hear in this episode:

• What happens to carbohydrates in the body after you eat
• How insulin normally moves glucose into your cells
• Why pregnancy hormones increase insulin resistance
• The “secret side door” muscles open for glucose during exercise
• What GLUT-4 transporters are and why muscle matters
• Why moderate-intensity movement is often recommended
• The science behind the 10-minute walk after meals advice
• Why splitting exercise into smaller blocks can be more achievable
• How consistency with movement can support blood glucose over time

Resources & links mentioned:

• Kristen's Instagram → @meri.exercisephysiology
• Meri Exercise Physiology →  Meri Exercise Physiology
• WHO recommendations on care for women with diabetes during pregnancy (2025)

About the guest

Kristen McCluskey is an accredited exercise physiologist specialising in women’s health, pregnancy, and postpartum care. She is the founder of Meri Exercise Physiology, where she supports women navigating pregnancy, recovery after birth, and chronic health conditions through evidence-based movement.

Kristen also experienced gestational diabetes herself, giving her a unique perspective that combines professional expertise with lived experience.

Transcript

This transcript was auto-generated and lightly edited for clarity.

Celia (00:28)
When you start to manage gestational diabetes, one of the first things you're told is to incorporate movement after your meals, a 10 minute walk being the common advice. But what does it really do?

In this episode, we're going to dive into how movement affects our blood glucose, what's actually recommended, and what's flexible.

To help us explore this, I'm joined by Kristin, an accredited women's health exercise physiologist and the founder of Meri Exercise Physiology. Kristin supports women through pregnancy, postpartum and chronic conditions. And she also happens to have experienced gestational diabetes herself.

So we get to chat with someone with all the knowledge and the lived experience too. Welcome Kristen.

Kristen (01:07)
Thank you so much for having me.

Celia (01:10)
Thank you for joining us.

Now, before we talk about why movement helps, what's actually happening in the body after we eat that makes our blood glucose rise? Like what's the problem that we're trying to manage?

Kristen (01:23)
Yeah, this is a great question. So basically we eat carbohydrates and it breaks down into glucose and enters the bloodstream. And it needs to be absorbed into the cells to be used and stored as energy for later.

I like to think of the cells as having locked doors on them and you need a key to unlock that door to let the glucose from the blood into the cell. And the key to the door is insulin.

So we've all heard of insulin. It's the hormone produced by the pancreas. So when we eat the carbohydrates, it's broken down into glucose, the pancreas is alerted and then it lets out all the insulin.

Celia (01:42)
Mmm.

Kristen (02:03)
And then the insulin comes and unlocks the door. During pregnancy, we grow an extra organ called the placenta. And the placenta produces its own hormone system. And these hormones tend to peak around late second trimester, early third trimester.

And this peak of hormones can cause insulin resistance. So basically what's happening there is the lock and key mechanism becomes a bit harder.

Instead of having normal locks on the doors of the cell, it's almost like there's a deadlock there. The lock and key process is much slower or less efficient.

And so the body's way of trying to counteract that is to just produce more insulin, but that's not always the answer.

So in terms of getting the glucose into the cell, a really wonderful way that we can help that process is exercise and movement - which is why it is such a big part of managing gestational diabetes, or also type 2 diabetes.

Celia (03:08)
Okay, so when we bring exercise into the picture, is that helping the pancreas do its job somehow, or is it doing something entirely different?

Kristen (03:19)
With exercise, it's like there's this little side door or this little secret doorway that opens elsewhere in the cell. And once the muscle starts contracting, that doorway opens, and glucose can also be absorbed into the cell that way.

So it's like this cool little hack where we don't need the pancreas to be going crazy with insulin or anything like that. It's just muscle contraction opens these little doorways and it helps to relieve that system and get glucose out of the blood.

Celia (03:53)
Okay. So if I'm following, you're saying glucose can enter the cell via these secret side doors without needing insulin at all?

Kristen (04:04)
Yeah, yeah. So when you exercise, there's another transporter in the cell for the GLUT-4, which is another transporter. So it's like G-L-U-T all in capitals. So yeah, it's like the secret door opens and doesn't need a key, and then the cell is able to absorb the glucose that way.

This process is - I suppose when you think about exercising - particularly resistance training is really good for this, because these GLUT-4 transporters are in the muscle cells. And so the more muscle you have, the more of these transporters, or the more of the cells that you have. And therefore the greater capacity you have to suck up the glucose down in the blood.

In terms of training for blood glucose management as EPs, we do tend to focus on what we call compound exercises. So they're the exercises where you're moving and contracting a lot of different muscle groups. So if you think about doing a bicep curl, that's quite targeted to one part of the arm.

Whereas if you were to do a bench press or a push-up, you're incorporating the chest and the triceps and the back and everything as well - and your legs.

Celia (05:24)
Yeah, I'm like...I'm just laughing at the thought of me doing a push-up right now at 26 weeks. So can you? I need to book in and see you so you can show me how.

Kristen (05:33)
There's a lot that we can do is modify every exercise. Yes, things can be modified. That is our job, to modify and make things simpler. And that is a big part in pregnancy. I mean, not many of us are getting on the floor doing pushups. Oh my goodness. No, you're right.

Celia (05:51)
Not me. But sorry, I cut you off. You were saying a bench press engages more of the muscles...

Kristen (05:59)
Yeah, like a more bang for your buck because you're going to be moving more muscles and therefore the opportunity to gain more muscle. And the more muscles that are moving, the more of these doors are going to be opening to let the glucose in. Because if the muscle's not moving, then this isn't going to happen.

I should also add that this process - what we call where the muscles become more insulin sensitive - that's sort of the term that we use, can last for up to 48 hours after your workout. So this is a big thing in why the recommendation is often to exercise every day, or at least every second day, so that we can keep that process going and keep the muscles insulin sensitive.

Insulin resistance is the blocking of the process where we want to get the glucose into the cell. And then insulin sensitive is the opposite, I suppose - the process where it's easier to get the glucose into the cell.

Kristen (07:02)
The insulin process is still working at the same time. Even though it is slow, it is still working and still doing its job. And then you have the exercise alongside it. So that's why it's just a nice process that kind of works together.

Celia (07:23)
Yeah. I was going to ask how timing did play into it actually. So let's say I go for a long walk this morning. For the next 48 hours my muscles can be benefiting from those secret doors being opened, if I'm following. Is that right?

Kristen (07:44)
Yeah, yeah, that's right. It does depend on the workout. So it does need to be a certain intensity for the benefits to be that long lasting. You are going to get benefits either way, but we like to recommend you do at least moderate intensity workouts.

So if you think about walking, for example, the way that we like to say you can measure whether you're walking at a moderate intensity is to do the talk test. You should be able to talk to someone while you're walking - whether that's somebody you're walking with, on the phone, or talking to yourself. But you shouldn't be able to sing.

So you're kind of working out a bit of a sweat. You're puffing a little bit, but you're not bent over and unable to speak at all. You are able to maintain conversation. But if somebody asked you to belt out whatever it is you're listening to, you couldn't. So yeah, if you're walking along still singing your Taylor Swift then you're not going hard enough.

Celia (08:40)
If anyone hears me this morning, don't worry, I'm just testing if I'm working hard enough.

Celia (08:52)
One thing that's sticking out to me is you can exercise and your muscles will take in glucose long after you do it, right? But the advice we get with GDM is to be active right after a meal. So I'm wondering, is that immediate post-food activity really affecting the glucose from that meal you just ate? Or is it more about the bigger picture of keeping those secret side doors doing their thing?

Kristen (09:24)
Great question. And this is where I find the research gets a little bit hazy. It may to a degree, but overarching recommendations at the moment for pregnant women and also for women with gestational diabetes is to do 150 to 300 minutes of moderate intensity exercise a week. Which basically translates to half an hour, five of those days a week if you want to get the 150. And then half an hour of a solid block of exercise once a day is hard for a lot of people and not realistic for a lot of people.

Celia (09:54)
Mm-hmm.

Kristen (10:06)
And so the 10 minute recommendation is just that it's a hell of a lot easier to do 10 minutes of exercise than it is to do a half an hour block of exercise. Particularly if you do have gestational diabetes, you tend to fatigue a little bit easier than your average pregnant woman.

Kristen (10:23)
When we work out and your muscles are working, the blood in your body kind of goes towards where you're working out. So if you were to do a few squats, blood would relocate to your lower body to help feed those muscles with energy to keep going and doing the task that it needs to be doing. Yeah, so you've only got so much blood in your body and it kind of locates to wherever it's needed.

That's why when you eat a really big meal your blood tends to go to your digestive system and kind of goes away from your head a little bit and you get a bit tired.

Celia (10:43)
Yeah, I didn't know that was a thing, but I totally know what you're talking about.

Kristen (11:05)
Yeah, that's why you just want to lie there and do nothing after a big meal. The mechanism of blood going to the muscle to give it all the energy and everything it needs to keep going in an endurance sense is a little bit hindered with gestational diabetes.

The blood vessels aren't able to dilate as much and let through as much blood to give it the resources it needs to keep going. So in that case, you fatigue earlier.

So one half hour block of exercise a day or every second day might be quite difficult. And that's when the three lots of 10 minutes - workouts after you eat - become really useful too.

Kristen (11:54)
Also, if you've never exercised or if you haven't been super active before your pregnancy, doing a half hour moderate intensity walk is probably going to be too much for you anyway. So the 10 minutes is a lot more achievable. It's a lot less daunting and you're able to maintain that intensity as well. And you can work up to it - even if you start with five minutes or do 10 minutes at a little bit less than moderate and then build up to it.

Celia (12:29)
Yeah.

Kristen (12:29)
I found myself personally I liked the three lots of 10 minutes a day when I had gestational diabetes. Because your blood glucose is kind of front of mind after you've eaten. I mean, let's be realistic, it's kind of front of mind always. But it is really front of mind then and you can kind of go, all right, I've taken this time to eat my lunch anyway, so I'm just going to do a quick 10 minutes of this and then that's that.

Celia (13:31)
Yeah, definitely. Even now thinking about my schedule, the ideal half an hour five days a week - that's not going to happen. I'm sorry.

Kristen (13:39)
That's a lot. Especially if you're a second or third time mom too.

Celia (13:48)
I try to take my daughter and our dogs for a walk in the morning. But I would never get up to the right intensity because she's stopping and looking at everything along the way.

So I'm like, okay, that's out. We're just not going to get there. But following each meal, because you can kind of tie it together, it would feel more realistic.

Kristen (14:19)
So if you are somebody who would prefer to get up in the morning and just do a half an hour workout, if that works for you you're still getting those effects. Don't think that because you haven't moved immediately after a meal that the meal is going to affect you more. Because those benefits of exercising last long after you finish the workout.

So if that works better for you, then do that. It's just about what works for you and what helps you get it done. A lot of research looking at the 10 minute recommendation compared groups doing three lots of 10 minutes a day versus one 30 minute block.

The women doing three lots of 10 minutes were far more likely to complete the full half hour. Whereas the women doing the single half hour often fell short and only did 15 or 20 minutes. So from an adherence point of view, you're more likely to get it done.

Celia (15:36)
I also like that it seems like there's flexibility in it. Because I can see how there would be days where doing the 10 minutes right after would also be impractical. This is helping me feel a little bit more confident in changing it up on the day and not feeling like I've got to do it one way.

Kristen (15:54)
I love that. I do see things on Instagram talking about the immediate effects of exercising after a meal. And it sounds super promising and really exciting that you can directly impact things so quickly. But I couldn't find anything that truly confirmed that in a really confident kind of way. 

Celia (16:21)
No way. Instagram wasn't scientifically backed?

Kristen (16:24)
Yeah. It sounds exciting, and I feel like it's the truth - but it's only the half truth. My experience of gestational diabetes was very different to what I expected. Even as an EP I thought it would be more predictable. But I would wake up at the same time, go to the gym, do the exact same exercises at the same weights, eat the same meal - and my blood glucose would be totally different. One day it might be 7 and the next day it might be 5.5.

Celia (17:00)
Yeah. I think that's the thing across the board with gestational diabetes - you feel crazy. Because you're like, what the heck? I just copied and pasted everything. But it just goes to show that your body is different every day. Maybe even if you had good sleeps both days or equal stress both days. Well maybe your placenta's doing something different today, or maybe your baby's just grown a whole lot, I don't know.

Kristen (17:39)
Yeah. A lot of things play into blood glucose levels that you wouldn't otherwise expect. But exercise is one that I like to recommend because not only does it help with blood glucose management, but it also helps with mental health, prepares your body for birth, prepares your body for postpartum, and is beneficial for your baby too.

Celia (18:14)
All good things. I think the big takeaway for me from this is that movement done at the right intensity can be a really powerful tool for lowering your blood glucose levels. Not just in response to your last meal, but overall. Alright, well thank you so much for helping us understand what's happening beneath the surface.

Stick around — we're going to talk more about some practical, supportive ways to move your body in the next episode.

Kristen (18:47)
Thanks so much.