I am 23. I like to exercise not only from the diabetes point-of-view but also to keep my body fit, muscular and active. Can I join a gym and do light weightlifting exercises, such as lifting dumb-bells, bars, chest expander, etc., for half-an hour? Are such type of exercises advisable for people with type 1 diabetes?

I would recommend you exercise regularly and do these types of exercise with some basic safety features in mind. First, make sure you know what your blood sugar is prior to exercising to prevent you from getting low. After you performed your exercise several times, you will get a feel for how much your blood sugar will drop with exercise. If you are at a point prior to exercise that will later result in a low sugar, take some juice or glucose to get the sugar up before there is a problem. Second, make sure your sugar is not too high going into exercise. Sugars above 250 to 300 mg/dl [13.9 to 16.7 mmol/L] may result in a rise in glucose with intense exercise. Third, make sure you do not have eye disease that might be jeopardized by heavy weight lifting. If this is the case, limit yourself to repetitions of light weights. Last, alternate your weight training with running or cycling. These activities are complementary. When they are done in some type of rotation, they keep you healthy, decrease your insulin requirements, and allow your muscle groups to heal between bouts of exercise.

JTL