Exercise has many benefits for people with diabetes, lowering blood sugar, relieving stress, and helping to shed excess weight. So, what turns people off exercise?
Here are six common excuses and how to overcome them so you can get on track.
No time to exercise
Ideally, you should exercise for 30 minutes most days of the week at a pace that gets your heart rate up and your body sweating. If you are busy with work, school, or family life, try to find scraps of time to exercise.
Park in a parking lot farther away; take the elevator instead of the stairs; walk around the playground while the kids practice soccer.
Be creative with your exercise. The accumulation of exercise in fragmented time can lead to a more active lifestyle.
Don’t know what to do for exercise
No need to go to the gym or hire a personal trainer. You can start with a simple walk. Start with a 5-minute walk and build up.
You can also find free exercise videos online. Or, take a fitness class.
It’s too cold, too hot, or rainy
Who says you have to exercise outdoors? Take a few laps around the house, or climb the stairs. Play a dynamic video game like Wii Fitness. Put on some music and dance. Go to the mall, or find a school with an indoor track and take a stroll in the comfort of your own home.
It hurts when you exercise
Go to the doctor and find out what is causing the pain. Make sure there are no medical conditions that need to be treated.
If given permission to start exercising, try non-impact exercises such as swimming, biking, and elliptical exercises. Find exercise videos made for people with pain to follow.
Stick with it
Find a partner to go for a walk with, or join a fitness class together. When someone wants to go for a hike, workout, or bike ride with you, it’s less likely that you’ll be able to make excuses to excuse yourself. Both parties can monitor each other, and neither wants to let the other down.
Just don’t like to exercise
Sometimes, just knowing that exercise helps fight diabetes isn’t enough to get the person off the couch. Therefore, one needs to find some other reason to get moving.
Want to show off your body in a swimsuit while you’re on vacation? Want to be in good enough shape to dance at a wedding?
Also, if you keep exercising every day, you can give yourself some rewards after a week, such as a massage or a movie as a non-food reward.