Diabetes And Exericising WIth A Couch Potato Mind

Finding it hard to get yourself off the couch to exercise? Get up and try. Your diabetes management plan depends on it.

One of the major "parts" of exercising happens even before you move one muscle.  It's the part of exercising that gets you to get up and move!..:)   Preparing yourself for exercise doesn't have to be a task that takes you hours and hours to complete, but it should end with you saying,
"Let me start!" (or something to that effect).

If you find that exercise isn’t something you like, try to to turn it into something that is:

a) interesting
b) a necessity
c) something you can PRETEND to enjoy

 MAKE IT INTERESTING

Making exercise interesting might include doing your favorite exercise or doing the exercise in an interesting place.  If you're walking you may want to walk in the mall sometimes or take a scenic route.  If you're doing your exercises in your home you might want to try renting a few exercise tapes from the library to try something new.
 

MAKE IT A NECESSITY

Making exercise a necessity means that you have to keep the notion in your mind that exercise is a MUST.  It's not something you should give up just because you're bored with it, or because you lose your motivation.  Now, that might sound like a difficult thing to do, especially if you think of exercise as something you hate....but it's a choice.   A choice you have to make for a better life.    So, CHOOSE exercise...even if you don't feel like it or don't want it......you control your body.
 

IF YOU HAVE TO…PRETEND YOU ENJOY IT

Last, you may find yourself having to PRETEND that you enjoy the exercise.  When you've been walking for half an hour and you are tired, the thought might come that tells you to skip it the next day.   You may find yourself lifting small weights with a grimace or unpleasant look on your face....why not smile a bit?    Pretending that you enjoy the exercise won't cost you anything and the attitude change just might help you see the exercise in a positive way.   Let's try to fool your brain for the 30-60 minutes you need to do the exercises.