Do you hate to exercise? If so, why do you hate it? How do you feel about walking? Walking has got to be one of the best – if not the best – forms of exercise that exist. You can sneak walks in all over the place. Of course, it helps that I love to walk, but I make walking a regular part of my week and it helps me manage my diabetes.
Science has shown that exercise – without a doubt – lowers blood glucose in people with type 2 diabetes. It is also very effective in managing gestational diabetes. For type 1 diabetes, exercise is still critical; it just takes a little more thinking. Therefore, regardless of what type of diabetes you have, exercise is one of the most important and effective ways to manage it.
Here are some ways you can work walking into your day: park far away at the store, mall, etc. and walk to the entrance; walk when you play golf; walk the dog; walk to the post office/mailbox/store, etc.; walk the perimeter of the soccer/baseball/lacrosse, etc. field at your kid’s game.
Once you get used to walking you might even get addicted. Walking is easy on your joints, gives you more energy, lowers your blood pressure, burns calories and leads to weight loss, lowers blood glucose, clears the mind, calms you down, gives you a chance to think, and on and on. Go ahead and start walking today! Spring is here (according to the calendar, anyway), so the weather will start to cooperate. Get in the habit while it’s nice out and then when summer heat and winter cold come, just keep doing it! Start small – just walk for a few minutes or a short distance – and work your way up. You may have to make some adjustments to your schedule to fit in a longer walk, once you’re up to that point. And it will be well worth it!
You never know, starting out with a short walk, one day you might become a competitive athlete. Even if you don’t, you’ll still reap all the benefits of walking. Let us know how you fit walking into your day/week/life!