The final step to balance your blood sugar is to get moving. Movement is activity or motion, including unorthodox exercises like:
- Washing the car
- Painting
- Walking the dog
- Gardening
- Scrubbing the shower
- Going up and down the stairs doing laundry
- Emptying the dishwasher
- Staining the deck
You don’t have to go to the gym to move. Consider that after many outpatient surgeries, post-op instructions include no participation in strenuous activities. In fact, doctors specifically warn against any activity that exercises the core muscles, including vacuuming. Bet you never thought of vacuuming as a strenuous physical activity that exercises the core muscles.
Almost Any Moving Is Exercise
All the typical hobbies and sports that are considered exercise, are merely ways to move the body. Also under the umbrella of movement are household chores and the physical activity required at many jobs. Aerobic activity encompasses an array of motion, choose ones that are most enjoyable for you.
Make movement fun and you will increase your chances of sticking to it. When movement is fun, it becomes playtime. When it becomes playtime, it is prioritized and added to the day as an inevitable occurrence.
Why Moving Matters
Adding movement to stabilize the blood sugar roller coaster helps to circulate nutrients and oxygen, speeds up metabolism, increases energy, reduces the risk of lifestyle diseases, improves weight management, and lifts the mood. Movement creates the possibility of more movement, and having a surplus of energy is a huge benefit.
Create Habit Change Around Movement
- Put a chin-up bar in the doorway of the bedroom. Challenge yourself to attempt 3 chin-ups each time you enter or exit the room. Bam! You’ve created a new habit around movement.
- Walk or ride a bike to work. Or park in a spot that is far away from the entrance.
- Set your alarm for 15 minutes on the hour to get up from the desk and move around.
These suggestions create habit change. Begin creating the lifestyle that you desire by expanding the way you think exercise is supposed to look.
Try New Moves
When’s the last time you did something for the first time? Try on an activity that you find interesting. Be curious and give these a try:
- Go to that dance class
- Take on kayaking
- Hike the State park
- Join the flow of the Tai Chi players
- Participate in a ceramics workshop
- Finish a 5k
- Climb the rock wall
- Venture to a water park
- Learn how to arrange flowers or make wine
- Pursue bass fishing
Basically, experiment with life.
Kick Start Your New Year Anytime
Find your balance and energy by revisiting these steps anytime that works for you. Our favorite way to start a healthy year over again is:
Visit a farmers’ market and stroll around checking out the local, whole foods available.
You’re getting movement AND you’re stocking your pantry with healthy, natural foods. You are nourishing your body in two ways with the added benefit of fresh air! By creating a new recipe around the foods you purchased and crowding out the processed, refined foods that were your go-to meals, you add another element of the seven.
Remember, knowledge does not equal habit change. The vortex of transformation is found when you create a possibility and then hold yourself accountable, take action and get on the court … perhaps literally this week!
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