Right then, that's it, I'm gonna do it. Walk that is. It's the most glorious Autumnal day here and the beach is calling me for a brisk walk. If only I felt like this every day. The thing is this Winter I must exercise because I'm afraid of complications and my joints seizing up. What gives you the motivation to keep going ?
Run fast and you may distance yourself from Him, but when you slow down you will surly hear his foot steps and feel his breath behind you...there is no promise for another day, take care of your body, and enjoy this one it's a gift.
JG
I by no means ran John, but it was a beautiful walk. Very grateful that I can walk.
HI josephine, i love the pic of your girls, i guess the disney trip went well! in terms of motivation, i just consider myself a healthy active woman! it sounds simple but exercising is my me time, for keeping my body and more importantly my mind and spirit healthy. so putting myself on my priority list helps keep me going. i am by no means a fitness fanatic, i teach and practice yoga, and walk and hike. all these things make me feel good about myself and closer to the person i want to be and live like everyday. so for me exercise is not a chore it is life affirming me time, which you seem to suggest motivates you. so find why you are doing, for who you are doing it for and make a commitment to feeling better and living a better life one workout at a time and notice how good you feel afterwards, that is what keeps me going back. best wishes, amy
I hope this question is general, and not just related to exercise or I'd be sunk..lol.
In terms of healthy eating I have two motivators. First of course is the post prandial; I do not like seeing highs after eating! Second is the fact that I work really hard to enjoy what I eat. For me, as a vegetarian this involves a fair amount of cooking and seeking out tasty/lower carb recipes but it's essential to me.
On the general side I'm motivated to live every day to its fullest. I know myself well and I can easily sink into sleep walking through life. That isn't life.Part of enjoying life is being healthy and ...well...being here! I know what I have to do to accomplish that and it has become automatic to do it. I face each day thinking of the things I need to do, but remembering I've chosen to do them. Then I remember to spend some time just enjoying. I live in a beautiful setting so I just look out my triangles. Finally, a therapy/12 step basic is "gratitude". It's too easy to dwell on all the little things that are wrong or not what you would hope. (Glass half empty thinking). So I periodically remind myself of all the things I'm grateful for. We had a very long-running thread on that topic here. For me it's my friends and family, living somewhere beautiful, having good insurance, and many more things on any given day.
Yeah Disney was good craic, I wasn't expecting such long queues in September though. Beautiful weather and a good hotel.
This is one of the best answers I've had about motivating me ever. I always tend to view exercise as a punishment and rarely do anything for me, I never seem to have time. I just don't make time. If we all look at it as a chance to be good to ourselves it doesn't seem so daunting.
Hope wee Jacob is doing well, you and all the parents who look after diabetic children are more important than anyone. x
Yeah its a general question, I'd love to find out what makes people get out there when its so easy to go the other way. Yes I love the place you live, I was showing my little girls. On the 12 Step Al Anon too, learning not to be so hard on myself and learning to let go of that need for perfection. It really is one day at a time.
Walking is great exercise and lots of studies show that walking, particularly outside, has psychological benefits. Plus, if you have diabetes and exercise, you kick it's ■■■!
The thing is I try to kick the ■■■ too hard, I end up getting so competitive with myself, I ground to a complete halt. Will take it easier this time and be grateful that I can walk, without wishing to be in the next Olympics.
I think it's the whole "sporto" culture of societies and primary schools that sort of turn people who don't kick ■■■, or just don't try, off on sports. I have ok coordination and have always enjoyed hacking various kinds of balls around but was never dedicated. Once I've started "working" (I sort of look at it like playing...) on stuff, I've gotten faster and seen real health benefits (lower hr, lower BP, etc.) that don't really show up on any scoreboard but mine.
I see a lot of older people out on the running/ biking trails and neighborhoods an suspect that their doc read them the riot act about this number or that number and they've decided "what the hell, I buy some sweatpants..." and they get going, people in knee braces, with walkers, etc. I always try to give them a thumbs up or say "good job" if they've laughed at me before because they are kicking as much ■■■, maybe a lot more, than a highly paid professional athlete because they have overcome whatever "I'm not good at sports" stuff is in their head to give it a try and get going.
One other "tip" that I'd have as you start walking is that I highly recommend going to a specialty running store and spending some time getting fitted for shoes. When I started walking around the neighborhood, my old shoes I had lying around made my ankles hurt. I went to the store, walked on the treadmill in some different shoes and got the shoe that seemed the best, bought 2x pairs and wore them walking for years. When I started running, like 3 years later, I wore the same shoes (although I'd lost some weight, maybe 30-40 lbs?) by that time and had **excruciating** shin splints. A couple days later, I went back to the store, explained that I was interested in running and got the shoes switched out.
Good running stores will have treadmills. There's basically 3 kinds of shoes, neutral and stability and then the lighter performance shoes. They usually will have someone who's been trained watch you walk on the floor to figure out which shoes (usually the first two types...) will work best for you and then you can try on several different brands, all of which generally feel a bit different. I like to try one shoe on each foot and hit the treadmill, doing a contest until I find the shoe that works the best.
When I go buy running shoes, I always see walkers in buying walking shoes in this manner but sometimes people are put off by the slightly higher price than shoe discounters or big box sporting goods stores but I think that the extra service and attention to detail can get you a much better shoe that can help you pursue even moderate interest in walking with less pain and creakiness. I'll spend 1/2 hour, 45 minutes sometimes and have tried on just about every shoe they sell in the category I like. But then they release new shoes and I go back.
Another advantage is that all (3) of the specialty running stores I've shopped at will take the shoes back, even after you wear them. Last year before the marathon, I tried beefier shoes than the "fast" (ha ha) shoes I'd been running the shorter distances in all summer. They were good for 1/2 marathon but I could feel the pounding so I took them back and got thicker shoes. No hassle from the store at all but the shoes probably had 50+ miles on them.
Plus, spending time and money on shoes can also motivate you to get going and get on the trail! If the shoes are really comfy it makes me run happier.
so that explains why the bikers wear all that fancy gear, they spent a fortune to look that "good" so they better get out there and bike! lol, spending some on your fitness wardrobe is a valid motivator, yes shoes are important! and yes looking good in too, it makes you feel better to have something new, of course the best feeling is the sense of accomplishment along with all the other benefits we all know about!
Yeah it has been drummed into me to wear proper shoes, my grandmother was type 1 and all my aunts keep talking about feet when I am around. I don't buy many sports clothes cause they always end up being used for gardening.
Thank you LOS, that is the most lovely thing to say, thanks, xx
Bikers are gonzo for fancy gear! I read an article about Team T1 in a cycling, rather than diabetes magazine. It talked about how they use CGMs to keep their fuel level correct to avoid bonking and speculated that "straight" cyclists would have no problem dropping $5G for something like that but couldn't because you need an RX to get one.