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Exercising with Diabetes: 3 Tips to Stick to Your Routine
There are a plethora of health benefits associated with exercise. Some of these benefits are particularly important if you are living with diabetes. Exercise lowers blood glucose levels and improves insulin sensitivity. Because of this, adults with diabetes should engage in 150 min or more of moderate-to-vigorous intensity activity weekly. Additionally, strength training two days per week is recommended.
While there are immediate benefits to exercise, most are the result of longer-term adherence and consistency. However, it can be exceedingly challenging to maintain an exercise routine. It takes people many attempts before exercise feels like it is a routine. To help you build a routine, I want to give you three unconventional tips to make sure that starting an exercise routine turns into long term consistency.
1. Put It In Your Calendar. One simple tip to make sure you act on your intentions is to plan it! Research consistently shows that planning helps people translate their intentions into behavior. In my book Health Habits for Diabetes, I discuss three different types of planning. They include action planning, coping planning, and habit stacking.
Action planning simple describes when and where you will exercise. Coping planning describes what you will do if barriers come up. For example, if you get busy at work, you might decide to move your planned exercise to a different time. Habit stacking involves adding a new habit on top of an already existing one. For example, if you’re like me you play Wordle every morning with a cup of coffee. My habit stack might be “as soon as I correctly guess the word, I will take my dog out for a 15-minute walk”. These three plans will drastically increase the odds that you will exercise.
2. Do The Minimum… Always. Most of the people I work with want to create an exercise routine. But they are stuck thinking that if they don’t give maximum effort each time, it’s not worth it! This leads them to do a lot of exercise but for a short period of time. One of my favorite things to tell people is this: “first consistency, then intensity.”
I explain to them to never miss a planned exercise session. This can be accomplished by finding your minimum dose of exercise that you will do no matter what. Motivation waxes and wanes daily. So, whenever motivation is low, lower the exercise demand you place on yourself. If you planned on jogging for 30 minutes but don’t feel motivated, don’t skip! Go for a short period of time (maybe 5 minutes). While you may not burn as many calories or obtain greater health benefits in that instant you are still building a routine. Even if you exercise for a brief period, you are still making a routine. But if you miss a session, you lose momentum and risk breaking the routine. Have a minimum dose of exercise in mind so you always stick with your plan.
3. Temptation Bundle. Thus far we have covered planning and how to change the task if you feel less motivated. But how can we feel more motivated? Temptation bundling is a technique where you pair something you want to do with something you should do. Let’s say you really wanted to listen to the latest episode of your favorite podcast. You can only do that if you are in the gym or going for a walk. We can make something that might be a little less desirable (exercise) more desirable by pairing it with something we want.
These are just three techniques that I believe can be quite helpful. In my new book Health Habits for Diabetes, I take a more tailored approach where you can learn what techniques to use depending on your social, motivational, and environmental contexts.
About the Author
Justin Kompf, PhD, has worked in the fitness industry since 2009 as a college strength and conditioning coach and personal trainer. He has an MS in Exercise Science and has a PhD in Exercise and Health Sciences with a focus on Health Behavior Change from the University of Massachusetts at Boston. Justin has taught at the State University of New York at Cortland and also at the University of Massachusetts at Boston. He has published work in the Strength and Conditioning Journal, Sports Medicine, the Journal of Physical Activity and Health, and the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine. He has contributed his expertise in health behavior change to personal training certifications and nutrition certifications with the National Academy of Sports Medicine.
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Books Which Will Make for Wonderful Holiday Gift Giving and Christmas Stocking Stuffers from Santa
It is always about sharing and gifting at holidays. This upcoming holidays, I want to introduce three books from the Jackie Corley. Gifting people who you love the good books, sharing the beautiful ideas and inspirations with them.
is an inspirational compilation of over 200 quotes around conservation and sustainability. Highlighting the wonders of our planet and ways on how best we can save it, this quote collection will help show all of us how to cherish the environment and key ways to protect our fragile planet.
Highlighting the wonders of our planet and ways on how best we can save it, Earth, My Dearest includes quotes ranging from poet Henry David Thoreau to activist Greta Thunberg. This quote collection will help show all of us how to cherish the environment and key ways to protect our fragile planet moving ahead to an uncertain future.
celebrates the unique and special bond between grandchildren and grandparents that only they can understand. Full of delightful quotes from artists, writers, celebrities, scholars and more, this inspirational compilation of over 200 witty and thought-provoking quotes makes the perfect gift.An inspirational compilation of over 200 fun, witty, and thought-provoking quotes for and about grandparents. There’s a unique and special bond between grandchildren and grandparents that only they can understand. Their love is a different sort of parental love and no less powerful. This wonderful relationship is celebrated in A Grandparent’s Love, full of delightful quotes from artists, writers, celebrities, scholars and more. This perfectly packaged gift book also speaks to the benefit of past experience and the patience that arrives with age and wisdom.is a collection of over 200 fun, inspirational, and meaningful quotes perfect for every horse lover. Rich with meaningful quotes and humorous one-liners, it brings one into a deeper connection with these majestic creatures, highlighting on all the joy and surprises that come from loving these animals.Rich with meaningful quotes and humorous one-liners, The Horse Lover’s Quotation Book brings readers into a deeper connection with these majestic creatures, highlighting on all the joy and surprises that come from loving these animals. Simply, this book is made for the horse lover in everyone. Full of wonderful quotes about horses, riding horses, owning horses, loving horses, and everything in between, The Horse Lover’s Quotation Book is the perfect gift for every horse lover out there.About the Author
Jackie Corley is a writer and editor based in the Hudson Valley. A graduate of the Bennington Writing Seminars, Jackie’s writing has appeared in Fourteen Hills, Redivider and 3AM Magazine, among others, and in various print anthologies.
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Picture Book Perfect for Cat Lovers: Sleep, Cat, Sleep! by Antje Damm from Prestel Junior
Make going to bed fun for everyone with charming, surprising, and interactive book
Sleep, Cat, Sleep!
by Antje Damm (3/16/21: ISBN: 978-3791374482; Board Book $9.95; Ages 2-5; 24 pages).It can be hard to fall asleep because who wants to stop playing, talking, and just having fun. Sometimes, it’s just as difficult to stay asleep. There can be noises, lights, and many other distractions. Cat has this very problem in Sleep, Cat, Sleep! He’s calmly resting until you open the book and wake him up.
Every time he thinks it’s safe to fall back asleep, you flip the page and bother him again! All he wants is for you to close the book so he can start dreaming away. Author and illustrator Antje Damm has created an uproariously funny book to help young children fall asleep. They will be delighted with all the different ways Cat can come up with to get kids to let him sleep. A new surprise awaits with every turn of the page, but we don’t want to give away who falls asleep at the end of this book!
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The Golfer’s Book of Wit & Wisdom
Maybe now is not a good timing to go out for golfing, but I believe now it’s a good time to recharge yourself, getting more knowledge about the thing you are passionate about. Reading a good book is one of the most popular things during the quarantine time.
Golfers attention, here is a must-have book for you.
“You learn very little about golf from life, but you learn a lot about life from golf.”
—Earl WoodsThe Golfer’s Book of Wit & Wisdom is an essential collection of golf jokes, one-liners, and witty quotations perfect for every fan of golf.
The great Arnold Palmer famously remarked that golf is, “Without a doubt, the greatest game mankind has ever invented.” He goes on to say that golf is “deceptively simple and endlessly complicated” and “at the same time rewarding and maddening.”
The Golfer’s Book of Wit & Wisdom seeks to encompass everything there is to love about golf. Collecting over 350 sayings containing the wisdom and wit from the world within and outside of golf, this book promises to be a cherished and fun collectible for every fan.
A hilarious collection of golf jokes, one-liners, and witty quotations perfect for every fan of golf.
About the author, GERD DE LEY:
Gerd de Ley is a former English teacher and has been a professional writer and actor since 1975. From an early age, Gerd has been an avid collector of quotations and proverbs from all over the world.
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Ryan Is On Keto! Helpful Keto Books Needed.
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Lettering for Absolute Beginners Workbook – Learn Lettering for Absolute Beginners
If you’ve always wanted to learn how to hand letter, now is the time! Lettering for Absolute Beginners Workbook is an interactive workbook designed to teach you, in careful progression, how to create gorgeous lettering with any pen on any surface—no brush pen or calligraphy nib necessary!
Inside, you’ll find everything you need to know to begin a hobby of hand lettering. You’ll learn how to draw letters, words, inspirational phrases, and bible verses in multiple alphabet styles by practicing outlining letters and thickening downstrokes. A bonus section with full-page traceable phrases and backgrounds allow you to make your own art, pull it out, and frame it!
Simple, approachable, and fun, this method is versatile for any surface so you can create stunning faux calligraphy on paper, chalkboards, wood, glass, and more. You don’t need any special skills or lettering experience to get started.
The must-have guide to faux calligraphy for beginners!
- An interactive workbook to the art of hand lettering for beginners
- Use normal everyday pens to learn to letter, no brush pen or calligraphy nub necessary
- Versatile method to faux calligraphy works for paper, chalkboards, wood, glass, and other large formats
- Practice 5 alphabet styles to draw letters, words, inspirational phrases, and bible verses
- 5 step-by-step projects to help you practice your lettering on home décor, chalk boards, and gifts
What’s Inside:
- Everything you need to know to begin a hobby of hand lettering
- 5 alphabet styles
- 5 step-by-step projects
- Guidance on lettering common words and sayings
- Countless practice pages throughout
- And more!
Author Danielle Stringer is the owner and artist behind Imperfect Dust and shares her secret to hand lettering—that it doesn’t have to be daunting! Starting with the basics and the hope of encouraging beginners to pick up a pen and go for it, Stringer will teach you how to achieve the calligraphy look with simple key lines. Learn five different alphabets in both upper and lower case to trace and try. From there, practice lettering common words and continue on to sweet sayings.
Lettering for Absolute Beginners Workbook is the ultimate resource for any aspiring hand letterer. Ready-to-frame art pages and a project section containing step-by-step instructions for five beautifully lettered items—including gift bags, wood signs, and ceramic plates—all await to welcome you to the world of lettering!
About the Author