Keeping a daily journal of your physical activities can be a strong motivator

Too much work. Boring. Don’t have the time. I’m so out of shape, it’s no use. I don’t know how to get started. The excuses for not exercising could fill a book. In it you could write down your daily exercise routines. You could monitor exactly what you do, for how long, and how you feel afterward. You could set goals and challenges for in-creasing the number of miles you walk, the amount of weight you lift or how many laps you swim. Regardless of what you put into it, what you get out of keeping an exercise journal is a great motivational tool. The satisfaction of reviewing seven days’ worth of activities is far healthier than the guilt felt from staring at a blank page at the end of the week. The fact is that almost anyone with diabetes can — and should — exercise. Unless you’re immobile or your doctor advises against it, there really are no valid excuses to prevent you from doing some type of regular physical activity. According to the American Diabetes Association, exercise can lower your blood glucose, blood pressure and cholesterol. It also reduces your risk for heart disease and stroke, relieves stress, and strengthens your heart, muscles and bones. In addition, regular activity helps insulin work better, improves your blood circulation and keeps your joints flexible. Along with a sensible diet, exercise can help you maintain a proper weight. Experts recommend doing a combination of cardiovascular, strength training, flexibility and balance exercises.

“Everybody should do some sort of physical activity and build more into each day,”

A Spark to Get Started

Despite the undeniable positives associated with exercise, it’s easy to dwell on the negatives. What’s needed is a spark to get people started, then the motivation to keep it up and reap the benefits. That’s what Charlotte Hayes had in mind when she wrote The “I Hate to Exercise” Book (American Diabetes Association, 2006).

“The motivation for people to exercise can vary,” says Hayes, an Atlanta-based exercise specialist certified by the American College of Sports Medicine. “The idea for the book is to help people with diabetes figure out how to set some physical activity goals that will help them be successful.” Establish weekly objectives and a plan of action, she advises, and be sure to reward yourself for achieving them.

“Everybody should do some sort of physical activity and build more into each day,” Hayes says. “For most people, that message is to do 30 minutes more than you’re currently doing — not just 30 minutes a day, but 30 minutes more.”

Among the various motivational tools Hayes has included in her book is an activity record, which is an ideal format for an exercise journal. “It allows people to write down the types of activities they do and the number of minutes they spend doing them each day,” she says. “There’s also an enjoyment factor, ranging from 1 (enjoyed very much) to 5 (didn’t enjoy at all). After all, physical activity should be enjoyable.” Other entries include successes and challenges; self-monitoring of blood glucose levels, heart rate and blood pressure; and a “yes” or “no” for achieving an activity goal.

Write It Your Way

Hayes tells readers to feel free to modify the journal to suit their needs. “As long as the log provides feedback about your progress and helps you create a lasting activity habit, it can be as simple or as detailed as you want,” she says.

Keeping an exercise journal is no secret. Marathoners, cyclists, weightlifters and other competitive athletes use them to record their day-to-day training routines. You can find formatted paperback and hardcover journals at most bookstores. There are also Web sites that let you track your progress online, although some charge a fee for membership. Or you can simply buy a blank notebook and create your own.

The National Institutes of Health offers a free booklet titled Exercise: A Guide from the National Institute on Aging. It features a variety of everyday activities, from walking to gardening, as well as formalized routines for jogging, cycling, swimming, gym workouts, tennis and more. The appendix offers several different formats for daily exercise journals. You can access it at www.nia.nih.gov/HealthInformation/Publications/ExerciseGuide/default.htm.

Hayes recalls how her own father, now in his early 80s and an active retiree, quickly recovered from open-heart surgery. “Being active and fit and staying in good shape does make a big difference in how people live better and longer lives,” she says. Sounds like an inspirational quote worth jotting down in an exercise journal.