10K/5 A Day Diabetes Program

By Fae Aldrich

Cheyenne County Public Health

November 12, 2004

To change your eating and exercise habits, you must see the benefits of making the change. An active life has in store for you the benefits of more energy, better health, stress relief, improved posture, feel younger, improved skill, firmed and toned body, weight loss, and clothes that fit better. Maybe you have thought about getting involved in active recreation, or have done something in the past. Imagine what was, or could be, enjoyable. Sometimes there can be more immediate and less obvious benefits to activity, such as reducing stress, or even relieving guilt about not doing exercise!! Be honest. How long has it been since you were last in good shape? How would you describe how you felt when you were in your best shape? Apply these questions to your mental, spiritual, as well as your physical health. Communication can be enhanced when you participate with a friend, family member, or co-worker. People often report better problem solving or more creative thoughts while exercising. Recreational physical activity can be done for free and the paybacks can be high. Get yourself ready mentally. Do your stretching exercises (mind, body, and spirit). Once you start, any daily improvement will improve your fitness level in all areas. You will have changed. From that point on, you are not the same person you were before you began your fitness training. Congratulations!

Really, what are you waiting for? The obstacles for avoiding improving your health are your own. What are your reasons? Be honest. Some common favorite reasons are: too busy, sounds hard, too tired, too old, no recreational areas nearby, requires discipline, hate to sweat, boring, don’t look good in shorts, etc. And please get the impact of this….you can create your own obstacles. If you’re not ready for a "workout", just start with one minute of activity, because doing something is better than doing nothing.

Each and every day you use 1,440 minutes. Why not use just one minute for fitness? If you enjoyed your fitness minute, you can repeat it for more minutes, or more days. The amount of activity you start with doesn’t matter—really! As you become more active in your mind, body, and spirit, you will find ways to increase the number of minutes, often dramatically, with a little creative effort, you can generate a long list! Attitude is half the battle!

Best Wishes