Table 7. Activity checklist
Walk or ride a bicycle to work
Park your car further away from the shop
Walk to the shop to buy your daily newspaper
Take the stairs, not the lift
Do some gardening or mow the lawns
Get off the bus before the final stop |
Every day and every way...
Take exercise regularly not seriously implies that people
should not regard exercise as a special activity. Suggest patients
make a commitment to make activity part of their day. Help patients
establish a specific time of each day for exercise to stop them
from continually putting it off. For example, a patient may schedule
in a 30 minute walk each morning before breakfast. Write an exercise
prescription that will emphasise the importance of increasing activity
in overall diabetes management (Figure 4).
Remove the remote
Patients should also be encouraged to include as much incidental
activity as possible. Reverse the trend toward labour saving devices
(eg. remote controls, escalators, lifts, cars). Suggest they walk
or ride the long way rather than the shortest way to their destinations,
walk the dog, take the stairs instead of using the lift and take
a brisk walk at lunch time. Introduce them to a pedometer
a small device that attaches to clothing and measures the number
of steps taken. Patients can wear the pedometer and check the mileage
each day and gradually increase daily targets. Aim for 800010
000 steps per day instead of an average of only 30004000 steps.
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