What is one helpful tip you would share with someone struggling to find an exercise routine?
When living with type 2 diabetes, we constantly hear how important physical activity is for managing blood sugar and overall health. But finding a routine that actually feels good—and doesn’t leave you exhausted, sore, or dreading the next day—often takes trial and error.
Whether your go-to movement is gardening, chair yoga, daily walking, or strength training, how you listen to your body and help it recover afterward matters just as much.
Our community's lived experience is one of our greatest resources, and what works for you might be the exact spark someone else needs today!
Tell us: What is one helpful tip you would share with someone struggling to find an exercise or recovery routine that feels good?
Did you find success by starting smaller? Did you discover a gentle warm-up, an evening stretching habit, or a recovery tool that made a massive difference? Share your experience in the comments below!
The biggest mistake people make here is setting the bar way too high on day one. They decide they are going to wake up at 6am, run 5k, go to the gym 4 times a week — and they burn out in 10 days, then feel guilty and stop moving entirely.
My one tip? Do not think of it as "exercise". Think of it as 10 minutes of slow walking right after every meal.
That is it. No gym, no workout clothes, no stopwatch, no goal to run a certain distance. Just stand up after you finish eating, and walk around the block once. It is so easy you cannot really make an excuse not to do it.
This does two things at once: it takes the edge off your post-meal blood sugar spike, which is the whole point for people managing their numbers, and after 2-3 weeks you will start to notice you feel better, sleep better, have more energy — and you will naturally start adding more movement on your own. You will not need to force it.
And forget the "I have to do intense workouts to get benefit" myth. For people managing blood sugar, 10 minutes of slow walking after each meal works better than one brutal 2-hour gym session on the weekend.
You do not have to love exercise. You just have to find the thing you do not actively hate, that you can keep doing without thinking about it.
Yes! Small changes are much easier to sustain and, often, more effective for that reason. Thanks for chiming in with such great advice. Do you have a favorite type of exercise? - Lori (Team Member)
Try different activities, maybe something you never imagined doing. I hated team sports and running but late in life I was introduced to weightlifting. I started with deadlifts, squats and bench presses at 66. I love heavy lifting.
Weightlifting is such great exercise! Anyone can do it and it can be modified to suit each person's abilities and needs. I'll glad you discovered it and that it's helping. Thanks for chiming in. - Lori (Team Member)
Try chair yoga
I usually try to do long walks and chair yoga type of exercising
