January 26, 2014

Book Review: I Hate to Exercise Book for People with Diabetes

This is one in a series of book reviews. You may find these books beneficial if you: manage prediabetes or diabetes, follow a diabetes meal plan and/or try to eat healthy to live well. These book reviews also appear on amazon.com and these books can be found in my amazon a-store. This book is also available from American Diabetes Association's book store. Please check out these books and consider a purchase.

Let’s face it: we know exercise is important, especially in managing diabetes. But sometimes it’s just hard to put exercise into practice nearly every day (as you’ve been told it should be done). Plenty of people have gotten the exercise bug and it’s ingrained in their daily lives. Other people, and you may be one, just plain hate to exercise.

In the 3rd edition of The “I Hate to Exercise” Book for People with Diabetes, authored by registered dietitian, certified diabetes educator and exercise specialist, Charlotte Hayes, MMSc, MS, RD, CDE, exercise detesters get an ADA published and approved resource to turn to for sneaky ways to move more.

From the book’s first pages, Hayes assures readers that the goal is to get the benefits of movement without having to do structured exercise. She takes every day home-based activities and morphs them into low impact fitness plans readers will enjoy and, most importantly, do. Hayes’s basic premise takes advantage of being ‘physically ineffective’. She suggests ways to do basic tasks the physically active, calorie burning way. For example, instead of using the remote to change the TV channel, get up and walk to the TV to make the change. The book contains lots of ideas for quick and easy ways to slip in activity. Need to lift more? Take out the trash. Focus on large muscle movement? Try parking far away from your destination to walk just a few more steps.

Hayes believes everyone can succeed at becoming fit and healthy. She encourages people with diabetes and prediabetes to become motivated to exercise by understanding its benefits, specifically as they relate to improved blood glucose control and heart disease and blood pressure prevention or management. And because some people with diabetes avoid movement due to the risk of blood glucose highs and lows, Hayes gives practical tips on what to do when they happen and how to always be prepared..

Since many readers may just be starting to move more, Hayes is sure to underline the importance, if necessary, of getting your health and fitness ability evaluated by a healthcare provider before jumping in. She also shares how to set S-M-A-R-T goals and create a contract with yourself as you begin this journey. Moving beyond the initial phase of becoming more physically active, the reader also gets tips to monitor progress and stay motivated.

One of the more outstanding features of The I Hate to Exercise Book is the section in which Hayes personalizes movement activities based on pre-existing medical conditions. This includes  a go-to guide with exercises to benefit specific conditions as well as which ones to avoid. More helpful charts are sprinkled through the book, like the one with calorie counts for common chores. 

This book doesn’t just begin and end with sneaky fitness suggestions. In the event that the exercise hating reader decides that maybe workouts aren’t so bad after all, the author provides guidance and sample exercises with pictures for updating goals and plans to include increased activity and structured exercise.

Beware! By the time you reach the last page of this exercise resource guide you may find yourself saying “I love to exercise!”