If you can, try exercising while listening to music or watching television.Exercise with someone else to keep you company.Try different activities on different days, and make sure you pick an activity that you enjoy! Your employer is another place to check for discounts on gym membership or reimbursement for fitness-related activities. Look for inexpensive resources in your community like community education programs, park and recreation programs, walking trails, school running tracks, or worksite wellness programs.Jumping rope and resistance band exercises are activities that only require one piece of inexpensive equipment. Do something that doesn't require fancy equipment, such as chair exercises, walking or using water bottles for weights.I can't afford to join a fitness center or buy equipment.

If you have certain complications from diabetes and are unsure about your health, talk to your doctor before making any big changes to your fitness routine.Remember that exercise helps lower A1C and has many other health benefits.Remember that getting enough physical activity is important for everyone’s general health – whether you have diabetes or not.Think of activities you can do in the safety of your home.Find an indoor activity, such as an exercise class at a community center.It's not safe to walk in my neighborhood. Think of some other activities that are always available regardless of the weather like using a stationary bike, indoor aerobics classes, yoga videos at home, indoor swimming, stair climbing, calisthenics, or dancing.If it's too hot, too cold, or too humid, walk inside at a school gym or a shopping center.These and other low-impact exercises may be less painful. Try chair exercises, swimming, biking, or an elliptical machine.Wearing a diabetes ID is another important safety precaution. Make sure you’ve got some regular Gatorade, glucose tabs, or another fast-acting carbohydrate to treat a low if one should occur. If you're taking a medication that could cause low blood sugar, talk to your healthcare provider about ways to exercise safely. The people who need to be most careful about lows are people with type 1 and those who are on insulin or pills that can cause low blood sugar (insulin secretagogues).I'm afraid my blood sugar level will drop too low. Choose something you can do without getting sore. Exercise shouldn't hurt if you go slowly at first.Remember that the everyday activities you do on your own like gardening and household chores get you moving and help burn calories.Choose an activity you can do on your own, such as following along with an exercise video or going for a walk.Wear anything that's comfortable as long as you have shoes that fit well and socks that don't irritate your skin.Remember that increasing the amount of physical activity you do will actually increase your energy.For example, you could try walking for 30 minutes during your lunch break a few days each week or hitting the gym early in the morning. You could plan to do something active before work or during the day.

Find a time when your energy is highest.

You will even find that you can increase the duration and/or intensity. Over time, the activities you do will get easier.

Starting slowly is important and so is choosing activities that you enjoy.

If you feel unsure about your health, check with your health care provider before making big changes in your exercise plan.

If you have never been active or have not been active for a while, it is important to start slowly.

Being active is more than just planned exercise. Housekeeping or mowing the lawn counts as activity.

Don’t discount your everyday activities.

For example, walk or bike to work or to the store, exercise while you watch TV, take the stairs instead of the elevator or do something active with your family to spend time together.

Make physical activity part of your daily routine.

You can also try for 15-minute sessions twice a day. If you're just starting out, start with 5-10 minutes a day and add more, little by little. If you find yourself waiting for the kids to finish practice or watching their game from the sidelines, use that time to take a walk or pace while you watch.

Think about your day-do you have available time slots? Take advantage of any extra time that you may have and get moving.

I don't have time to exercise for 30 minutes a day. Think about what is keeping you from being active and then check out some of our solutions to the most common barriers to physical activity. Maybe you're afraid that your blood sugar will drop. If you're not active, it's likely that you have at least one barrier or reason why. A barrier is something that keeps you from doing something else.

Time to get moving