Danielle's column: Getting active

I have been inexcusably lazy for the past eight months. Last summer when I was unemployed back home I had nothing to do but run. Then when I moved to Plains I dedicated all of my time and energy to reporting, and though it pains me to admit, my couch.

I have been inexcusably lazy for the past eight months. Last summer when I was unemployed back home I had nothing to do but run. Then when I moved to Plains I dedicated all of my time and energy to reporting, and though it pains me to admit, my couch.

Well, summer is approaching and now that I have time management at my job under control, the time has come for me to start managing my body.

I had a small awakening of sorts this past weekend when I attended the Diabetes Awareness walk and run at the Sanders County Fairgrounds. My family has a long history of being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes and therefore, I am at that much greater of a risk of being diagnosed with the disease.

My grandfather even lost a toe because of his diabetes and I saw first hand in him and my Dad the constant struggle to regulate their blood sugar and have their lives changed by having to take daily medication. For my dad, however, diabetes was not an entirely negative experience. He is extremely healthy and exercises more than anyone I know to keep his diabetes under control. If not for myself, than for his struggle, I should be able to take my young body and whip it into shape and learn from his amazing example.

The Clark Fork Valley Hospital's clinic was doing free blood sugar level testing at the fairgrounds on Saturday as part of the awareness day. Whenever I think of my sedentary lifestyle combined with my higher risk of diabetes I get nervous, but not nervous enough to get my butt outside and consciously do something active.

When I sat down to get my blood sugar tested I cursed myself for being so lazy and made a mental note to start doing some sort of physical activity.

I found out during the awareness walk and run that if a person does 150 minutes of exercise per week their risk of getting Type 2 diabetes can decrease up to 70 percent. When I first heard 150 minutes, I already got discouraged, but when I divided it up between seven days a week I realized that's only 21 minutes a day, which is not that much time at all.

I can walk 21 minutes on my lunch break or take the time I usually spend every day talking to someone on the phone and walk while I talk. I could volunteer to mow my friend's lawn, this way I would be helping out while exercising. The good thing about preventing diabetes is that it's free, all it takes is a little bit of effort and self motivation.

I do know that talk is cheap and saying I am going to exercise is a lot different than actually doing it. So I decided to take my foot out of my mouth and get out and get physical. This way the next time I sit down to get my blood sugar tested, I won't have those guilty feelings of being lazy and not preventing something that would be so easy for me to prevent.

I ran my first mile in a year on Sunday. It was brutal, even though it was a short distance, but I made it and felt great about myself despite my aching muscles. Today will be day three of running and although it hasn't gotten any easier, I feel better and better about myself and my overall health as each day goes by.

If I can get outside and motivate myself to be active, anyone can. And with the beautiful weather there is no reason we all can't get our butts off the couch and go for a stroll.