What is your favorite kind of exercise or workout and how did you get into it?

I am very much the kind of person who recognizes the importance of exercise, and wants to exercise regularly, but finds it hard to do so. Everyone is different, but for me, something like going to the gym takes way too much time and energy, not to mention it costs a pretty penny, so even if I joined a gym with the best intentions, I know that I just wouldn't stick with it. Finding the best way to increase the amount of exercise I do has been something I have been struggling with for a while, but recently I found out something that I didn't know before. I found out that doing light exercise after a meal may have a lot of health benefits. I had always thought that you shouldn't exercise after eating, and obviously doing strenuous exercise would not be a good idea at all, but I didn't know that light exercise after eating is not only an acceptable thing to do, but can actually be beneficial. I am not a doctor, and I am not qualified to give medical advice, so please do your own research to confirm the below information.

According to some things I have read online, light exercise after eating has various possible health benefits including improving digestion, improving blood sugar management, helping with weight maintenance and loss, and may even reduce the risk of heart disease. In terms of when to do the exercise, apparently immediately or soon after eating is ideal, but it seems that within 30 minutes of eating can still offer some benefits. I'm not entirely sure, but the general idea seems to be that sooner is better. In terms of the amount of exercise, there are no strict rules, but apparently even just 2 minutes can reap some benefits, with one website suggesting 10 minutes as a good amount of time to aim for, which you could increase over time. Lastly, regarding the type of exercise, most websites talk about going for a walk after a meal, but it seems that any type of low to moderate-intensity movement is acceptable, even just doing some housework instead of sitting in front of the TV is better than nothing. The key is to not do anything too difficult as it may upset your stomach and have other negative effects.

Personally, I am really excited to have found out about this form of exercise, as it is something very doable that can easily be slotted in to one's daily routine, as it is already directly connected to something we all do regularly every day: eat!  For me personally, actually going for a walk outside after eating is a bit too much of a hassle, but I have discovered there are lots of short post-meal workout videos available on YouTube so sometimes I use one of those. However, I often watch a movie or show while eating and generally I want to continue watching it rather than putting on a YouTube video. Because of that, I have found another helpful option is to stand up and do some walking on the spot and other light aerobics movements while continuing to watch the movie or show. I keep an eye on the clock and try to do this for 10-15 minutes before settling back down on the sofa. I can't believe that such a small amount of effort can have health benefits, so I think this is such a wonderful discovery. However, of course, just doing a short amount of exercise post-meals is not a complete exercise program and doing more difficult exercise at different times of the day is a good aim to have. In the end, though, it is definitely better than doing nothing, and for people like me who find it so hard to do regular exercise, something as simple as adding post-meal exercises into our daily routines is a significant step forward. If this is something that interests you, please do some research online or talk to your doctor to confirm the information above.

Belinda

Vocabulary

cost a pretty penny (idiom) – very expensive

strenuous (adjective) – requiring or involving the use of great energy or effort

reap (verb) – to receive something (especially something beneficial) as a result of one's own or another's actions

slot in (phrasal verb) - to find a place for (someone or something) in a schedule, plan, etc.

hassle (noun) – a situation that is annoying because it involves doing something difficult or complicated that requires a lot of effort

significant (adjective) - sufficiently great or important to be worthy of attention; noteworthy