I think it’s fair to say we have all owned an older car in our life time, for me it’s been several. And I bet at one point or another, you have probably seen the dreaded “CHECK ENGINE LIGHT “. And this is where you have a choice , you get it checked out , or you do like most ( I know I have ) dismiss it as an “ idiot light “ , that nothing is wrong and your car seems to be running fine . And then several months , maybe years later , your car dies and you’re left wondering in hind sight if you could have prolonged your cars life if you had just taken care of it when the check engine light popped on.
Now let’s turn the attention to you. You’ve started to slow down as you get older, you have put on a few pounds, and you drink soda like it going out of style. You’re not as active as you once were. Heck maybe you have a family history of Type 2 diabetes. Finally, you visit the doctor and he says you’re your at risk for diabetes or classifies you with metabolic syndrome, or you’re in a state of being pre diabetic and if you don’t change things that’s where your headed. YOUR CHECK ENGINE LIGHT HAS COME ON! This is essentially the turning point of your life. Do you choose to keep living your life as is , developing diabetes, having more doctors visits , having to regularly check your blood sugar , take insulin , develop a cardiovascular disease , etc . Or do you take action.
The difference between your check engine light and your cars is, you get the benefit of hind sight with your car, as you can get another car, learn your lesson, YOU CAN’T GET A NEW BODY . So in the words of Arnold Schwarzenegger “PUT THE COOKIE DOWN “ ( I hope you read that with your best Arnold impersonation), and DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT !
So what can you do? First things first CUT BACK ON THE SUGAR!! Increase your intake of Whole grains. Load up your plate with vegetables. And more importantly GET MOVING! Time to hit the gym, more importantly, hit the weights. Why weight training? Not because I want to you put on muscle or become bulky ,but to kick your body’s butt into utilizing blood glucose better again .More specifically 2- 3 sets(10-12 repetitions) of 6-8 exercises , AT LEAST TWICE A WEEK! Additionally, doing aerobic exercises will help, but the more effective way to ramp up your body’s use of blood glucose is to do interval training. What’s that you ask? It means when you’re walking , cycling using the elliptical etc , instead of doing one steady pace for 30 minutes , change it up to 1- 2imins of a moderate intensity and then 30 seconds of an increased intensity , and repeat . As it gets easier shorten your time at a moderate intensity.
So it’s at this point, if your someone who thinks there headed towards, or maybe have been told your pre diabetic , You have a choice .. Your “Check Engine” light is on, are you going to fix it? Or just let it go till something happens?

Till next time
You Stay Fit, America
Ken

P.S Have you check out Facebook.com/YouKenBeFit2  , NO ?!?1 You should , I post a lot of fun fitness and motivation stuff !