5 ways to fit walks into your schedule

Whether it's strolling on the beach that stirs your soul or exploring every corner of a flea market, moving your feet is especially good for your body when you have diabetes, so keep it up. If you're doing something you love, you won't even notice how much ground you're covering.

Grab your calendar and schedule one day of leisurely browsing. Daydream about where you'd like to go, and make it happen.

• Maybe it's ambling through a cluster of antique shops that you've been meaning to visit, picking through the tables at a flea market, or strolling up and down your favourite row of quaint shops.
• If you're on a tight budget, no problem — leave your money at home.

Maybe you can't resist inspecting every wild plant you see or snapping photos of the nature around you. Either way, terrific!

• Bringing your hobby with you as you walk turns "riding the shoe leather" into a satisfying, stress-relieving outing.
• Don't forget to bring your bird log if you're a birder.

If you're giving a dog a chance to lap up the outdoors or a child a new view on nature, you're doing much more than mere walking.

• The time will pass more quickly, you'll walk longer — and you'll come back with spirits lifted.

Carrying yourself correctly can alleviate joint pain (and make you look thinner and taller).

1. Stand erect with your shoulders up, your stomach muscles tightened and your chin up.
2. Tilt forward slightly from the waist.
3. Bend your arms at the elbow and pump them as you walk. End each step you take by pushing off with your toes.

Set a goal to speed up every time you walk.

• Drive along your favourite walking route until you have measured out about 1.6 kilometres (one mile) on your car's odometer.
• The next time you walk, time yourself as you walk that route. (You might walk more than that, but this is the spot to check your pace.)
• If it took you 20 minutes, pick up the pace a little the next day and see if you can complete the mile in 19 minutes.

As a point of reference, a 15- to 20-minute mile is considered a brisk walk.