How To Make Lifestyle Changes Easily If You Have Diabetes?

As a person living with diabetes, you may often have vowed to yourself to give up those delicious desserts, that glass of wine that helps you unwind after an exhausting day or those not-so-good-for-your-lungs cigarettes that help you beat stress. You feel determined and confident about controlling your temptations. But your determination is short-lived. 

The moment you catch sight of that cigarette or hear the mouth-watering jalebis calling out to you from the kitchen, your knees, heart and willpower are demolished. Your hand grabs those guilty pleasures and while you sigh with happiness as you bite into the jalebi or puff on the cigarette, the next moment, you are overpowered by a sense of guilt, shame and defeat. Sounds familiar? 

Well, there are others in the same boat as you! Don’t be too hard on yourself for this ”failure”. It is not you who has failed but rather the approach that has failed to yield results. It’s not willpower or motivation that can enforce lasting behavioural changes and let us tell you why. 

Motivation as an emotion is whimsical. It fluctuates all the time just like waves. For example, your determination may be at an all-time high during the few days after New Year but may sink soon after, especially when once again you have to deal with the stress and anxiety of life. This is all very normal. Motivation depends on your mood and all the events unfolding around you. So, you cannot really hope that your determination levels will not flag. 

That is why you need a plan that will not rely simply on motivation. Being practical and not overwhelming yourself is a good start to this new journey. Be aware of the dangers of diabetes – the ways it can impact your life. Once you become wary of the potential threats and learn to be kind to yourself by not implementing a hard-to-follow-through plan, you can successfully go about managing your diabetes. 

Type 2 diabetes is largely preventable by taking several simple steps: keeping weight under control, exercising more, eating a healthy diet, and not smoking.

Dr. M.G. Kartheeka, MBBS, MD

3 steps to healthy living even when you aren’t high on motivation:

Step 1 – Set realistic, measurable health goals

First of all, you need to decide what is the end goal of your new plan of action. Do you want to control your blood sugar or lose weight or eat healthily? Once you’ve made the decision, you can proceed to chalk out your plan of action. Whatever be your goal, make sure it is practical and easy to measure and then decide the time frame within which you wish to achieve it. For example – I will lose 5 kgs in 3 months or I will reduce my HbA1c by 0.5% in 3 months.

Step 2 – Take baby steps

If you have decided that losing weight is your health goal, then break it down into mini habits that can be implemented right away and do not require much motivation. For example – I will drink a glass of water 15 minutes before lunch or do 10 toe-touches while brewing my tea.

Step 3 – Scale-up gradually

Once you’ve eased yourself into the new routine, gradually step it up. For example – I will drink a glass of water 15 minutes before every meal or do 20 toe-touches while brewing my tea. Starting small and stepping up is better than starting big and crashing out.

A few other tips that may help:

• Join a support group – Support groups for diabetic people help you cope with diabetes. You get to be around people who are battling the same challenges and have set the same goal of lifestyle changes for diabetes. You can encourage each other to live healthier lives.
• Seek the help of a diabetes health coach – They are trained professionals who know the changes that a person with diabetes needs to implement and will guide you after understanding your unique needs and challenges. Guidance from an expert can help you navigate in the right direction and in the correct way.

Ambitious goals make us feel good about ourselves at the beginning but are very difficult to follow through. Starting small may make you feel like you’re not really doing much but they help you get in the zone. You will start building momentum and buckle up for tougher challenges. Soon, you will be acing the diabetes management plan and eventually, it will reflect in your blood sugar levels. 

Also read: Can You Freeze Hummus? Your Guide To Extending Its Shelf Life

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