5 Ways to Improve Your Diabetes Journey This Year

January is National Staying Healthy Month. Choosing healthier behaviors often increases energy, overall well-being, and quality of life. But, people diagnosed with diabetes (PWD), often put so much pressure on themselves to reach diabetes-related goals immediately. 

Living with a diagnosis of diabetes is a process. No one knows the exact mechanism for everyone to achieve daily normalized blood sugars, weight, and lab values. There are so many life events and stressors that surround PWD. Often guilt and self-doubt creep in when we set high expectations instead of living the journey. Everyone diagnosed with diabetes' life journey is different. But being different doesn't mean you can't achieve a healthy lifestyle.

Here are five transformational ways to start the year on your individualized diabetes journey.

5 Ways to Improve Your Diabetes Journey This Year

1. Avoid comparing yourself to others, including family members, friends, and other healthcare professionals diagnosed with diabetes. Many of our fears about health come from the struggles of others. Just because someone else experienced a diabetes complication doesn't mean you have to. Learn from their experiences to create do's and don'ts for your journey.
2. Remember, you are not alone, no matter how much it seems you might be. Research continues to improve medications and medical technology. We have had so many resources, and new treatments (insulin, oral hypoglycemic agents, and lifestyle management techniques) since Araetus of Cappodocia (81-133AD) coined the term diabetes.
3. Choose the mindset of a student. Students learn, search for accurate resources, seek help when needed, and collect data (blood sugar readings, lab results, and symptoms) to make informed decisions. Students are also open to trying new things and spend less time blaming themselves and others. Just because you've eaten and cooked a certain way doesn't mean you can't try a new recipe, substitute healthier ingredients, or incorporate vegetables at every meal. If you have always eaten two large meals, you can divide those meals into three or even four smaller meals. Students create opportunities instead of complaining. For example, they figure out ways to become more active with their current situation (i.e., walk more, take the stairs, use the exercise facility at their job, use their basement or house as a walking track, etc.). Students take responsibility for their learning; they know that they are the ones who experience the consequences and look to minimize undesirable effects.
4. Choose a guilt-free journey. The temptation to eat more, exercise less, or not check your blood sugars will often rise. Sometimes you may not remember to do everything. The key is learning about those barriers that stand in your way. When we don't do what we know we should do, we must assess our beliefs and priorities. For example, you may want to ask yourself, "What do I believe about food, physical activity, blood sugar monitoring, and their role in keeping me healthy?"
5. Choose to be around people who support you. Your circle of influence includes your family, peers, healthcare providers, and anyone with your best interest at heart. From time to time, we need gentle reminders and motivation to keep on a healthy track. Remember that you always have a choice. If you need a second opinion about a health-related matter, seek it. Your health insurance can clarify the process of seeking a second opinion. 

Make this lifetime great because you still can!