How to Make Healthy Lifestyle With Diabetes a Reality
What is Diabetes, Symptoms, and Risks of Diabetes?
Diabetes is a controllable disease where your body does not make enough insulin to convert the food you eat into glucose. There is no cure, you have to learn to live with it. There is hope though. Many people have lived successfully well into their 60s and more. There are many sites, support groups, and YouTube channels that can help you live a healthy lifestyle with diabetes.
This site hopes to help people living with diabetes and wanting to step up and live a normal life. Hopefully, you will find some inspiration to try new activities you never thought possible.
Symptoms of Diabetes
From the CDC, here are the symptoms of diabetes:
- Urinate (pee) a lot, often at night
- Are very thirsty
- Lose weight without trying
- Are very hungry
- Have blurry vision
- Have numb or tingling hands or feet
- Feel very tired
- Have very dry skin
- Have sores that heal slowly
- Have more infections than usual
If you have several of the above symptoms, get to a doctor immediately.
Before I went to see the doctor, I was peeing every 30-40 minutes. I was so thirsty, the water tasted horrible and I was drinking Kool-Aid to no avail. I was so tired I just laid around doing nothing and was not inspired to take anything on. On the day I went to the doctor I found out I lost 20 pounds. I only weighed 110 at the time. My blood sugar was 860!
Risks of Diabetes
If you have high blood sugar for a long period of time it is a serious risk. The reason is Diabetic Ketoacidosis. Ketones are super increased in your blood and in combination with the sugar, it creates an acid. Yep, the acid in the blood. The acid in the blood for a long period of time starts to eat away at tissues where the blood goes. This is why the list of risks is so long.
This is why you hear of people losing a foot or a leg. Even a moderate-high blood sugar level over several months or even years can introduce those complications. Learning how to maintain good levels is essential to living a long life with all of your appendages.
The Benefits of an Active Lifestyle for Diabetics
Get Active
Living with diabetes is more than just taking insulin to counteract blood sugar levels. Insulin is an essential hormone that does more than just convert sugar to glucose. It assists in brain functioning properly.
Now the complication of insulin is that your body can learn to resist insulin. You need to take more insulin to process the same amount of sugar. More insulin over a long period of time can decrease brain function. Keeping insulin down while still maintaining correct blood sugar is essential. Fortunately, there is a solution.
Exercise that helps you lose weight and keeps you active while decreasing insulin resistance. I know, isn’t there a better way? We have become sedentary with all the entertainment options available and more desk jobs. We have to force ourselves to make it a priority for being active.
A simple exercise can improve your body, health, mental health, and well-being. You don’t have to join a gym, go for a walk around your house. Start with short distances, like half a mile. As you build up your endurance start pushing the distance to 2 or more miles.
As always, don’t hurt yourself, with exercise come pain, know the difference between good pain and bad pain. If it has been a while since you went walking you may need knee braces or ankle support. If you have questions about exercise, please talk to your doctor before beginning.
Eat Right
There are so many diets out there. You have to decide if you are going to make a change in your diet.
I have been doing a lot of activities, but I haven’t changed my eating habits. The result, I have maintained my weight. It is a tough decision to change your food that you are accustomed to and possibly the frequency.
Carbs are part of the American diet. So much so that we start our kids on it a year or so after birth. We have to make a hyper conscious decision to make better choices with food. Sometimes the simple change is just to eat less than normal.
Skipping a meal, even as a diabetic, is a possibility. Mini fasting can change your body in positive directions. I work at a desk all day, so skipping meals is easy to do. If you have an active job it may not be wise to skip meals.
Taking carbs out of your diet improves your insulin usage. You have to do the research to find out what will happen if you take carbs out of your diet. We still need carbs but the research will help you find out what you need to stay healthy and have the energy to do your life and take on new challenges.
5 Tips to Stay Motivated in Keeping Your Activity Goals
- Set A Goal NOT Related to Diabetes – It’s like a new years resolution to say that you will check your blood sugar more. The practice would stop within a week or so. Now think of some activity you used to do, or have always wanted to do. Was it hiking, fishing, bicycling, mountain climbing, or even rock climbing? Set a goal like climbing a mountain or bicycling across a state.
- Activity With a Friend – Exercising with a friend is huge to help you stay motivated. Both of you will get the joy of completing activities together. You will push each other for more. In addition, two minds will come up with new challenges that you might not have thought possible.
- Get a Tracker – A sports tracker will help you see where you are at. Part of the goal may include a number of steps each day. You and your buddy will be able to see each other’s stats. You will be able to improve your times and distances as you progress.
- Change Your Mindset – Doubt and fear dominate our minds. Sometimes we have to do something to see that it’s not as bad as we thought. Remind yourself, that this is for your longevity, today is the day.
- Reward Yourself – Most people would say it’s time for cake, so to speak. Obviously, as diabetics, we should not eat cake. Rewards could be anything else other than food. Take something off your Amazon wishlist, watch a movie in the theater or take time to read a book.
Conclusion: Living a Healthy Lifestyle with Diabetes is Easier Than You Think
Diabetes is a disease that some people consider a disability. I don’t see it as a disability, I still want to do the activities I want to do. I remember when I was younger I climbed mountains and thought that I would always climb mountains. Then life and career took over, as well as my bad attitude towards life. I think everyone has the thought, I need to make a change for the better.
Overcoming the fear of getting started is your first step to improving your life and health. Setting a goal not related to diabetes has a side effect. In the process of reaching that goal, you will improve your diabetes management and your numbers will get better. You may even reduce your insulin usage. Diabetes Can’t Stop US!
Comment below with questions, comments or agreements. I am always open to questions and I would be willing to discuss them in future posts.
Disclaimer: I am not a doctor, licensed educator or anything formal. I have been diabetic for over 35 years and pushing myself to take on old dreams and new challenges. If you don’t know ask a professional. Changes will happen if you take the advice above and you may need additional support from professionals.
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