Hi all, greetings from the western province of Alberta, Canada. Glad to have found this here forum.
I haven’t had Type 2 diabetes for very long, just a few months. I got it from having a poor diet and sedentary lifestyle, and though my heart sank when I was diagnosed, I wasn’t altogether surprised.
My doctor is, naturally, strongly encouraging me to cut out sugary sodas, eat far less fast food, and walk a fair bit more than I already do to and from work.
I’ve had limited success giving up sodas. Having a boyfriend who keeps bringing the stuff home doesn’t help, but I know that’s not a good excuse - I can just say no, water/tea/coffee is fine. But there’s something satisfying about that carbonated beverage feeling. I have been remembering more often than not to get sugar-free drinks like Zevia, or at the very least, Coke Zero. (I tried La Croix water - BLEH. Bubly is not too bad, maybe I’ll get that next time). I often settle for other Diet crap if I have to while dining out, but I don’t prefer it, and I hear it’s not much better for you than the sugary stuff anyway.
Working on diet and exercise is the next bigger hurdle. I’ve been hearing this and that about keto - but I’m not thrilled about going whole-hog for a strict diet. Incremental changes are probably what will win the day, and I think that’s all the doctor is looking for, too. She suggested I just eat at home more often, and track food and exercise on MyFitnessPal. As for exercise, I just need to get off the damn sofa and walk, especially while it’s still warm out.
Sorry for my ramblings, just giving a summation of where I’m at presently. Any advice would be appreciated.
Did they set you up with a blood sugar machine?
Do you know your a1c? They might have tested your blood and gotten a number from their lab. That number is good for you to be aware of.
Welcome to TuD, @gingerthymelady. Sorry for the bad health news you received but realize that many of us have successfully dealt with this challenge.
It’s tough to examine all the habits in your life with an eye toward giving them up. That’s usually well beyond the will-power of most people. While I battle T1D, the motivational landscape is similar to any health situation best served by behavioral changes.
The tough one is the way of eating. People fiercely resist changing their eating style. Even raising the topic with someone is akin to talking about changing their politics or religion. It’s highly personal. When I was diagnosed 35 years ago, I was eating sugary cereal each morning for breakfast and drank several sugar sodas every day. I was 30 years old at the time.
When I first became aware that reducing carbohydrate consumption helped many people manage their blood glucose, it took me two years and a significant diabetes complication diagnosis for me to give a carb-limited way of eating a chance.
It’s one of the best things I’ve ever done and I’m disappointed in myself that it took me 28 years to make that change. It was, however, easier to make and sustain that change than I thought. It’s been 7 years now and it’s allowed me to lose significant weight, cut my insulin consumption in half, and bring some much-need metabolic sanity to my life. I would never choose to go back to my former way of eating,
Life has asked you to consider wholesale changes to the way you live. Don’t try to do everything at once. Pick one aspect at a time and work on that. Healthy food changes would be great but if you don’t feel the motivational energy to tackle that, perhaps just making stick a new exercise habit will help you.