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  • With Mayo Clinic diabetes educators

    Nancy Klobassa Davidson, R.N., and Peggy Moreland, R.N.

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  • Living with diabetes blog

  • Dec. 30, 2011

    Diabetes: Setting goals for successful change

    By Nancy Klobassa Davidson, R.N., and Peggy Moreland, R.N.

6 comments posted

Controlling Your Diabetes

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Like many, I've struggled with extra weight in my adult years. The adage that adults gain about 10 pounds (4.5 kilograms) per decade certainly is true in my case. Many members of my family, including me, have type 2 diabetes. As a diabetes educator, I'm very aware that diabetes type 2 is progressive and that I can prevent or delay progression of the disease through lifestyle changes. My goal last January was to lose weight. I didn't get started until September, but I'm happy to say that I'm 25 pounds (11 kilograms) lighter with a little more to lose. At my age, it can still be done!

Maybe you're not overweight, but perhaps you could have better blood glucose control if you exercised more, tested your blood glucose more regularly, ate healthier, took your medications as prescribed or took steps to reduce stress.

Whatever your goals might be, here are five steps to help you toward successful behavior change:

  1. Identify the problem. Choose one! Do you want to lose weight, start an exercise program, or quit smoking? Maybe you just want to get better about monitoring and recording your blood glucose or adjusting your insulin. Checking your feet every day might be another goal to consider. I decided to lose a few pounds this past year. I figured that if I lost weight, then I'd feel like exercising more often next year.
  2. Explore your feelings. Many people with diabetes feel out of control, guilty, depressed, tired, fearful, lonely, frustrated, dependent, resentful and overwhelmed. Are you ready to change? I was tired of being overweight and out of shape. I didn't believe at my age that I could lose weight, but I did.
  3. Set goals. Set goals that are SMART: specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-limited. You're more likely to succeed if you set realistic goals. An unrealistic goal might be that you'll follow your meal plan exactly every day. A more realistic goal might be that you'll eat fruit instead of a sweet three times a week. Choose a lifestyle change that you want and are willing to work on. Don't make changes just to please your doctor or diabetes educator.
  4. Make a plan. I found a book with a health diet plan that works for me. If your goal is weight loss or modifying what you eat, it may be helpful to sit down with a dietitian to set diet goals. Some people enjoy joining weight loss groups such as Weight Watchers or TOPS.
  5. Evaluate the result. Don't expect perfection. It takes time to change old habits. I weigh myself once a week and evaluate the results. I would love to say that I lost 1 to 2 pounds every week, but that didn't happen. If I gained, I'd look at what I was doing the previous week. Sometimes, I was getting carried away with peanut butter!

The bottom line is that if you have a plan in mind and set up your environment to support you, success is much more likely. For example, I'm not going to test my will power by having breads and sweets around, because I have very little willpower!

Lifestyle changes take patience, but with persistence you can make them happen. Find support, whether that means getting your family involved or joining a support group.

Your diabetes health care team wants you to succeed!

-Peggy

6 comments posted

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  • July 20, 2012 10:38 a.m.

    First you have to believe you can make changes. Lifestyle changes will improve or even reverse diabetes. Fat tissue is insulin resistant. Muscle tissue eats up blood sugar because it is insulin sensitive. Small changes - over time - can add up to big changes; again - even reversal of diabetes. Small changes beget success, and success begets more success, etc

    - Bob

  • February 3, 2012 4:09 p.m.

    Losing weight did not lower my blood sugars. I focused on lowering my blood sugars, but the only thing my friends wanted to know about was my weight loss. What helps in lowering blood sugars is eating a low carb diet, limiting food portions, exercise, and proper diabetic medication which may include metformin and insulin. By the way, do you know that there are two Dr. Bernsteins? One is Dr. Richard K. Bernstein MD, a noted diabetic expert, and the other is Stanley K. Bernstein, a weight loss doctor. There's a lot of difference between their objectives and treatments. I think that you should know that.

    - OccupyDiabetes

  • January 3, 2012 12:04 p.m.

    Liz, I'm in your exact situation and a friend sent me this link. It sounds like exactly what we need, doesn't it? Good luck, sweetie! I've been getting depressed and hope this blog helps us all!

    - THERESA

  • January 1, 2012 6:10 p.m.

    I keep reading that if you loose weight its a big help in controling diabetes. What is the story if you're not at all overweight?

    - Richard

  • December 31, 2011 4:31 a.m.

    YOU HAVE HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD,I HAVE ONLY JUST BEEN DIAGNOSED AND IN A QUANDRAY AS WHAT TO DO, I'M OVERWEIGHT AND SMOKE,I NEED TO GET MY HEAD AROUND MY SITUATION AND YOUR ADVISE IS VERY HELPFUL, THANK YOU.

    - LIZ

  • December 30, 2011 11:18 p.m.

    Very timely advice for making some sustainable changes, Peggy. Finding a reason that will motivate you is also another key to success. Regards Claire www.lovinglifewithdiabetes.com

    - Claire

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