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Diabetes - Diet and Exercise |
Living with Type 2 diabetes is something that 8.3% of the population has to come to terms with a staggering statistic that means that it would be quite unusual for you to not know someone suffering from this condition. It's the most common form of diabetes, also referred to as hypergycemia. What this means is that your body doesn't properly use insulin. While there is medication available to help with this condition, like almost any drug, there are side effects, some that are much worse than the conditions that they seek to cure or treat (such as the potential for pancreatic cancer Januvia is thought to cause.)
One positive thing about Type 2 diabetes is that it is a condition that can be successfully regulated, at least partially, by proper diet and exercise. While not everyone can avoid medication all the time, ignoring the benefits of eating a healthy diet and getting enough exercise is tantamount to signing an earlier death warrant than necessary. Not only does eating well and getting your blood pumping help with almost anything that ails you, it's beneficial to your state of mind as well. Who hasn't pepped up after a walk through the park on a gorgeous sunny day?
Women can especially benefit from good exercise when suffering from Type 2 diabetes as their condition can be affected by their menstrual cycles. Menopausal women can also experience more frequent blood sugar fluctuations, so beginning a good exercise regime in the early years is especially critical for females. The beauty of exercise is that it's something available to anyone in one form or another, whether you live in the city or the country, are a stay at home mom or work full time. Eating well - well that can be another story, sadly, as good fresh food is sometimes more expensive than prepacked convenience foods, but there are ways to work yourself up to better eating habits.
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Let's look at ten very easy ways to make diet and exercise part of your daily life in order to lessen the need for medication for your diabetes.
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1. Make a committment to making one small change per week, and nothing further. Focusing on something small for seven days lets you feel less deprived and punished. Whether it's walking the dog around the block twice or eating a salad once a day, just make that one little change.
2. As trite as it sounds, take the stairs. You don't need to climb ten flights of stairs to your office every day of course, but think of all the places you visit that are on the second or even third floor. Take the stairs and you'll also lessen the time spent inside a stuffy elevator, full of potential sick people.
3. Move at least once per hour. Even if it is nothing more than standing up and stretching, you're getting your blood flowing and that's always a good thing. Walk over to a coworker instead of emailing her. Walk outside and take a few nice breaths of fresh air. If you're at home, walk outside and look at the leaves, check on the garage, water some plants, dump in a load of laundry, or just walk up the stairs and back down again. Just move at least once per hour.
4. When you're shopping, don't park in the nearest free spot. Don't even get a buggy at first. Go look to make sure that the items you're looking for are in fact in the store and available, then walk back and get the buggy. See? Extra steps. When you're going to the dentist or doctor's office, park far away. One great benefit of parking farther away than necessary is that you'll probably be surrounded by fewer cars when you leave, lessening the chance for any fender benders.
5. Pick a vegetable of the week. Start with something easy to prepare (avoid butternut squash!) like zucchini, and look for a few recipes. You don't have to eat it every single day, but try it at least three times in that week. For recipe inspiration, just type in the name of the veggie plus the word recipe and you'll find loads of great ways to eat. If you're already a vegetable fan who's tried it all, go for fruits.
6. Get someone else involved in a daily walk, whether it's your spouse, your kids, your neighbors, a friend, or a pet. It's hard to cancel when someone else depends on you. If your life is too busy to manage a daily walk, commit to three times a week and when you have mastered that, add a day each week.
7. Seriously investigate yoga. Yoga is extremely beneficial for both mind and spirit, and you really don't need any special equipment to do it. There are loads of great free videos online (Tara Stiles has a particularly good Yoga For Beginners video here: ) and even if you truly depise exercise, you'll probably like or love yoga.
8. Drink more water. With a 16 oz soda containing over 15 teaspoons of sugar the last thing a diabetic needs to do is drink loads of soda. Many people swear by a morning glass of warm water with lemon, and it's been widely reported that people who drink a glass of water before each meal tend to eat less than people who don't. Most of us don't get enough water every day and if you've ever actually been thirsty enough where you'd drink just about anything, you should realize the toll that dehydration takes on your body. We all need water, and we need much more than we usually drink. If plain water isn't your thing, add some lemon or lime, or drink unsweetened tea. Next time you think you're starving and are about to reach for a bag of salty snacks, drink a full glass of water, wait 10 minutes, and see how you feel. Chances are, you won't want anything to eat.
9. Pick one convenience food a week and learn to make your own instead. Salad dressings, for example, contain lots more sugar than you'd think, and they're one of the easiest foods to replace with a homemade version. Quick vinagrettes can be whipped up with a little oil and vinegar, and you can add anything from garlic to mustard to honey to adjust the tastes. You'll also save a fortune if you make your own. Buying plain yogurt and adding fruit is another great way to eat better and save money, and most fruited yogurts are way too sweet anyway. Even something like shredding your own cheese from a large block of parmesan can make a big difference, and you won't miss all those preservatives.
10. Move around during every commercial if you're watching tv. Stand up and walk around when you're talking on the phone. If you're lying down reading a book, get up and move around at the end of every chapter. If you're leafing through a magazine, when you're halfway done, walk up and down the stairs. If you need to call your child down for dinner, instead of yelling his name, walk up the stairs and get him.
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These are obviously all small steps that can add up, pun intended. The biggest hurdle in making any change is in starting out, so maybe these steps are ones you're already taking. If they are, go further. Instead of walking around a bit during commercials jump rope during that time. Instead of adding a new veggie every week, commit to Meatless Mondays. If you're already exercising and yoga isn't your thing, try Pilates or take a Zumba class. Just recognize that diet and exercise can definitely help you lessen the need for medication and help regulate your condition.
For more information on using food to help treat different ailments, visit Joy Bauer's site Food Cures
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