By Marie Veselsky, RD, LD, CDE, BC-ADM
You can’t go back and start over…but you can start from here and have a better future!
March 20, 2011 by admin
One of the things I have heard, time and time again from my clients over the years, is that they often feel that it is too late for them to make changes. I tell them “you can’t go back and start over…but you can start from here and have a better future.”
I have had clients use the excuse not to stop smoking because “they have smoked for too many years.” They have heard the horror stories about a friend who quit after 20+ years of smoking and still got lung cancer. Sure that happens to some, but many more who quit for good never go on to develop lung cancer. Research shows that within 14 years after stopping cigarettes you have the same risk of developing cancer as someone who has never smoked.
The same holds true for Diabetes Type 2. I have had many a client feel that “it is too late” to make diet and lifestyle changes as they feel they already have Diabetes and they have heard it is a progressive disease. They rely ONLY on medications or insulin to keep their blood sugars down.
The main thing to remember is that even if you are on medications or insulin to help control blood sugars, diet and lifestyle changes, such as exercise, are also important to help you prevent complications down the road. It does not have to be so strict that you feel you do not have a life. Instead, just some basic changes in diet like cutting down on total daily carbohydrate intake and starting a walking or swimming program that has been OK’d by your doctor can make a huge difference in the outcome of your disease.
If you try to make all your changes at once it could be very overwhelming. How about just making one or a few of the following changes:
- Just start out by cutting all your carbs in half. 1/2 banana instead of whole, 1/2 English muffin instead of whole. You can lose a pound of weight a week just by cutting your carbs in half and also help bring your blood sugars down.
- Keep a food diary.
- Set a realistic weight goal and weigh yourself once a week on the same day and time.
- Talk with your doctor and think about what type of exercise program you realistically can do.
- Join a weight loss or diabetes support group.
“Positive begets positive” and with each positive thing you do for yourself, you will want to do more positives not negatives. You CAN start from here and have a better future.
It’s Your Health and Your Choice! ™