Managing diabetes may seem like an overwhelming task if you have recently been diagnosed or if you haven’t been able to get it under control. Diabetes affects your health, but you don’t have to let it control your life. With these 4 easy steps to help control your diabetes, you can quickly get back to enjoying all that life has to offer.
Maintain Mental Health
Living with a chronic illness such as diabetes can affect your mental wellbeing just as much as your physical health. If you are stressed, whether about your health or something else, it can affect your diabetes by raising your blood sugar. Certain activities, such as gardening or yoga, don’t just help you remain active, they help reduce stress. You may also have periods of time where you feel down. Talking to a member of your family or a close personal friend can help lift your spirits. Even a mental health counselor or a member of your church can help you feel better about yourself and about life.
Eat a Proper Diet
Your diet greatly affects your diabetes and managing your diet may bring you one step closer to managing diabetes as well. You want to reduce calories, sugar, and salt all while increasing your intake of fiber. Fruits and vegetables are vital, as is drinking proper amounts of water every day. If you are finding it difficult to eat properly and your diabetes is out of control due to it, you may want to speak to your doctor about seeing a nutritionist or a dietician.
Stay Active with Diabetes
Staying active is very important and is one of the easiest steps to managing diabetes. Some activities have more than one benefit, such as yoga and gardening as mentioned above. However, 30 to 60 minutes of activity on most, if not all days can help you control your diabetes. Even if activity is hard for you, you can start with a simple routine of 3 walks a day, for just 10 minutes each. As you become stronger and you are used to a routine, try adding in other activities as well.
Establish a Daily Routine
There are certain things you must do every day to help manage your diabetes. You most likely have medications to take, so make it a point to take them at the same time every day so they aren’t forgotten. Keep a small notepad next to your medication to help you remember to write down any side effects you are experiencing. Check your feet for anything that looks abnormal and report it to your doctor if it doesn’t go away. And be sure to track your blood sugar as well as blood pressure every day to report them to your doctor when discussing your diabetes management.
Getting your diabetes under control doesn’t have to be hard, especially if you focus on things that help rather than things that don’t. The Internal Medicine Diagnostic Center is here to help you manage your condition.