When it comes to motivating someone to make changes to their lifestyle, it’s hard! Who is this person sitting in front of you? What lights them up and gets them enthusiastic? The amount of studying to increase my knowledge of diabetes unfortunately did not include the art of telepathy. I still cannot look at a person who I have never met before and work out what they are good at. It’s a problem, I must admit.
When you’ve only just met a person for the first time and you have a very short time, finding out their interests is very difficult. The priority is discussing their diabetes and ticking off all the topics that you have to tell them in the allotted appointment time. This might be your only appointment or there will be a gap of several months before you see this person again, and so the essentials must be discussed first.
So, for all of you who have been advised to make changes to your food choices, or increase your activity levels and you have little idea where to start, here are some tips.
Activity
Are you good at running? Or tennis? Or football? Or Yoga? What are you good at when it comes to moving your body?
Instead of focusing on losing weight, focus on being more active. The idea of losing weight and standing on scales is rooted in fear. If those kilo numbers don’t come down, you’re doing something wrong and why should you try anymore? You give up and think what’s the point?
Don’t weigh yourself regularly and instead, focus on moving more. Set a goal for yourself and slowly increase it. It could be going for a walk 3 times a week around the block or playing tennis with the kids on a weekend. Perhaps you like bushwalking and love being out in nature. Plan to go on a long bushwalk regularly with your friends or family and enjoy the experience. Here’s a handy tip: include walking up hills or inclines as this gets the big muscles in your legs working more.
The recommendation is to be active for 30 minutes a day and this could be broken down to 10 minutes 3 times a day if you prefer. Or be active for an hour 3 or 4 times a week. Park your car further away and walk to the shops for a bit longer to increase your steps. Walk your dog (if you have one) every day and take a longer route to increase your activity levels. Your dog will love you for it! If you don’t like going out in public much, then how about getting an exercise bike or treadmill? You can do 30 minutes of exercise when watching TV instead of sitting in a chair.
Blood glucose levels decrease with activity so the more you do, the better your diabetes management will become. The more intense your activity is, the longer your blood glucose levels will be lowered.
Look at how your clothes fit you. If they’re getting looser, then you’re losing weight.
Food choices
Are you good at cooking? Are you creative and adventurous when it comes to your meals? By tapping into creating meals that are a healthier alternative, you not only improve your own health but the health of those you love.
Swop meal ideas with friends and family and see who can create some amazing ideas. And remember, it doesn’t have to be ‘carb-free’. Use wholemeal flour instead of white flour or add more veggies such as mushroom or grated carrots to a Spaghetti Bolognese.
If your kids are fussy eaters, try home cooked chips in the air fryer instead of deep fried. Every little change makes a big difference in the long run.
Set a challenge for yourself of having a meat-free day a week to make sure you have more salad or vegetables. Include 5 servings of salad or vegetables a day and try to have them in every meal of the day.
For example, breakfast could be Weetabix with berries or banana; or toast with smashed avocado. Lunch could be adding lettuce and tomato to your cheese and ham sandwich and swop white bread for wholemeal or multigrain.
The added bonus to adding more salad and vegetables to your meals is that you feel fuller for longer and so you eat less as a consequence. Blood glucose levels don’t ‘spike’ so high and so you improve your diabetes control.
The overall effect of these changes is that you gain improved blood sugar levels and you might even lose some weight along the way. All this without making it an effort and even having some fun on the way. The trick is not to make huge changes that you’re not able to maintain. If you make small changes that you’re able to sustain day in, day out, then the changes will become part of your lifestyle.