Being diagnosed with diabetes feels like the end of the world, that much is true. The enormity of it, the utter helplessness and hopelessness that eventually comes, it’s all just too much to handle at first. As time goes on, one learns to accept that while diabetes is here to stay, managing it is not the impossible task that some might think in the beginning.
Living a normal life might be out of the question already, especially if you are already diabetic and not just prediabetic. However, there are several things that you can do to effectively manage your diabetes condition so that you can still enjoy life even as a diabetic.
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Coordinate with Your Doctor
Your doctor and yourself should work as a team once you’re diagnosed with diabetes. The meal plan that you’ll be using, the amount of exercise that you need to do every day, and your medication schedule are fully dependent on your doctor and yourself. The doctor wouldn’t be able to force you to exercise more than an hour every day since it can impact your blood sugar level (it can plunge dangerously low) and your endurance can only take so much.
The same is true for your daily diet. Drastic cuts on your diet might backfire since you might get too hungry and your nutrient needs might suffer. This can also hamper your capability to establish any long-term eating habit since cutting calories is very restrictive and has proven to be an eating habit that one shouldn’t do for too long.
Also, be sure to always report any irregularities that might notice once you start following the meal plan, exercise regimen, and medication schedule that your doctor has prescribed. This is especially crucial if your blood sugar level drops too low or the medication is not achieving the desired effect. Your doctor might either cut the dosage or prescribe a different one.
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Manage Your Food
After consulting with your doctor or with a dietitian with regards the ideal meal plan for you, the next part is, of course, implementation. By now you should know the food and drinks to avoid, the overly sweet and the starches with high carbohydrates count. As a rule, you should probably steer clear from the tastiest ones.
As we said earlier, drastically changing your diet might not be the best course to take, especially if you’re hypoglycemic. Ensure that the meal plan that you’re following will contain just the right amount of insulin (not too low nor high) and that there is a little of everything essential as much as possible (fruits, vegetables, protein, starches, and just a little fat).
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Map an Exercise Regimen
Aside from your diet, you also need to plan your exercise schedule and regimen to follow. The exercise regimen should be something that’s not only meeting the required number of minutes per day but something that you can do yourself. A good exercise regimen should, first, be attainable. It is not bad to start small, you can increase the pacing later as your body develop the necessary endurance and muscle mass. While exercising, be sure to keep hydrated since it might affect your blood sugar level.
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Check Your Blood Sugar
Portable glucometers, recommended by the American Diabetes Association, are a necessity for diabetics looking to personally monitor their blood sugar level. Doing the latter is especially crucial when you start exercising, your glucose level might steeply drop in the middle of your daily regimen. It is thus important to check your blood sugar level before you start exercising, in the middle of exercising, and after for comparison. Also, this might be a good indicator for diabetics to ascertain if their diet and medication are working.
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Supplement Your Medication
The diabetes medication that your doctor prescribed, while mostly enough, can be further augmented by herbal food supplements that help normalize your blood sugar levels. Some of them, other than aiding your body lower blood sugar, can also assist in reducing hypertension and aids in lowering bad cholesterol.
Superfood such as bitter gourd (ampalaya, bitter melon, or karela), Lagestroemia Speciosa (Banaba or Queen of Herbs), and Turmeric (Luyang Dilaw) are often the main ingredients of these herbal supplements. These wonder herbs come with many health benefits and little to none side effects.
Don’t Let Your Limits Constrain You
Yes, your life will probably never be the same again compared to the life you’ve had before diabetes. Yes, you’ll have this disease for the rest of your life. Yes, your medication, meal plan, and exercise regimen are probably for life too. However, you shouldn’t let these new guidelines hinder your dreams and aspirations in life.
Want to travel the world? Go for it! Just keep in mind some important things before packing your bags and going to wherever your heart wants. Want to scale mountains and be an adrenaline junkie? Be our guest. The world doesn’t cease to be your oyster once you’re become diabetic. It still is, you just need to be a lot more prepared and mindful of certain things before jumping ahead.
But jump ahead, you certainly still can.
