Every member of this community is here because they or someone they know is battling diabetes. Diabetes is a life-long condition that takes work for us to manage. What may work for us one day might not work the next. So many factors contribute to our numbers fluctuating. There’s always a chance that the condition will progress even if you do everything you can.
However, we still have three options for how to approach the way we handle this:
– Giving up and don’t do anything about this condition
– Giving in and doing the least we can to treat this condition
OR
– Giving our best and not only control our condition, but do our best to learn about diabetes and to try and discover ways to stop its progression by doing our best. Additionally, even when treatment fails, you don’t give up or give in.
Today, we’ll talk about how to stay hydrated with the food we eat!
Soups and Broths
A great way to hydrate your body is by drinking soups and bone broth. Soups based on broths like non-creamy chicken noodle soup, french onion soup, vegetable soup, and bone broths can help provide total fluid needs and are high in sodium, which is beneficial to your hydration. Sodium is lost through perspiration, and it must be replaced. If you’re athletic or highly active, replacing sodium is especially important.
Fresh Fruits and Vegetables
Food is able to meet about 20% of your hydration needs, which is why eating fresh fruits and vegetables can enhance your hydration levels. Fruits and vegetables also have various minerals and fibers that promote a healthy metabolism. Here are some fruits and vegetables and their water content percentages:
Cucumber- 96%
Watermelon- 96%
Pineapple- 95%
Celery- 95%
Lettuce- 95%
Blueberries- 95%
Tomatoes- 94%
Pear- 92%
Grapefruit- 90%
Melon- 89%
If you have trouble keeping hydrated, these are great options for preventing dehydration and keeping your blood sugar levels at a reasonable level!
This week, we’re discussing Diabetes Distress & Burnout.
Diabetes distress occurs when someone feels overwhelmed by the daily demands of managing diabetes.
Diabetes burnout occurs when a person becomes tired of managing their condition, and then ignores it for a while, or even permanently.
Here are the signs to watch for: 🔹 Feeling angry and frustrated about diabetes management 🔹 Worried about not taking good care of your diabetes but unmotivated to change things. 🔹 Being hesitant to go to appointments or check your blood sugars regularly 🔹 Making unhealthy foods choices. 🔹 Feeling alone and isolated
Both diabetes distress and burnout can lead to depression if left untreated.
Let’s talk about it: Have you ever experienced diabetes distress or burnout?
Please share your experience and how you managed to get back on track with your diabetes management plan.
As you begin this diabetes journey, you may find it hard to remain motivated. Set your health goals and then set written or digital reminders for them. Display inspirational quotes throughout your home or add motivational images as a screensaver. And finally, reward yourself for small successes by offering yourself an incentive of your choosing.
While it is vital to have a strong support system, that support system may not be available 24-7. Therefore, you need to keep yourself motivated during the times they are not around. You need to want success for yourself as much as your support system does.
People with diabetes can benefit greatly from daily exercise.
These are just a few benefits:
Maintains a healthy body weight
Reduces the risk of heart disease
Improves blood glucose management and blood flow
Improves mood overall
Boosts sleep quality
Improves your ability to cope with depression, anxiety, and stress
To ensure you are exercising safely, speak with your doctor before starting any new exercise routine so they can help you choose appropriate activities and set blood glucose targets.
Sound Off: How do you exercise? Do you have a routine that works for you? Do you face any obstacles to exercising? Comment below to share your experience.
I can no longer watch my family making unhealthy choices
If anyone wants to know why I do what I do, here’s one of those reasons: to be able to see this sweet face everyday.
I want to show him and his siblings the right way to take care of the temple that God gave to them. I want to show them that this diagnosis is not the end of the world, and that we have the power to change the narrative.
Observing their current eating habits solidified that the fact something has got to change. With a family history of diabetes and heart issues on all sides of their families, there’s no reason why my family should not start changing their current lifestyle.
In a couple of weeks, I will be sharing what my husband and I are planning create a new health legacy for our family. Follow my blog to stay updated!
How I’m using the PURE stress management method this week.
This week will be an extremely busy for me personally. Therefore, I will only be blogging for a couple of days this week.
A few days ago, I wrote about an upcoming youth entrepreneur event that my organization has been planning this month. The event is this Saturday and we are in full preparation and promotional mode.
We’ve managed to score a radio interview, which one of the youth entrepreneurs and I did yesterday, and an upcoming TV interview on Wednesday. Other than that, we are creating signs, decorations, swag bags and certificates all week long.
So instead of being superwoman and doing it all, this week I have implemented the PURE stress management method and decided to focus on making this youth entrepreneur event successful. I will only blog today and tomorrow. Then return with to my normal blog posting schedule on Monday.
This will help me not get so overwhelmed and will have some extra time to rest when I can.
It’s important to practice what I share with you because if I don’t, then everything that I’ve been sharing with you would be just meaningless advice.
So continue to prioritize your health first so you can be able to focus on the things that matter to you. And as my good friend always says:
How do you describe your current exercise routine? Do you tend to stay committed or do you find having a difficult time just scheduling time to exercise? Do you get easily discouraged?
When I was diagnosed with diabetes, my mom taught me one of the most important tips for treating diabetes: walk everyday. Each morning before breakfast, I wake up and walk for 35-40 minutes a day, which equates to 3500-4000 steps a day or 1.5 to two miles. If I had a meeting or trip to attend, I would wake up earlier in the morning and get my steps in. During my kids’ school year, I also wake up between 4:00-6:00 AM to walk.
No matter what situation pops up, I always make time to exercise. There are times when I just want to sleep in longer, especially if it is a school day for my kids, but I’m motivated by my willingness to get my walking done on time and then I would achieve my steps for the day. My family is well aware of how my day runs and they sometimes take some time to walk with me.
Two years later, I am still committed to this regime with no plans of stopping. My A1C results is a major factor that motivates me to keep going.
I’ve recently worked with Dr. Char Counseling from Nashville to create a quiz to help determine what your exercise personality! This is a five minute quiz that will help you answer the following:
Are you driven more by habits, or by motivation?
How do factors like family and friends support, stress, and your environment impact your exercise routine?
Should you be looking for more motivation, or be focusing on habits?
After taking the quiz myself, I’ve found out that I am motivationally driven due to my willingness to intentionally exercise everyday and not allowing myself to be deterred by any situation.
What is your exercise personality? Take our quiz below and share your results in the comments!
