Motivational Monday: Let Nothing Stop You From Your Goals

It’s the first Monday of the new year, the perfect time to start implementing our health goals that we’ve set for ourselves.

Don’t give up if you don’t get it right at first. Keep trying and stay consistent.

Nothing can stop you from meeting your health goals!

📝 What health goals are you working on this week (emotional, physical, or mental)?

📝 What will you do to keep yourself accountable?

Until Next Time,

The Genetic Diabetic

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Food and Nutrition Friday: Hydrating Foods

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!

Until Next Time,

The Genetic Diabetic

Wellness Wednesday: Ways to Combat Diabetes Distress and Burnout to Prevent Depression

Yesterday, we’ve discussed diabetes distress and diabetes burnout. To recap:

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.

If diabetes distress and burnout are not taken care of, both could lead to depression.

There are ways to prevent diabetes distress and burnout before they cause serious long-term complications or lead to clinical depression.

  1. Observe your feelings. When you have diabetes, you can experience frustration, stress, and fatigue a lot more than usual. When you experience these feelings for a long period of time, you might need help managing your diabetes.
  2. Speak with your healthcare provider about your feelings. If you are experiencing any difficulties with your diabetes care, talk to your doctor, nurse, diabetes educator, psychologist, or social worker. They can help you with problem-solving your diabetes concerns. They may also suggest that you speak with other health care providers.
  3. Consult your healthcare provider if you are experiencing negative reactions from others. It is important not to feel that you must hide your diabetes from others; your health care provider can help you manage feelings of being judged by others.
  4. Find out if you can receive assistance with the costs of diabetes medicines and supplies. Your pharmacist and health care provider may be able to assist you with the cost of your medication if you are concerned about the cost. Additionally, look into community health centers to see if they offer programs to help people get insulin, medicines for diabetes, and supplies (test trips, syringes, etc.).
  5. Talk to your family and friends. Tell the people around you how you feel about having diabetes. Be honest about the problems you’re having. Just verbalizing how you feel can have a positive effect on reducing stress. However, in some cases, the people around you can add to it. Be clear about how and when you need their help.
  6. Allow your loved ones to help you manage diabetes. The people who are closest to you can help you to take your medicine, monitor your blood sugar levels, participate in physical activity with you, and prepare healthy meals. They can also learn more about diabetes and go with you to appointments. Provide your loved ones with ways to help you manage your diabetes that are useful to you.
  7. Speak to others who suffer from diabetes. It may help to talk with others who have diabetes. They can give you insight into how they manage their diabetes and what works for them. Other people with diabetes can help you feel less alone and overwhelmed. You can find diabetic support groups in your community or online by asking your healthcare provider.
  8. Focus on one thing at a time. Managing your diabetes can be overwhelming. If you are suffering from diabetes distress, make a list of every task that you have to do each day. Try to complete every task one at a time.
  9. Take it one step at a time. You don’t have to meet your fitness goals immediately. You may want to walk for 10 minutes, three times a day, five days a week, but you can do it by walking twice a day or every other day.
  10. Spend time doing what you enjoy. Take time to do something you enjoy; it might be talking to a friend, playing with your children, or working on a project you enjoy. Look for activities around your area that you can do with a friend.

When you address the source of your distress and burnout, you will be able to regain control of your diabetes management with the help and resources you need.

Please don’t wait to get help, you don’t have to suffer diabetes stress or burnout any longer.

Until Next Time,

The Genetic Diabetic

Food and Nutrition Friday: Safe Low Carb/Keto Sweeteners for Diabetes

Yes, we can still eat sweets and desserts!

Moderation with sweets and desserts is the key. Enjoy them in small amounts at once so you can fill your plate with other nutritious foods. Limit other carbs to compensate for the sweets. Seek your doctor’s advice for adjusting your diet to avoid consuming too much sugar.

Try replacing sugar with an alternative sweetener. This is a diabetes hack I’ve been using for years. 

I don’t eat a lot of sweets, but when I do, I prefer ice cream, cheesecake, apple pie, and key lime pie. I am still able to eat all of these foods by changing the sweetener type. Before I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, I used to substitute natural, no-added-sugar applesauce in many of my recipes. Nowadays, I use monk fruit and occasionally stevia. 

The sugar replacements have less calories and less or no carbohydrates, so they are great as an alternative to process sugar. I’ve compiled a short guide to sugar replacements and sweeteners that are great for people with diabetes. 

We should be able to eat great tasty food, too!

Until Next Time,

The Genetic Diabetic

Quick Tip Thursday: Encourage Yourself

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.

You’re worth it.

Until Next Time,

The Genetic Diabetic

Preventing Type 2 Diabetes in Our Children

The power of creating a family health legacy

After I was diagnosed with diabetes back in 2019, I became concerned about my children’s risk of developing the disease. On two of my previous three pregnancies, I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes. Having gestational diabetes is not only a risk factor for diabetes in women, but it is also a potential risk factor for your children.  

In addition to family history and diabetes, there are other factors to consider, such as pre-existing health conditions and environmental factors. However, there is still a possibility for type 2 diabetes to be diagnosed in your children later on in life.   

As parents and guardians, we must do our part to prevent type 2 diabetes in our children. As a family, we may need to start incorporating ways to get healthier together.   

Some ideas include:

  • Meal planning together
  • Grocery trips as a family
  • Family walks
  • Family workout days
  • Making family meetings, one-on-one times, etc., where everyone can talk and help solve problems, encourage healthy stress management.  

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) offers some additional ideas that might benefit you and your family:  https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/prevent-type-2/type-2-kids.html

Family health legacy is one of the most powerful tools we have to reduce our family’s risk of diabetes. Establish ways to become healthier as a family. We must act in the interests of our children and their future.  

Until Next Time,

The Genetic Diabetic

Quick Tip Thursday: Having a Consistent Schedule

How a consistent schedule benefits diabetes management

Starting each Thursday, I will be sharing a quick tip that will help you on your diabetes journey.

This week’s tip is about keeping a consistent schedule.

It’s important to keep your body consistent, which may include everything from what time you eat to when you sleep. You can help your body to regulate the body’s hormones and blood sugar levels by creating a regular routine and rhythm.

What does your current schedule look like?

Share your schedule in the comments!

Until Next Time,

The Genetic Diabetic