5 Lifestyle Changes to Make Managing Your Diabetes Easier

Living with diabetes is never easy. However, making a few changes to one’s lifestyle and daily habits can surely make things somewhat easier. 

With that in mind, let’s look at five lifestyle changes that make managing your diabetes much easier.

Stock up on Extra Diabetic Supplies 

Having a diabetes testing kit at home is a must when a diabetic patient lives there. You can never risk not measuring your blood sugar level when you have to.

Always keep an extra bottle of insulin at home. Your digital testing kit will also need batteries. So, purchase some extra batteries too, just in case.

Having a few extra test strips won’t hurt either. You don’t even have to throw them away if you don’t need them. You can even sell diabetic test strips. Many websites will pay you money for test strips. Of course, you have to make sure that it isn’t long past the expiration date. Just pack the unused diabetic test strips, and sell them online for some quick cash.

Rethink Your Daily Diet

Foods that contain high quantities of fat, calories, and cholesterol increase the chances of getting diabetes. Consuming these foods as a person with diabetes will only worsen the situation for you. These foods can also lead to obesity and other health problems. So, it’s best if you consume a healthy diet. Such foods are rich in fiber and low in fat, salt, sugar, and cholesterol.

Here are a few guidelines you can follow as someone with diabetes for rethinking your diet.

• Consume more greens (vegetables and salads).
• Avoid processed foods like white bread, flaked cereals, and biscuits. Opt for whole grains and low-GI carbs like oats, corn, barley, and quinoa.
• Eat only lean cuts of meat. Try to include more fish in your diet. 
• Switch to fat-free dairy or soy products.
• Instead of butter or margarine, cook your food with oils like olive and canola. 
• For daily snacking, you must avoid burgers, fries, hot dogs, and other types of junk food. Instead, eat fruits, unsalted nuts, and low-fat yogurt.

If you’re having trouble maintaining such strict dietary guidelines, you can have a cheat day once a week. Nutritionists suggest that consuming a small amount of non-so-healthy food once a day might motivate you to eat healthy the rest of the week.

Exercise Regularly

Avoiding certain kinds of foods will prevent you from gaining extra weight. However, what about the weight that you’ve already put on. Your dietary restrictions will be useless if you don’t lose weight. On top of that, as a person with diabetes, it’s also crucial that you stay physically active.

That’s why health and nutrition experts recommend diabetic patients exercise regularly. Doctors suggest an average person get at least 15 to 30 minutes of intense physical activity each day. One hundred fifty minutes of aerobic training in a week can also help.

Going to a gym for this isn’t mandatory. However, you can if you think it will help. You must do a lot of cardio throughout the day when you can find the time. Regular exercising and gradually losing weight will make you feel much better physically and mentally.

Sleep on Time 

The ideal sleep routine to follow is when you sleep at night, usually by 10, and wake up early in the morning. Getting that eight-hour sleep is crucial, but it’s more important that you get it during the right time. 

You’re likely to stay up late when you don’t sleep on time. That will lead to snacking at night, which is never good. Then, instead of being active during the day, you’ll feel drowsy. Not only will it hamper your daily routine, but also your diet and exercise routines. 

Keep Your Blood Sugar Level in Check

Never take a chance with your blood sugar level. Always keep it in check, especially when you’re on insulin. As we discussed earlier, you should have a diabetes test kit at home. Know how to use it, or have someone in your house learn the procedure.

Keep an eye out for the following symptoms and immediately check your blood sugar level if you spot any of them:

• Frequently feeling thirsty and having a dry mouth
• The urge to urinate frequently
• Sudden loss of weight and pain in the stomach
• Blurry eyesight and feeling tired or dizzy

These changes will not be easy to maintain. You’ll struggle a lot at the start. However, once you push through, you’ll start enjoying it, and your diabetes will be in your control entirely.