Make a plan
You know that you need to make a change to live well, either to avoid or manage type 2 diabetes. It only takes one step to get you on the right path toward healthier living. Think about what is important to your health — and what you are willing and able to do to make it happen. Doing so will help you make a plan — a great way to start taking care of your health.
In three steps, you can create your plan to living healthier. Think about your answers to the following questions or, better yet, write your answers down:
- What’s hardest about caring for my diabetes? Why is this important to me? Why haven’t I made this change before? How can I work around what gets in the way?
- What’s my goal? (Choose one goal to work on first.)
- What’s my plan to get started to reach my goal? What will I do, and when will I do it? What do I need to get ready? What might get in the way of making this change? How will I know if my plan is working? How will I reward myself?
Tools to help you
Now that you’ve determined your plan of action, it’s time to choose one tool to try this week. Once you’ve incorporated the first good-for-you habit into your lifestyle, you can build upon your success by adding another healthy habit. And with your plan in place, you can make small changes that will keep diabetes at bay.
Start with this list of tools to help you make the first change to live well:
- Eat healthy
- Be active
- Manage your weight
- Cope with stress
- Set goals
- Stop smoking
- Prevent diabetes-related complications
- Check blood glucose
- Take your medicine
For more information about learning how to avoid or control type 2 diabetes, visit NDEP.
Newton Medical Center’s accredited diabetes program can help you manage your diabetes. Together with your physician, our outpatient program can provide you with the tools you need to succeed at diabetes self-management. Our experienced nurses can help you understand what diabetes is, how it’s treated and how to live well with diabetes.
Contact us at 316-804-6147.