April 28, 2014

Stopping Bad Habits When Diagnosed with Diabetes

I don't think it matters whether you have diabetes or not, there are some habits that apply to both situations and you need to face up to these bad habits. I have blogged about the bad habits to avoid for people with diabetes. They haven't changed much since then. Some have become more important while others are receiving less attention.

What I have found discouraging is the links to great material become broken over time and the sites change to reflect new topics and often delete valuable information. This is off topic, but I find this one bad habit that websites have.

Diabetes is not a stroll in the park or an easy task to manage. It takes a positive “I can do this” attitude and finding good habits that become second nature to you. Yes, mistakes or falls can happen, but much depends on how quickly you correct your mistake or get up, dust yourself off, and get back on the right path. Learning from mistakes is very important and if you don't learn, these will be the mistakes you repeat in the future.

Not learning from mistakes This is a bad habit for many people with type 2 diabetes.

Saying that the doctor did not say anything about this This is another bad habit for many people and their way of avoiding doing things they should do. I have encountered this in working with other people with type 2 diabetes again and again. I am not talking about the people in our diabetes support group because they know that just because the doctor did not mention something is no excuse. When it is brought up to them, they are interested and start asking questions. They know that most of us do research and often have a good basis for saying something. They listen and if they have doubts, they make them known. They know to ask for URLs to take them to the articles and then they adapt to the information and often comment to us later about how helpful we were.

Over indulging your sweet tooth Many people over do this to the extreme. Why? Because they hear many of us with type 2 diabetes talking about having a treat. What they don't hear is the fact that we cut out carbohydrates to be able to have a treat once in a while. I am not talking on a daily basis, but maybe once a week or twice a month at the most. They have tuned out the last statements and figure if we can have treats, why shouldn't they have treats. Then they don't limit the quantity as we do and don't realize that we test to make sure that the treat does not drive our blood glucose up more than the limit we have set. Eating these foods regularly or in large portions defeats the whole purpose of treating your diabetes. Plus the concept of glycemic index is not part of their vocabulary or treatment plans.

It is too easy to develop bad habits. Many people are still working and on the go all the time. They eat foods that they should not, vegetate instead of exercising, and are so tired at the end of day that they want to sleep, but they have more to do and sleep takes a back seat to their work.

If you have not read my blog, linked to above, please consider reading it. I will not try to duplicate other bad habits from it, but will go into other bad habits in the next blog.

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