Having Diabetes is, naturally, a cause for concern and extra care, but it shouldn’t prevent you from living a full life, and from sampling the numerous delights life has to offer. Granted, you have to undergo a much-needed (and oftentimes drastic) lifestyle change, but this does not have to mean living a half-life.
After the initial scare and accompanying anxiety brought about by your having been diagnosed as a Diabetic, it is important that you don’t give in to the panic and focus, instead, on the things you can do to help your diabetes.
If you have Type 2 Diabetes, your weight may, more or less, have been one of the culprits, along, of course, with a genetic predisposition for Diabetes. Integrating a regular exercise regimen into your daily schedule should be one of your priorities, since continuing with a sedentary lifestyle, or one that involves a lot of sitting, lounging around, or lying down, could only do more harm than good to your condition. Gyms offer programs focusing on cardiovascular well-being, or you could simply adopt an exercise routine at home. Make sure that it is one that works for you and that you stick to doing it regularly; otherwise, you would be taking a step backwards.
Food plays a major role in our lives, and your eating habits, too, should be one of the main things to focus on. By now, you may already be aware that you should be avoiding fatty, high-sugar food, and this may put a heavy toll on your enjoyment of meals. Dining out could become a struggle, and attending gatherings and parties may become a pain, knowing that you have to watch what you eat and watch it well. The mere sight of a buffet table could bring about waves of regret, and choosing from a restaurant menu may very well become a really difficult task.
But these are not reasons to lose hope. Aside from exercise programs, there are avenues you can turn to for eating right without sacrificing the pleasures that come with dining. Here are some reliable—and tasty—alternatives to the fatty, sugary fare most of us have gotten used to:
- Whole grains
- Nuts
- Lemon water
- Fresh, green vegetable salads
- Yolk-less and low-sugar, baked goodies
- Fish lightly fried in olive oil and sprinkled with pepper and a little salt
- Egg-white omelettes
And those are just a few examples of the numerous, readily-available food that you can enjoy. You can search books and the net for recipes which will allow you to play around with Diabetes-friendly ingredients and you might just be surprised at the hearty meals that you will be able to come up with.
Think of it this way: you will actually be hitting two birds with one stone. You will be arresting the symptoms and effects of your illness, and at the same time, you will be training yourself towards becoming a consistently healthy individual, with consistently healthy habits. Which, after all, is something that we should all be aiming for.