My 21 Best Tips for managing diabetes and building a better looking body in 2018
It’s hard to think clearly, have great ideas and take effective action when you’re out of shape, not managing your diabetes, stressed and ill. Align yourself with the fact your body is the vehicle that gets you from where you are (now) to where you want to be.
A healthy body gives you the energy and capacity to love, work hard and build the life you want. There’s no benefit in playing the victim and making excuses. Step up and take ownership of your diabetes. You have more control than you think.
Check out these 21 gems of wisdom to improve your diabetic control in 2018.
1. If your blood glucose levels read high or low it doesn’t mean you’re useless, failing or going to die a horrible death. They’re just numbers – treat them as data and feedback for you to take action. Your blood glucose readings are your friend.
2. You need to bolus for protein, especially beef, whey protein and other sources of dairy. These tend to increase blood glucose levels the most.
3. Purposely putting yourself into hyperglycemia to lose body fat is unwise. You’ll ruin your health and burn off valuable muscle tissue – which increases your body fat percentage. Seriously stupid.
4. Strength training and building muscle is one of the best investments a diabetic can make. Muscle is the largest storage tank for glucose.
5. Sleep is a prerequisite to good quality diabetes management. Aim for 7-8 hours every night. If you fall short, try to make it up with naps or binge sleep at the weekend when your workload calms down.
6. Diet soft drinks will not give you cancer. The majority of people who make this claim have misinterpreted the research and fallen prey to sensationalist headlines designed to shock the masses. Low calorie soft drinks don’t influence blood glucose levels, settle a sweet tooth and support weight loss.
7. Dietary and training adjustments are necessary because energy needs change as we progress. If you don’t know how to change your diet and training up – hire a coach! Or check out the likes of Diabetic Shred
8. It’s perfectly normal to gain weight when starting insulin therapy for the first time. A large proportion of this weight gain is water and stored carbohydrate NOT body fat. The only time you’ll gain body fat is when you eat above and beyond your energy needs. If you can’t get your head around that – read this article for women and this one for men.
9. You don’t have a slow metabolism. Just a fast appetite.
10. Logging the right data can prove invaluable to your ongoing progress. Log objective measures, such as body weight, adherence to diet, which can be interconnected with subjective measures, such as blood sugar control, mood, hunger and energy.
11. Hire a coach! It will save you a lot of time, money and effort. I can’t stress this enough!
12. Undoing something isn’t as easy as pressing CTRL + Z – Undoing something that’s taken months or years to do, isn’t easy to stop or change. You are 100% responsible for managing your diabetes.
13. Do you dedicate time to studying diabetes and all the factors involved in controlling it? If not, why not? Don’t complain about badly controlled diabetes if you haven’t put the work into understanding it. That’s why we created the Training Lab.
14. There are things you’re doing right now that are not conducive to your goal. I don’t know what these things are for you, but everyone has them. Just be aware that if you want to change you’re going to have to stop doing things you might currently enjoy doing, (bad habits). So — no, you can’t have it all.
15. Carry a spare everything (diabetes-wise) in your car.
16. Never leave the house without hypo prevention. The best hypo prevention is a non-diet fizzy drink like coca cola or high energy sports drink (minus the caffeine).
17. Quiz your doctor on things you don’t understand – you deserve to know. Why is this drug a better choice for me than this? Why can’t I get access? Can you double-check? What are the implications? What is the evidence behind your claims?
18. Will there be a cure for diabetes? Who knows? Regardless, focus on the now and keep your blood sugars as well controlled as possible.
19. There is no such thing as a good or bad food – just good or bad diets.
20. Invest in personal development books, courses and mentors. Learning how to manage and dissolve stress is a lifesaver.
21. Surround yourself with like-minded people who want to dominate diabetes and get more out of life. Just like everyone inside the Diabetic Muscle and Fitness private Facebook group.
I hope you got value from all of these.
You don’t live with diabetes alone.
We’re with you every step of the way in 2018.
Respect!
Phil Graham