Are you new to diabetes? Feeling overwhelmed? You are not alone. Think of it this way: before you had diabetes, your body automatically kept your blood sugar perfectly adjusted; now that you have diabetes your body needs help doing this. You are in "manual" drive (like a manual transmission car) instead of automatic. So you will need to learn how to use food, activity, and eventually you will likely also need medication to manage your blood sugar.
Rome wasn't built in a day- your diabetes management skills and knowledge will evolve over time, so don't try to learn it all in a day or a week. If you want some basic information about diabetes before your scheduled classes, we recommend the websites below, but please don't read too much. You will just get overwhelmed. With diabetes, it is better to learn about managing it a little at a time. After you attend our class series and live with diabetes for a few months, testing your blood glucoses, you will have learned much more than you can get from hours of reading on the internet. Caution: anyone can put up a website and give their opinions about diabetes, diabetes treatments, and cures. PLEASE make sure to stick to well-known organizations and universities or hospitals for your information on the net. Here are a few sites we have found to be excellent!
Joslin Diabetes Center: www.joslin.org
For Your Diabetes Life: www.dLife.com
National Diabetes Education Program: www.ndep.nih.gov
American Diabetes Association: www.diabetes.org
Getting Started with Food- we do not recommend any drastic changes before class, like giving up all "white" foods or giving up all breads and desserts. Make sure you are eating three meals a day spaced throughout the day. Beverages with natural and artificial sugar can really impact your blood sugars, so switch from regular sodas to drinks made with artificial sweetener or just water. Fruit juices can be found made with artificial sweetener, like Diet V-8 Splash and other products. You might start looking at nutrition labels for serving size and total carbohydrate. In class you will learn more about nutrition and diabetes and label-reading.
Get Moving- one of the best and natural glucose lowering activities for people with diabetes is physical activity. So, with your doctor's approval, start doing any form of exercise or activity where you are moving without stopping (walking, bicycling, swimming, or playing an active sport) When you have diabetes, even short bouts of activity are beneficial, so if you can only do 5-10 minutes, that will still help. Already Moving? Good for you for maintaining physical activity! Try to work up to 30-40 minutes of activity every day of the week. If you choose a time after your largest meal, this is an ideal time to lower your blood glucose. But physical activity any time is beneficial, as long as you check your blood glucose before activity, to make sure your blood glucose doesn't dip too low.