According to W.H.O., 8.5% of adults aged 18 years and older had diabetes in 2014. And this number is predicted to increase. But what can be done to prevent diabetes and what should a person living with diabetes do to overcome the problems? The answer is to create a healthy routine that you follow regularly so that it helps you cope with diabetes and reduce the risk of other diseases.
We have discussed in detail how to create a healthy routine in this article.
Why a Healthy Routine is Crucial for Diabetes Management
If you have a family member who has diabetes and you want to bring a positive change in their life then they should follow a healthy routine and diabetic lifestyle tips. But why do we need a healthy routine? What changes can it bring?
Maintaining a healthy routine keeps blood sugar levels in control, which is important for diabetic patients. Incorporating exercises into your routine will also help prevent heart disease, as diabetic patients are more prone to heart problems.
Follow a healthy routine where you stop smoking and drinking alcohol as this will help you stay healthy and avoid any future kidney issues. And would result in long-term benefits and well-being.
Exercising daily along with balanced meals will keep you fit and help you cope with stress. And, having a good amount of sleep every day will also keep your mood refreshed and stress levels in check.
Thus, when you follow these diabetic lifestyle tips it helps you stay fit and healthy.
Building a Diabetes-Friendly Morning Routine
Let’s see step-by-step about how to build a healthy routine for people living with diabetes. And first, we will build a morning routine.
Healthy Breakfast for Blood Sugar Control
Blood sugar levels are affected by many things and one of them is food. And especially, breakfast. Breakfast is the first meal of the day and has a high impact on blood sugar level spikes. So, having a healthy balanced breakfast is important.
So, what kind of diabetes meal planning do you need to do to make your breakfast healthy enough? Your breakfast should include whole grains, lean protein, and healthy fats.
Morning Glucose Monitoring
For a person living with diabetes, it is crucial to keep a check on their blood sugar. Checking your blood sugar first thing in the morning helps you in the following:
- You get to know your overnight fasting glucose levels.
- Know about the effect of your medicines on your sugar levels.
- Plan meals according to the sugar levels monitored so that you can achieve the sugar levels suggested by your doctor.
- Will help you determine the dosage of your medications with your health care provider.
- To know if there is a sudden change in your blood sugar.
- Monitoring sugar levels helps you stay disciplined and healthy.
Physical Activity and Stretching
As said before diabetes patients need to keep their blood sugar levels under check. One more thing other than food that can help keep blood sugar under control is doing some sort of physical activity.
There are various exercises for diabetics such as
- Stretching: You can do light stretching to keep fit.
- Yoga: Yoga is a great option for people who face problems doing hit workouts or exercise and has various benefits.
- Walking: Walking daily for 15-20 mins in the morning will improve your heart health and keep you healthy.
Performing these exercises helps in stress management which results in controlled blood sugar levels.
How to Manage Diabetes During Your Day
Once your morning routine is ready, next is your daytime routine. So, let’s see how to plan it.
Meal Planning and Portion Control
A balanced meal provides the body with the required nutrients and helps manage blood sugar levels. If you follow a healthy routine for diabetics that includes regular physical activity and balanced meals then that will help you control blood sugar levels, improve your blood cholesterol, and stay fit.
To maintain a healthy diet, you should have balanced meals and snacks at regular times. Your meal should contain healthy fats, proteins, carbohydrates, and vegetables.
Taking meals in controlled portions is a key element because eating mindlessly can result in weight gain which can be harmful for a diabetic. Try to eat a small serving of high-fiber carbohydrates, avoid eating full-fat dairy products and unhealthy fats, and avoid junk foods.
Sample Diabetes-Friendly Meal Plan For 1 Week
Midday Glucose Monitoring
Your choice of food, amount of physical activity, and medications affect your blood sugar levels. Therefore, it is often advised to check your blood sugar levels before and after a meal.
For a person living with diabetes, monitoring blood sugar levels will help them know if there was a sudden spike or dip in the levels. Following this diabetic management tip will help you achieve your blood sugar target range.
Depending upon your diabetic type (type 1 or type 2) your healthcare professional will suggest how often you need to monitor your glucose levels.
Exercise for Blood Sugar Control
If you talk about diabetes management tips, then doing regular exercise is also one of them. Doing physical activities will help you overcome problems related to diabetes.
Incorporate daily activities such as brisk walking, cycling, and swimming to remain healthy and for better insulin sensitivity. Also, maintaining a regular workout routine will help you stay healthy and avoid heart disease in the future. It will maintain blood sugar levels.
Creating an Effective Evening Routine for Diabetes
Balanced Dinner and Hydration
As you know, eating balanced food helps regulate blood sugar levels. And having a light-balanced dinner is also beneficial in maintaining a healthy weight.
A person living with diabetes should include lean protein, non-starchy vegetables, and complex carbs in their dinner as a part of their diabetic diet. This will help them maintain blood sugar levels overnight.
Also, staying hydrated is important because it helps you lose weight, aids digestion, better sleep quality, and keeps you healthy.
Evening Glucose Check
Your glucose monitoring schedule should include an evening glucose check. This helps prevent overnight hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia which is the sudden spike or dip in blood sugar levels. This will help you prevent any emergency.
Stress Management Techniques
Even after having a healthy routine, being stressed can affect your blood sugar levels. When you are under stress, there is a rise in growth hormones and cortisol levels, and because of this body tissues become less sensitive to insulin.
Therefore, practice stress-relief practices like deep breathing, meditation, and reading to lower cortisol levels. This will help you maintain blood sugar levels.
Diabetes care before bedtime
If you are a person living with diabetes then it is important to follow these steps for a healthy routine.
Preparing for a Good Night’s Sleep
Getting good sleep is important in many aspects such as weight loss journey, maintaining blood sugar levels, good mental health, and stress management. Getting a good sleep will help you stay refreshed and healthy, which means it will also maintain your blood sugar levels.
To get a good sleep try to avoid taking caffeine during the day and maintain a consistent sleep schedule. Also, creating a relaxing environment will help.
Blood Sugar Monitoring and Late-night Snacking
Blood sugar monitoring will give you insights into whether there is a sudden dip in sugar levels overnight. If you encounter such situations, try talking with your healthcare professional regarding the dose of medications or eating small healthy snacks.
It will be beneficial to consult your doctor to prevent low blood sugar levels overnight. Together with them, you can work on adjusting nighttime insulin doses or oral diabetes medications per your body’s needs.
Incorporating Medication and Insulin into Your Daily Routine
Establish a Medication Routine
For a person living with diabetes, doctors usually prescribe the doses and the time to take them. This is because taking medicines regularly at the same time helps regulate blood sugar levels. Depending on the diabetes type, taking medicines at irregular times can have side effects.
Insulin Management
Your healthcare provider suggests insulin therapy and dose depending on the type of diabetes you are diagnosed with. Once insulin injections are prescribed you should start tracking insulin doses to monitor the blood sugar level. This will help you know the effect of insulin on the blood sugar.
The dose can be adjusted after discussing it with your healthcare provider according to the insights from the tracking.
How to Stay Consistent with Your Diabetes Routine
Setting up a healthy routine is just one step towards a healthy lifestyle. Staying consistent with this routine is the key to a healthy lifestyle.
Setting Achievable Goals
To be able to remain consistent, it is important to set goals. You don’t need to start with everything at one time. Start with a small realistic goal because the chances of completing this goal will be more.
Example:
- Start with 5 mins of walking, cutting sugar, and getting a good sleep every day.
- This will also help manage diabetes naturally and can be adjusted into your schedule easily.
- Completing goals as mentioned above would be a little easier than suddenly restricting everything.
Finding Support
Having someone support you makes the task easier. So if you feel like you are not able to maintain a healthy routine for a longer time, then try joining diabetes support groups, or seek counseling. You can also try using apps that help track success. This will help you stay motivated.
Conclusion
Living with diabetes can be sometimes overwhelming. But if you follow a healthy routine then it will result in long-term health benefits. Moreover, monitoring your blood sugar levels, having balanced meals, taking medications regularly, and doing physical activities will lead to a healthy lifestyle.
Also, staying consistent and consulting your healthcare provider before starting any new routine is important. Start your healthy routine from today and set small goals to achieve.
