Stick with it!

What makes us stick with a routine, be it exercise or nutrition? The answer: practicability. For example, it's impractical to eat the same exact food every single day. From a health standpoint, it's important to eat a range of food to get adequate vitamins and minerals. But more pertinently, we'd just get bored! Even if this meal plan caused us to reach our weight or fitness goals, it'd be unrealistic to maintain. To prolong a nutrition or fitness routine, it must be flexible and realistic to your lifestyle. 

Sticking with a routine is the best path to both general health and diabetes control.

Nutrition

On the television, we are bombarded with messages of men and women proclaiming: "I've tried every diet out there, only to regain the weight. But this diet really works!"

Packaged meals that arrive in the mail may be the solution to a short-term problem, but they're unrealistic for long-term health. It's a good idea to set long-term goals for yourself before embarking on a health program, of any sort. Approach the goals at a conservative pace. For example, my goal is to cut back on artificial sweeteners. A month ago, I put two packets of sweetener in my tea, but slowly reduced to one and a half, one, and now one half. If your goal is to eat more vegetables, add veggies to one meal at a time. If you'd like to reduce the number of sweets you eat, limit yourself to one daily. In addition, slowly changing your diet reduces the risk for dangerous blood sugar changes. Over time, you may see your insulin needs shift.  It's more comfortable and realistic for your long-term health to change your diet slowly.

Accountability is also an important part of maintaining a nutrition program. Most importantly, keeping track of calories or food groups allows you to analyze which nutrients or food groups you're lacking. This can be helpful in blood sugar control; I realized that adding a healthy fat to my breakfast reduced post-prandial blood sugar spikes. By keeping track of what you're eating, it's easier to save room for treats. Lastly, it's easier to talk to your doctor or dietician about nutrition if you have a record of your diet. If you count calories or food groups, don't get yourself down if you fall out of routine for a few days. For instance, I tried not to give myself a hard time for the croissants I enjoyed in Paris this spring! Keeping yourself accountable of your diet, whether you met your goals or not, helps you stay on track.

Fitness

I'd love to run a marathon, but it'd take months of preparation to make race day fun and safe. Similarly, taking on a healthy fitness routine requires caution.

Before starting a program, it's important to talk to your doctor or diabetes educator about the possible effects of exercise on your blood sugar.

When you get the ok, the best exercise advice is to start slowly. For example, if your goal is to run a 5k race, try a walk/run program: run slowly for five minutes, then walk for one minute. For example, it's not a good idea to try to exercise for an hour if you're not used to being active; you'd most likely finish tired and dejected. When I started running two years ago, my favorite way to end a jog was feeling like I could have run another mile. Most importantly, starting a routine slowly is safer from a blood sugar perspective: many people's blood sugars change rapidly during exercise. You'll need to talk to your healthcare professional and/or experiment to balance insulin and fuel. When you finish an exercise session feeling pleasant, you're more likely to keep it up.