Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Thursday, July 02, 2009 Hollywood asks

Q: How does my daughter get started?

My daughter is 17.  She was diagnosed with Type I diabetes at 13.  She has struggled with it every day.  In the last two months she has been in a program to help her cope with her diabetes.  However, during that time she has gained 15 pounds.  She is starting her senior year this fall and has never weighed this much in her life.  She is definitely out of shape and needs to start living a more healthy lifetstyle immediately.  I want to know how to keep her motivated and how to help her start working out on a regular basis and eating the right foods.

She has never had to monitor her weight before so this makes it even more of a challenge.

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Answers (1)
7/ 5/09 5:54pm

Hi Hollywood,

 

First off, i just want to say that if your daughter isn't ready to make the changes and be more active, eat more healthyfully, etc. then trying to push her won't help...but maybe if you can help educate her about how important exercise is when it comes to diabetes, she will realize on her own and want it for herself.

 

I just posted about ten links to diabetes & exercise & weight loss here:


http://www.healthcentral.com/diabeteens/c/question/970080/76976

 

I hope those are useful!

 

What do you think the hardest part about her diabetes is for her? You mentioned that she has struggled with it really every day -- is it the managing and balancing act or is it the emotional burden it lays on us? Or both?

 

Where she is at now doesn't mean she'll be in this attitude towards her diabetes forever! People can really turn their health around when they decide they want to. I think helping diabetics learn about what the disease can do to your body if it's poorly managed compared to what you're still capable of when you take care of yourself is a huge motivating factor for some!

 

-Ginger

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