Would you like to sail into the rest of your life without needing to think constantly about your type 2 diabetes and blood sugar levels? I’m sure by now you realize the cause of your diabetes is:

genetics

lifestyle factors

Of course, we can’t change our background … we’re stuck with that. But lifestyle … that’s a different story. Enormous changes in our lifestyle has occurred in the past century. Once much of the world participated in farming, hunting and other occupations where a large amount of energy was used to obtain food. Now we lead a lifestyle where little physical energy is needed to obtain our nutrition. And of course, physical labor in trade and factories, has been replaced with sophisticated machinery and many workers now hold white-collar jobs. And we don’t walk for miles (kilometers) any more, we just hop in our car and off we go, as close to the shopping center as possible.

So these lifestyle changes have all contributed to our present world-wide epidemic of obesity and type 2 diabetes. We are now battling damaging effects brought about by:

processed foods

drive-through nutrition

all you can eat buffets,

over-sized meals

processed foods high in fat and calories (kilojoules)

Television, computers and computer games are also often blamed for our lack of exercise.

So what is the solution? In the end, you are responsible for your lifestyle choices. In order to be done with type 2 diabetes, what is required is a commitment to do whatever it takes, to bring about your good health.

It doesn’t take superhuman power or more money, just the realization if you keep on doing what you have been, and your type 2 diabetes and blood sugar levels are not stabilized, you will pay for it with a shortened healthy life.

Four Key Principles to Remember about a Healthy Eating Plan for Type 2 Diabetes:

1. A diabetic diet does not need to exist … you can follow a healthy eating plan that helps you with weight loss, and reducing your insulin and blood sugar levels.

2. Have an individual consultation with an Accredited Practising Dietitian who specializes in diabetes. They will consider your total health, type 2 diabetes, your food likes and dislikes, your schedule plus your cultural and religious food habits.

3. Look at changing your habits slowly and surely with your healthy eating plan plus incorporating physical activity into your daily living.

4. Learn to be realistic with yourself as sometimes your life does not always go according to the way you would like it. Your eating plan needs to be flexible enough to to fit into your lifestyle which sometimes could mean delaying your mealtime or eating out in a restaurant.

Following a healthy eating plan will help to get your blood sugar levels into your target range. Keeping your blood sugars, your cholesterol levels and blood pressure within a normal range will help you to prevent, or at least delay, long term complications of type 2 diabetes as well as help you with weight loss.