According to the American Diabetes Association, more than 20 million Americans are affected by diabetes. Type 2 diabetes can be hereditary, but it is strongly linked to unhealthy lifestyle behaviors, obesity and not having enough physical activity. Diabetes can lead to many complications that affect different systems of the body. There are changes that you can make in your life and things that you can do to help prevent or delay the onset of diabetes.
Step 1
Visit your doctor. Find out if you are at high risk for diabetes and get tested. Regular physical exams, tests and blood work are important in your overall health maintenance. Your doctor can tell you if you are overweight, if you are in a high risk category and what you should do to decrease your chances.
Step 2
Participate in regular physical activity. You should be physically active on most days of the week for 30 minutes each day. Walking, biking, swimming and jogging are all examples. Do heavy gardening, join the gym or take an exercise class. Before starting an exercise program, ask your doctor what kind of exercise is safe for you to participate in.
Step 3
Enlist the help of a registered dietitian or nutritionist if you are overweight and need to lose weight. It is important to lose weight in a healthy way and change your lifestyle dietary behaviors so that the weight loss can be permanent. Having a dietary plan that is guided by a professional can help.
Step 4
Eat healthfully. This means having more nutritious food that is higher in complex carbohydrates and low in saturated fats, and having adequate amounts of fruits and vegetables in your diet. Removing unhealthy foods and beverages that are low in nutritional value and high in calorie is important.
Step 5
Learn the symptoms of diabetes. Sometimes people have increased urination, thirst, irritability, weakness or dizziness. If you think that you are having symptoms, it is important to get tested by your doctor and get treated if necessary.
Step 6
Eat healthy, regular meals and snacks. Keep your body satisfied by eating nutritious food using the right portion sizes rather than letting your body go into starvation mode, which pushes your body to store fat more. In addition, eating when you are ravenous may lead to poor decisions related to what you eat and how much you eat.
Step 7
Get support from your family and friends. It is important that the people around you support the changes in lifestyle you are making. Tell them about diabetes prevention and they may decide to join you in making the right decisions for their health.
