Lifestyle changes - Make small changes in your life
Whether you have diabetes or are at risk of developing the condition, even small changes can make a big difference to your life. We live in a busy society where a complete lifestyle overhaul in the quest for health and fitness is not always possible overnight. But making small changes can have a great benefit for your health - and only you can make the difference ...
Think ahead - Take some time out
Take a bit of time to become aware of what you actually do in a day as this will be useful when deciding what changes can or need to be made, if necessary. Perhaps keep a food and exercise diary?
What's going inside?
Start reading food labels and increase your awareness of what is really in your food - start by looking at salt, fat, calorie intake. Do you know how much you should be eating? The
Food Standards Agency website has a guide to understanding food labelling.
Cut back on sugar
The good news is that sugar does not need to be excluded from your diet if you have diabetes. Sugar should be limited as part of a healthy diet especially if you are trying to lose weight. Why not try some diet, low-calorie fizzy drinks and sugar-free or no-added-sugar squashes. Intense sweeteners such as Splenda, Hermesetas, Sweetex and Canderel can be useful to sweeten hot drinks. As a guide, you should read nutrition information on labels - 15g sugar or more per 100g is a lot, and 5g sugar or less per 100g is a little.
Make activity a part of your life - Become more active with lifestyle-based activity
Did you know that just 30 minutes' exercise five times a week can decrease cardiovascular risk. Exercise doesn't mean spending hours in the gym - instead build more activity and bodily exertion into your daily lives such as:
- walking up an escalator
- getting off one bus stop earlier
- using a push lawn-mower instead of an electric mower
- washing your car rather than going to the carwash
- going for a walk or cycle with a friend or your children
- parking at the furthest point of the car park.
- Why not take up a new hobby that gets you out and about?
Eat and drink well
Reduce your alcohol intake
Alcohol is high in calories and makes you feel hungry. The maximum recommended units per day is two units for woman and three units for men. A drink can now contain more units than you think - a pint can contain as much as three units and a small glass of wine (175mls) contains around two units. Try alternating one alcoholic drink with one non-alcoholic drink, add soda water or lemonade to white wine to make a spritzer, make sure you fill up a tall glass with a soft drink.
Eat regular meals
Are you missing meals? Is breakfast one of these meals? Try taking something in to work such as yogurt and fruit, a smoothie or cereal. Perhaps you could leave the box of cereal at work?
Be prepared
Take a packed lunch to work - start with once a week. Cook extra food and freeze for times when you don't feel like cooking.
Portions
Using your plate as a rough guide will help you to eat foods in recommended portions.
Dish meals up in the kitchen rather than at the table when it is so easy to take second helpings.
Put your knife and fork down in between mouthfuls and allow at least 20 minutes to eat.
Salt - is your food full of it?
The recommended guideline is no more than 6g a day which is equivalent to one teaspoon a day. Try other ways of flavouring your foods using herbs and spices instead of salt, and opting for lower-salt versions when you buy ready meals.
Eat less fat
Your small change could be to:
- opt for a skinny cappuccino rather the full-fat one
- choose a skinny muffin rather than the regular one
- try thin-based pizzas rather than deep-pan or stuffed crust
- go for jacket or boiled potatoes rather than chips or have a smaller portion
- ask for salad dressing to be separate from the salad so that you can control how much is added
- grill, poach or boil food rather than frying it.
Eat more fruit and vegetables
Be adventurous and try new fruits and vegetables. Be creative and try freezing chopped fruits such berries and banana skewers, exchange chips and dips for crudités and houmous, stew fruit with cinnamon or have tinned fruit as a dessert.
