… excellent exercise buddies. There are other advantages to the buddy system. Enlist your spouse or significant other in your efforts to stick your medication schedule and to maintain a healthy diet.
4. Neglecting Other Problems
A lot of patients with diabetes are dealing with more than just that. Depression and stress are common among people with the disease, and both can have a negative impact on blood sugar levels. Constant stress, for example, may produce hormones that hamper the ability of insulin to do its job. Stress should be considered as a significant contributor to glycemic variation by both patients and physicians. Anything to reduce stress will improve your blood sugar.
People with diabetes are twice as likely to be depressed, and an estimated one of every three people with diabetes have symptoms of depression. The lethargy common to depression can be so discouraging that you might give up your efforts to take care of your diabetes. Not only will that make your diabetes worse, it may also intensify your depression, creating a vicious cycle.
5. Misunderstanding and Misusing Medications
Many share a common misconception when it comes to the drugs used to control their disease. They often think that medications are more powerful than diet and exercise. That’s not necessarily true. In many cases, type 2 diabetes can be controlled by a combination of a healthy diet and regular exercise without the need for medication. That’s a quick way to wreck your blood sugar level, so it’s a problem that needs to be recognize and addressed.
Be honest with your health care provider that this is an issue. Often the solution is for your doctor to change your dosing schedule to one that better suits you.
6. Making Poor Food Choices
When it comes to food and blood sugar, the big mistake is not the single candy bar that you couldn’t resist. The bigger picture matters more; unhealthy eating habits, in the long term, will have a worse effect on your blood sugar.
You may think it’s a one-time diversion, but no, it’s a consistent problem that affects your test results. The two biggest hurdles, are calories and carbohydrates. You have to control both in order to keep your blood sugar level steady.
That means keeping a diet diary to keep track of what you are eating and reading nutrition labels so that you can calculate the proper amounts of the foods you choose to eat. Failing to eat on a regular schedule is another common mistake.