Staying Healthy!
Black Americans are disproportionately affected by diabetes, but education and lifestyle changes can help reduce the risk of the disease.
Eat Healthy
Managing blood sugar is the key to living well with diabetes, and eating well is the key to managing blood sugar. But what does it mean to eat well? Simply put, eat healthy foods in the right amounts at the right times so your blood sugar stays in your target range as much as possible.
Work with your dietitian or diabetes educator to create a healthy eating plan, and check out the resources in this section for tips, strategies, and ideas to make it easier to eat well.
Excercise
The goal is to get at least 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity physical activity. One way to do this is to try to fit in at least 20 to 25 minutes of activity every day. Also, on 2 or more days a week, include activities that work all major muscle groups (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders, and arms).
Examples of moderate-intensity physical activities include:
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Walking briskly
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Doing housework
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Mowing the lawn
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Dancing
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Swimming
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Bicycling
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Playing Sports
These activities work your large muscles, increase your heart rate, and make you breathe harder, which are important goals for fitness. Stretching helps to make you flexible and prevent soreness after being physically active. Find out more by reading: Tips for Being Active with Diabetes.
And you may not be used to talking about feeling sad or down. But if you’re concerned about your mental health, let your doctor know right away. You’re not alone—help is available! Learn more HERE
Mental Health Support
Is mental health pretty low on your list of priorities for managing diabetes? Mental health affects so many aspects of daily life—how you think and feel, handle stress, relate to others, and make choices. You can see how having a mental health problem could make it harder to stick to your diabetes care plan.
If you think you might have depression, get in touch with your doctor right away for help getting treatment. The earlier depression is treated, the better for you, your quality of life, and your diabetes.
Talk to Your Health Care Team
Your health care team knows diabetes is challenging, but may not understand how challenging.