According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2012 research showed that over 29 million Americans were said to have diabetes. That number is minuscule when compared to the 86 million adults who have prediabetes. Prediabetes is when a person’s blood sugar levels are higher than normal, but not high enough to be considered type 2 diabetes yet. A majority of these 86 million adults are not aware they have prediabetes and may be at risk for developing type 2 diabetes. Think about this, approximately one in three U.S. adults have prediabetes, which could be one in three of your friends, or even family. Do you know your own risk?
Thankfully, there is no need to panic. The American Diabetes Association has created an online free risk test for us to take. This test is a great way to see what your risk may be and then make a decision to talk to you physician about prediabetes or diabetes. You are not alone. There are programs and resources out there to help guide you to make small changes that will change our lifestyle. Simple steps like eating smart and moving more are pivotal to keeping prediabetes or diabetes in check. You can make changes that can improve your health and prevent diabetes!
Eat Smart, Move More, Weigh Less has exciting news to share about an upcoming program specific for people with prediabetes. Be on the lookout for more information about Eat Smart, Move More, Prevent Diabetes, coming Spring 2016. Eat Smart, Move More, Prevent Diabetes is a 12-month online program to help you prevent type 2 diabetes. Diabetes CAN be prevented. We can help.
Diabetes Latest. (2014, June 17). Retrieved March 21, 2016, from http://www.cdc.gov/features/diabetesfactsheet/
of overweight kids I was not a fan of exercise and the opportunities it presented to put my shortcomings on display (I’m looking at you, gym class). As an adult, however, I have come to love it. I particularly love the alone time granted by a long bike ride or an afternoon hiking. I can even find that solitude in a morning jog or a quick stop at the gym. I love the way it burns off my anxious energy, and how I can count on it to help me sleep better. I must admit, though, that I struggled with whether or not to use the past-tense (loved) in those last few sentences. My daughter (our first) was born last spring. She is the most wonderful person I know, but caring for her takes up an astonishing amount of time and energy, which has led to a significant decrease in the amount of time I spend exercising. She does not directly prevent me from taking long bike rides or going on afternoon hikes, but it’s way harder to fit them in. I actually jogged this morning, but it was the first time this week. It was half as long as the ones I was taking a year ago, yet it made my lungs burn significantly more. I could have gone further, but I wanted to get home to eat breakfast with my daughter and her mom before we all headed to work.
Are more choices a good thing? A regular grocery store has over 25,000 items. This is a huge increase from several decades ago when the average was around 15,000 items. The increase in choices has not coincided with better diets for most Americans. Sometimes too many choices is a bad thing. When faced with a buffet, we tend to eat more based on the number of choices. How can we limit choices in at least some of our eating occasions to help us eat healthy?
but it is because I want those five more minutes in my warm bed, especially during the winter. I could tell you that by setting three alarms everything works out great, but I would be lying. By setting two or three alarms I am creating my own “morning drag”. The morning drag just does not make it hard to get out of bed, but I feel as if time is inching along, as if I am not prepared to handle any task. My morning drag makes me feel as if I needed to be hooked up to a caffeine drip! My bad habit of not getting up on the first alarm leads to not mentally preparing myself for my day, let alone using my time wisely.
will you take the stairs or the elevator? During your work day, is there a printer you can use further away? What about a restroom on a different floor? While your lunch is heating up, take a few laps around the office. While you are refilling your water bottle, do a few calf raises. Instead of sending an email or using the phone, go and talk to your coworker.
