Top 5 Tips for Managing Diabetes

A diabetes diagnosis will change your life — but it doesn’t have to stop you from living fully! Learn how to survive and thrive so you can learn to live your best life with your diagnosis. We’ve compiled a list of the Top 5 Tips for Managing Diabetes from Dr. Betul Hatipoglu — Endocrinologist and Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic. Here’s what you need to know to make your life with diabetes better:

Knowledge is Power

Being informed about your diagnosis is the best way to manage it. It’s very important to know what diabetes is and what it can do to your body. Learn as much as you can about your diagnosis — ask your healthcare provider to send you to an official diabetes teaching program. 

Monitoring Blood Sugar

Understanding your blood sugar and knowing how it changes throughout the day is another important part of diabetes management. Your blood sugar levels will change throughout the day as you eat, work, move, and experience stress. Be sure to follow your doctor’s directions — check your sugar, monitor the levels, and report back to your healthcare provider.

Learn About Food

You may wish to visit a dietician to help you find the best diet plan to manage your diabetes. Learn as much as you can about the food you’re eating. Keep in mind different kinds of carbohydrates will affect your blood sugar differently. It’s a great strength for you to know how food affects your blood sugar.

Movement is Essential

If you only take away one tip from this entire list — choose this one. Exercise is one of the most important and beneficial things you can do for your diabetes and for your overall health. Just 15-20 minutes of continuous movement a day for 5 or 6 days per week can have massive benefits. You don’t have to be Rocky — simply walking is enough to get your blood pumping. 

Stress & Sleep

Believe it or not — stress management and sleep both have a big impact on your blood sugar. In fact, inadequate sleep or constant high levels of stress can spike your sugar as much as if you’ve eaten a pint of ice cream or a big slice of cake! Learn how to cope with life’s daily stresses and make sure you’re getting enough rest at night. 

We hope these tips will help you live better with diabetes. Just a few small changes can make it much easier to manage your diagnosis. Have more questions? Leave them in the comments below!