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“The more you learn about diabetes and how our body responds to
medications, exercise and nutrition, the more you’ll learn why and how to make
simple lifestyle changes that can have a huge impact on your health,”
says Kathleen DeMaggio, RD, CDE.
Set daily and long-term goals
Your primary care physician, diabetes
nurse, dietitian and diabetes educator
can help you develop a diabetes plan
for meeting these daily goals:
Check and record blood sugar levels.
Get at least 30 minutes of exercise.
Know when, what and how much to eat and drink.
Take diabetes medications as prescribed.
Check your feet for sores.
Ask your team about ways to make those goals manageable.
For example, you could start out by walking 10 minutes a day.
Or you could trade one sugary drink each day for water with a
twist of lemon. “Each small step takes you closer to hitting your
ABC numbers and meeting your goals,” DeMaggio says. Setting
long-term goals for cholesterol, blood pressure and weight is also
= A1C test.
Measuring your
blood sugar helps
you see how well your diabetes
plan is working. Self-care
includes recording and
reporting your numbers to your
team so they can fine-tune
your care.
A
= Blood pressure.
High blood pressure
makes your heart
work too hard and raises your
risk for stroke. Your health
care team checks your blood
pressure at every visit. Self-care
for blood pressure includes
getting more exercise.
B
= Cholesterol.
Fat in your blood, in the form
of cholesterol and triglycerides, can affect
your heart. HDL cholesterol is good — it
helps protect your heart. But too much LDL cholesterol
can clog arteries, and high triglycerides increase the
risk for stroke or heart attack. Your health care team
will monitor your cholesterol with blood tests. Self-care
for cholesterol includes making wise food choices.
C
You don’t have to go it alone! Our Diabetes Self-Management Education Program can help. To learn more,
contact us at 707.963.6577.
important. So are getting an annual eye exam, seeing your dentist
every six months, and having your feet checked regularly by a
health care professional.
Simple lifestyle changes can make
all the difference
Making simple changes in lifestyle can be easy once you
understand what is going on in your body. Changes such as
nutrition and physical activity can help to reduce the need for
medication and/or helps medications work even better. This goes
a long way to improving blood sugar control, reducing blood
pressure and cholesterol. DeMaggio reports, “I always promote
the Diabetes Self-Management Education Program because it is
proven to reduce A1C, medications and diabetes complications.
The most rewarding part of my job is to see how the program
empowers and motivates
people to take charge of their
own disease process. People
become excited about making
changes and feel it is something
they can do.”
Why your ABCs matter
