Type 2 Diabetes and Healthy Living – Set Realistic Goals

Type 2 Diabetes and Healthy Living – Set Realistic Goals

Whenever you want to take on a challenge for an outcome, set a goal. Goals can be ambitious or simple: if you veer too much in one direction, you risk wasting your time. Too easy, and you might not care enough about the outcome and feel uninspired. If you're too ambitious, you risk trying something too challenging and finding more frustration than inspiration.

Strive for balance. Set realistic goals that aren't too easy but are within reach. When setting health goals, this is especially important…

1. Set realistic weight loss goals.Let's start with weight loss, as this is a subject of much discussion and interest. Weight loss requires a more realistic approach than perhaps anything else. It's one thing to say you'll lose 30 pounds by the end of the year, and another to be able to persevere. It is much better to tell yourself that you will take it for a week or a month and then you will make small but significant progress.

A pound a week adds up quickly, and even if you're a bit small, it's progress in the right direction. Don't be overly optimistic about what you can achieve in the long term. For now, think about what you can accomplish in the next few weeks and months, and don't run before you can walk.

2. Realistic nutritional goals.Diet falls into the same scope, because without good nutrition you are unlikely to make progress in losing weight. However, it's best not to drastically reduce your calorie intake or make the same kind of dramatic changes to your diet. Start with small steps. Small changes to your diet will go a long way.

3. Feasible practice strategies.Movement is essential. If you've been sedentary and recently had a wake-up call like being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, you may have decided to make a permanent switch. This time it will be different, you say to yourself: This is a good start.

However, be careful about being overzealous. Don't be too ambitious at first. If you train to achieve...

• weight loss,

• lower blood sugar levels or

• improving your cardiovascular health,

Moderation is key. Going from zero workouts to five or more per week is too much, and it's hard to maintain that goal.

Instead, determine possible training strategies. Try to exercise three times a week. Do this until it becomes a regular routine in your life and you don't have to think twice about it. If your diet is right, you will make progress. You'll also be more likely to enjoy your workouts at the gym, the walks you take, and the fitness classes you take.

Ultimately, setting realistic goals is part of a realistic plan for your health. Set health goals that you will achieve and accumulate those achievements.

Inspired by Beverleigh H Piepers