Diabetes: Things I Don’t and Things I Do

I'm in a moment of annoyance. I feel bombarded by the do’s and don'ts of diabetes. I have made my own small list with my rationale to share.

Dos and don'ts of diets

I don’t follow expensive fad diets, “Lose 30 lbs in 30 days or your money back.” These diets can suck you into a vortex that may cause damage to your wallet and your health later on. A friend followed a popular diet and lost her weight nicely. Six months later her lipid profile was so far out of the healthy range her doctor told her to stop the diet. Her lipid profile went back to her normal.

I do follow healthy eating practices and get my information from reputable sources. I don’t have thousands of dollars to spend on diets that negatively affect aspects of my health.

I don’t do the glycemic index. Nothing wrong with this for many people. However, my blood sugars have not read this information or seen the charts. My blood sugars thumb their nose at them and do what they want.

I do test my blood sugars frequently to know which foods I can tolerate well, or not, and in what quantity.

Dos and don'ts of exercise

I don’t follow fad exercise plans that make ridiculous claims. You know the ones I mean, where they show you the before and after picture. Two things wrong with these ads: the person is 20 yrs old to start with and the after picture is looking pretty photoshopped.

I do exercise that is age appropriate for me and that I can safely do without hurting myself. I want to look good but I don’t need to look like I’m 20 again.

I don’t do gym memberships. There is nothing wrong with gym memberships, if you use them, after you’ve paid out a lot of money. I have wasted too much money on these without actually using them. You know, the New Year's resolution…?

I do free exercise. I walk. I also do some resistance exercises with bands that a physiotherapist suggested. That was worth the consult fee and cost significantly less.

Dos and don'ts of informational resources

I don’t watch sensational ‘doctor’ shows or many of the tv media reports. I have heard blatantly incorrect information on both that is not supported by research or taken out of context of the actual research.

I do watch educational programs from reputable sources that teach me about food, nutrition, diabetes, etc. I tape or save these shows to watch again later so I can substantiate their claims in the research if I need to.

I avoid buying, borrowing or reading books on diabetes that have sensational titles. I have been duped into spending money on books of little substance. The problem is that many reputable authors, doctors etc have publishers that change the name of their book to get people’s attention. I can’t tell the good books from the garbage ones. Also, it is not unusual to find old information in books by the time they are published.

I do want some books on diabetes. If I really need one, I tend towards the ones that have reputable organizations or agencies endorsing them. Not the ones that have hit ‘the best sellers list.’

I try to ignore many of these things but as I said, today they annoy me.