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A person in sports clothes runs with a diabetes bracelet on. Clouds surround her.

I’m Healthier with Diabetes

I’m healthier with diabetes. Sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it? In my case, it’s true. Before my diagnosis, I was overweight, on my way to obesity. I used my weight as an excuse for many things I couldn’t do. In some cases for things, I didn’t want to do as well. I ate and ate. I was eating in response to stress and in response to boredom. I was happy enough and my eating showed that as well. I knew my weight wasn’t healthy but I couldn’t seem to get ahead of it. In part because I didn’t care either. So how did this happen? I have no idea. I could postulate all kinds of reasons but the fact remained, I needed something to motivate me to move forward. Diabetes was it.

Diabetes diagnosis motivated healthy change

My first contact with diabetes was when I was pregnant with my second child. I knew nothing about diabetes. I had heard of it but because I had no family history of it, I never suspected I’d have it. I had no sign of it with my first pregnancy either. Fear took over and I was motivated not for myself and my health but for my unborn baby. I did everything right and my baby was fine.

My second contact with diabetes was years later when I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. My weight was starting to come down just before my diagnosis but I was still overweight. Because it had been years since I’d thought about diabetes, I didn’t see it coming until…I felt unwell, and no matter what I did to try to feel better, I didn’t.

How I'm living healthy since my diabetes diagnosis

My diagnosis gave me another chance to fix the problem. There were many things still in my control. I was motivated now, in part again by fear, but still, it was motivation. I didn’t really care where it came from, I had it. I decided to lose weight. I knew I could do it if I set my mind to it. It would take time but I wanted to see if that would be enough because, frankly, I hate exercise. I knew diet and exercise went together but I was still somewhat in denial. Well, sure enough, the diet wasn’t enough. I knew more was needed. I started walking. It was winter, icy out, and cold but I was motivated. My city block is more like a country block, it is a kilometer distance around. I look back now and I recall barely being able to make it around the block. I couldn’t breathe. My asthma kicked in which didn’t help but it didn’t stop me. I kept going. Every day, it got better.

I lost weight over time. My asthma seemed less of an issue with my weight loss too. My exercise continued as I have grown to be at peace with my choice of exercise, walking. I still deal with stress but walking helps with that. My numbers came down. I succeeded in becoming healthy. And as ridiculous as it sounds, I have my diabetes to thank for that. It’s not a great way to find health but I found it. I guess that’s what counts.

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This article represents the opinions, thoughts, and experiences of the author; none of this content has been paid for by any advertiser. The Type2Diabetes.com team does not recommend or endorse any products or treatments discussed herein. Learn more about how we maintain editorial integrity here.

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