Small Steps Towards a Healthier You

So often, it can feel like climbing a mountain when trying to make nutrition or lifestyle changes. People choose cleanses, fasts, and "dry" months to achieve significant weight loss or experience a general health "reset."

But these extreme activities may leave people feeling frustrated and hungry, as often these are short-term fixes for long-term goals that need to be sustained. And with type 2 diabetes, it's important to understand how these extreme activities impact blood sugar.

Instead of looking for quick fixes, taking small, incremental steps to cultivate new, healthier habits may get you where you want to go in the long term.

An example of small steps

Here's an example to help conceptualize small steps towards healthier habits. Let's say your goal is to drink more water. Instead of immediately cutting out any other types of beverages, you would start by drinking 1 additional glass of water each day.

Then, once you have mastered drinking 1 additional glass of water every day for a few weeks, you can move on to the next small step. The next step could be lowering your intake of other beverages, such as juice or soda.

While you may not meet your overall goal for a month or longer, you still make small daily nourishing choices to hydrate your body better.

Suppose drinking more water is your goal -- great! There are many benefits to drinking more water each day, as the body thrives when it is properly hydrated. Also, sugar-sweetened beverages can lead to weight gain, dental caries, and empty calorie intake.¹

How to get started with a new goal

For many, deciding where or how to start is the hardest part. If your doctor has recommended increasing your physical activity, drinking more water, or lowering your sodium intake, it might feel overwhelming. Many people feel overwhelmed to the point of changing nothing at all. So, think of these big goals in more minor, bite-sized actions.

Take it 1 step at a time, and ask yourself which activity feels most manageable to commit to. Which feels the most realistic to accomplish? Whether that is less salt, less sugar, more water, or exercise, you can decide what your baby steps look like to get you on your way.

Small step ideas

Here are some other ideas for small steps that may work for you! Please get in touch with your physician with any questions about which options are best for you.

• Replace 1 salty snack with a fruit or a vegetable 3 times a week.
• Move your body in an activity you enjoy for 15 minutes 3 days a week.
• Attend 1 fitness class per week with a friend.
• Pay attention to the sodium levels in your favorite snacks and see if any of them are better options than others, then choose to eat the lower sodium version more often.
• Choose your favorite water bottle or cut and refill it when it's empty.

How to stay on track with small steps

Getting side-tracked and losing your way when implementing new habits is normal. It takes time and commitment to form long-term habits. When you get off track, finding your way back to your small steps is essential. You don't have to start back at "day 1" if you miss a day or 2. Pick back up where you left off.

So, what small steps will you try to help meet your goals?