Tips for Living with Type 2 Diabetes

When you’re living with diabetes, be sure to plan out your insulin and other medication doses to match the amount of food you’re eating. Meal planning will help with this and will become an important part of your new lifestyle. Planning your meals will help keep your blood glucose, blood pressure and cholesterol in check. It can also help you maintain a healthy body weight or lose weight if necessary. There isn’t a one-size-fits-all diet for diabetes patients, but eating healthily is a good start. While diabetes diet plans are not as restricted as they once were, it’s still important to know what you should and should not eat. Make sure you’re eating a variety of foods. Be sure to include fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fruits, low-fat dairies, healthy fats and lean meats/meat substitutes. Also, don’t eat too much or too little of one type of food. Talk to your doctor or dietitian about a specific plan for you. Take care not to skip meals, and keep track of what you’re eating and when in your diabetes log book. Eating healthily may also help your medications work more effectively.