admin Posted on 4:17 pm

Type 2 Diabetes and Healthy Living: Start Setting Realistic Goals

Any time you like to take on a challenge for a result, you are setting a goal for yourself. Goals can be ambitious or simple: if you veer too far in one direction, you risk wasting time. Too simple, and you may not care enough about the result and feel uninspired. Too ambitious, and you risk trying something too challenging and finding more frustration than inspiration.

Aim for a balance. Set realistic goals that are not too easy but are within your reach. If you’re setting health goals, this is particularly important…

1. Set realistic weight loss goals. Let’s start with weight loss, as it is a topic of much debate 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, it’s another to be able to move on. It’s much better to tell yourself that you’ll take it a week or a month at a time, and then rack up small but significant amounts of progress.

A pound a week adds up quickly, and even if it’s a little low, it’s progress in the right direction. Don’t be too optimistic about what you can achieve in the long run. For now, worry about what you can accomplish in the coming weeks and months, and don’t run before you can walk.

2. Realistic nutritional goals. Nutrition is under the same purview because without eating right you are unlikely to make any progress in losing weight. However, it’s best not to aim to drastically reduce your caloric intake, or make the same kind of drastic changes to your diet. Start with small steps. Small changes in your diet will go a long way.

3. Workable exercise strategies. Exercise is essential. If you’ve been sedentary and recently received a wake-up call like a type 2 diabetes diagnosis, you may have decided to change forever. This time it will be different, you tell yourself: it’s a good start.

However, be careful about being too enthusiastic. Don’t be too ambitious at first. If you are exercising to achieve…

  • weightloss,
  • 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 a difficult goal to maintain.

Instead, set possible exercise strategies. Try to exercise three times a week. Do this until it becomes an established routine in your life and you don’t need to think twice. If your nutrition is right, you will progress. You’ll also be more likely to enjoy your workout at the gym, the walks you take, and the fitness classes you attend.

Setting realistic goals is ultimately part of establishing a realistic plan for your health. Set health goals that you will reach and accumulate these successes.

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