Coping with prediabetes isn’t as hard as you think. But what’s the FIRST thing you do when you’re diagnosed prediabetic?
“What… How… When… did this happen?!! This is coming out of nowhere!”
It’s shocking news when you hear it. You would have never suspected that you were a risk of prediabetes. And now that you’ve been diagnosed, it’s scary AF! You don’t really know what to do next. Your mind starts to wonder. Your emotions start kicking to the surface and you start to worry and create stories about what this means. How it’s going to change your life; What do I need to do now?
Do yourself a favor and just, stop right there. Take a deep breath and listen for a minute.
If you’re a newbie to being prediabetic and you’re looking for answers, clarity and direction, then check out the 7 Simple Steps To Coping With Prediabetes
7 Simple Steps To Coping With Prediabetes.
Your body and mind need time to adjust to any changes. Steps 1-3 are for your mind to get prepped and ready, and steps 4-7 are what gives you a beginning and sustainable action plan that propels you in the right direction towards coping with prediabetes, getting healthy and staying healthy. We use the acronym ASCADAS to highlight the 7 steps in coping with prediabetes.
#1 Accept the TRUTH
It takes time to accept the truth of your situation. It’s easier to avoid, and dismiss the problem and try and cover it up with not expressing your feelings on the matter and staying quiet. The more you fight it, the harder it will be on you and your system. I get it – it sucks! Denying, ignoring, the feelings you’re experiencing will only result in delaying (or avoiding) the necessary next steps to getting healthy again.
#2 Self COACH
This means giving yourself a pep-talk. Whether it be in front of the mirror, on your back porch, or while laying in bed, you need to talk to yourself about not only the feelings you’re having, but you also need to remind yourself that these feelings are temporary and that there is a solution to every problem. Your problem is not any different. The only thing that would be stopping you from getting that solution is YOU. Dig up that motivation and get excited about making positive changes that will transform your health in a FANTASTIC way.
#3 Commit to CHANGE
Commitment is hard sometimes. The word itself evokes the feeling of losing some level of freedom. But this is only because our mind focuses on the negatives. Whereas the positives are much more exciting to think about. COMMITMENT can be so empowering that you can alter your reality to the way you want it to be. It’s saying YES unconditionally. That no matter what, you will keep pushing forward! And, the best part is, that you get to decide what commitment you want to make.
Now that you laid the groundwork in your head, let’s get into the action steps.
#4 Assess YOURSELF
You can’t resolve a problem without identifying the source of the problem. There are several reasons why you’re in the situation you’re in. Do you know what they are?
Start by identifying the risk factors of why your health has taken a spin in the wrong direction. Think about:
- Your habits
- Your behaviors
- Your stress levels
- Your diet
- Your activity level
- Your living environment
Which of these likely contributed to the situation you’re currently in?
#5 Diet Check FIRST
Your diet is always going to be one of those risk factors. It’s the first and BEST place to start. Don’t get caught up in getting a gym membership, or running until your feet start hurting. The ONE focus that will make the biggest impact on your health is your diet. The reason why = your body needs fuel to do EVERYTHING, and if it’s not getting the right fuel, then you’re blindly stumbling forward.
#6 Awareness of FOOD
When you focus on Diet first, the next step is to create an awareness around the food you are currently eating and see where the potential areas of improvement are. Most of us know, on some level, where we can make some positive healthy diet changes, and now’s the time to start bringing those to your attention.
To make things easy for you, I want you to start creating awareness around the amount of refined sugars and processed foods you eat compared to high nutrient dense foods. You can start with a food journal to see EXACTLY what you eat in a single day or week. If you’re not sure what to write down or what might be healthy versus unhealthy, look at the back and check the labels. Is there a laundry list of ingredients that you can’t even pronounce? How many items do you have in your kitchen like this?
This step will create a sense of awareness that will empower you to be able to start making smaller sustainable changes.
#7 Swap out UNHEALTHY FOODS
Now that you’ve realized you’re eating more refined sugars and processed foods than, high nutrient dense foods, you can start to do something about it. It’s not easy to completely overhaul your diet, but it is easy to take 1-2 things that you could move away from, and find some healthier alternatives to those foods.
Once you’ve gotten to this stage, you will have created EXCELLENT momentum forward in coping with prediabetes. And remember, your body and mind need time to adjust to any changes. Steps 1-3 are for your mind to get prepped and ready, and steps 4-7 are what gives you a beginning and sustainable action plan that makes propels you in the right direction towards getting healthy and staying healthy.
Keep your up, stay committed and anything is possible for you!