My Glucose is Stable, Now What?

Imagine that you’ve just gotten your glucose into a stable range where it is consistent, and predictable. You have a great health routine, and your doctor has told you that your glucose is now stable. Now what? Some people believe that ‘stable’ means they’ve reversed Diabetes. But that’s not true. Some people believe that ‘stable’ means that they don’t need to monitor glucose anymore. But that’s also not true. Once your blood sugars become stable, here are a few more things you can think about to make them better. Read on, or watch our video!

Had Diabetes for a While?

If you have had Diabetes diagnosed over 7 years ago, and you are stable now, the best thing to do is to stay stable. As we age, our body will gradually have a tougher time controlling blood sugars. Keep an eye on your glucose and how your body responds to stimuli like different types of food and exercise.

1. Monitor glucose regularly, fasting and at bedtime once or twice per week.
2. Spot-check pre and 2 hours post meal once a week. Switching up the meals that you check ensures that you’ve tested a good variety of carbohydrates.
3. Keep your eating habits steady, and stay in-control (and check glucose) on the cheat days.
4. Keep a steady routine of eating and exercise. If you go off your routine, be sure to check glucose to learn how your body is responding differently.

Improve It Further!

If you’re newly diagnosed with Diabetes, or your A1C is under 7%, chances are that you may be able to lower blood sugars further. The only thing better than controlled diabetes is controlled diabetes with fewer medications!

1. Get a nutrition assessment done to understand if you can make more small tweaks or big changes to your diet. Get a Doctor’s referral to Medical Nutrition Therapy services to speak with a Dietitian.
2. If you’re overweight or obese, losing weight can help reduce glucose. Reassess your exercise routine with your doctor or physical therapist, to see if you can further improve your glucose with weight loss.
3. As we age, we naturally lose more muscle mass, and have a harder time maintaining our muscle. Exercise, specifically building muscle, can help lower your blood sugars for days after a strengthening workout. After a doctor’s approval, add more muscle building (strength training) exercises to your daily routine.
4. Monitor your glucose regularly to see how glucose changes under different circumstances:

            - Check before and also 2 hours after a meal, or

            - Check before and 30 minutes after a workout

Takeaways

Whether you’re new to living with Diabetes, or you’ve had it for a while, chances are you can further improve your numbers, or prevent them from getting worse. The basic tenets are to eat healthfully and exercise. And of course,  Keep monitoring, maybe with 1 fasting, 1 bedtime, and 1 paired mealtime glucose check per week. Reduce stressors that can cause glucose to rise, monitor glucose more often when you are sick (and expect that glucose will be a little higher naturally due to infection), stay hydrated, and always balance out your little temptations and guilty pleasures with healthful habits.  

Always ask your Health coach, Dietitian, or Doctor when you need a little extra more motivation, some new ideas, or if you’re planning to change your diet, exercise, or lose more weight. If you’ve already improved your diet and routine a lot, and your glucose is stable or going very low, chat with your doctor about whether trialing on a reduced medication dose is right for you.