My Diabetes Project – Lifestyle changes
Diabetes information and services in Europe is coordinated by :
Make healthy food choices
- Doctors recommend a decrease in fat. especially saturated fat in your diet
- Choose foods lower in fat, e.g. replace butter, ghee, and coconut oil with low fat spreads or vegetable oil
- Skimmed and semi-skimmed milk are preferable, as is low fat yogurt
Eat fish and lean meat not fatty or processed meat like sausages and burgers
- Grill, bake or steam food instead of frying or roasting.
- Avoid high fat foods such as mayonnaise, chips, crisps, pasties, etc.
- Eat fruit, unsalted nuts, and low-fat yogurt as snacks instead of cakes, biscuits, Bombay mix, or crisps
Try to increase your fibre intake
- High fibre foods include wholegrain breads, cereals, beans, lentils, fruits and vegetables
Be physically active
If you are between the ages of 19-64, these are suggestions for how much physical activity you should aim for:
- 150 minutes of moderate intensity aerobic activity, like cycling or fast walking, each week. Each session should be at least 10 minutes long. OR you could complete 75 minutes of high intensity aerobic activity, like running or a game of tennis, every week.
- Additionly, do muscle strengthening activities twice a week that work all your major muscle groups (legs, hips, back, stomach, chest, shoulders, and arms).
- These goals may not be achievable for all people, but remember that every effort made to improve your health is better than where you started.
Try simple things like:
- Spend less time in front of a computer or television,
- Go for a walk every day.
- Most important is taking a first step to improve your physical fitness!
Controlling your blood pressure and cholesterol levels, are both helped by eating more healthy foods and exercising more.