Diabetic Living Australia — July-August 2017

PHOTOGRAPHY

GETTY IMAGES

Commit to planning

We’ll consume whatever foods

are readily available, which

means if your goal is to eat

better, you need to have the

right food ready to go. And if

your kitchen is full of tempting

treats, it’s time for a clean out.

Planning is key to dietary

success. It’s about knowing

what you’re going to eat for

dinner a few nights in advance.

It’s about packing your lunch

each day and making sure you

find the time to shop for

nutritious ingredients rather

than processed or fast foods.

Accept your future

For a person managing diabetes

it’s natural to feel frustrated

about needing to eat fewer

carbs, or having to cut back on

sugar when you feel others can

eat what they like. But thinking

about what others are doing and

then using that to justify poor

food decisions is simply

distracting yourself from your

main goal: to lose weight and

be at your best. Once you accept

that eating well and watching

your weight is something you’ll

need to do for the rest of your

life, it’s easier to focus on those

health and weight-related goals.

Create an environment

that breeds success

We tend to eat the same types

of food as the people we spend

time with. If you find you eat

higher kilojoule foods with

certain people, you may decide

to spend less time with such

influencers around meal times.

But if that’s not possible to do,

consider bringing your own food

or looking online and choosing

better options from the menu

in advance. Creating healthy

environments is a crucial aspect

of maintaining your wellbeing

and weight control.

Say no to the ‘all or

nothing’ approach

Often people describe themselves

as being on a ‘diet’ or completely

off it, in which instance they eat

whatever they like, usually in

large quantities. The secret to

dietary success is consistency,

not perfection. A one-off treat

or a couple of glasses of wine is

no reason to throw your entire

eating plan out the window until

you’re ready to eat ‘perfectly’

again. Rather, weight control

as part of a healthy lifestyle is

about eating well most of the

time, and indulging occasionally.

Monitor your lifestyle

Keeping a close eye on lifestyle

choices, whether it’s keeping

a food diary, weighing yourself

regularly or using an activity

monitor to count your steps, is

the most powerful way we learn

to practise healthy behaviours.

Knowing the amount we eat,

or how much we move, can

motivate us to keep going. Or it

can remind us we need to make

extra effort or, perhaps, cut

back. Either way, you remain

in control and can make

adjustments to get results.

Just do something

We spend a lot of time

ruminating on what we should

do, which achieves nothing.

Instead, shift those thoughts

into action. For example, don’t

think about whether or when

you should go to the gym,

simply make a date and go with

a friend. And rather than feeling

bad for eating more than you

wanted, direct that mental

energy into motivation to make

a healthy meal for the next day.

Don’t give up!

When things aren’t going as

you’d like, it can be tempting

to throw in the towel, which

can explain why we often start

and stop weight-loss programs.

Long-term weight loss is about

learning to get back on the horse

even if you’ve had a bad day,

week or month. Over time,

you’ll create lifestyle habits that

are really positive. Ultimately,

consistency is key to successful

weight control. Q

MELISSA’S TOP TIPS

Over the past four years, accountant Melissa

Mangravati, 32, has successfully managed insulin resistance

and polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). She had a long

history of dieting, followed by periods of overeating but has

now managed to lose 20 kilos. Here, she shares her three tips.

(^1) Monitor: Self-monitoring is still a big part of Melissa’s life,
despite a dietitian playing a major role in her lifestyle changes.
(^2) Commit: Eating controlled amounts of good-quality carbs,
plus more protein, helps her to manage her insulin.
(^3) Track: Melissa records her steps, keeps a food diary and
weighs in regularly, even when she’s socialising.
By continuing to follow this strategy, Melissa aims to lose
another 10-15 kilos over the next 12 months.
diabetic living JULY/AUGUST 2017 125