Diabetes Guide to Changing Habits

Setting Goals Helps You Take Charge of Diabetes: Diabetes can turn your life upside-down. Suddenly, there’s a lot more to do. Taking care of diabetes is a whole new thing to fit in to your daily life. All the changes can be too much. But don’t give up! Change is all about working toward a goal. And to reach your goal, you need a plan.

1. Decide what your goals are. What changes do you want to make?
2. Review your goals with your healthcare team. Choose one goal to work on first.
3. Decide what steps will help you reach your goal.
4. Pick one step to try this week. You can get there from here - one step at a time!

Let’s Make a Plan

If you’re ready to plan for change, choose a goal and then answer these questions. Your plan will help you reach your goal, step by step.

What’s hard for me? What do I want to change? What’s my goal? Example: I want to lose weight.

Why do I want to make this change? Example: I’m unhappy with the way I look and feel.

Why haven’t I made this change before? Example: I didn’t take the time to go to an exercise class or a gym.

How can I work around these problems? Example: I can think of a way to exercise that’s low-cost or free and doesn’t take a lot of time.

Here’s my plan (what I’ll do and when I’ll do it): Example: I’ll go for a walk 3 mornings a week for half an hour.

Here’s what I need to get ready: Example: I need walking shoes that fit well.

What might get in the way of making this change? Example: In bad weather, I won’t want to walk outside. I can walk inside instead.