Adding Zip to Your Zest to Gain Control: How to Stay Motivated After Five Months

Written by Dietitians at Diabetes Control for Life

You’re now in your fifth month of the Diabetes Control for Life Program. Nearly half a year. That’s almost as long as the Major League Baseball® season!

During this time, you’ve lost some weight, and probably feel more fit. And your glucose levels are healthier. Successes like those can keep you buoyed up and enthusiastic for a long time. But if you’ve reached a plateau or two, your enthusiasm may have waned.

That means it’s time for a Well-being article picker-upper.

• This article helps you figure out whether your enthusiasm is waning because you’re not controlling your diabetes like you did at first, or whether your control is decreasing because your enthusiasm is waning.
• It offers some tips for getting back some of that excitement and enthusiasm by refocusing on yourself and your diabetes control goals.

Why the Slump?

First, remember that you won’t have — or shouldn’t have — big weekly weight losses after the first couple of weeks on a diabetes control program. So, if you’re averaging losses of a half kilogram to a kilogram a week, that’s great. Don’t think you’re going to run a marathon after a couple weeks, either. If you’ve stepped up your exercise activity, that’s great, too. Make sure that your short-term goals are realistic and that this slower rate of weight loss, or plateaued exercise program, doesn’t de-motivate you.

But if you’re really feeling in a slump, and you haven’t lost weight or increased your running time for a couple of weeks, it’s time to take stock.

• Are you still keeping records of meals and physical activity? If not, that alone may account for your slump. Starting today, keep careful records for two weeks and see whether you get back on track.
• Are you continuing to follow your diet and using the Glucerna products? Compare what you ate the last two weeks with what you ate the first two weeks of the program. See if you can determine whether you’ve gradually increased portion sizes, for instance, or begun eating more fast foods. Starting today, and for the next two weeks, follow your diet just as you followed it the first two weeks of the program and see whether you get back on track.
• Are you making progress with your physical activity program? Compare your activity over the last two weeks with your activity during the first two weeks of the program. If you’re getting about the same amount and kind of physical activity that you were getting during the first two weeks, you probably need to give your physical activity program a boost. Look over your activity plan and see where you are in that plan (number of steps a day, for example). Then, during the next two weeks, aim to go up to the next higher level. If you’re already at the highest level (10,000 steps a day) but not losing weight, you should consult with an expert (and your doctor) for further fitness advice.

Finally...

• If you’re still keeping track of your eating and physical activity …
• And in checking your records, you determine that you’re still following your meal and physical activity plans …
• But you still aren’t losing weight …
• Consult with your diabetes team.

Taking Care of Number One

By now, you know that even with all the support in the world, you alone can get you to your diabetes control goals. It’s your body, your life, your decisions. You are Number One in this scenario.

So it makes sense to take care of yourself, especially now that the initial excitement of beginning a new program is past. This is a good time to renew and refocus your attention and energy on you. Focus on the benefits you’ll get from controlling your diabetes, what you’ve accomplished so far, and what you need to stay on track.

Here are just a few ideas to help you renew and refocus:

• Indulge yourself. You may want to pamper yourself with a day at the spa or the golf course.
• Reward yourself. You’ve come a long way over the last few months, and you deserve a reward. Maybe you’ve been hankering for a good book and some time to read it. Make it happen. You deserve it. And you don’t have to spend lots of money to reward yourself. See the azaleas in a public garden you’ve heard about but not visited. Make a coffee date with a dear friend you haven’t seen for a while. Schedule in time to reward yourself.
• Reaffirm your strengths. Take some relaxing time off to remind yourself of the value of positive self-talk and self-affirmations. You are a strong person who has already overcome hurdles and become more healthy and fit.
• Try something new. No need to get bored with the same old, same old. Spice up your menus and your activity plan. Food Web sites, books, and magazines offer hundreds of ways for you to add zip and zest to your meals. A little cilantro here, a few peppers there, and you’ve transformed an old dish into an exotic treat. Bored with your activity routine? Liven it up. Try canoeing. Or take salsa lessons.
• Make time to tuck in your clothes. If you’ve been walking around in clothes that have become a little too big, see what a difference a little tailoring can make. Have your clothes altered to fit you. Or when you do your mall-walking, watch for good sales and buy yourself just one nice new piece of clothing. Look put-together and you may feel better.

How Are You Doing?

Check one of the following statements that best describes how you’re feeling about your diabetes control program right now:

I’m just as enthusiastic and motivated as I was when I started the program.

I’m still fairly motivated but am a little less enthusiastic now that I’m not losing weight as quickly.

My enthusiasm and motivation to stay on the diabetes control track has pretty much dried up.

If you checked either of the last two choices, take time to remotivate and remind yourself of all the benefits that follow taking control of your diabetes. Look over the remotivating tips in this article. Select one to try over the next two weeks, and write it down.

Summary

• If your enthusiasm about staying on the diabetes control track is waning, ask yourself: Is my enthusiasm waning because I’m not controlling my diabetes like I did at first, or am I losing control because I’ve lost some of my enthusiasm for the program?
• If you need to get remotivated, try refocusing time and attention on yourself. Here are some tips:
  • Indulge yourself in some pleasurable or relaxing experience.
  • Reward yourself: You deserve it.
  • Reaffirm your strengths with positive self-talk and self-affirmations.
  • Try something new: Spice up your menus and your physical activity routine.
  • Take time to tuck in your clothes. Look put-together and you may feel better.