Blowing Away Barriers

By this time, you realize that to reach your diabetes control goals, you need to make some lifestyle changes. Change isn’t always easy, but you don’t have to do it all at once. Small steps are better than big steps if the big steps wear you out and make you stop in your tracks. And small steps will get you to your goal as long as you keep going.

Bumps on the Path to Diabetes Control

Many of the Well-being articles have described some barriers that might make you stumble on your path to a healthier lifestyle and control of your diabetes. More importantly, they have also given you some tools to deal with them. It’s a good idea to keep these messages front and center as part of your tool kit so that if your progress slows down, you can examine what’s going — what barriers might be in your way — and figure out what tools to use to get rid of them.

Here are some of the bumps on the path you read about in earlier articles:

• Past experiences with diabetes control programs that produce a self-defeating attitude
• Not keeping records, which can lead to overeating or never starting your activity plan
• Unrealistic, discouraging goals
• Issues of inner motivation and inability to seek external support
• Lack of investment in the program
• Inability to protect oneself from people and situations that would interfere with staying on track
• Eating or skipping exercise as a reaction to strong emotions like anger or joy
• Frustration because progress has slowed down or stopped
• Lack of support from family, friends, and coworkers
• Negative self-image and negative self-talk

Using Your Tools

If you’re lucky, you won’t be encountering any barriers as you try to control your diabetes, but nearly everyone hits a bump from time to time. To avoid lapses and relapses in your plan …

• Be aware of what your barriers are. Stay alert so you notice when you start sliding back to old bad habits like negative self-talk, and deal with them right away.
• If you start backsliding, identify the barriers you’re facing. Keep a journal to help you with this step.
• Use your tools and strategies to overcome those barriers. Remember that your tools and strategies can help you overcome them in several ways. Choose the ones that work best for you.
  • Go around your barriers. Avoid the situations, places, people, or events that trigger overeating or cause you to miss your exercise routine.
  • Go through or over your barriers. Armed with positive self-talk and a sense of healthy self-protection, you can face the barriers without stumbling. Stand your ground!
  • Blast your barriers away. Get rid of as many barriers to diabetes control as you can. Toss unhealthy temptations. If you can’t keep yourself from eating the cookies on your shelf, throw them away. Create an environment that helps you stay on track and presents as few barriers as possible.

Put Together Your Tool Kit

Write the Well-being article tips and strategies that worked for you on a small index card or two. Carry them with you. You can refer to them anytime you need to overcome obstacles on the path to reaching your diabetes control goals.

Summary

• Barriers happen. The first step in blowing away your barriers is to know what those barriers are.
• Take an index card and jot down your barriers on it. Next to each one, write down strategies that will help you blow each barrier away.