Diabetes Control for Life is a comprehensive nutrition, activity, and lifestyle program for people with diabetes who want to manage their blood sugar levels, achieve a healthy weight, and, therefore, get better control of their disease. The whole program design is based on a study conducted by doctors with people just like you who had diabetes and needed to get better control of their disease.¹ Participating in the free Diabetes Control for Life Program will help you achieve gradual nutrition, activity, and lifestyle changes, step-by-step over the course of 24 weeks. To help you reach these goals, the program offers:

• More than 70 useful, motivating, and fun articles about healthy eating, active living, and lifestyle
• Helpful diabetes management tools, including weekly blood glucose and daily activity tracking charts and a BMI calculator
• Weekly content delivered via RSS directly to your desktop

The program is designed to last for 24 weeks; but the gradual changes you make to your nutritional, activity, and lifestyle patterns, along with improved control of your diabetes, can last for the rest of your life. Remember, you always can go back to the program at later stages and use different parts of it to help you continue to control your diabetes on an ongoing basis. As with any health-related matter, consult your health care professional before starting the program.

For people with diabetes, the benefits may include:

• Improved control over blood sugar level
• Lower blood pressure
• Weight loss and smaller waist size

Better control of diabetes can mean:

• Reduction in many risks associated with diabetes, such as cardiovascular (heart) disease
• Potential reduction in the need for diabetes medication
• More mobility
• Improved quality of life

It is easy to get started. Simply visit the program page on this site and click on Week 1 to begin. In this step-by-step program, you simply complete each week in order. Once you have read the articles and followed the recommendations for Week 1, proceed to Week 2, etc. As with any health-related matter, consult your health care professional before starting the program.

There are several small steps you can start taking today to help you get ready to commit to the program. Here are some steps to get you started:

• Gather information. Learn about your diabetes and the benefits of controlling it.
• Make a list of the pros and cons of learning and practicing new habits. If the pros to change outweigh the cons to change, you're probably getting close to being ready.
• Write down the things you already do to take good care of yourself.
• Consider taking small steps in your diet, lifestyle, and well-being, such as switching from regular soda to diet soda, or parking your car a little farther from the store than you normally would.

You may be feeling that, during your normal eating patterns or lifestyle, you are struggling to achieve good outcomes for yourself. You may be snacking on foods that aggravate your blood glucose levels, worrying about your calorie intake as you are trying to maintain your weight or lose weight, and generally feeling out of control. Glucerna SR, as touched upon above, has been used in clinical trials where individuals made a number of structured changes to their lifestyle habits. Using Glucerna SR™ in conjunction with a diabetes management program can provide confidence and help individuals control their diabetes.

Glucerna SR products can also fill the need for a low calorie meal or snack replacement that is easy and convenient, and provide a set number of calories. Glucerna SR products have a favorable effect on your blood glucose levels, as they have unique slowly digested carbohydrates to help manage blood sugar levels. Consult your health care professional about making Glucerna SR™ products part of your diet.

You can set specific goals with your health care professional, and watch for gradual improvements in diabetes control as you stick to the 24-week program.

Yes, you can use Diabetes Control for Life if you are taking medications for diabetes and/or weight loss. Just be sure to discuss your use of this program with your health care professional before starting the program, and periodically during the program for any medication changes.

RSS stands for “Really Simple Syndication.”

RSS is an easy-to-use technology that enables you to get up-to-the-minute information from your favorite websites delivered directly to your computer. It's like getting all the headlines of your favorite newspapers on one page. So, instead of having to visit many different websites to get weather, sports, or news updates, you can get it all on one screen.

If you click on RSS, you will receive weekly reminders about your Diabetes Control for Life program articles. If you change your mind about receiving the Abbott feed, simply delete the Abbott feed from your RSS reader.