Swimming or water walking is a good way to move more.įollowing your meal plan and being more active can help you stay at or get to a healthy weight. Learn more about being physically active with diabetes. If you are not active now, ask your health care team about the types and amounts of physical activity that are right for you. Try to work up to 30 minutes or more of physical activity on most days of the week.īrisk walking and swimming are good ways to move more. Make physical activity part of your daily routine Learn more about eating, diet, and nutrition with diabetes. Choose foods that are lower in calories, saturated fat, trans fat, sugar, and salt.

Drink water instead of sugar-sweetened beverages. Following a meal plan will help you manage your blood glucose, blood pressure, and cholesterol.Ĭhoose fruits and vegetables, beans, whole grains, chicken or turkey without the skin, fish, lean meats, and nonfat or low-fat milk and cheese. Make a diabetes meal plan with help from your health care team. Talk about your goals and how you are doing, and whether you need to make any changes in your diabetes care plan. Take it with you on your health care visits. You can keep track of your ABCs with a diabetes care record (PDF, 568 KB). These health problems include heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, nerve damage, and eye disease. Keeping your A1C, blood pressure, and cholesterol levels close to your goals and stopping smoking may help prevent the long-term harmful effects of diabetes. You can start by calling the national quitline at 1-800-QUITNOW or 1-80. Ask for help so you don’t have to do it alone. If you smoke or use other tobacco products, stop. you may have an easier time being physically active.your cholesterol and blood pressure levels may improve.you will lower your risk for heart attack, stroke, nerve disease, kidney disease, diabetic eye disease, and amputation.E-cigarettes aren’t a safe option either. Blood vessel narrowing makes your heart work harder. Not smoking is especially important for people with diabetes because both smoking and diabetes narrow blood vessels. If you are over 40 years of age, you may need to take a statin drug for heart health. HDL or “good” cholesterol helps remove the “bad” cholesterol from your blood vessels.Īsk your health care team what your cholesterol numbers should be. Too much bad cholesterol can cause a heart attack or stroke. LDL or “bad” cholesterol can build up and clog your blood vessels. You have two kinds of cholesterol in your blood: LDL and HDL. The blood pressure goal for most people with diabetes is below 140/90 mm Hg. Ask your health care team what your goal should be. The A1C goal for many people with diabetes is below 7 percent. The A1C test shows your average blood glucose level over the past 3 months. Working toward your ABC goals can help lower your chances of having a heart attack, stroke, or other diabetes problems. Stopping smoking if you smoke will also help you manage your diabetes. Knowing your diabetes ABCs will help you manage your blood glucose, blood pressure, and cholesterol. Cope with your diabetes in healthy ways.Make physical activity part of your routine.

Types of diabetes infographic