What If One New Habit Changed Your Diabetes Journey?

We share a practical, evidence-based plan to manage type 2 diabetes with seven self-care behaviors that build momentum without perfection. From healthy coping and food patterns to movement, monitoring, and problem solving, we turn confusion into clear next steps.

• defining type 2 diabetes and why it matters 
• finding your why to fuel consistent action 
• healthy coping, acceptance and support tribe 
• food tracking and the diabetes plate approach 
• movement target of 150 minutes per week 
• medication literacy and key questions to ask 
• monitoring with CGM or finger checks and patterns 
• reducing risk across eyes, kidneys, blood pressure and lipids 
• problem solving for stress, schedules and life changes 
• recap and choosing one behavior to focus on next

Be sure to follow us on our Instagram and our Facebook socials, Amani Nicol Wellness. If you're local, if you're in a Maryland area, why not stop by for a visit?

Chapters

• 0:00 Why Results Feel Stuck
• 0:27 Diabetes Basics And Risks
• 3:05 Motivation And Finding Your Why
• 9:31 Healthy Coping Comes First
• 15:03 Rethinking Food And The Plate
• 19:46 Move 150 Minutes A Week
• 23:17 Medication Questions To Ask
• 26:09 Monitor Glucose And Patterns
• 29:06 Reduce Risks Beyond Sugar
• 33:25 Problem Solving In Daily Life
• 37:32 Recap Of The Seven Behaviors
• 40:27 What To Do Next And Resources

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:03

If you've been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and you're on a mission to manage it well, you're trying to do the best that you can and put into work, but for some reason, the results you want are not being achieved. You may even feel stuck. Well, this conversation is for you. As a matter of fact, although the focus of this conversation, because it is November 1st, which is Diabetes Awareness Month, and I'm your girl Coach Nick with Beautifully Well Conversations, taking advantage of an opportunity to continue to spread awareness on type 2 diabetes. You'll hear me talk about pre-diabetes in this conversation as well. But I'll let you know that if you are a person aiming to get your health right, this conversation is for you. The same thing that I share, the tips that have been able to help those managing type 2 diabetes successfully, if you incorporated these tips in your everyday life along your health journey, even without a type 2 diabetes diagnosis, you can find yourself successful. So let's hop in. Let's talk about these seven things that have to be a part of your diabetes management. But I want to first start off with the most basic definition of type 2 diabetes, period, right? What is type 2 diabetes? Or how does it occur? And I'm focusing on type 2, which is driven by uh so many lifestyle factors, environmental factors as well. Well, type 2 diabetes occurs when there's a problem with your insulin, when your insulin is no longer able to do its job effectively, and what is that job? Help you manage blood glucose, blood sugar. When insulin is no longer being produced, or um, if there is not enough insulin to get the job done, which is to get the blood glucose moving into the cells where it belongs, so that energy, those cells could be filled with energy when insulin is no longer able to help you manage blood glucose getting to those cells. Well, that means blood sugar stays in the blood, it roams around in the blood instead of reaching its necessary destination, which are your cells. So now, Houston, we have a problem. But type 2 diabetes can be managed. So you'll hear this really casual conversation, y'all. This is solely for educational purposes, but I will tell you that these tips are coming directly from the Association of Diabetes Education and Support Specialists and accredited diabetes self-management program. And Amani Nicole Wellness is, I'll use the acronyms, an accredited DSMES provider, diabetes education, self-manage, diabetes self-management, education and support. Whoa, say that three times. So this information is not only educational, it is evidenced based. Now that you know that type 2 diabetes is a chronic condition and is something that we do not want to sleep on because it is serious. When blood glucose cannot successfully reach its destination and lingers along in the blood, our bodies are compromised. Flowing like a river. Now there's a bit of a backup. And that sticky blood can affect other systems in the body. But you know, y'all, I'm gonna keep this conversation in a positive flow because I'm gonna get to the seven things that are associated with a successful journey in type 2 diabetes. How do you successfully manage it? But I'll ask you this question too why is managing type 2 diabetes important to you? Think about it. In the self-management program, our focus is not just to give information, right? So you're listening to this podcast because there is something about the topic or the title that sparked interest to you. And I hope that part of that is because you are in a place where you recognize that your health has to be a priority. There are changes that have to be made, and you've decided that now is the time to jump in and make these changes. And the big question becomes why now. Why have you decided that right now is the time for you to become more intentional about your health? Is it the latest blood work? Is it that now you're in a stage of life, and I can definitely relate to this one, you are at in a stage of life where you are recognizing time is going by, you're feeling the effects of aging. Perhaps you are now looking at your family, your loved ones, those you care about, and you're looking at them through a different lens. You're no longer content or satisfied with the today, the now, or the plans that you may have next week. Your thought process has shifted to a longer term. Being here to see them make milestones, achieve goals, and maybe the little ones being around here long enough to see them grow up into adulthood. Um, and you know, at the end of the day, I'm just saying, like lifestyle changes are so powerful, but we all know we are not oblivious to the healthy things, the healthier things that we should choose to do. It's not even about that. Uh more so before we get into these seven necessary actions in order to improve uh where you are in your diabetes journey, that at the end of the day, these tips are much more sustainable when there is momentum and motivation behind the reason because you already know what to do. The light switch goes off when there is that pivotal moment in life where you go, I don't have a choice anymore. Well, or let me let me reframe that I have a choice, and my choice from this day forward is to make sure that most of the decisions, because perfect doesn't live here, but most of the decisions that I make are going to be centered around longevity, they're gonna be centered around doing the things that make me feel healthy, good, um, clear, the things that give me energy. And so now that we've squared that away, and at this moment you have told yourself why now is the time to put forth more effort in your type 2 diabetes journey? Let's talk about these seven behaviors, not five, not four, not three. From a scientific perspective, hold on to the seat. I'm not going to spend a whole lot of time on this because there will be episodes, and I promise you they're coming, that will expound on what the ADCES, which is the Association of Diabetes Education Care Specialists, their accredited program, uh, through science, have proven that these seven self-care behaviors work. So, in a few sessions to come, we're going to break down each self-care behavior. But let's start first with healthy coping. Healthy coping, it doesn't just say coping. So let me expound on this. Self-care behavior one is healthy coping. How many of you, when you first got the news that you were um diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, maybe there was a mix of emotions. Perhaps type 2 diabetes is so common in a family that you just figured, okay, it was just a matter of time. I was waiting to see when I would be next. Maybe it wasn't a surprise because you could remember a pre-diabetes diagnosis. Or maybe your emotions uh was just a mix of sadness, maybe frustration, maybe anger. Um, and what if at the time of diagnosis you may not have even been given enough information on how to move forward? Well, a type 2 diabetes diagnosis is that. So let's just be clear on it. Um, type 2 diabetes is a serious disease, it's a serious illness that affects your entire body, it affects your quality of life. And for those of us that know this, and I would I would love, like I almost wish in this podcast that you could share messages. So I'll just say, you know how to find us. We're everywhere on all socials. Um we're on we're on TikTok, we're on Instagram, we're on Facebook. Um, reach out to us. I mean, go to our website, amanicole.com, and send us a message. I would love to know what was your first reaction when you received your type 2 diabetes diagnoses. Healthy coping is the first self-care behavior because healthy coping involves acceptance. Healthy coping also is critical as the first step because how you decide to cope with the diagnoses is a strong indication of how you will manage it. And so having a shoulder to lean on, recognizing a healthcare team or healthcare partners that are there to be a support, knowing that your questions can be answered, healthy coping instead of sometimes what can be a natural reaction because it is stressful, it is highly emotional, is the emotional eating or not eating, um, using other methods to cope, whatever it is that makes you feel good or feel better. So healthy coping is possible, and what it involves, of course, is putting together that tribe because you do not have to try to master the art of managing type 2 diabetes alone. Um, but recognizing that it is an illness that requires support is truly a mic drop to your success, as I mentioned before, right? Healthy coping is looking at ways to get active, finding a hobby, recognizing, taking away any guilt, shame, or judgment. Diagnoses don't define us, right? A type 2 diabetes diagnosis is not room for judgment. Um, the there's so many factors, we already know it, but this podcast episode is not about that. Long story short, why we need this coping? Because type 2 diabetes is also linked to depression, it has a strong link to depression, which affects our mental and emotional health, our mental and our emotional stability. Um, it's not something to take lightly. But so often, and if you found yourself questioning if you did things different or why me, um, or I must have done so many things wrong, that this this you can dismiss that. Healthy coping helps you to accept where you are in this and recognize that this is an illness that can be successfully managed. Reframe that. And I love that word, right? And it takes these self-care behaviors in order to get you there. So I'm going to move forward because I can keep talking on this one. You can tell that healthy coping. So self-care behavior number one, healthy coping. Talk about it, get support, identify and recognize unhealthy ways of coping so that you can put forth or implement a plan to help you replace those unhealthy coping um decisions that you're making in order to make healthier wands. And number two, I'm gonna tell y'all, this should be an obvious, but if it was obvious, it wouldn't be a self-care behavior. The reminder about healthy eating. How we eat when we're diagnosed with type 2 diabetes greatly affects our blood sugar, our glucose levels. Um, and this includes pre-diabetes as well. Um, even the time of the day that you decide to eat, what you eat and how much of it all affects it completely. And so this food part plays a huge role in this. It plays a big part in it. So we all know that one of the biggest um well, let me put it this way: I want I want to use terms that we can all get excited about because do you love food? I love food. Do you love good food? Food that tastes good? Yes, absolutely. Healthy food tastes good too. So in healthy eating, I'm gonna tell you, one of the biggest keys to healthy eating, and this might be a place for you to start, is to track your food. Because at this point, I could talk about the diabetic plate. The diabetic plate, the diabetes plate. Uh, if you look at a round plate, just picture this, visualize it. One round plate with the line drawn down the middle, on one side, half of the plate, vegetables, wonderful vegetables, pretty vegetables, because you have not overcooked them and drained all the nutrients out, right? So maybe those fresh vegetables, um, they're a salad, a fresh, raw salad, colorful. Uh, maybe you've sauteed or steamed some vegetables, um, half the plate and vegetables. And then there are two quarters on this plate. One quarter would be the grains, whole grains recommended. We're not eliminating rice. It's okay. Whole grain brown rice is encouraged, quinoa is encouraged, and then your other quarter is your protein. Um, your meat, fish, eggs, uh, some beans, some nuts. You're gonna get those protein, that protein in. So that's uh I'll I will tell you this, y'all. That plate sounds so basic, but I'm gonna tell you that plate is is literally a lifesaver because healthy eating is that self-care behavior number two. Um, there it's a multi-pronged approach, but I'm just gonna leave you with this thought on this. Um, two thoughts, actually. One is tracking, food, food is mood, and I will tell you food, what is your relationship with food? That's the point that I'm making. What are your patterns associated with food? So, a lot of times when we talk about healthy eating, and healthy eating appears to be so simple. What makes it complicated really is us and our relationship with it. And just like in any relationship that's not as healthy as we want it to be, one of the hardest steps to make first, the hardest steps to take first, is to step back and evaluate. You know, is this man really good for me? Uh are we aligned? You know, I mean, it are we drawing closer or away, right? Who uh many times we don't want to have those conversations or face those realities for various reasons. We have to look at food the same way. Food is relationship built, how we see it, what we want from it, when we eat it, what it can do for us, right? Food can be the reason we are not on medication or the reason we need it. And so, first tip in healthy eating is allow yourself to take a few days, three to four days of tracking your food so that you can first understand your pattern of eating, really key, what time of the day and what you're deciding to eat, and it's be as transparent as possible. This is how you begin to build or replace those habits that may be interfering with the success you want to see. And the second part, I'll leave you here. I'll just say, y'all, go back to the diabetes plate. Um, in another conversation, we'll talk a little deeper on this. But I will tell you if you follow those two tips to start, you'll be happy. Healthy eating. Let's get cracking, let's make it happen. Number three, being active, right, y'all. We all know the exercise does the body good. You may have heard me on numerous occasions talk about that endothelium, endothelium, endothelium, endothelium, tomato, tomato. Look it up, y'all. But uh, the endothelium is referred to as our internal pharmacy because, as you know, our bodies were designed to heal itself, which means that that our bodies have the ability to help us cope and successfully manage with most of the things that come our way. Um, being active, the endothelium, I bring it up because it is a part of the body that activates when we activate, when we move, it is closely associated with the health of our bodies from a metabolic perspective, and we open up this 24-hour pharmacy when we decide to let our bodies move. And so, what is this movement? What does movement mean for you? How can you get active? I'm gonna give you one good tip, y'all. Again, evidence-based 150 minutes a week. 150 minutes a week of moderate exercise activity can change your life. How do you get these 150 minutes of exercise activity? Does it sound like a lot initially? It could, but let's break this thing down. We have seven days in a week. But for the sake of easy math, let's just say that five days out of the seven days you've decided you have 30 minutes to work with. 30 minutes a day, five days a week gets you to the 150 mark. Studies show that 150 minutes of exercise activity does not have to be CrossFit. Okay, if you find that you only have 10-minute intervals throughout that day, get it done. Key number 150 minutes of movement. Get out there and walk, count those steps, dance to your favorite music, go line dancing. If if you are a fitness class person, find that fitness class. If you're good at home, what do you have at home? Stretch bands for some strength training. Ladies, we got a strength train, we got to build muscle, we're losing it as we age, right? But make this thing fun. If exercise is not the place where you find yourself enjoying it, oh, there's so much to choose from. And remember, exercise is movement. So if you got that favorite song that makes you want to get up no matter where you are, and it's a three-minute song. Well, hey, play it on repeat so you can get six minutes of exercise activity. We're not gonna make it hard, just remember the body has to move, so stretch, cardio, walking, brisk walking, think about what is going to get you moving. Self-care behavior three. We gotta get active. Self-care behavior number four is taking medication. Have you been prescribed medication? If you have, did you ask all the important questions? Are you tracking um side effects? Are you feeling better as a result of your medication? Are you timely? Are you taking your medication as directed? Self-care for is staying on top of your medic of your medication, right? And I'm just gonna leave you with a few questions that you can ask your provider if this is something that is of concern for you. Um, these are conversations, right? Your healthcare team, they're there, your physician, your primary care physician, your endocrinologist, who's ever dietitian, who's ever in the mix of this. Ask these questions, right? You want to know the name of your medication. Somebody asks, what are you taking? You need to know. You need to know what that medication is exactly for, right? You could be dealing with multiple conditions. You could be prescribed medication for hypertension as well. Maybe your cholesterol numbers are elevated, so they prescribed you something else. Do you know your medication? So, self-care behavior number four is really centered around how well you advocate for your health with your healthcare team. Um, simple questions that are not so simple, right? Does this medication affect my weight? Um, how do I store it? What's the best place to store it? Do I need to have food on my belly before then? You know what happens when you take medication without food that should be taken with food? Doesn't it affect? Can it affect how regular you are with taking that medication, especially if you're in a place where you're struggling with food? Y'all, this is your health. Taking medication. Taking medication means you're on a medication plan. Get specific about that plan and have in mind this is where that tracking comes in. What if you find that there may be concerns or issues with your body as a result of this medication? That's a conversation with your healthcare provider. Real important self-care behavior five is the monitoring. You're diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. What's your current glucose numbers? Where are you? Have you been uh prescribed a continuous glucose monitor, a CGM, that helps to take your blood sugar levels on a regular basis and it's digitized so your healthcare team knows it? Maybe you even have uh, and of course you would have access to it. Um, are you like our beautiful lady pictured here? For those of you that are watching the clip, um, are you uh finger testing throughout the day and at what time? So, how well do we know we're doing if we don't know our numbers? And this is really where um this part comes in, especially with monitoring, because this is another way for you to level up and um become a true advocate of your health, right? Um, when we think about monitoring, and I'll say there are those with pre-diabetes who monitor as well. I certainly would because pre-diabetes is a red flag to type 2. Um so if a doctor might not prescribe that continuous glucose monitor, but if it is possible to get one, um that literally could help. Um in your goal, if your goal especially is the reverse pre-diab, uh prediabetes, which is something that um we aim to help our uh patients do in our um diabetes prevention program and a beautifully well lifestyle program. But you have to know your numbers. Um, and if you've been prescribed a glucose monitor and you feel like they're unanswered questions, I'm gonna tell you, you have to be that advocate. The only way that device is gonna work is if you know how to work it, right? Don't get excited about technology or fancy things if you cannot make it work or do what it's supposed to do in order to help you with your health. So ask those questions and look for those patterns. Recognize how you feel. You know, your glucose can have uh highs and lows. Do you know when this is happening? Are you monitoring in a way that you may notice patterns in the daytime, um, when you first wake up, before bedtime, if you skip lunch, monitoring if you are in this debate about whether or not a glucose monitor is necessary, if finger pricks are necessary to level up your health and really jump in front of this condition, there has to be some type of monitoring or tracking in place so that you can find success in overcoming your um when you when you recognize that there are issues or concerns. Um, self-care behavior number five ties into this too, right? Because how can you reduce risk associated with type 2 diabetes if you don't know that you're at risk? One of the ways to know that you're at risk, you know, could be the obvious, right? How you're feeling. But I'm gonna tell you, how many of us keep pushing even when we don't feel well? How many of us will? I mean, I'm talking all coordinated dress to kill, walking out the door knowing that you wish you could just go back in a house and sit still. We cannot reduce risk if we don't identify them, if we push past them. We just talked about monitoring, which plays a huge role in risk reduction. I'll just share a few notes on this. Um, how do you reduce the risk? Well, one, you want to be sure that time is taken for you to completely understand where you where you are. I mean, uh someone newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, like, do you know what your A1C was, what your test results revealed, um, and what was the plan? So, you know, there are complications that come along with this illness. So you want to find out is are there programs? What else do I have access to? I need to be educated on this. Don't leave that office without being told what next steps could be for continuous support. But especially when you are newly diagnosed, a diabetes self-management program, they're national, they're all over the they're all over this country. And I'm gonna tell you, I'm talking about it because of Monty Nicole Wellness. We are a diabetes self-management education and support provider. So we can help. Um that level of support is necessary. Um, but most importantly, you need to know that there's someone there that continue that can continue to help you navigate this, right? It's the next part of the journey. And then keeping in mind that reducing the risk is preventative, and preventative not just in terms of glucose numbers, but we think about um what this illness affects, right? Your blood pressure, your eye health, your kidney health, cholesterol health. Um, it's all connected. So when we reduce risk, we're we're making sure that other aspects of our health is in check. We're getting support in those areas. Um, we're making sure that we're keeping up with our doctor's appointments, we are monitoring our ourselves, we're recognizing if we are in a struggle, we're recognizing if our mood has changed, that there are just changes um in our mood, changes in our sleep pattern. I mean we can only reduce risk when we are conscious of um change. And I know time life is life in y'all for all of us, and so often we can get caught up in our day to day by day. I'll say check out Helen the podcast on Helen's story. Woo! Helen is absolutely amazing, and I'm glad that she shared her type 2 diabetes journey and her story. I will tell you, um, if you are someone who knows what it's like to become so focused and uh etched into your day-to-day responsibilities, that those day-to-day responsibilities no longer include you, but your health is being affected by the lack of attention. I listen to Helen's story. Self-care behavior number six, it should be number one, but I get it. Number six, we are reducing the risk, and no doubt, last but not least, self-care behavior number seven is to problem solve. Management is exactly what it is managing. How can we manage something that we are not paying attention to? You wouldn't do that to your bank account. I used to say checkbook, but but your bank account, you wouldn't do that. You have certain expenses, you have um paychecks, direct deposits, all that stuff coming in. You can manage your money. No matter how much or how little it may be, you want to manage your money. When it comes to type 2 diabetes, when we talk about management, that is exactly what it is, right? We manage it. And in order to manage it, of course, the education and the support is so necessary. What that does is help you identify when things change. We talked a little bit about that in reducing the risk, right? But with this problem solving, the problem solving allows you to spring into action on your health because you're first recognizing that there's some things that are different, right? What this change, I'm feeling different. Um, am I on a new medication? Have I asked the doctor how long this medication could take in order to take effect? Have I asked this doctor specifically about side effects? Because maybe now that I'm on this medication, it's been uh maybe a month or two months in. I'm starting to feel I'm starting to feel different. Um, is the change the medication? Are you trying new foods? Um, work schedule, y'all. Come on. We talk about the holistic approach. Everything with living a healthier life is not about how much broccoli you can eat in one meal. Um, it's not about how often you can get up and last in that one-hour Zumba class. From a holistic perspective, please keep in mind that our bodies are affected by changes in our everyday life. Stress affects blood sugar. Yes, glucose is affected by stress. So when you recognize um these changes, then how do you develop a plan as a result of it? Well, you do. You reach in and we find solutions. We're not staying stuck in problems, we're solving them, right? So self-care behavior seven honors you and recognizes your ability to solve the problem. And part of problem solving is also, again, you're gonna hear me keep talking about the fact that you're you're not alone. You have a tribe, you have a support system, you bring those people in. Some of your support system are your loved ones or those closest to you right away so that they're part of monitoring so that they can help you. When you're solution driven, you have um a plan in place to help you overcome a challenge that you may be dealing with your diabetes care. And so when we are solution driven in the midst of managing type 2 diabetes, um, it it can it does make a huge difference. Um, and you'll see this even in your blood glucose levels, right? Because when things aren't aren't right, many times our the glucose will reflect that. So to problem solve um is becoming uh your best advocate possible and knowing when you need to pull in um your um healthcare, your clinicians when you need to pull in that support. So there you have it. We have all seven self-care behaviors. I'm going to run through them again um in no particular order. Monitoring, a CGM, continuous glucose monitor, another way to monitor your A1C is super important. Problem solving. I just ended that one, ended that on a note, right? Solving your own problems. Can't solve them unless you are able to identify them. Reducing the risk was right after that, y'all, right? Um, reduce these risks by staying on top of your health from a preventative perspective, right? Keep your eyes healthy, keep your lungs healthy, manage your blood pressures well, which is affected by by glucose. Um, when you reduce the risk, you are monitoring because you're conscious about those highs and lows that may happen. Um, we're going to talk about that other self-care behavior, which is being active. Remember those 150 minutes that are recommended, and you can chop that up. You can chop it, split it up however you need it to be. It just says 150. It did not mandate how you get it done, it just said get it done. Taking your medication, go back and listen to that part where I shared some of those questions you want to ask your healthcare provider related to medication and recognizing if you are on multiple medications, ask more questions. Um, because this is your health, this is your body. You only get one. We talked about healthy eating, y'all, that diabetes plate, half your plate and vegetables, and not those vegetables that you've cooked till they died. We want some nutrients to come out as a result of eating these healthier vegetables. Um, and then we have healthy coping because type 2 diabetes is serious, it is a condition that requires support. Um, it does not require judgment. Um, healthy coping, self-care behavior number one, get that tribe of support, accept where you are, recognizing it does not define you, and be ready to be empowered to move with action because type 2 diabetes can be managed successfully and even put into remission with uh simple, consistent lifestyle changes. What is the success formula? Your personalized success formula for managing type 2. We talked about seven self-care behaviors. Maybe that sounds like a lot, it's a bit overwhelming, but I can guarantee you out of the seven, you're already doing something right. Something brought you here. You're doing something right. How many of these self-care behaviors stood out to you? How many did you recognize that you're already implementing? Maybe you found maybe one that could be the focus moving forward for the next few weeks because it's something that you want to really focus some intention on. As I mentioned, stay tuned for these tips broken down with even more direction. With even more direction. You are in a place where you are ready to take charge of your health and successfully manage type 2 diabetes. You are already in action, aiming to do healthier things, but there are a few gaps. I hope this information filled in some of them, with you recognizing that your healthcare team with a combination of your loved ones that support Tribe is there to help you reach the success goals that you have in place in order to successfully manage a type 2 diabetes. Well, you've tuned in to another conversation, a beautifully well conversation to be exact. November 1, Diabetes Awareness Month. Oh, we're gonna talk a lot about pre-diabetes, type 2 diabetes, and type 1 diabetes throughout the month. So stay tuned for special content this month that can literally take your um health journey to the next level. So, as always, thanks for tuning in. Be sure to follow us on our Instagram and our Facebook um socials, Amani Nicole Wellness. Uh and if you're local, if you're in a Maryland area, why not stop by for a visit? Well, that's all we have. Continuing your journey of becoming beautifully well.