For those living with diabetes, life can be a rollercoaster ride. Some days will be rainy, other days the sun will shine bright. The daily vigil will sometimes feel like second nature, and at other times it will nag you like there’s no tomorrow. While most people deal with having it their own way, it’s not easy for everyone to live with diabetes. But worry not; here are a few home hacks that will see you through to effective diabetes management .
To have Diabetes and not eating right doesn’t really fit together
Over the weekend, take some time out to visit the grocery store and put together a week’s worth of snacks such as seeds and nuts. Control portions by putting them in small baggies and place them at eye level in places where you’re most likely to look for food when you’re hungry and in a hurry. It will keep you from regretting the uncontrolled blood glucose levels that might follow otherwise.
And the other unhealthy stuff you picked out? Place them someplace inaccessible or inconvenient. Out of sight. Out of mind. Even if you indulge, which you will occasionally, remember the portion sizes.
When you don’t want your glucose-curve to look all haphazard:
Monitoring it from time to time will help you course correct. We bet you already know that. So what stops you? Most of you will agree that at some stage or the other, complacency sets in. For times like these, the Apollo Sugar diabetes home care kit will be your saving grace when it comes to diabetes management.
Apollo Sugar Home Care Kit is an all-in-one treasure trove of essentials packed with extra goodies. It has Apollo Glucome glucometer that streams your blood sugar levels instantly to your caregivers, a booklet of recipes that are specially crafted for people with diabetes, Apollo Sugar app, and telephone sessions with diabetes educators. What’s more, you even get video consultation with Diabetes Specialists. Self-monitoring sorted!
Who says prepping healthy meals has to take forever?
Time is already premium and with diabetes, it becomes harder to stay on track and cook healthy. When hunger pangs strike, look to meals that will take you literally minutes to prepare. Soups, broths, salads, porridge and other such meals often require 3-6 ingredients at the most. A good idea is to batch make the dry ingredients for some of these meals whenever you have time and then add in the milk, water, dressings, etc. as and when hunger pangs strike.
Show your blood glucose levels who’s boss:
Always…always stay prepped up and ready to take on just about any problem it throws at you with an emergency kit. Nothing fancy. Some first aid, an extra cold pack, glucose tablets, one or two doses of your regular medicines, and antibacterial wipes. Throw them together in a small pack and place it at the bottom of your bag, in your car, or other places you frequently visit. You never know when you’ll need them.
Exercise is amongst the most nagging requirements for a healthy body, whether you have diabetes or not. If you can’t get yourself to go walking or work your body, integrate exercises in your existent routine. For instance, when you’re brushing, do some calf raises. While at work, try some desk exercises when you want a breather.
Getting some shut-eye is extremely important to keep your diabetes levels in control. Keep off your phone for at least an hour before you go to bed and create the right environment to ease you into sleeping. Introduce some mild, soothing scent, play some gentle music and close out the light and you’ll fall asleep before you know it.
Work smart!
What if you could rid yourself of the daily grind of diabetes management? Sounds far-fetched right? Wrong. The secret weapon is an app ! From meal to meal tracking for diet management, glucose tracking, medication reminders, and medical advice from expert diabetes doctors, these small packages of technology pack a punch.
When you have diabetes, your body tends to show signs when in danger. Consciously tracking changes in the body such as wounds that do not heal, visual disturbances, loss of feeling in various parts of your body, calluses on the feet, etc. can save you from a lot of health complications by helping you treat them right on time.
These diabetes hacks will get you through the rough times with ease and enhance your diabetes management efforts one step at a time. Do you know of any hacks that has helped you turn around diabetes? Tell us in the comments below!