About “On Your Way to Preventing Type 2 Diabetes”

Key points

• Not quite ready to join a lifestyle change program? Or want a jump start before your program begins?
• This practical guide will help you take small steps that add up to a healthy lifestyle, from planning to setting goals to succeeding over the long term.

Why prevention matters

**Prediabetes puts you on the road to type 2 diabetes. **Find out now, in less than 1 minute, if you may have prediabetes by taking the Prediabetes Risk Test.

If your result shows you're at high risk for type 2 diabetes, talk to your doctor, who can give you a simple blood sugar test to confirm it. Then, if you're diagnosed with prediabetes, consider joining the National Diabetes Prevention Program (National DPP) lifestyle change program. This program is proven to cut the risk for type 2 diabetes in half.

Why is prevention so important? Because type 2 diabetes is a serious, chronic health condition. It can lead to other serious health issues such as heart disease, stroke, blindness, and kidney failure. If you can prevent or delay getting type 2 diabetes, you can lower your risk for all those other conditions.

Not quite ready to join the lifestyle change program? Or want a jump start before your program begins? Use this guide to help you take the first steps toward preventing type 2 diabetes.

What’s motivating you to take this journey? What new version of yourself are you trying to create?

For example, you might say that you want to be more active so you can keep up with your grandkids. Now you've reminded yourself of why you want to create new habits. Next, review how to create an action plan to help you build a new healthy routine.

Step 1. Figure out what needs to change. The first step is finding a routine to change for the better.

Let's assess where you stand right now when it comes to nutrition and physical activity. Write down your answers to these questions to figure out which of your habits are helpful and which habits you might want to work on.

Think about how you eat in a typical week

• Do other people, such as friends, family, or coworkers, influence what you eat?
• Do you make your meals ahead of time or decide in the moment what to eat?
• How comfortable are you with reading a nutrition label?
• How often do you eat out and where?
• What makes it easier for you to eat healthier? What makes it harder?

Think about how you move in a typical week

• How much of your commute is spent walking or biking?
• How much time do you make for physical activity around the house, such as walking the dog, cleaning the house, or gardening?
• How much time do you dedicate each week for physical activity, such as walking, biking, or swimming?
• What are your favorite ways to be active?
• What makes it easier or more enjoyable for you to move more? What makes it harder?

Step 2: Plan a new routine.

Starting a new routine helps you make a positive change that will stick. Be specific and realistic. Plan small changes to your routines instead of big changes that are hard to stick with.

Step 3: Find a cue or hint for when to use your new routine.

Your cue could be one of these:

• A specific time or place
• A feeling or emotion
• Other people in your life
• An action right before or right after a regular routine

Tips:

• Make your new routine easy and the old one harder.
• Decide how you can make this new routine more rewarding.
• Create opportunities to repeat and practice your new routine until it becomes automatic.

First stop: set a weight loss goal

With your starting point in mind, set a weight loss goal. If you are overweight and have prediabetes, shedding just 5% of your weight can help reverse prediabetes. You may not be able to lose 5% of your body weight. But by eating well and being more active, you may be able to lower your HbA1C. You have options to be successful.

What is HbA1C? The A1C, or hemoglobin (Hb) A1C, test is one of the commonly used tests to diagnose prediabetes and diabetes. It's a simple blood test that measures your blood sugar levels over the past 3 months.

• Normal A1C: below 5.7%
• Prediabetes: 5.7% to 6.4%
• Diabetes: 6.5% or more

Within the prediabetes range, the higher your A1C, the greater your risk is for developing type 2 diabetes. Ask you health provider

Where this page came from

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