Tips for working with T2 diabetes

Well, my advice would be to only introduce changes that you find sustainable and enjoyable.

If you try and introduce too much, too soon you may find that your enthusiasm crashes and burns. Better to make simple, enduring changes that fit easily into your life, and add to your quality of life.

We each have different interests and preferences. Some people love the gym, while I love walking outside with the dogs. Some people love dancing. Or team games... Whatever you choose should fit with your work schedule, your energy levels and be enjoyable.

Personally, I find that dietary control is a far greater influence on my blood glucose than exercise. So my exercise choices are based on my physical limitations (dodgy back, knees and joints), and my liking for the dogs. It is they who get me out daily, into the fresh air, and enjoying the countryside. There is also a social aspect, since I sometimes walk the dogs with friends, and my husband and I enjoy walking together too. I think the phrase is 'quality time'.

Hope that helps.

I totally agree with Brunneria but I would add that you should let someone in your workplace know of your diabetes. I worked for years with type 2 and never had a problem. The boy that was type 1 used to come to me when he had a hypo As he never had anything with him to help the silly sod!

@Polgara do you work in a school or just been home due to the kids being off?

@Polgara I am a teacher myself, which is why I ask. I teacher year 2 so you can imagine the insanity that is occurring this half term! Anyhow, the reason I asked was so that I could share what I do. I am LCHF so I actually often don't feel hungry at lunch time so I just do intermittent fasting from dinner to dinner. If I do get peckish at lunch I eat a few nuts or some cheese. I then have a reasonable sized meal when I get home, although as I rarely get hungry now I don't eat a lot, usually a piece of meat and some salad. As for exercise, I spend 15-20mins every lunch time walking quickly around the playground with the children. We have many that are very sedentary at lunchtime but they like doing it with me. We also do a wake up and shake up session at 8.30 on two days a week so I join in with that. I know that it is easier said than done as marking and stuff have to wait, but my health comes before my job and luckily my boss understands that. I know it is much harder for you as Nursery is on a different timetable than main school, but maybe you could set up some races and join in yourself, any increase in exercise is better than none. Also, and I know you'll be laughing me out of the forum, you need to work on stress levels!!! Yeah. I know how stupid that sounds as a teacher but honestly, sometimes you just have to give yourself 20 mins of quiet time with no tv or anything, just to sit and not think. I struggle with this one a lot. Anyway, you know where I am if you want to vent about the job or for some support with the diet/sugars etc. I think as teachers we have an additional issue with T2 that non teachers wouldn't understand.

Polgara said:

@purplepenguin I don't envy you in Year 2 - I did years in Year 2 when SATs were new in the 90's - and the situation currently is even worse I hope it all goes ok (well - as ok as it can) for your class. Nursery do have longer hours than the rest of the school - and only 45 minutes between sessions (which isn't even 45 minutes as that's from the time I fling open the door to start letting the morning session out) - so you can imagine by the time we are reset for the pm, there's very little time left. I suppose I just need to see how it goes this week. I've got new starters in too - so I imagine there will be lots of time scrabbling on the toilet floor too as potty training is a bit of a mystery to many parents these days

Years ago when I was younger and thinner I used to march around the playground every day doing my duty - so funny that you do that too. And as for stress - well, that's a whole other thing. Will see what's going on with my blood pressure tomorrow after school - then I think I need more conversations with the SLT about workload.

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Good luck with SLT! I hope you have a fab one like I do and not a bunch of monsters that I regularly hear about.
Also, why do parents nowadays seem to think it is a school's job to potty train their kids? Actually, potty train, use a knife and fork and eat with some decorum, let alone share!

Polgara said:

@Ann1982

@Brunneria, its not so much the what to do, it how can I fit it in. So many people on here seem to not be working, thats why I want to connect with people who are. I feel confident that I've made a good start and I don't want it to fall apart this week.

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Yup. I work full time. So does Mr B. That is why I stressed that things need to be sustainable and enjoyable, otherwise it is all too easy to prioritise other stuff, especially when work, family responsibilities and sofa down time are all vying for attention.

I will say though how great it is to be working with a good team, and a good manager. That kind of thing is priceless when we need a bit of flexibility.

For me, the daily routine is vital. I have to get physical stuff done before I settle down for the evening. No way am I resurrecting myself for a bout of exercise after the evening has begun, and I have eaten. Hat off to those who go out late evening for runs, or dog walks, or gym sessions, but that ain't ever happening for me!

Polgara said:

@Brunneria What is this sofa down time of which you speak?

I'm thinking that I will have to go and walk before breakfast - good job it's the spring

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How far away from home is your school, and how do you get there? Is it feasible to walk, or to drive but park a mile away and walk the rest?

Hi @Polgara, what you teachers do is amazing. If I were you I would adopt the thrust of what @purplepenguin does; so innovative giving the kids a workout that is fun at the samend time.

Often givers like you do not spend enough time on themselves, so don't forget yourself. Looks like what you are doing is great so I would try to continue if your timetable allows it. Somewhere around 80% of diabetic contro is diet related, so this is the key element.

As to your question, quick delicious natural food is what I do, i.e strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, red / black currants when in season, with roasted nuts - macadamia, Brazil, walnuts, hazelnuts, pecan nuts, topped with 2 or 3 scoops of Greek yogurt, with a sprinkling of flax, cinnamon and pumpkin seeds.
Quick main meals of an oily fish or meat can go with roasted vegetables or mountains of salad. Don't forget your sleep, sounds obvious but this is essential and your might want to look at easy fasting such as 16 8.

@Polgara - As someone eminent once said, "you can't outrun a bad diet". On that basis, when starting out on my own diabetes journey, I knew I had to concentrate on managing what I ate and drank, effectively. That doesn't have to be life changing, or a big upheaval, although, initially shopping can take longer to begin with, with all that label reading going on.

I don't know how organised you are in your home living and meal planning, but we have always planned a week's worth of menus at a time. It makes shopping easier, and means we always have something appropriate in to eat. By that, I don't mean we eat to a programme of "Mondays = X, Tuesday = Y", it means we have a week's worth of menus planned, and if we don't fancy X on Monday, we can have Z, and X later in the week.

I don't work in a conventional manner any more, but I still have days when I'm not home, and might require a packed lunch, so I'd just plan that into the weekly meal planner too.

I guess a bit like in your employment, planning is important, you probably need to spend a bit of time getting organised for work and T2 too, but there are loads of people on here who work full time, work shift, travel plenty and all those other challenges. You'll get there.

Hi @Polgara

I'm working full time in a busy job which often requires me to be in meetings- either external or internal- which I do not control the times of. I find that planning and trying to fit diabetes control around my schedule, rather than the other way around is key.

I prepare packed breakfast (get up way too early to eat straight away) and lunch while making dinner the night before. If I'm going places where food will be provided, I contact the organiser in advance to let them know I'll bring my own supplies and to check that this will be OK (or eat before/after depending on the time).

Testing before and after meals can get tricky- before is usually fine, but if I'm stuck in a meeting 2 hours later, then I try to plan to test either a bit early or a bit late and interpret the results accordingly.

For exercise I have a 15 minute walk each way between the station and the office and try to get out for a short walk at lunch time. Now that the weather is getting warmer, I'm planning on catching an earlier train in the morning (I am up in time already but spend a lot of time faffing around) and then getting off a stop earlier to add an extra 15 minutes to my walk. I'm also wearing a pedometer and just look for opportunities to add a bit of extra walking when I can. As I am using public transport, I find that I only need one or two appointments outside of the office to go well over 10,000 steps in a day without having to make a special effort. On top of this I've taken up walking football every Sunday morning (arthritic knee so can no longer run).