What does a lifestyle change mean to a diabetic? Well, usually the first response is, "You want me to do what!" Which is closely followed by, "What's that?" Next usually comes, "Well, if I can't have everything I like to eat anymore, have to start exercising everyday and begin taking medication all the time, what's the point of living?"

Well, guess what! It's a sure bet that if you don't start making all those changes in your life NOW, you won't be living a quality life for much longer plus you'll be taking a chance on letting a whole lot of other really bad things go wrong with your body!

Ask any diabetes specialist whether people can begin to control their diabetes through diet and exercise and the answer will be a resounding YES! It has been proven in studies all over the world time and time again.

The key to making this change is having the patient make a conscious committed decision to change all their old habits. They must then begin implementing the new changes in small steps into their daily lives until they have replaced the bad habits with the new habits, which in turn equals a new lifestyle.

A new lifestyle just means changing habits-natural eating habits, a habit of getting up and moving for at least 30 minutes each day, stopping a smoking habit, reducing an alcohol consumption habit. All of this has to be done not for just a few months but for a lifetime in order to get this silent killer under control.

Another added benefit of changing your lifestyle is lowering your blood pressure and the risk of a stroke or heart attack, less sleep apnea and more vim and vigor for a better life overall. This change must become a way of life for you, for your whole life, not just for a few months or a year.

Your life literally depends on it.

Sure, there will be slip-ups now and then but you just have to shake it off and get started again. Don't beat yourself up over it. It will be easier to begin again the next time because you've been there before and know what went wrong and how you can regain control. Just think about feeling and looking better and avoiding all the possible diabetic complications in store for you if you don't change.

But the best outcome of your new lifestyle will be the plus of being with your loved ones as a healthy person years longer.

If you need more help making those changes in your life a reality, check out the help available on these pages.

Ruth Walby