Diabetes: How Others Stay Motivated

When you have diabetes, sometimes it helps to hear from other people who have it too.

How did you feel when you first found out?

"I didn't want to have to change my whole life because I had diabetes."

"You have to eat right, do some things, change... the times of the day that you eat."

"I changed my whole life around."

How do you manage your diabetes?

"You start changing things, one thing at a time if you have to."

"Vegetables and less starch, and... oatmeal, grains..."

"Make sure there's grains, vegetables, and meat of course."

"Exercise. Trying to eat on a schedule.

For example, a protein and a salad or a veggie.

Portion control, that's important."

"I had to do more than just eat right and exercise.

I now had to take medication because I wasn't taking it seriously."

"It was kind of hard at first, like you're saying, til you get to know your body, and then you're like—okay, I can do this."

"Don't play with it. Don't take it lightly. Immediately learn everything you can and follow your doctor's instructions. Change your lifestyle."

How do you stay motivated to take care of yourself?

"I can't allow my diabetes to sit me down, because I got things to do.

And you can't do things if you're sick."

"I didn't think that it was right for somebody else to be more interested in my health becoming better than me."

"Know you don't have to die from it. Know that you can live with it.

Know that it does not go away by itself. You have got to do some things."

"Don't give up. There's going to be rough days, but don't give up."

It may not always be easy, but with information and some small changes, you can stay motivated to care for yourself and live a happy, healthy life with diabetes.

"You can do it!" [laughs]