Sep 16 2009

Living and coping with diabetes

Category: Tips for Better Health — Charles Beaumont @ 12:32 am

 

Diabetes is a chronic disease that can increase the risk of developing other problems with the health. However there are many ways you can help to keep your diabetes under control and lead a relatively normal life. Living a healthy lifestyle, attending check up appointments and managing your blood sugar levels successfully, go a long way to your success in dealing with this illness.

Monitoring blood sugars

In order to maintain your diabetes successfully it is essential that you are able to monitor your own blood sugar levels. There are a variety of home machines that you are able to buy to give you accurate indications of the level. Self monitoring has the advantages of letting you be aware when your level is too low, will allow you to monitor your level during times of sickness and gives you confidence in the ability to successful keep your diabetes under control.

The best way to get accurate readings is to monitor your levels at different times during the day or week. The small machines designed to be used in the home are very easy to use and include everything you need to stay on top of the disease and help you to control it.

Get a check-up

Attending regular check ups is also a necessity, check ups are usually made every 3-months, 6-months or yearly and help to prevent complications from diabetes and make sure you are controlling it successfully during the absence of check-ups. During a check-up you will have blood tests to monitor your glucose level, test your level of cholesterol, and have your blood pressure checked and your feet and nerves. You should also schedule an eye examination to check for any damage to the back of your eyes.

Other risks

You are more at risk of developing other illnesses along with your diabetes, such as heart disease and problems with your circulation so it is imperative that you look after your overall health. Maintaining a healthy diet can go a long way to helping you keep your condition under control; you should eat at regular intervals and include low in fat while being high in fiber content. It is very important that you watch the amount of sugar you eat in your diet and also restrict the amount of salt you use in cooking and on food.

Developing an exercise routine is also good for your condition, not only will it help to keep your blood sugar level stable, but will also help you to maintain a healthy weight.

If you have diabetes then you shouldn’t smoke or drink alcohol, smoking increases the risk of developing many other illnesses. If you do drink then keep it to a minimum and never drink alcohol on an empty stomach as this could lead to hypoglycaemia.

You should also buy home kits for testing your level of cholesterol and blood pressure, the ideal for blood pressure is around 130/80 and your cholesterol level should be below 4.0 if you suffer from diabetes.

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Sep 15 2009

Listen to your inner thoughts

Category: Tips for Better Health — Charles Beaumont @ 12:27 am

 

We all have feelings about things that happen in life, they might be discouraging thoughts and feelings or they could be positive ones, an easy example of listening to your inner thoughts is trying on a dress for a special night out. You put the dress on and look in the mirror, you automatically think wow, I look great or shake your head and choose another outfit. This is the simplest form of listening to your inner thoughts or intuition when it comes to making the best decision.

However we can put our inner thoughts to many good uses in our day-to-day living if we open up and tune into them. Our inner thoughts can help us to succeed in life, become more confident and live a happier, more productive and fulfilling life.

You are the most valuable resource that you have in life when it comes to making the right choices and the right decisions. You automatically know if something’s right or wrong and how to achieve the best results simply by going along with your own intuition, and it very rarely lets us down.

Channelling into your intuition is easy and here are some simple ways you can start using it:

  • Start off the easiest way developing your intuition by using it to make choices for less important decisions, examples could be, choosing what you want for dinner or which movie or restaurant to go to.

  • You will find it easier to tune into yourself and your inner thoughts when it is quiet, so choose a room where you know you won’t be disturbed when it comes to making important choices and decisions. A good technique to use is to close your eyes and take a couple of deep breaths, focus entirely on the question or task at hand and see what immediately comes to mind.

  • Be willing to admit that you might make mistakes when listening to your intuition, while your intuition is usually right, you might misinterpret your inner thoughts that can lead to making a mistake. However you should learn by the mistakes you make and continue developing and strengthening your inner guidance.

  • When letting your inner guidance come through don’t confuse matters by trying too hard or swaying the answer one way or another, chances are if you are leaning towards going in one direction then you already have the answer.

Following the above is the easiest way to get your inner guidance to start surfacing when you need it, the more you turn to it and use it, the easier it will become. As the cartoon character “Jiminy cricket” sang to his friend Pinocchio “always let you conscience be your guide”, the same applies in real life, follow your heart, your inner thoughts and feelings and you will never go far wrong. It is only when we begin to lose faith and doubt ourselves that we become unstuck and indecisive and this leads us in the wrong direction or at a standstill.

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Sep 14 2009

Learning discipline for a healthier lifestyle

Category: Tips for Better Health — Charles Beaumont @ 12:24 am

 

We can all benefit from having discipline in our lives, discipline helps us tell wrong from right as children when growing up and when we reach adulthood we still benefit from being self-disciplined. Self-discipline helps us to lead a happier, healthier lifestyle when used in many aspects of life, it is when we allow ourselves to do just as we please, that things start going wrong and our health suffers.

Self-discipline isn’t about denying yourself, it is about making wise choices for our own benefit, the food we eat everyday and the amount of exercise we do is dependant on how disciplined we are we with ourselves. While we all understand that the choices we make comes down to how healthy we are, we don’t always make the wisest choices, and while this is ok every now and again if we lose all self-discipline it soon starts to show on our health and probably our waistline too.

Very often we make pacts with ourselves to start leading a healthier lifestyle and start making changes, this usually occurs at the start of the New Year as a resolution. While some stick to their guns and do make changes and keep up with those changes, the majority of us fall short and go back to our old ways. Being self-disciplined isn’t easy, it takes a lot of willpower, especially if you need to make many changes to your lifestyle, but it’s not impossible.

Here are some tips to help you stay on course and develop more self-discipline in all aspects of your life.

  • Understand that the choices you make in life are yours and yours alone, you can’t blame others for your failure if you lack self-discipline.

  • If you make mistakes in life, learn by them, pick yourself up and practice being more self-disciplined with yourself in the future.

  • Set yourself goals that are realistically achievable, once you have written out your goals make sure that you do everything in your power to stick to them and achieve them. Goals go a long way to encouraging you to discipline yourself.

  • Always finish any task you set about doing before moving on to start another.

  • Avoid temptation from others around you to deviate from what it is you want to achieve, they may lack self-discipline but don’t be swayed to following their ways.

  • Taking up a new sport, particularly one that requires a lot of self-discipline to excel at is an excellent way of improving yourself.

  • Notice the benefits you have gained from practicing self-discipline, keeping a journal is an excellent way of achieving this.

  • Imagine the consequences that being un-disciplined brings.

  • Your willpower is at its lowest when you feel stressed so take it easy, learn how to relax.

  • Take notice of when and why you start to go off track and deviate, again a journal can help you to keep track of these times.

  • Use affirmations to help you in times when you are frustrated or doubt yourself.

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