A habit is an action automatically triggered by specific cues, like putting on your seatbelt when you get into a car. It’s something you do without thinking much about it, often because you've done it many times before.
When living with diabetes, adopting certain habits related to eating and exercise can help you manage the condition. Here’s what you need to know about transforming your behavior.
A Scientific Look at Habits
While we’d like to think that conscious decisions or willpower drive our behavior, studies suggest it’s actually repeated actions in the same context or setting. Research reveals that 43% of our daily activities are out of habit, often while our minds are elsewhere.
Once an action becomes a habit, it happens automatically with less conscious effort, which makes it easier to maintain even when you have less motivation. This principle of habit formation is relevant to health behaviors. More and more research suggests that people who repeat a health-promoting action form a habit over 2 months. And missing a day doesn’t really disrupt the process. One example would be eating fruit after a specific daily cue, such as after breakfast.
How to Start a New Habit
Not sure how to go about changing your behavior? These tips can help:
Make a plan. First, think about why you want to change. How will your life improve? Write down your reason and keep it somewhere you can see. This will motivate you when things get tough.
Next, set a long-term goal and pick a habit to help you reach it. For example, if you want to eat healthier, decide how many fruits and vegetables you'll eat each day and how to fit them into your meals. Make your goal SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Timebound.
Track your progress. Keeping tabs on your progress makes you more likely to stick with a new habit. It helps you see what's working, what isn't, and keeps you motivated. You can track your progress using an app, a food diary, a notebook, or a spreadsheet. You can also ask a walking partner, gym buddy, or friend to help keep you accountable.
Be consistent. To build lasting habits, start small. Set a goal that's easy to maintain, even on your busiest or most stressful days. Anything extra is just a bonus. Sticking to it even when it's tough helps build consistency.
Stack habits. Your routine is the base for building new habits. Linking a new habit to something you already do, known as "habit stacking," makes it easier to stick with. For example, when you brush your teeth in the morning, you can stack the habit of checking your blood sugar right after brushing. Since brushing your teeth is a routine part of your day, adding a blood sugar check also helps make it a consistent part of your routine.
Celebrate your wins (even the small ones). Every small habit matters, and doing something is better than doing nothing. Whether it's eating a serving of vegetables or taking a 5-minute walk, these small actions add up. Reward yourself in ways that support your health, like enjoying a favorite hobby or treating yourself to something special.
Healthy Habits to Work Toward When You Have Diabetes
Start forming helpful habits with these tips:
Pay more attention to what you eat and drink. That’s an essential part of managing your condition. Talk to your doctor or dietitian about creating a healthy eating plan. In general, it’ll involve eating more foods with fiber, like fruit, non-starchy vegetables, and whole grains. You’ll also eat fewer refined grains, starchy vegetables, and sweets and a moderate amount of dairy, low-fat meat, and fish. Focus on eating more of certain foods, limiting others, and scheduling your meals and snacks.
Eat at regular times. A set schedule for meals and snacks helps your body use insulin better. Your schedule is based on your needs, blood glucose patterns, the medicine you’re taking, and other things. You may eat three meals a day or as many as six small ones.
Eat smaller portions. Use the plate method to control how much you’re eating. On a 9-inch dinner plate, fill half with non-starchy vegetables, one quarter with lean protein, and another quarter with carbohydrates.
Plan your menu. Change recipes to suit your needs, like swapping traditional noodles for veggie noodles in pasta dishes. Use common ingredients creatively, such as cooking a whole chicken for multiple meals. Stretch recipes by making large batches of soups or casseroles that can last all week or be frozen for later.
Exercise. Staying active with aerobics and strength training can help you manage blood sugar, lose weight, and keep extra pounds off. The key to making exercise a habit is finding an activity you enjoy and tailoring it to your lifestyle. That might mean group classes instead of solo workouts or exercising in the evening if you’re not a morning person. Other tips include:
- Be patient. It can take time to get into a regular exercise routine.
- Fit exercise into your daily life. Instead of giving up other things you need to do, build exercise into your schedule. For example, you can take a phone call while on a walk.
- Split up your workouts. Experts suggest 150 minutes of moderate exercise a week, which you can break up into shorter workouts throughout the week.
- Keep going. It’s OK if you miss a workout or two, just pick it back up again the next day.
If you don’t see instant results, don’t be discouraged. It doesn't mean your habit isn’t working. It’s also OK if things don’t always go as planned. The key is to keep going.
Show Sources
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SOURCES:
American Heart Association: “Make Exercise a Habit, Not a Hassle: Simple Tips That Work.”
Mayo Clinic: “Type 2 diabetes,” “Diabetes diet: Create your healthy-eating plan.”
CDC: “3 Steps to Building a Healthy Habit,” “Diabetes Meal Planning,” “6 Tips for Eating Healthy on a Budget.”
Heart Foundation NZ: “Five tips to make new habits stick.”
diaTribe: “Time to Eat? Why Timing Matters for People With Diabetes.”
British Journal of General Practice: “Making health habitual: the psychology of ‘habit-formation’ and general practice.”
American Psychological Association: “Harnessing the power of habits.”
