{"id":35093,"date":"2014-01-14T09:33:47","date_gmt":"2014-01-14T14:33:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?post_type=feature&p=35093"},"modified":"2016-01-10T05:31:05","modified_gmt":"2016-01-10T10:31:05","slug":"diabetes-new-years-resolutions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=35093","title":{"rendered":"Diabetes New Year’s Resolutions"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"January1st<\/a>It\u2019s January! It\u2019s time to make resolutions and convince myself that the new wall calendar needs a lot of goal-oriented stuff written on it, in permanent marker \u2026 or at least in permanent marker for January, and maybe pen for February, and then very lightly in pencil for the rest of the year so I can erase, erase, erase.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t like<\/em> making New Year\u2019s resolutions, but I make them anyway.\u00a0 (Peer pressure?)\u00a0 Being honest, the resolutions I actually follow through on are the ones I make randomly, borne from a period of diabetes burnout or a health realization.\u00a0 Rarely does January 1st<\/sup> roll around and I\u2019m all, \u201cYou know what?\u00a0 I\u2019m going to change everything and be awesome!\u201d\u00a0 Most of the time, it\u2019s seeing a rough A1C result or noticing that my insulin doses\/pants sizes are creeping up because I\u2019m eating more junk food that kicks my resolution-making mindset into high gear.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t resolve to make foolish decisions (\u201cI resolve to avoid seatbelts!\u00a0 And to hug a grizzly bear, at least once a week!\u201d), so most of my goals involve weight management, food philosophies, or exercise achievements.\u00a0 Even when I\u2019m not making diabetes-specific resolutions, they all seem to benefit my diabetes care in some way.<\/p>\n

At first, I find resolutions to be stressful.\u00a0 It\u2019s another task added to an already task-heavy day, and usually my resolutions involve extra steps, so it\u2019s not simply \u201cmake exercise a part of every day\u201d but more \u201cmake exercise a part of every day which means find something you like doing and can stick with, and also coordinate childcare while you\u2019re working out and make sure you keep extra-vigilant watch on blood sugars to keep from bottoming out.\u201d\u00a0 Part of the stress is making the resolution into a habit, and then making that habit blend into \u201clife.\u201d<\/p>\n

One thing I resolved to do back in the fall of 2012 was to start running.\u00a0 Always active but never at a fast speed, I wanted to try running as a way of improving my cardiovascular health while helping clear my head and reduce stress.\u00a0 Admittedly, it took a long, long time to feel comfortable running.\u00a0 For starters, I wasn\u2019t very fast, and I remain terribly awkward, so it took some time to feel confident taking my show on the road (literally).\u00a0 But once my body adjusted and I started gaining speed, I had to tackle the hurdle of plummeting blood sugars while on the move.\u00a0 In the last 17 months, I\u2019ve gone from barely being able to trot half of a mile to having the stamina to clock five or six mile runs without feeling like I was going to crumple into a heap of awkward exhaustion on the side of the road.\u00a0 THIS WAS A BIG DEAL, and one of the best resolutions I\u2019ve made for my mental and physical health.<\/p>\n

So what made me stick with this one?\u00a0 Why was this resolution easier to follow through on than the one I made several years ago to \u201clower my A1C?\u201d<\/p>\n

I think it\u2019s because that particular resolution was rooted in \u201cI CAN.\u201d\u00a0 I feel like diabetes is a disease that comes with a whole pile of \u201cyou can\u2019ts.\u201d\u00a0 For a long time, I resented diabetes for being the reason I couldn\u2019t go backpacking across Europe after college (I needed medical insurance, so I had to go straight to work after graduation).\u00a0 I resented diabetes for making me fear motherhood due to all of the rules and threats that seemed to come along with a diabetic pregnancy.\u00a0 And I resented diabetes for making me feel weak at the moments of severe hypoglycemia, or when my brain dipped into depressive thoughts.<\/p>\n

Blargh.\u00a0 That\u2019s way too much negativity towards something that can already be a drag.\u00a0 I needed something positive to serve as a redirect from all the resentment.\u00a0 I needed to focus on \u201cI CANs.\u201d\u00a0 (I like the all caps of CAN \u2026 makes it feel potent.)<\/p>\n

It\u2019s difficult to make resolutions that hang their hats on diabetes behaving a certain way.\u00a0 Most of my early diabetes-related resolutions feel like throwaway nonsense \u2013 \u201cI resolve to lower my A1C!!\u201d \u2013 but the problem is that sort of resolution is hard to follow through on because it doesn\u2019t have a hard stop to it, or a specific goal.\u00a0 And when it comes to specificity, I can\u2019t resolve to keep my fasting blood sugars between 70 \u2013 110 mg\/dL every morning because there are more variables in play than simply my resolve.<\/p>\n

But there is a \u201cCAN.\u201d\u00a0 What I can resolve to do is test my blood sugar every single morning and make solid decisions based on that number, whatever it may be.\u00a0 That\u2019s a resolution I can follow through on.\u00a0 Frequent blood sugar checks keep me aware of my numbers, and give me the information I need to take action, and this is what helps me tighten up my A1C, which lowers my A1C, which helps me hit my goal, which BOO YEAH there\u2019s the resolution being acted upon.<\/p>\n

Deciding for myself is powerful, instead of having a doctor impose restrictions or regimens.\u00a0 Just as with the bulk of my diabetes management, I\u2019m most likely to stick with an idea that is organically grown instead of one that\u2019s pushed upon me by my healthcare team, or even by my family.\u00a0 Owning the change and finding the \u201cCANs\u201d is what makes me actually stick with a resolution.\u00a0 So whether I\u2019m making changes in January or in July, maintaining my health remains my responsibility.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I can\u2019t resolve to keep my fasting blood sugars between 70 \u2013 110 mg\/dL every morning because there are more variables in play than simply my resolve. But there is a \u201cCAN.\u201d What I can resolve to do is test my blood sugar every single morning and make solid decisions based on that number, whatever it may be. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":35098,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1435],"tags":[484,490],"yoast_head":"\nDiabetes New Year's Resolutions<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I don't like New Year's resolutions. I can\u2019t resolve to keep my blood sugar between 70 \u2013 110 mg\/dL every morning, because there are more variables in play than my resolve.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=35093\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kerri Sparling\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=35093\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=35093\",\"name\":\"Diabetes New Year's Resolutions\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=35093#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=35093#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/January1st.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-01-14T14:33:47+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-01-10T10:31:05+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/dabf0a8f20657e79358a5ec2321e49be\"},\"description\":\"I don't like New Year's resolutions. I can\u2019t resolve to keep my blood sugar between 70 \u2013 110 mg\/dL every morning, because there are more variables in play than my resolve.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=35093#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=35093\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=35093#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/January1st.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/January1st.jpg\",\"width\":600,\"height\":400,\"caption\":\"January1st\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=35093#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Diabetes New Year’s Resolutions\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/\",\"name\":\"ASweetLife\",\"description\":\"The Diabetes Magazine\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/dabf0a8f20657e79358a5ec2321e49be\",\"name\":\"Kerri Sparling\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/07edc630d8c2e670dad89b013e12dd41?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/07edc630d8c2e670dad89b013e12dd41?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Kerri Sparling\"},\"description\":\"Kerri Sparling has been living with type 1 diabetes since 1986 and writes the diabetes blog www.SixUntilMe.com. She believes in diabetes advocacy, patient empowerment, and strong coffee. Kerri lives in Rhode Island with her husband, her daughter, and an unfortunate army of cats.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?author=62\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Diabetes New Year's Resolutions","description":"I don't like New Year's resolutions. I can\u2019t resolve to keep my blood sugar between 70 \u2013 110 mg\/dL every morning, because there are more variables in play than my resolve.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=35093","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Kerri Sparling","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=35093","url":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=35093","name":"Diabetes New Year's Resolutions","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=35093#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=35093#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/January1st.jpg","datePublished":"2014-01-14T14:33:47+00:00","dateModified":"2016-01-10T10:31:05+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/dabf0a8f20657e79358a5ec2321e49be"},"description":"I don't like New Year's resolutions. I can\u2019t resolve to keep my blood sugar between 70 \u2013 110 mg\/dL every morning, because there are more variables in play than my resolve.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=35093#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=35093"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=35093#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/January1st.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/January1st.jpg","width":600,"height":400,"caption":"January1st"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=35093#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Diabetes New Year’s Resolutions"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/","name":"ASweetLife","description":"The Diabetes Magazine","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/dabf0a8f20657e79358a5ec2321e49be","name":"Kerri Sparling","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/07edc630d8c2e670dad89b013e12dd41?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/07edc630d8c2e670dad89b013e12dd41?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Kerri Sparling"},"description":"Kerri Sparling has been living with type 1 diabetes since 1986 and writes the diabetes blog www.SixUntilMe.com. She believes in diabetes advocacy, patient empowerment, and strong coffee. Kerri lives in Rhode Island with her husband, her daughter, and an unfortunate army of cats.","url":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?author=62"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35093"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/62"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=35093"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35093\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/35098"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=35093"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=35093"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=35093"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}