Receiving a prediabetes diagnosis at a young age can be overwhelming. It can feel like the end of your childhood. You may feel like you may never enjoy eating again. You may feel scared, confused, anxious, lost and unsure if your life will ever be the same. What if I told you, your life can be better?
Prediabetes is reversible. The silver lining is that you CAN undo prediabetes and prevent it from progressing into Type 2 Diabetes. There is hope at the end of the tunnel.
This is YOUR opportunity to take advantage of your health. Start now while you’re young and build healthy attitudes and behaviors towards food so you can pass them on to your children later. Work towards finding your intersection between health and food satisfaction so that you can enjoy life to the fullest without the weight of a diagnosis pulling you down. Invest in your future self.
This article will provide you with three important things to consider as you navigate your prediabetes diagnosis during your youth.
1. Be Kind to yourself
You are not your diagnosis. You are not any less of a person because of it. You are simply a human seeking knowledge on how to better your health. I encourage you to shift away from using the term “prediabetic” and instead describe yourself as someone living with prediabetes. You are the only person that has to live with yourself every day of your life. It is critical to create a healthy mental environment to support yourself as you embark on this journey of knowledge.
In order to invest in your future self, you must first believe in yourself. To achieve that, you must first do inner work, starting with being kind to yourself. That includes that thoughts you have around food, your health, and your body. In other words, the first step towards achieving your healthiest self starts with believing in yourself- believing that you deserve to feel your best.
2. Set Realistic Expectations
Health is not achieved overnight; it’s the small, sustainable changes that you intentionally choose to add in now that will motivate you to continue in the future. It’s the small changes that we implement that later transform into habits. Therefore, the most important factor in your health journey is how sustainable your chosen behavior change is. Before tackling a new goal, ask yourself:
- Can I do [insert behavior change] for the rest of my life?
- If not, what are the barriers preventing me from maintaining this change?
- How can I make this change more realistic with my current lifestyle?
3. Re-shift your mindset
Nutrition is not black-and-white. Nutrition is highly nuanced and individualized. It is NOT an all-or-nothing approach. What’s important is the average of our lifestyle and food choices. One meal will NOT sabotage your health goals. The first step towards re-shifting your mindset includes building a healthy relationship with food. You may not even realize that everyone has their own relationship with food. Many don’t realize the power that our mental and emotional state have on our perception of food and our bodies. To learn more about your personal relationship with food, ask yourself:
- Do I turn to food as a coping mechanism?
- Do I restrict certain foods or feel guilty after eating them?
- Do I feel a loss of control over food?
- Does food preoccupy my thoughts?
- Does thinking about food stress me out?
- Do I follow certain food rules to “be healthy”?
- Do I ignore my hunger and fullness signals?
- Are my health goals centered around weight?
These questions can help you dig a little deeper to determine any unhealthy thoughts or behaviors you may have around food. If you answered yes to one or more of the questions above, I encourage you to seek out the help of a Registered Dietitian.
in summary..
Depending on how you choose to move forward, your pre diabetes diagnosis might be the best thing that ever happened to your health. The next steps you take are critical to shaping your future health. You can start with being kind to yourself, setting realistic expectations, and re-shifting your mindset around food and your body.