November is National Diabetes Awareness Month

When I first started thinking about being a wellness coach, I wanted to help whoever I can to lose weight and to help prevent diabetes,

My mother had Type 1 diabetes and I saw what she went though just to live her daily life and from everything I knew, it was not preventable but Type 2 diabetes is. I wanted to help as many women as I could to prevent this disease.

As I began to learn more, I decided to sign up for a certification from the CDC for a Diabetes Prevention Program Lifestyle Coach. Once I got my certification, I was able to add this to my business as a year long course to help those with pre-diabetes, have had gestational diabetes while pregnant, and those who are at risk for getting type 2 diabetes. My next year long class starts January 6, 2024.

The theme for this year is Take Charge Of Tomorrow: Preventing Diabetes Health Problems. This is so important for women in midlife and going through menopause because diabetes and heart disease show up at this time of our lives.

Almost 80% of our population who are pre-diabetic do not even know they are. The first sign is when they have symptoms of Type 2 diabetes and their A1C (a commonly used blood test to diagnose pre-diabetes and diabetes) is in the diabetes range.

The best way to prevent type 2 diabetes is to eat healthy, exercise and avoid stress. What you eat is very important to having an A!C reading in the correct range. And getting the proper amount of exercise helps with weight loss and stress.

The first step in preventing diabetes or reversing Type 2 diabetes if you already are there is to know your numbers. Have you doctor run the test to see what your A1C is and start there. Once you know where you are, learn more about how to either prevent Type 2 diabetes or reverse it.

Go to this link to see if you are at risk for pre- diabetes.

Like this year’s theme says, Take Charge Of Tomorrow!