The past couple of years have brought many challenges to our families and communities, and we’ve come to recognize the importance of taking care of both our mental and physical health. Having good health impacts everything we do and the life we love.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 88 million US adults have prediabetes, meaning they have higher blood sugar levels than normal, but not yet high enough to be diagnosed as type 2 diabetes. More than 8 in 10 of those with prediabetes don’t know they have it. Prediabetes can lead to type 2 diabetes but can be preventable with lifestyle changes.
Type 2 diabetes can put limits on what you enjoy most – having the health and energy for family, work, and hobbies that make life meaningful. It can also increase your risk for other serious health conditions like heart attack, stroke, or kidney failure. Type 2 diabetes isn’t reversible, but the good news is that prediabetes is! Every November, we recognize National Diabetes Month as a chance to share the risks of prediabetes and type 2 diabetes and to let you know about a proven program that can help you reverse prediabetes and prevent type 2 diabetes.
You Don’t Have to Get Healthy Alone
Change Your Lifestyle. Change Your Life. (CYL2) offers a lifestyle change program to help adults with prediabetes add healthy habits into their everyday lives as part of CDC’s National Diabetes Prevention Program (National DPP). In the program, you’ll meet people like you who are also working to improve their health and lower their risk for type 2 diabetes. Our trained Lifestyle Coaches lead the program and will help you find what works best for you and encourage you on your health journey.
“It’s the complete program that makes the difference. It’s not just about exercise. It’s about understanding what’s good to eat and all the stuff that comes up with stress and how to take care of your heart,” said Tom, a program participant.
Find Your Inspiration for a Healthier Life
While the benefits speak for themselves, it can feel overwhelming to think about how to live healthier. You may think you don’t have the time to be more active or the desire to give up all your favorite foods. With the lifestyle change program, though, we celebrate your life and show how living healthy can add to that, not take away from it. It’s possible to make small changes that make a big difference, like adding some extra veggies to your favorite meal or playing outside with a pet or your grandkids to be more active.
Participants in the program aim to lose 5-7% of their body weight, which is 10-14 pounds for a 200-pound adult. They also aim to get 150 minutes of physical activity each week. People in the lifestyle change program who make these changes can cut their risk of type 2 diabetes in half.
We want you to enjoy your best life, full of time with family, friends, and the activities you care about. By taking steps to eat healthier, get more physically active, solve problems that can slow your progress, and manage stress, you can set yourself up to prevent or delay type 2 diabetes. You do so much for others, so make sure to take some time for yourself too and learn more today about the lifestyle change program.
Take a 1-minute prediabetes risk test at bit.ly/CYL2TWC and get more information at https://www.thewellnesscoalition.org/cyl2/