HAPPY (ALMOST) FALL!
Back to school, Friday Night Lights, College football season, are all signs that Fall is around the corner. While the summer weather is lingering in Texas, preparation for the Fall season is well underway. In our home, we are gearing up for the season change in several ways with a focus on our health.
As an adult with type II diabetes who has recently implemented what I hope will be life-long habit changes, I thought I would share a bit of what our family is doing to keep up with the changing season.
Exercise- With cooler weather hopefully on the horizon, our family is back to after school sports and daily movement. With my busy schedule, I have found a regular workout routine hard to implement, but that does not mean that I have given up all together. Throwing the softball with my daughter, shooting hops with my son, utilizing a standing desk, getting my steps in, and swimming have become a common way of making sure that I get my body moving. Does it happen for an hour every day of the week? Absolutely not, but I do my best to not let myself be sedentary during any given day.
I am also hopeful that dropping temperatures in the coming months will give way to crisp morning walks. Finding the right footwear has also become key in making sure my body has the tools needed to move. After the birth of my daughter, my hips and back are sensitive to long hours in high heels or poorly supported shoes. A couple of years ago, I discovered On Cloud shoes while hiking in Colorado. With various support levels, these shoes have helped with the hip and back pain. Additionally, my mother recently got diagnosed with plantar fasciitis. She found a trip to a running store incredibly helpful in finding the right shoes for her 3-mile morning walks. These stores often offer free shoe fitting services where they can measure various aspects of how you step on your foot.
Healthy Eating- Cooler weather often brings cravings of hearty stews and soups that can be full of starches and hard to digest creams. When I was diagnosed with diabetes, my family and I decided to change our way of eating. We do not call it “dieting” because we simply make healthier choices in our daily lives. We have accomplished this by implementing a Mediterranean food-based menu. What I love most is that recipes are never complicated and always filled with nutrient rich greens and whole grains. That is right- I said it! I eat grains! There are tons of helpful websites and apps out there. My favorite is an app called Mediterranean Meal Plan. It offers recipes that fall within the parameters of Mediterranean eating that you can adjust the servings on and create easy shopping lists. One of my favorite fall recipes is their Chicken Chili with Green Salsa. It is hearty, easy and you can make extra for yummy lunch leftovers.
Medication Adherence- This is hard! It is especially hard when certain diabetes/A1C medications are experiencing shortages. For three straight months my dosage of Mounjaro has been on backorder. If your pharmacy has let you know (as they should) that your medication is on backorder, call around to other pharmacies. I know this is time consuming, but chances are, it will pay off and you can have your prescription transferred to the pharmacy that has the drug on hand. When dealing with chronic illnesses, medication adherence is top priority in making sure we stay healthy. I would also check to see if using a mail order service might help with regular medication deliveries, especially if you live in rural Texas and have to travel to another town to get your maintenance medications.
Healthy Immune System- I recently got COVID after sitting on an airplane for over 16 hours. Yes, COVID is still around! Truth is that my immune system has always been on the weaker side. Regular daily vitamins have helped. Additionally, ever since our son was born early and we had to keep him isolated for his first year of life because his little immune system could not effectively fight off illnesses, our family gets flu shots yearly. Most pharmacies offer on-the-spot flu vaccines along with others like shingles, and most insurance carriers cover yearly flu vaccinations.
One positive that came out of COVID is that hand washing has become routine. It is amazing what a simple hand wash can do to fend off cold and flu germs. Plus, I love all the fun new fall hand soap scents. We are personally fans of Mrs. Meyers, but there are so many great companies out there with amazing Fall scents to get you into the pumpkin spice and apple cider mood!
What do you do to keep you and your family healthy?
I’ll end with one fun tip that I only recently embraced. Our family’s health insurance carrier offers rewards. In the last few months, I have taken advantage of health freebies like a yearlong subscription to the Peloton exercise app and the ability to use my rewards to get a brand-new Apple watch which then earns me more rewards because of my daily tracked steps. Remember, that it is in the best interest of the insurance companies to keep us healthy, so take advantage of these fun and useful perks!