The last time I posted I had just dropped my son at college. Now he’s been there almost two months and I’ve already visited him once. I think about this blog much more often than I actually sit down and contribute something to it. Makes me wonder…is it sustainable?
Recently I’ve heard about at least two people who have shut down their diabetes blogs. It was quite earth-shattering news because these were very prominent bloggers. Did they burn out? Did they turn their focus elsewhere? Did their priorities change?
When it comes to managing diabetes and lowering our risk for problems down the road, we don’t really have a choice but to keep doing it. Keep monitoring glucose, keep taking medications, keep paying attention to food choices, keep being active. Those are the activities that lead to a better chance for better outcomes. They are not a guarantee, but they are our best bet. What we can do, though, is make sustainable choices.
A man who was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes told me he had decided to cut out carbs to lose weight. He also started going to a gym several times a week. He was excited because he was losing weight. My question for him was “is this sustainable?” He said yes, it was.
My goal with food and exercise is to choose a lifestyle that’s sustainable for me. If I make drastic changes, they don’t stick long term. I know I can’t live without fruit, so I would never give up carbs. That wouldn’t be sustainable. I also know that going to a strength training class three times a week leads me to burnout and injury, so I go twice. That’s sustainable.
Sustainable choices are probably just as important as the choices themselves.