Health Tips Based on Experience

Maintaining a healthy body shape with Type 2 diabetes requires a combination of balanced nutrition, regular exercise, proper sleep, and stress management. The key is to control blood sugar, maintain muscle mass, and prevent weight gain.

Your diet should focus on stable blood sugar levels and fat loss while preserving muscles. Also here is my photo update I know that I made a very little improvement however, I did it slowly.

Eat More Fibe – Whole grains, vegetables, beans, and nuts help control blood sugar.
Include Lean Proteins – Fish, eggs, chicken, tofu, and Greek yogurt support muscle.
Choose Healthy Fats – Avocados, olive oil, nuts, and seeds keep you full.
Limit Carbs & Sugar – Reduce white bread, pasta, sweets, and sodas.
Stay Hydrated – Drink 8 – 10 glasses of water daily.

 Meal Timing Tip, Eat smaller balanced meals every 3-4 hours to prevent blood sugar spikes. Regular movement helps with weight control insulin sensivity and energy levels.

Best Exercises for you brisk walking 30-45 min/day E-asy on joints and great for blood sugar control.
Strength Training 2-3 times week – Use light dumbbells or bodyweight exercises to maintain muscle.
Cycling or Swimming – Low-impact cardio to burn calories without straining joints.
Yoga & Stretching – Improves flexibility, stress relief, and blood circulation.

Goal Aim for 150 minutes of exercise per week about 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week.

Maintain a Healthy Weight If overweight, losing 5-10% of body weight improves diabetes control.
Portion Control – Use smaller plates to avoid overeating.
Avoid Late-Night Snacking – Stops unnecessary calorie intake before sleep.

Get enough sleep this is the pain and the hardest moment in my life specialy while im in the ship as you all know in my previous blog that I have a cabin mate and our time for sleep is around 11pm. However I still  aim for 7 to 9 hours of sleep per night to regulate metabolism and insulin levels.

Poor sleep increases cravings, slows fat loss and raises blood sugar. Stick to a consistent bedtime routine and avoid screens before bed. But still I am not consistent with it and a little bet hard to adjust specially in my case that most of my time is work.

Manage stress, chronic stress can raise blood sugar and lead to weight gain. Practice deep breathing, yoga or meditation. Engage in hobbies that relax you. Take regular breaks if work is stressful. I manage 24 people and I can say that stressful however, I try again my best not to be stress on my first year after I recover very hard to have temper not be upset specially in hospitality job like what I have.

Now a days I don’t feel stress anymore because I used to it and everything will be smooth along the way if you try and repeatedly happened. I face any issue with the guest and it’s become easy for me after few months of straggle the changes.

Monitor blood sugar regularly check fasting blood sugar in the morning and after meals.
Track A1C levels aim for below 7% Adjust diet and exercise based on readings. Before I ask the doctor what is A1C this is the test measures a person average blood glucose or blood sugar levels over the past 3 months. As the doctor explain to me keeping A1C levels within the normal or target range lowers the risk of developing diabetes or its complications.

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 Keep your heart healthy Eat heart friendly foods nuts, salmon dark leafy greens. Limit salt sweet processed foods to control blood pressure. Stay active to manage cholesterol levels. And I totally agree with the food discipline because food is a big role in our body like what you eat is what you get.  

During the time that I’m in the process of adjusting to food that I eat very very Taft for me as I wated to eat my favorite pandesal in the morning with coffee you know how you feel it. Specially that I’m doing it conistently within 2 years during the pandemic. Its only our self put in trouble so our self also can solve the issue that we have.

Avoid unhealthy habits, this is also a very hard to manage, in my experience in hospitality if I saw a person with a very slow mobility, directly I check or I look at their feet and Why? Because I was there before my foot is totally like what we called in Philippines (Litson or Price Or grilled) Eww….you know what I have in my foot. of heart disease.
Limit Alcohol – Can spike blood sugar and add extra calories

To stay in great shape at 53 with Type 2 diabetes, focus on clean eating daily movement, quality sleep as much as you can and stress control. Small consistent habits will lead to long term success in maintaining a healthy weight and strong body.

Ones again thank you very much for your time

Reynaldo M. Oliva