Health Tips Based on Experience

My diabetic journey has taught me many things lessons I never expected, lessons I ignored for years, and lessons that finally opened my eyes when it was almost too late. Before diabetes, I lived like many people do: believing my body was strong, believing nothing bad would happen, believing I could ignore the signs and continue with my habits.

But the truth is simple: When you ignore your body, your body will eventually force you to listen.

My journey taught me that ignoring small signs leads to big consequences. And if those mistakes are repeated again and again, the results can be painful, dangerous, and sometimes irreversible.

Today, I want to share how diabetes helped me realize the importance of listening to my body, what habits I changed, what habits I still struggle with, and how discipline even in small things can save your health and your life.

Ignoring the Signs: The Mistakes That Led Me to Diabetes

Before I got sick, my body was already giving me warnings. I felt unusual thirst, tiredness, discomfort, and changes in my energy. But I ignored them. I told myself:

• I’m just tired.
• Maybe I didn’t sleep well.
• It’s normal.
• I’m still strong.

I didn’t want to believe something was wrong. I didn’t want to change my habits. I didn’t want to face the truth.

But the truth was already happening inside my body. And because I ignored the signs, the problem grew bigger.

Ignoring small signs today becomes a big problem tomorrow.

What Happens When You Repeat the Same Mistakes

If you ignore your body once, maybe nothing happens. If you ignore it twice, maybe still nothing. But if you ignore it every day, every week, every month the damage builds up.

Repetition is powerful. Repetition can build success but it can also build sickness.

When you repeat unhealthy habits:

• Your blood sugar rises slowly
• Your organs become stressed
• Your weight increases
• Your energy decreases
• Your immune system weakens
• Your body becomes inflamed
• Your health collapses

This is exactly what happened to me. I repeated the same mistakes for years and diabetes was the result.

The Habits I Finally Followed

When diabetes hit me, I had no choice but to change. I had to choose discipline. I had to choose health. I had to choose life.

Out of all the healthy habits I learned, there were a few that I followed consistently and these made the biggest difference in my recovery.

1. Eating Healthy Food

This was the first habit I committed to. I changed my diet completely:

• Less sugar
• Less rice
• Less processed food
• More vegetables
• More fruits
• More whole foods

Healthy food became my medicine. It helped stabilize my blood sugar, reduce my weight, and give me energy.

Food can heal you or destroy you. I finally chose the food that heals.

2. Drinking More Water

Before diabetes, I didn’t realize how important water was. I drank too much coffee, sugary drinks, and sometimes alcohol. But when I started drinking more water, everything changed:

• My digestion improved
• My skin became healthier
• My energy increased
• My blood sugar stabilized
• My kidneys functioned better

Water is simple, but powerful. It cleanses the body. It supports every organ. It helps prevent complications.

Now, water is part of my daily discipline.

3. Not Holding My Pee

This may sound simple, but it is important. Holding your pee stresses your kidneys and bladder especially dangerous for diabetics.

I learned to listen to my body immediately. When my body says go, I go. This small habit protects my kidneys and prevents infections.

4. Exercise

Exercise became my daily medicine. I didn’t do heavy workouts just simple movements:

• Walking
• Stretching
• Light exercises
• Home workouts

Even lazy exercise, as I call it, helped me:

• Improve blood circulation
• Reduce blood sugar
• Strengthen my muscles
• Improve my mood
• Reduce stress

Exercise doesn’t need to be perfect it just needs to be consistent.

The Habits I Still Struggle With

I want to be honest: I am not perfect. There are habits I still struggle with. There are things I know I should do but I don’t always follow them.

1. Sleeping Early

This is one of my biggest challenges. Sometimes I sleep late because of work. Sometimes I sleep late because of my phone. Sometimes I sleep late because of TikTok or editing videos.

I know sleep is important. I know my body needs rest. But this is a habit I am still fighting.

2. Not Overusing My Eyes on the Computer

Working on a ship, doing TikTok affiliate, editing videos, and reading online all of these make me use my eyes too much.

I know it’s not healthy. I know it causes strain. I know it affects my sleep.

But again, this is something I am still working on.

3. Many More Habits I Need to Improve

There are many other habits I still need to fix:

• Reducing screen time
• Managing stress better
• Sleeping on time
• Taking breaks
• Resting my mind
• Avoiding overwork

I am still learning. I am still improving. I am still fighting.

The Lesson: Listen to Your Body Before It’s Too Late

My diabetic journey taught me one powerful lesson:

Your body speaks but if you ignore it, it will scream.

Your body gives signs:

• Fatigue
• Thirst
• Pain
• Discomfort
• Stress
• Lack of energy

These are not random. These are warnings. These are signals.

If you ignore them once, it’s okay. If you ignore them twice, maybe still okay. But if you ignore them every day sickness will come.

Repetition Can Heal or Destroy

Repetition is powerful. It can build success or build sickness.

If you repeat unhealthy habits, you destroy your body. If you repeat healthy habits, you heal your body.

The choice is yours. The results are yours. The responsibility is yours.

Conclusion

My diabetic journey opened my eyes to the importance of listening to my body. I ignored the signs for years and I paid the price. But through discipline, healthy food, water, exercise, and awareness, I slowly recovered.

I am not perfect. I still struggle with sleep. I still overuse my eyes. I still have habits to fix.

But I am improving. I am learning. I am becoming more disciplined.

I hope my story encourages you to listen to your body, follow healthy habits, and avoid repeating the mistakes that lead to sickness.

Thank you once again for your time reading my diabetic journey. I’m always happy to hear your thoughts and share this journey with you.

Reynaldo M. Oliva