It is simple enough to follow any diet for a short period of time but when you are faced with sticking to a life-long diabetic diet you will discover that there are several barriers that will frustrate you in your efforts. The key therefore to starting a diabetic diet is to know exactly what the barriers are and to concentrate your attention on the benefits of your diabetes diet. The type of barriers which you might well encounter include: * Social Pressure. Getting your family on your side ought to be quite simple but it may not be quite so easy to get other people on side. Of course it ought to be simple enough to educate your close friends and wider family about your dietary needs and help to avoid problems at dinner parties and other gatherings at which food is served, but there are always going to be times when you find yourself in a social situation and are tempted to try a piece of home-made gateaux. In this situation it is a matter of planning ahead and deciding just what you would do before the event. For instance, you could decide to have a small piece of gateaux and merely adjust your diet for the rest of the day to compensate. As an alternative, you might decide that it is better to eat before you go out or to take your own favorite snack along, together with a little bit extra for others to try. * Cost. Buying vegetables and fresh fruit can be expensive, especially when you are having to buy 'out of season' imported produce. But remember that, as you increase your consumption of vegetables and fresh fruit, you are also reducing your consumption of expensive convenience foods and snacks such as potato chips, so that the two will tend to balance out. * Family. Family members could find it hard to adapt to a different diet and they may be less than happy with your 'alternative' macaroni cheese. Here it is best to simply sit the family down and discuss your diabetes and exactly what it means as far as your diet is concerned. In most cases your family will be extremely supportive once they know your position. * Culture. Food is a lot more than just sustenance and for a lot of us it is also a cultural expression. Fortunately, there are various different ways in which to prepare food and you will discover that there are a number of superb diabetic cookbooks which focus on food from different cultures. However you choose to tackle these barriers, they will need to be faced and overcome. This should not be too hard as long as you give it a little bit of thought and effort, but it will also help if you focus your thoughts on a few of the benefits of sticking to your diabetic diet: * Lessen your risk from low blood sugar levels. We tend to think of diabetes in terms of high blood sugar levels but a lot of diabetics also experience the difficulties linked to low blood sugar levels, such as, dizziness, weakness, sweating and irritability, and may even fall into a diabetic coma. Your diabetic diet will keep you on a regular eating pattern that will lower this risk significantly. * Feeling better. If you fail to follow your diet there is a good chance that you will overeat, or eat the wrong type of food, increasing your blood sugar level and making you tired and generally unwell. With your diabetic diet however you will feel much better. * Better weight control. If you stick to your diabetic diet you will not overeat or eat food that could cause weight gain, permitting you to keep your figure and lessening the risk of other health problems such as heart disease and stroke. With the correct diabetic diet, and a little bit of exercise, you will discover that it is possible to keep your diabetes under control and live a full and normal life.
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