{"id":303,"date":"2010-03-10T14:31:59","date_gmt":"2010-03-10T14:31:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.phillconnell.com\/blog\/?p=303"},"modified":"2017-01-12T04:37:00","modified_gmt":"2017-01-12T04:37:00","slug":"the-habits-kill-you-not-the-treats-diabetes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.phillconnell.com\/blog\/the-habits-kill-you-not-the-treats-diabetes\/","title":{"rendered":"The Habits Kill You Not The Treats <\/b>"},"content":{"rendered":"

Diabetes On The Wrong Side Of 40<\/h2>\n

I’ve got diabetes, but I don’t like to talk about it.\u00a0 I don’t avoid it because I feel guilty: I feel fine.\u00a0 I don’t avoid it because I’d prefer to pretend it doesn’t exist: it’s as much a part of my life as my shaving; my showering; my worrying about my children and my getting up for work.<\/p>\n

I don’t talk about it much because, for the vast majority of people, it would be boring.\u00a0 There are some excellent blogs about diabetes out there and I’m not going to print a list of them here.\u00a0 Maybe I will one day, but not today.<\/p>\n

Today, I’m not going to talk about what it’s like to live with diabetes. Nor am I going to share with you how it affects my day-to-day life (not right muchly).\u00a0 Instead, I’m going to share with you my mantra for living, which has served me well through almost 20 years of insulin-dependant diabetes:<\/p>\n

It’s The Habits That Kill You, Not The Treats<\/h2>\n

Over 20 years or so, I’ve used this phrase <\/a>with every friend who’s ever told\u00a0me about their diets, their lifestyle choice du jour <\/em>or their inability to improve themselves in some small but frustrating way.\u00a0 Life is about choices, but the most important choice as far as I see it is the one you make about your day-to-day existence.<\/p>\n

I love cake.\u00a0 You love cake too.\u00a0 You know you do, you love it, you do.\u00a0 Love it!\u00a0 But we don’t eat it every day.\u00a0 Well, I can’t speak for you but I don’t.\u00a0 Last night I had a massive plateful of cottage pie, then at bedtime I had some cheesecake.\u00a0 A cake made of cheese which was delicious.\u00a0 This sort of thing doesn’t happen every day.\u00a0 If it did, I’d be a right fatty.\u00a0 As it is, I’m a skinny bloke with a little pot belly.\u00a0 I can live with the little pot belly.<\/p>\n

It is not <\/em><\/strong>the superfoods you occasionally eat; not<\/em><\/strong> the meal you skip once a day for a fortnight; not<\/em><\/strong> the meal replacement shakes you persist with until they run out and you can’t face re-filling your cupboards; not <\/em><\/strong>the frenetic jog aound the park on a sunny afternoon when the kids are being looked after.<\/p>\n

It is<\/em><\/strong> your day-to-day routine; your habits that you live your life by.\u00a0 These are<\/em><\/strong> the things that are more likely to make you what you are.\u00a0 For “what you are<\/em><\/strong>“, you might be thinking… healthy; happy; quick on a bike; capable of that 10k run.\u00a0 I hope you are.<\/p>\n

If you’re thinking… overweight; unsatisfied; too slow; unfit… then have a think about your day-to-day routine.<\/p>\n

Most of the people who read this blog are a lot fitter than me.\u00a0 You ride faster and further; you run faster and further.\u00a0 I like that.\u00a0 I read your blogs because they help inspire me to become fitter myself, quite aside from making me laugh and keeping my feet firmly on the ground.<\/p>\n

As far as the diabetes goes, it’s helped me to give a big reason for trying to live my life right.\u00a0 I don’t want to go blind and have my kidneys fail; or to have my feet amputated.\u00a0 But the same goes for us all: if you look after yourselves, the chances are much higher that you will live long and prosper.\u00a0 To you, that might be earning loads; it might be doing that marathon or that massive ride.<\/p>\n

To me, it’s watching my children grow into what I’ve started to\u00a0make them, and what they’ll decide to be.<\/p>\n

Just look after yourselves. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

Share with your friends:<\/h3>