Celebrating Small Victories Can Lead To Big Wins (NAPSA)—Each day, more than 21 million Americans living with diabetes have to makelifestyle choices to better control their condition and maintain their health and well-being. Sometimes those choices require making changes in us to know that we can succeed in achieving our long-term health and life goals even with small triumphs achieved day by day and week to week,”said Issler. With an empowering, easy-to- what to eat, how often to exercise and how often to seek care. Everyday decision making may leave men and womenwith diabetesfeeling frustrated and overwhelmed. In an effort to makelifestyle changes easier for people living with diabetes, Novo Nordisk, a world leader in diabetes care, has teamed up with DIVABETIC, a community outreach organization, to offer a unique, goal-setting approach as part of Novo Nordisk Presents: Divabetic—Makeover Your Diabetes, a national educa- tion program. This approach is designed to help people living with diabetes adopt healthier lifestyles by emphasizing confidence and the powerof a positive attitude. “Commitment, patience and effort all play an important role in bringing about and maintaining change,” says Max Szadek, founder of DIVABETIC, who coined a DIVA Goal Setting strategy that is central to the event’s educational component. “Our approach to goal setting aims to help you on your journey toward change—whether you wantto lose weight, train for a 5K run or learn a new hobbyorskill.” Szadek adds that the strategy is built around the concept of set- When managing diabetes, it’s important to set realistic goals and keepa positive outlook. ting small, specific goals to bring about positive lifestyle changes, as opposed to trying to jump headfirst into new habits. DIVA Goal Setting is just one of the many resources offered at the Novo Nordisk Presents: Divabetic— Makeover Your Diabetes, an initia- tive designed to take diabetes education out of the clinical setting and into a fun, supportive and motivating environment. “Tt’s widely accepted that small changes made over time can make the most meaningful impact on one’s health,” said Jessica Issler, registered dietitian, certified diabetes educator and memberof the DIVABETIC core team. “Following the DIVA Goal Setting principles, individuals living with, at risk of or affected by diabetes are encouraged to tackle one habit at a time to slowly improve their health overall.” “This program naturally guides remember acronym, DIVA Goal Setting is based on fourcritical areas typical of behavior change models: Define it: Set specific goals. Map out the purpose of the goal, how it can be achieved and realistic timeframe to track progress and success. Choosing one habit to focus on will keep you from feeling overwhelmed and burned out. Individualize it: Goals should be based on an individual’s lifestyle, personality and needs. Just because others are dieting doesn’t mean it is right for you now. Voice it: Share goals with friends, family members, a support group or health care professional. Saying a goal out loud and receiving encouragement from others can keep you on track. Attain it: In addition to acknowledging your accomplishments by celebrating goal achievement, establish rewards for mini-milestones along the way. Rewards can help maintain the motivation needed for continual growth and progress towards meeting your goals. For more information about goal setting and other diabetes education resources, visit the web- site ChangingDiabetes-us.com or call (800) 260-3730.
