The Magical Effects of Walking – for the past two years, my husband and I have been living in an apartment on the Hudson River in Midtown Manhattan. During those years, I’ve walked to and from my office (about 25 minutes each way) almost every day, rain or shine! I cannot say strongly enough how much this helps with my daily diabetes management. Of course, I still exercise, but I think my calming, refreshing walks each morning and night benefit my mind, soul, and diabetic body equally as much as my full hour of intense cardio!
Exercise is So In – You can NEVER say exercise is boring to me – especially not in NYC. The main problem is finding enough time and $$$ to try the many different exciting and trendy exercise classes that are popping up daily! From barre to spin classes, to ballet to treadmill classes, there is something for everyone. For runners like me, the races (a great way to see the city!) and running groups around the city leave you with so many options, you won’t know what to do.
Five Star Health Food – A lot of people know NYC for the pizza, the doughnuts, and the hot dogs… all stuff I don’t eat! But the amount of healthy, yet exciting options here is absolutely mind-blowing. The city has opened my eyes to so many new ways of eating in a healthy, diabetic friendly way – nothing bland about this health-food!
Ask and You Shall Receive! – As a born-Southerner, I don’t naturally have that aggressive NYC quality in me, but I sure am faking it pretty well! At restaurants in NYC, they’ll do whatever you ask – they’re used to people being difficult, so my diabetic menu-diva ways are no big deal! I’m the person who finds something that sounds great, but then asks to add avocado, add extra spinach, leave off croutons, leave off fries, dressing on the side, etc. In NYC, no one thinks a second thought of my crazy diet: low carb-ish, vegan-ish, (and sometimes) pescetarian! The people here are diverse, unique, and multi-faceted – as are our diets!
Don’t Settle for Decent – Another trait I’ve picked up from Manhattanites is not being willing to accept mediocre. We all deserve to have the best we can find! As diabetics, we already had to deal with getting the short end of the pancreas stick. Whether it’s finding the endocrinologist who actually listens to you as a person and doesn’t just want to tell you to change your basal rates from XX to YY and then sends you off (ugh) or finding a job where your bosses respect that managing your diabetes has to be a top priority for you, don’t settle for just ok. Get motivated to find the best – we only have one chance at all this, so make sure you’re doing right by yourself!