The 80/20 Rule: Playing By My Own Rules

The 80/20 rule usually means that 20 percent of the causes create 80 percent of the results. As a TID for 29 years, I think of it a little differently. I like to believe if I follow the rules 80 percent of the time, I can “bend” them for 20 percent.

So, what does that really mean for a person with T1D?

It means that I’m not so hard on myself when I slip-up.
It means that I’m not pressured by the illusive perfection in diabetes management.

Honestly, I really do test my blood sugar 4-6 times a day, but some days that doesn’t happen. I eat a really balanced, veggie and fruit heavy diet, but some days I just don’t feel like it.

I know what perfection is…. it happened for me once. A 5.3 A1c. Yeah, I did that, however I was pregnant and ate a strict rotation of the same breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks for 5 months straight. That was my only child and that will not be happening again!

My own 80/20 rule has granted me a life with a consistent A1c under 6.3. My doctors and I are pretty happy about that. 80/20 for me means that following the rules most of the time lets me bend the rules when I need to most.

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