Maintaining Your Support Network for a Lifetime of Health

By sticking with Lark DPP, you have proven that you can be persistent and dedicated as you pursue health goals. There have been plenty of chances to learn about lifestyle choices, how they relate to blood sugar and other aspects of health, and ways to incorporate them into your own life. You may have even dropped a few pounds or worked on establishing a healthy habit or two. 

You may be knowledgeable, self-motivated, and quite capable, but extra support can never hurt. Building a support network, and maintaining it for life, can help you stick to your good intentions. Along with Lark, sources of support can include friends, family members, healthcare professionals, coworkers, and anyone else who can give you a lift somehow.

Roles of Support

There are all kinds of support that can keep you going.

Emotional support can cheer for you as you ride momentum when things are going well. It can also keep you from giving up when the going gets rough. A listening ear or a pat on the back from a friend, family member, or anyone else who loves and respects you can make a difference. Lark DPP can provide emotional support by caring about your ups and downs.

Accountability support can make you feel more committed. A friend, colleague, or family member might ask how your workouts or food choices are going, for example. Nurses or doctors can hold you accountable by asking about your lifestyle changes and prediabetes management. Setting goals and tracking meals, activity, and weight in Lark DPP can increase feelings of accountability.

Logistical or practical support can enable you to physically do what you need to do. It could be someone picking up the kids for you so you can work out, or another family doing healthy meal sharing with your family so you only need to cook half as many meals. Lark can provide practical support through education on topics such as healthy food choices and ideas for getting active.

Keeping Your Support Network Strong

Building your support network takes some effort, and maintaining it does, too. 

Reach out

It may not be hard to reach out when things are going well and you are proud of yourself for something such as losing weight or hitting your physical activity goals. It can be harder, though, when things are not going as well. It can be natural to retreat and stay quiet when you are not hitting your goals or are not pleased with the choices that you have been making. 

Still, those are the times when it is most important to reach out for encouragement, advice, and inspiration. Your support system is there to support you, not judge you. It is okay to let your network pull you up when you need it most.

Delegate

You may have a whole army of people who want to support you, but do they know what to do? They may be looking for some guidance from the expert on your health: you. Depending on what you need and who is willing to do what, you can ask specific people to do specific things. Some may be best suited to babysitting a couple of times a week so you can cook a healthy meal, others might be happy to ask you how you are feeling, and others might be willing to walk with you a few times a week.

Look for company

Having someone at your side can seal the deal, since there is no backing out when you are working together. Walking with a neighbor in the morning or evening, lifting weights or doing cardio with a workout partner at the gym, and going for lunchtime walks with a coworker can make fitness fun and more effective. Similarly, getting your significant other, a parent, or children to cook healthy meals with you can lead to healthier eating and more quality time.

Keep your healthcare team in the loop

Letting your doctor know how you are doing can help keep you accountable so you can continue to lead a healthy lifestyle. Also, your doctor can stay aware of which tests you may need and provide better care and advice when she knows more about you.

Give a little

You are a wealth of knowledge and a valuable resource. While reaching out for help, offer your own however you can. People who are supporting you need their own support, and you may be able to give them a lift when they need it. Not only can you help them out, but helping others helps yourself because it lifts feelings of confidence and self-worth.

Use Lark

Lark DPP can hold you accountable as you work towards weight loss and other health goals. In addition, logging meals and workouts lets you keep track of current habits and recent trends to keep you on track. Lark is always ready to lend an ear and a word of encouragement, too.