Now that Labor Day weekend is over and the cool fall breeze is bringing me to life, my thoughts raced back to something that happened earlier this year. (Yes, there’s a video here, but I’ll get to that later.)

I was giving a talk at Time Inc as part of their employee wellness program in June. About 20 employees were there, some with diabetes, some who have family members with diabetes and a few who have pre-diabetes. 

What I remember most about the talk was a very open, overweight man who asked a lot of questions. He had pre-diabetes, was already taking pills for diabetes-related conditions and wanted to know more about pre-diabetes and its link to type 2 diabetes. 

I told him that most people with pre-diabetes get type 2 diabetes within 5 to 10 years. That there’s a reason why they call it “pre-diabetes.” I also told him you may prevent this by losing some weight and getting active. Both of which he needed to do. 

Not unusually, he gave me many reasons why losing weight and getting active were nearly impossible for him. And then my mouth got the best of me. “So, you’re telling me,” I said, “that it’s almost impossible for you to lose weight and get some exercise?” “Yes, he agreed.” “What if the only choice you had was to lose some weight and get active or die?” He looked at me. Intensely. I could see I had shocked him. I could also see he was thinking. “What would you do?” I asked.

“Well, when you put it that way,” he laughed, “I’d lose some weight and exercise.”  

If you have pre-diabetes or type 2 diabetes and have wanted to lose weight and get more active, ask yourself the same question, “What if there were no pills for you to take and the only choice you had was to lose some weight and get active or die?” What would you do? It may just help you see that you do have some power over your health, and your choices. 

In the Diabetes Prevention Program in 1992, 3,000 participants with pre-diabetes proved that moderate weight loss (5-10%) and exercise reduced the risk of getting type 2 diabetes by 58! A higher percentage than the control group taking Metformin (brand name Glucophage.)

On another note, back to the video up there, here’s one choice I can’t say I subscribe to, but I do find interesting. Eating raw foods. Some swear by it.