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Home / Lifestyle guide
Lifestyle
A healthy life with diabetes, item by item.
Diet, exercise, peace of mind, the right medicine and health education — these are the real instruments for treating a lifestyle disease. What follows is the clinic's own guidance, in practical detail.
The guide
Be specific. Be clear.
What to do, and how much!
Deliberately specific. Vague advice — “eat less oil” — changes nothing; a number you can measure in your own kitchen does.
| Item | Guidance |
|---|---|
| Oil, per month दरमहा तेलाचा वापर | Under 500 ml per person for the whole household. Pour with a small ladle. Use a flat, shallow pan. |
| Type of oil तेलाचा प्रकार | No need to mix oils in one meal. Change to a different oil each month. |
| Ghee and butter तूप / लोणी | Under 5 g a day — anyone can take that much. Home-made ghee is best. |
| Milk, curd, buttermilk दूध / दही / ताक | Under 300 ml. Skim the cream off the milk. Keep it thin. Buttermilk with the butter removed can be taken freely. |
| Tea and coffee चहा / कॉफी | Under 3 cups. Thin, less milk, no sugar. Black decoction as you like. Sugar-free is fine. |
| Cold and energy drinks शीतपेय / एनर्जी ड्रिंक्स | Avoid as far as possible — no substance, no fibre. Lemon water, cold tea or coffee, and thin buttermilk instead. |
| Sugar, jaggery, honey साखर / गूळ / मध | Under 20 g. Use only where it truly cannot be avoided. The sweetness stays on the tongue either way. |
| Eggs and non-vegetarian food अंडी / मांसाहार | Boiled where possible. Avoid red meat and the yolk. Boiled, not fried. |
| Wheat flour कणिकेचा वापर | Unsifted, measured by the bowl. Make the roti or bhakri thin and large. It fills the stomach better. |
| Rice तांदूळ | Hand-pounded. Take a measured bowlful. Always with dal and vegetables — never rice alone. |
| Sprouted pulses अंकुरित कडधान्य | A bowlful daily, freshly sprouted each time. Can be boiled. Excellent as bhel with salad. |
| Vegetables भाज्यांचा वापर | At least 400 g a day. More leafy vegetables; measure root vegetables. Avoid potato and sweet potato. |
| Salad and koshimbir सलाद / कोशिंबीर | Eat plenty. Thin curd is fine. Cucumber, radish, tomato and spinach freely — this is where the fibre comes from. |
| Salt मीठ | Under 5 g. If you have blood pressure, heart disease, kidney or liver problems, decide the amount with the doctor. |
| Meal timings जेवणाच्या वेळा | Divide into three or four meals, a little at a time, on time. Do not eat a lot at once — that is what keeps sugar within limits. |
| Fasting उपवास | Avoid where possible; ask the doctor before you do. Skip sabudana and groundnut; rajgira is acceptable. Fruit in moderation. |
| Walking व्यायाम — पायी चालणे | 4–5 km at your own pace. Swimming, cycling, badminton or tennis work just as well. |
| Sport व्यायाम — खेळ | Play regularly, best with friends. Keep changing what you play. It keeps the body fit. |
| Other physical work व्यायाम — इतर शरीरश्रम | Do what you can yourself rather than asking others. Get up every 15 minutes. Do not sit in one place. |
| Yoga व्यायाम — योगासने | 15 to 20 minutes daily. Keep changing the asanas. Choose simple ones suited to your age — ask the doctor. |
| Tobacco व्यसन — तंबाखू | Stop completely, in every form — bidi, cigarette, tobacco, gutkha, snuff. No addiction at all. |
| Alcohol व्यसन — दारू | Stop completely — beer, whisky, vodka, breezer. Also no ganja, opium or doda. |
| Meditation and pranayama ध्यान / शवासन / प्राणायाम | Every day, at any time — even while working. It improves how well your blood vessels work. |
| Hobbies छंद, मनोरंजन | Reading, music, singing, trekking, photography, gardening — have something. It lowers stress. |
| Managing stress तणाव कमी करणे | Do not carry pointless stress about slights and honour. Take on the positive, constructive stress of your own work. |
| Medicines औषधी | Only what is needed, exactly as prescribed. Do not raise or lower the dose yourself. Do not stop on your own. |
| Testing तपासणी | Regularly, at the intervals decided with the doctor, while the medicines are running. Testing for complications matters most — see the screening schedule. |
A worked example
What a day's
food looks like.
A balanced vegetarian day of roughly 1200–1300 calories, from the clinic's own आहार तालिका. Sugar up to 30 g a day; artificial sweeteners may be used. Skim the milk and strain the buttermilk.
| Meal | Calories | What to have |
|---|---|---|
| Early morning tea लवकर सकाळचा चहा |
50 | One cup of tea with little sugar, and Marie biscuits. |
| Breakfast सकाळचा नाश्ता |
200 | One cup of skimmed milk or coffee, with either two idli, or half a bhakri with chutney, or two phulke with chutney, or corn flakes, or two slices of bread, or a one-egg omelette. |
| Lunch दुपारचे जेवण |
600 | A small mound of rice; two phulke or one and a half folded poli or one bhakri, or a paratha made with methi or palak; one bowl of raw salad — cucumber, onion, tomato, carrot koshimbir; half a bowl of a vegetable or sprouted-pulse usal; one bowl of varan; one glass of buttermilk. |
| Afternoon snack दुपारचा अल्पोपहार |
150 | One cup of tea, and one bowl of churmure or poha chivda made with very little oil, groundnut and copra — or one thalipeeth on a non-stick pan, or one small plate of pohe. |
| Dinner रात्रीचे जेवण |
200–250 | Half a bhakri or a small mound of rice; one glass of buttermilk; one bowl of leafy vegetable and one fruit — apple, small pear, orange, sweet lime or pomegranate. Avoid mango, chikoo, banana and custard apple. |
For a plan built around your own meals and household, ask for the dietitian — आहार तज्ज्ञ — or the diabetes educator at the clinic.
Exercise
How hard is
hard enough?
Exercise makes the body strong and well-proportioned; it improves how the muscles, lungs and heart work; it reduces waist size, blood pressure, blood sugar and body fat; it improves circulation, and it makes the way you look at life more positive.
Mild
सौम्य
- Walking at four kilometres an hour
Moderate
मध्यम
- Swimming
- Walking at five to six kilometres an hour
- Badminton and volleyball
Intense
तीव्र
- Tennis
- Hill climbing
- Running fast
Choosing yours
Ask the doctor, who will weigh up your age, how long you have had diabetes, your physical capacity, and the state of your heart, blood vessels, lungs, nerves and eyes. Then consider what you actually enjoy, how much time you have, and how much practice you have had. Exercise regularly, and keep to the same times.
Low sugar during exercise
Exercise can bring your sugar down too far — hypoglycaemia. Keep sugar or a glucose biscuit within reach while you exercise. Taking tea, coffee or milk beforehand helps avoid it. Ask the doctor before starting yoga or pranayama.
And the goals
What all of it
is aiming at.
These follow the American Diabetes Association Standards of Care. Your own targets may differ — your doctor will tell you if they do.
Blood glucose
Before meals80–130
1–2 h after a meal< 180
HbA1c< 7%
Blood pressure & weight
Blood pressure< 130/80
Higher heart or kidney riskSystolic < 120
Weight loss, if overweight5–7%
Cholesterol
LDL, with risk factors< 70
LDL, with heart disease< 55
Triglycerides< 150
If you use a sensor
Time in range 70–180> 70%
Time below 70< 4%
Time below 54< 1%
Glucose and cholesterol figures are in mg/dL. These follow the American Diabetes Association Standards of Care in Diabetes — 2026. They are the goals for most non-pregnant adults; targets are relaxed or tightened for pregnancy, for children, for older adults and where hypoglycaemia is a concern. Your own targets are set by your doctor.
Diet, exercise, peace of mind, the right medicine and health education — these are the real instruments for treating a lifestyle disease.
आहार, व्यायाम, मनःशांती, योग्य औषधी आणि आरोग्य शिक्षण हेच आहे जीवनशैली विकारांच्या उपचाराचे खरे साधन
Let's look at it together.
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+91 70660 58721
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Somesh Colony, Behind Kalamandir,
Nanded – 431601
Nanded – 431601