Diabetes takes your life one piece at a time, said David DeVore, a retired teacher and education administrator who was diagnosed on his 55th birthday.
"That was 13 years ago," said DeVore, who promptly lost 65 pounds and changed his lifestyle a little bit at a time. "If you don't control diabetes it will shorten your life."
Sometimes people have to go on dialysis. It can lead to blindness and lower leg amputation, DeVore added.
"It's not only threatening in the sense of shortened life but it's a very difficult struggle once you get down that road so it's very much worth the investment of time and energy to change your lifestyle," said DeVore.
To help others get on the healthy living path, the local branch of the Canadian Diabetes Association offers Walk & Talk, a 10-week self-management program. During each weekly session, beginning Saturday, Oct. 4 at 10 a.m., there will be a talk to provide information about how to make healthier choices followed by a 40 to 50 minute walk.
DeVore, a Diabetes Association volunteer who has given about 150 talks on the subject of healthy living, will be leading the orientation during the first Walk & Talk, which starts at the Prince George Canadian Diabetes Association office at 490 Quebec St.
"I will talk about self management in the common-sense way," said DeVore. "I'll talk about the importance of self management for people who have diabetes and those who are trying to avoid diabetes."
The program has a lot of pieces to it and, of all the dreaded diseases out there, diabetes is one that is most amenable to patient involvement, said DeVore.
"You can really change the course of your disease and not just a little but quite dramatically," he said.
"You can prevent it, you can delay it - at least for a period of time, but if you've contracted it you can greatly improve your prospective outcome through exercise."
During the Walk & Talk, DeVore said the hope is to give a short talk and then as participants walk they will get to know each other and start to chat on the walk as well.
"It's really about making a commitment to making modest changes to daily routine," said DeVore, who recommends a half hour of exercise a day. "Park further away from the store so you have to walk further, park two or three blocks away from your appointment, eat more grains, move from whole dairy products to skim or partially skim. These are not earth-shattering changes. It's not a sprint, it's a lifetime commitment. Not a huge commitment but an important commitment."
The ten-week program will be held every Saturday morning at 10 a.m. for 60 to 90 minutes at a different location each time.
"I do a pep talk that I like to call the carrot and stick," said DeVore.
"The stick is that you really, really don't want to get diabetes and let it take over your life and the carrot is that the things you will do during the program will make you feel better anyway. Your life will perk up, and you're also staving off anything else that might come along like cancer and heart disease because you're eating the right foods and exercising."
To register and for further information on the Walk & Talk series, call 250-561-9284 or email organizer [email protected].
