On World Diabetes Day, we reflect on what it means to live with type 2 diabetes. It’s often thought that “just a little more willpower” is enough to live a healthier life, but it’s not that simple. Willpower is important, but it’s not infinite. And fortunately, there’s a lot you can do to make living with type 2 diabetes easier, more consistent, and more enjoyable.

Consistency is More Important Than Perfection

Controlling your blood sugar isn’t about one perfect day. It’s about what you usually do. Small, achievable steps, like eating breakfast every day, exercising, or planning your meals ahead. That consistency is more effective in the long run than rigid diets or extreme rules. By being consistent, you build routines, and routines require less willpower. The more often you do something automatically, the less energy it requires.

A tip: connect new habits to something you already do. For example, have a glass of water every time you make a coffee. You don’t forget your morning coffee, do you?

Your work and working hours have a major impact

Whether you work shifts, travel a lot, or spend all day at your laptop, your work has a significant impact on your eating and exercise habits. Irregular work hours can disrupt your blood sugar levels and can make healthy choices more difficult.

It helps to plan ahead: bring healthy snacks to work to always have something nutritious on hand and don’t be too hard on yourself if you sometimes don’t manage. Your circumstances determine a lot, and insight into your blood sugar (such as through a glucose meter or the Clear.bio app) helps you see what works within your lifestyle.

Packaging and marketing try to tempt you

When you walk into a supermarket, you’re inundated with colorful packaging and slogans like “sugar-free,” “high-protein,” or “source of fiber.” Marketers know exactly how to get our attention. And unfortunately, that’s often with products that don’t necessarily contribute to stabilize your blood sugar levels.

Willpower by itself isn’t enough to resist all those temptations. It helps to plan your meals, take a shopping list with you and also plan your route wisely. For example, go straight to the fruit and vegetable section and literally skip the snack aisles. And the most important tip: eat something (healthy) before you enter the supermarket, otherwise you’ll definitely end up with a bag of crisps or a package or cookies or that cheese croissant that smelled so good you just had to put it in your basket for the way home. So grab that handful of unsalted nuts before you cycle to the supermarket, because walking into the supermarket without being hungry will give you more strength to resist temptation.

Meal prepping reduces choices and increases peace of mind

One of the best ways to conserve willpower is meal prepping. And no, you don’t have to fill up twenty Tupperware containers on Sunday evening, but you can prepare some things in advance so you have a healthy base for your meals in the fridge. By planning meals ahead and preparing them, you don’t have to make decisions during busy times and therefore don’t have to rely on your willpower.

Start small: cook some extra vegetables for the next day, make overnight oats, or prepare a healthy snackbox. This way, you’ll be less likely to reach for quick, high-carb options when you’re hungry or in time pressure before that important meeting starts at work.

Carbohydrates aren’t your enemy

With type 2 diabetes, carbohydrates are often seen as the culprit. But it’s not so black and white. Carbohydrates provide energy, and not everyone reacts the same way to the same foods. It’s about insight and balance, not about prohibition.

With real-time glucose insights, you can see exactly how your body reacts to different meals. You might discover that one person can easily eat whole-wheat pasta, while another responds better to lentils or vegetables. This insight helps you make choices that suit you, instead of relying on general rules.

Willpower is like a muscle: you can train it, but it also gets tired. The trick is to organize your environment and routines so you need to use them less often. Consistency, preparation, and understanding your body will help you get a handle on things without it feeling like a daily struggle.

World Diabetes Day is a great opportunity to reflect on the power of small steps. You don’t have to do it perfectly; you just have to persevere. We’re happy to help you with that!